Rutley made no reply. He seemed absorbed in thought, and though chagrin and disgust on his face betrayed a sense of his plight, no expression of bitterness escaped him. His dauntless, debonair spirit was still unbroken. "I had her bound and shut up in the closet," he muttered to himself. It was an involuntary exclamation in an undertone, and at the moment he seemed quite oblivious to his position. "Yees did!" explosively exclaimed Smith. "The likes of yees, a dirty, thavin' blackguard, to bind the young lady and shut her up in a closet! Sure, if I had seen yees do it, there'd be somethin' doin'." And Smith flourished his stick in a threatening manner. "The sissy is no match for a fool-killer," grinned Sam, as he wound the cord several additional turns around Rutley's arms and body. "Outclassed by a slip of a girl," Rutley muttered abstractedly, and enslaved by her witchery; "surely hell hath no cunning to match her genius for strategems!" "Indade, the divil's imp is azey mark for the wit ave an Arigin girl, an' be the token ave it, yees'l go back and jine yees mate with the bracelets," said Smith ironically. "Aunty is coming!" exclaimed Sam in a listening attitude. "We must get him out of the house at once!" "March, yees blackguard, march!" promptly ordered Smith, laying his hand roughly on Rutley's arm to urge him along. "Hands off!" sharply exclaimed the latter, shaking Smith's hand off and regarding him with a haughty stare; then, in a cutting high-pitched voice, he went on: "No liberties, flannel-mouthed cur--scat!" "He is game," muttered Sam. The stigma uttered in tones of withering contempt fairly lashed Smith into a foaming passion. He instantly dropped his stick, tore off his coat, spat on his hands, and while squaring off to Rutley, pranced about, beside himself with rage, and when he at last found speech, he said explosively: "Flannel-mouthed cur, is it yees be callin' me? Sure, Oi'll attind to yees blackguard. Och, sure Oi wouldn't strike yees wid yees hands tied, ye murtherin' villain! Oi mane to be fair wid yees, too, so Oi do, though ye little desarve it, and be the token ave it, Oi'll sit ye free to recave the batin' that will make yees respect my nation!" and in the heat of his rage and quite forgetful of place and environment, furiously untied the knot Sam had made to fasten the cord which he wound several times around Rutley's body, and then giving it a vigorous pull, sent Rutley spinning around like a top. The thing was done so quick that Sam in his surprise was unable to check Smith, and had difficulty in restraining him from untying Rutley's hands also. "Hold, Smith! Have it out with him some other time, not now or here," he said, laying his hand on Smith's arm, and then observing Smith with an angry stare, directed at him, Sam grinned and went on mockingly: "His lordship wants you to keep your hands off."