Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 "Hand it over," said a raspy voice. Leo didn't have to see the face to know who was talking. It was Fletch Sikes, the most brutal thief in the neighborhood. The other kid had to be Wilkie Barnes, a giant of a boy who went everywhere Fletch did. When Fletch was just five years old, the story went, he'd been attacked by a pack of stray dogs. He'd survived, but one of the dogs had bitten his throat. The bite ruined his voice. And turned Fletch vicious. Fletch and Wilkie didn't just steal food and pick pockets. Sometimes they beat kids up just for fun. A few months ago, they'd been caught by the police, and sent to a work farm up north.

Leo had heard a rumor that they had escaped. He'd heard that they were hiding out in an old, abandoned saloon on Rincon Hill. And now here they were, back to their old vicious tricks. "You can take my money," Leo said, trying not to sound as terrified as he felt. "We don't want your money," Wilkie said. The kid was a monster. He had to weigh almost three hundred pounds, with smooth chubby cheeks like a baby. A baby with a steel fist. "What do you want?" Leo asked, his knees shaking. "You know," Fletch growled. Leo's heart stopped. Of course he knew. Somehow Fletch had found out about Leo's gold nugget. But how? Leo hadn't told a soul about it. Except … Morris. That little pest of a kid, who buzzed around Leo like a fly.

Leo had showed him the gold a few weeks ago. He must have blabbed about it to kids on the street. And the story had gotten back to Fletch and Wilkie. Fletch pushed Leo's face harder into the wall. The bones of Leo's cheek felt like they would crack, like the shell of an egg. "Take my money," Leo said again. "I have more than a dollar. Take it all." "We will," Fletch said, with a rasping laugh. "But we want the gold, too." Hand it over. It was Papa's voice, in Leo's head. Leo knew there was no way he could fight these guys, no way to outrun them. Wilkie was the fastest kid in the neighborhood. But that gold had been Papa's prized possession. Leo couldn't just give it up. "No," Leo said, summoning up all of his strength. He whirled around and broke free from Fletch's grip. He made it about three steps before Wilkie caught him by the back of the shirt, and threw him onto the ground.

Slam! Leo landed hard, biting his tongue. "Hand it over!" Fletch shouted in his creepy, strangled voice. "No!" Leo yelled again. What happened next took only a minute. Wilkie picked Leo up by his shirt, holding him in the air as Fletch emptied Leo's pockets. Then Wilkie threw him into a pile of garbage. The two goons walked away, laughing. Blood dribbled from Leo's mouth. His head throbbed. But the worst was the searing pain from somewhere deep inside, like something had been ripped out of him. His gold was gone.