"How was I to know as he'd jump up like so much watchworks?" said the other, placing the lighted candles, whose tops were encrusted with ash from the fire, upon the table. "Know! not you; but you knows how to claim yer share of the swag." Then the poor old man upon the floor, whose wild, staring eyes seemed to betoken some violent seizure, was lifted into a chair opposite his brother, and bound after the same fashion, when the spokesman of the party shook the heavy leaden knob of that misnamed article a life-preserver in the doctor's face, saying: "Don't you try no more games, my kiddy, or else"--a playful tap illustrated his meaning. "She's safe in bed, and tied up so as she won't answer no ringing nohow. She's tucked up all right, she is; d'yer hear?" The preserver-handle was very elastic, and the knob tapped playfully upon the doctor's forehead as the ruffian spoke; but the bound man was too confused to answer, and though what followed seemed to him like a wild dream, yet his heart leaped once as he saw the fellow snatch the will from the floor, where it had fallen, tear open the seal, and hold the paper to the light. "What's in it, Bill?" growled another of the gentry. "Gallussed if I know," said the other; "but 'tain't no good;" and the doctor saw it crushed together and thrown upon the fire, where it blazed up and was soon consumed. But confused as the doctor was, the next proceedings of the ruffians produced groan after groan from his breast, as they attacked his vanity, and metaphorically rolled him in the dust; for removing a fur cap that he wore, so as to cool his brain perhaps, and displaying thereby a very closely-cropped bullet-head, the leader of the gang, as he seemed to be, first snapped the doctor's gold-chain, and set it and watch at liberty; for the doctor's bonds would have impeded their being taken off in the normal fashion. Then followed, one after the other, to be placed in a small carpet-bag with the watch and chain, the spectacle-case and gold eyeglass; the handsomely-chased gold snuff-box from one pocket, gold toothpick from another. The set of studs were dragged from the cambric front; a massively-set diamond ring from the doctor's right hand, and a signet from his left; while as the various ornaments were passed from one to the other, and deposited in the bag, a broad grin followed each groan from the doctor. "Where's his puss, Bill?" said Number 8 ruffian, who was the Judas Iscariot of the party, and carried the bag. "Here it is," growled Bill, whose hands were wonderfully active for so heavy, burly-looking a man, diving in and out of pocket after pocket, and now drawing forth a very handsome, elaborately-gilt, russia-leather portemonnaie--half purse, half pocket-book--and grinning as he opened it, he drew out and laid upon the table, first a railway insurance ticket, next a lancet, then a crooked sixpence, and lastly a threepenny-piece.