Chapter 4 Robber's Box - 3

The fat man drew a knife from his belt and swung it at his head. "Blood!" he shouted viciously. "Damn our enemies!" Victor snorted. Then, the three of them stooped, Chili held the trigger pistol, and the gleaming knife in his mouth, quietly climbed down the stairs, leaving Martha who was trembling with fright.Martha was so frightened that she forgot to call for help. She stayed alone in the attic, and it didn't take long.Finally, she heard footsteps like a cat crawling.The robbers returned, and she saw them file up the stairs. They all carry the spoils of plunder in their arms.To balance the two burdens, Luigi placed a patty on top of Mother Martha's best evening dress.Victor followed, carrying a large bag of curios, a brass candelabra, and a living room clock.Penny was carrying an heirloom Bible, and from the cupboard a basket of silver, copper pots, and one of Papa's fur coats.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Victor said, putting down his baggage. "It will be more enjoyable to grab it again." "Oh, that's exciting!" said Penny, accidentally dropping the pot on his toe.He jumped up in agony, and at the same time murmured strange phrases in Italian. "We have a lot of possessions," Victor went on.Chili was still holding the meatloaf as Luigi added his spoils to the possessions. "It's all from one house. America must be a rich place." After speaking, Luji cut himself a piece of pie with a dagger, and handed the rest to his accomplice.So the three of them sat down on the floor and ate, with Martha standing aside.watching them sadly.

"We should have a cave, because we must store our spoils in a safe place," the robber asked Martha. "Can you tell us about a secret cave?" "There's a huge cave," Martha answered, "but in Kentucky you have to drive there, and it takes a long time to get there." The three robbers were preoccupied and chewed the cake silently.After a while they were startled by a doorbell which could be heard clearly even in the distant attic. "Who?" Victor asked in a hoarse voice.At this time, all three of them got up with daggers in their hands. Martha runs to the window and sees a postman, who slips a letter into the mailbox and leaves.

This unexpected little incident gave her a revelation, and she decided to get rid of these annoying robbers.So, as if she had encountered a huge problem, she rubbed her hands together and shouted: "The police are here!" The robbers really panicked.Luji asked tremblingly: "Are there many people here?" Martha pretended to count and called out, "102 people." "Then we're done!" Penny asserted. "We've never fought with so many people. We can't live." "Do they have weapons?" Viktor asked, shaking like a fever. "Oh, yes," she said, "they have guns and knives and pistols and axes and..."

"Anything else?" Tokyo asked. "And the cannon!" The three bad guys moaned loudly.Penny said with a guilty conscience: "I hope they kill us quickly and don't beat us up. I heard that these Americans are Indians with painted faces. They are the cruelest and most terrifying." "That's right." The fat man gasped heavily and said in a trembling voice. Suddenly Martha turned from the window. "You are my friends, aren't you?" she asked. "We are all your faithful friends." Victor replied. "We adore you!" cried Penny.

"We would die for you!" added Luigi at once, thinking that he was going to die. "Then, I am willing to save you." The little girl said. "How to save?" The three asked in unison. "Go back into the box," she said, "and I'll close the lid so they won't find you." The robbers hesitated, and looked around the house, but the little girl called out: "You must act quickly! Or they will catch you soon!" Upon hearing this, Luigi jumped into the box and lay flat on the bottom, and Penny followed him, leaning against him.After hesitating for a moment, Victor blew a kiss to the little girl in an elegant gesture, and jumped into the box.

Martha ran over immediately and pushed down the lid, but the lid didn't close tightly.She said to them, "You must squeeze again." Luigi groaned. "I tried my best to squeeze, miss." Victor said, lying on top, "Before, it was very suitable for us to lie here, but now the wooden box seems too small." "That's right!" Fatty's vague voice came from the lowest part of the box. "I know what's taking up space in the box," Penny said. "What?" Victor asked anxiously. "Meatloaf," Penny answered. "That's right." The voice came from the lowest part, and the tone became very weak.

At this moment, Martha sat down on the lid of the box and pressed down with her whole body weight.She was so happy when the lock was closed!She jumped off the box with all her strength.Turning the key, the box was finally locked.