ow robe with a green girdle, and he had no
wig, but a very odd-shaped hat, which he kept on all the time.

The trial did not last long, and the captain said very little, and the
judge still less, while the prisoners were not allowed to speak at all.
The judge looked up something in a book, and consulted in a low voice
with the crown lawyer and a sour-faced person in black. Then he put on
his spectacles and said:

'Prisoners at the bar, you are found guilty of trespass. The punishment
is Death--if the judge does not like the prisoners. If he does not
dislike them it is imprisonment for life, or until the judge has had
time to think it over. Remove the prisoners.'

'Oh, _don't_!' cried Philip, almost weeping.

'I thought you weren't afraid,' whispered Lucy.

'Silence in court,' said the judge.

Then Philip and Lucy were removed.

They were marched by streets quite different from those they had come
by, and at last in the corner of a square they came to a large house
that was quite black.

'Here we are,' said the captain kindly. 'Good-bye. Better luck next
time.'

The gaoler, a gentleman in black velvet, with a ruff and a pointed
beard, came out and welcomed them cordially.

'How do you do, my dears?' he said. 'I hope you'll be comfortable here.
First-class misdemeanants, I suppose?' he asked.

'Of course,' said the captain.

'Top floor, if you please,' said the gaoler politely, and stood back to
let the children pass. 'Turn to the left and up the stairs.'

[Illustration: 'Top floor, if you please,' said the gaoler politely.]

The stairs were dark and went on and on, and round and round, and up and
up. At the very top was a big room, simply furnished with a table,
chairs, and a rocking-horse. Who wants more furniture than that?

'You've got the best view in the whole city,' said the gaoler, 'and
you'll be company for me. What? They gave me the post of gaoler because
it's nice, light, gentlemanly work, and leaves me time for my writing.
I'm a literary man, you know. But I've sometimes found it a trifle
lonely. You're the first prisoners I've ever had, you see. If you'll
excuse me I'll go and order some dinner for you. You'll be contented
with the feast of reason and the flow of soul, I feel certain.'

The moment the door had closed on the gaoler's black back Philip turned
on Lucy.

'I hope you're satisfied,' he said bitterly. 'This is all _your_ doing.
They'd have let me off if you hadn't been here. Wha