his voice had a trick of
dropping suddenly to a whispered conference.

"Who's the fat 'un in the choir? A chap as is doing his ten. His missis
chared to keep the kids, and one morning early he popped the old girl's
shoes."

The voice of the chaplain interrupted further explanation; but after
another loud response the old rascal's mouth was twisted awry with the
words:

"He's a wide 'un, he is--seat in the choir got comfortable cushions.
Besides, he gets off Saturday morning's work for practicing--got no more
voice nor a corn-crake."

Evidently it was no disadvantage here to be the greatest of vagabonds.
When a cadaverous old Jew came hobbling up the aisle with his gang, the
gray-head whispered, with awe:

"It's old Mo; he's in the stocking gang; but I did business with him
when he could ha' sent old Rothschild home for a pauper."

At one moment the attention of the green hand was arrested by a tall man
in the black and gray that indicated a convict who had attempted to
escape.

"Says he's in for twenty thousand, but it's a lie," whispered the old
man; "he only knocked a living out of the religious fake."

The last of the conference that Hugh Ritson overheard was a piece of
touching advice.

"Them as 'as any pluck in 'em turns savage, same as B 2001; them as
'asn't, knocks under, same as me; and I says to you, knock under."

After service the sacrament was celebrated. There must have been many
hundreds of communicants, all humble in their piety. It could be noticed
that the chaplain had sometimes to keep a tight grip of the goblet
containing the wine.

That night Hugh Ritson lodged at the doctor's quarters. He did not lie,
but, as on the night before, he walked the long hours through,
steadfastly resisting every temptation to sleep. At five in the morning
he heard the great bell at the gate ring for two minutes, and, shortly
afterward, the tramp, tramp, tramp of many feet under his window. The
convicts, to the number of fifteen hundred, were drawn up on the
parade-ground. They looked chill in the cold light of early morning;
their gray jackets lay loose on their spare shoulders; their hands hung
inertly at their sides, and they walked with the oscillating motion of
men whose feet were sore in their heavy boots. The civil guard was drawn
up, the chief warder whistled, and then the men fell out into gangs of
twenty-five each, attended by an assistant warder.

"Rear rank, take two paces to the right--march.