"
The three bandits looked thoughtful and munched their pie silently,
but the next moment they were startled by the ringing of the
electric doorbell, which was heard plainly even in the remote attic.
"What's that?" demanded Victor, in a hoarse voice, as the three
scrambled to their feet with drawn daggers.
Martha ran to the window and saw it was only the postman, who had
dropped a letter in the box and gone away again. But the incident
gave her an idea of how to get rid of her troublesome bandits, so
she began wringing her hands as if in great distress and cried out:
"It's the police!"
The robbers looked at one another with genuine alarm, and Lugui
asked, tremblingly:
"Are there many of them?"
"A hundred and twelve!" exclaimed Martha, after pretending to count
them.
"Then we are lost!" declared Beni; "for we could never fight so many
and live."
"Are they armed?" inquired Victor, who was shivering as if cold.
"Oh, yes," said she. "They have guns and swords and pistols and axes
and--and--"
"And what?" demanded Lugui.
"And cannons!"
The three wicked ones groaned aloud and Beni said, in a hollow
voice:
"I hope they will kill us quickly and not put us to the torture.
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