"Don't be such a coward," I cried, hurrying down stairs, while the poor little Rhymester, afraid to be left alone upstairs, tremblingly followed.
Sure enough there was a sound of struggling going on, and voices raised in loud dispute.
"Oh, that story won't do for me," I heard the Doctor-in-Law exclaim.
"But I tell yez, sor," chimed in another strange voice, "I waz only going to----"
"Never mind what you were going to do, give up the sack," said the Doctor-in-Law.
Then there were sounds of struggling, and amidst the confusion a voice saying:
"Hold him down! Sit on him! That's right! Now for the sack."
And, bursting the door open, a curious sight met my eyes. A poor sweep lay flat upon the floor, with the Wallypug sitting upon him, and One-and-Nine keeping guard; while the Doctor-in-Law and A. Fish, Esq., examined his bag of soot in the corner. The poor little Rhymester summoned up sufficient courage to peep in at the doorway, and stood there making a piteous picture, with his white face and trembling limbs.
"Whatever is the matter," I inquired as soon as I entered.
"We've caught him!" exclaimed his Majesty, complacently wriggling his toes about.
"Av ye plaze, sor," groaned the man, panting beneath the Wallypug's weight, "I have been doing nothing at all, at all. I waz just a-finishin' me warrak of swapin' the chimneys, wen one ov the ould gintleman came up an' poked me in the nose with a sthick, and the other ould gintleman knocked me over and sthole me bag, while the soger hild me down till the other gintleman sat on me--it's among a lot of murtherin' thaves I've got entoirely, savin' yer presince, sor."
"The man is a burglar," declared the Doctor-in-Law emphatically. "I happened to hear a very suspicious noise down here, and calling to the others, rushed down just in time to catch this man making off with a bag of things. I think he was trying to escape up the chimney, for his head was half-way up when we entered, and this bag, which evidently contains plunder of some kind, is covered with soot too."
"Why, the man is a sweep, and was sweeping the chimney," I cried, pointing to his brushes and sticks; and after a lot of explanations the man was told to get up and his Majesty, followed by the others, retired to his bedroom, evidently greatly disappointed that it was not a real burglar that they had been combating.