er, and saw that he was the
interpreter who had taught him the Erewhonian language when he was in
prison.

George, seeing a special constable close by, told him to bid his brothers
release the vergers, and let them arrest the interpreter--this the
vergers, foiled as they had been in the matter of my father's arrest,
were very glad to do. So the poor interpreter, to his dismay, was lodged
at once in one of the Bank prison-cells, where he could do no further
harm.

CHAPTER XVII: GEORGE TAKES HIS FATHER TO PRISON, AND THERE OBTAINS SOME
USEFUL INFORMATION

By this time George had got my father into the open square, where he was
surprised to find that a large bonfire had been made and lighted. There
had been nothing of the kind an hour before; the wood, therefore, must
have been piled and lighted while people had been in church. He had no
time at the moment to enquire why this had been done, but later on he
discovered that on the Sunday morning the Manager of the new temple had
obtained leave from the Mayor to have the wood piled in the square,
representing that this was Professor Hanky's contribution to the
festivities of the day. There had, it seemed, been no intention of
lighting it until nightfall; but it had accidentally caught fire through
the carelessness of a workman, much about the time when Hanky began to
preach. No one for a moment believed that there had been any sinister
intention, or that Professor Hanky when he urged the crowd to burn my
father alive, even knew that there was a pile of wood in the square at
all--much less that it had been lighted--for he could hardly have
supposed that the wood had been got together so soon. Nevertheless both
George and my father, when they knew all that had passed, congratulated
themselves on the fact that my father had not fallen into the hands of
the vergers, who would probably have tried to utilise the accidental
fire, though in no case is it likely they would have succeeded.

As soon as they were inside the gaol, the old Master recognised my
father. "Bless my heart--what? You here, again, Mr. Higgs? Why, I
thought you were in the palace of the sun your father."

"I wish I was," answered my father, shaking hands with him, but he could
say no more.

"You are as safe here as if you were," said George laughing, "and safer."
Then turning to his grandfather, he said, "You have the record of Mr.
Higgs's marks and measurements? I know you have: take him