hide his gold pieces, he put them in his mouth precisely under his
tongue.

Then he tried to escape. But he had not gone a step when he felt himself
seized by the arm and heard two horrid, sepulchral voices saying to him:

"Your money or your life!"

Pinocchio, not being able to answer in words, owing to the money that
was in his mouth, made a thousand low bows and a thousand pantomimes. He
tried thus to make the two muffled figures, whose eyes were only visible
through the holes in their sacks, understand that he was a poor puppet,
and that he had not as much as a counterfeit nickel in his pocket.

"Come, now! Less nonsense and out with the money!" cried the two
brigands threateningly.

And the puppet made a gesture with his hands to signify: "I have none."

"Deliver up your money or you are dead," said the tallest of the
brigands.

"Dead!" repeated the other.

"And after we have killed you, we will also kill your father!"

"Also your father!"

"No, no, no, not my poor papa!" cried Pinocchio in a despairing voice,
and as he said it the sovereigns clinked in his mouth.