The man uttered a fierce imprecation. "Yes, I do; I suspect one of my so-called pals. As captain I took the biggest share when we agreed to separate. I caught his eye fixed upon me with a very sinister look. My theory is that he followed me at a safe distance and saw where I was lodged. He was well aware of my habits; he knew I should be pretty fast asleep. He climbed up through the window, Monsieur, and took every copper. I was too drunk to hear him. If I had been in my sober senses, I would have strangled him, and added one more crime to the many committed by Ivan the outlaw." He ended with a defiant grin, that showed a row of strong white wolfish teeth. Nello mused for a little space. The man might be speaking truth; he was half disposed to think so. On the other hand, he might be telling him a tissue of lies. "Why are you not armed?" he asked suddenly. "I have a pistol, Monsieur, but it is empty. I could find no place in which to buy cartridges. See for yourself." He fumbled in his pocket and threw down the weapon on the ground. Nello picked it up cautiously; it was, as its owner had truly declared, harmless. A grim smile crossed the young man's countenance, but he did not for a second relax his vigilance. This ruffian of the highway was, no doubt, as cunning as he was plausible. "If your pistol had been loaded, I expect you would have extorted money from me instead of begging it." Ivan the outlaw shook his big head. "Under ordinary circumstances, yes, Monsieur. Adversity has taught me not to stand upon ceremony. But when I saw your lips moving in prayer before the ikon, I would not have harmed a hair of your head. You would have been sacred." Truly a strange being, imbued with the ever-present superstition of the Russian peasant, thought Nello to himself. "And you want money from me. Of course you know what my duty is, as a peaceable man who has no sympathy with robbers and assassins?" "Certainly, Monsieur. If you don't choose to shoot me in a vital spot and so insure my death, you ought to maim me to prevent me from moving, leave me here and go and fetch the police from the village to take me into custody." The man had spoken so far in a low, imperturbable voice; then at the end he lashed himself into sudden fury and shrieked out. "It's a toss of a copper to me what you do. But if you won't give me any money, kill me outright. I have not made such a success of life that I am anxious to enjoy much more of it. Kill me, Monsieur, and finish it once for all. The police will thank you for having got rid of 'Ivan the Cuckoo.' They won't ask too many questions." Nello thought for some little time. His thoughts went back to a very miserable night, some six months ago. He had been playing in the streets and had returned home with nothing. He owed the rent for the miserable hovel in which they sheltered; they had no food.