overtopped the neighboring
houses, stood two men, about an hour after night had fallen, waiting for
admittance. The great large iron bar which formed the knocker of the
door, had descended twice with a heavy thump, but yet no one appeared in
answer to the summons. It was again in the hand of Mr. Shanks and ready
to descend, when the rattling of keys was heard inside; bolts were
withdrawn and bars cast down, and one half of the door opened,
displaying a man with a lantern, which he held up to gaze at his
visitors. His face was fat and bloated, covered with a good number of
spots, and his swollen eyelids made his little keen black eyes look
smaller than they even naturally were, while his nose, much in the shape
of a horsechestnut, blushed with the hues of the early morning.

"How are you, Cram, how are you?" asked the attorney. "I haven't been
here for a long time, but you know me, I suppose."

"Oh, yes, I know you, Master Shanks," replied the jailer, winking one of
his small black eyes; "who have you come to see? Betty Diaper, I'll
warrant, who prigged the gentleman's purse at the bottom of the hill.
She's as slink a diver as any on the lay; but she's got the shiners and
so must have counsel to defend her before the beak, I'll bet a gallon."

"No, no," answered Mr. Shanks, "our old friend Tom Cutter wants to see
me on this little affair of his."

"You'll make no hand of that, as sure as my name's Dionysius Cram,"
replied the jailer. "Can't prove an _alibi_ there, Master Shanks, for I
saw him do the job; besides he can't pay. What's the use of meddling
with him? He must swing some time you know, and one day's as good as
another. But come in, Master Shanks, come in. But who's this here other
chap?"

"That's my clerk," replied Mr. Shanks, "I may want him to take
instructions."

The man laughed, but demurred, but a crown piece was in those days the
key to all jailers' hearts, and after a show of hesitation, Shanks and
his young companion were both admitted within the gates. They now found
themselves in a small square space, guarded on two sides by tall iron
railings, which bent overhead, and were let into the wall somewhat after
the manner of a birdcage. On the left-hand side, however, was another
brick wall, with a door and some steps leading up to it. By this
entrance Mr. Dionysius Cram led them into a small jailer's lodge, with a
table and some wooden chairs, in the side of which, opposite to the
entrance, was a s