By the time Fred and Charley and the gang had come up, they were on their feet, facing each other.
"Wot d' ye want, eh ?" the red-headed gang-leader was saying in a bullying tone.

"Wot d' ye want?
That 's wot I wanter know." "I want my kites," Joe answered.
Brick Simpson's eyes sparkled at the intelligence.

Kites were something he stood in need of himself.
"Then you 've got to fight fer 'em," he announced.
"Why should I fight for them ?" Joe demanded indignantly.

"They 're mine." Which went to show how ignorant he was of the ideas of ownership and property rights which obtained among the People of the Pit.
A chorus of jeers and catcalls went up from the gang, which clustered behind its leader like a pack of wolves.
"Why should I fight for them ?" Joe reiterated.
"'Cos I say so," Simpson replied.

"An' wot I say goes.