put
a wonderful confidence in him hitherto,--for who could resist Strong's
jolly face and frank and honest demeanour?--now began to pour in
their bills with a cowardly mistrust and unanimity. The knocks at the
Shepherd's Inn chambers door were constant, and tailors, bootmakers,
pastrycooks who had furnished dinners, in their own persons, or by the
boys their representatives, held levees on Strong's stairs. To these
were added one or two persons of a less clamorous but far more sly and
dangerous sort,--the young clerks of lawyers, namely, who lurked about
the Inn, or concerted with Mr. Campion's young man in the chambers hard
by, having in their dismal pocketbooks copies of writs to be served on
Edward Strong, requiring him to appear on an early day next term before
our Sovereign Lady the Queen, and answer to, etc. etc.

From this invasion of creditors, poor Strong, who had not a guinea
in his pocket, had, of course, no refuge but that of the Englishman's
castle, into which he retired, shutting the outer and inner door upon
the enemy, and not quitting his stronghold until after nightfall.
Against this outer barrier the foe used to come and knock and curse in
vain, whilst the Chevalier peeped at them from behind the little curtain
which he had put over the orifice of his letter-box; and had the dismal
satisfaction of seeing the faces of furious clerk and fiery dun, as they
dashed up against the door and retreated from it. But as they could not
be always at his gate, or sleep on his staircase, the enemies of the
Chevalier sometimes left him free.

Strong, when so pressed by his commercial antagonists, was not quite
alone in his defence against them, but had secured for himself an ally
or two. His friends were instructed to communicate with him by a system
of private signals: and they thus kept the garrison from starving by
bringing in necessary supplies, and kept up Strong's heart and prevented
him from surrendering by visiting him and cheering him in his retreat.
Two of Ned's most faithful allies were Huxter and Miss Fanny Bolton:
when hostile visitors were prowling about the Inn, Fanny's little
sisters were taught a particular cry or jodel, which they innocently
whooped in the court: when Fanny and Huxter came up to visit Strong,
they archly sang this same note at his door; when that barrier was
straightway opened, the honest garrison came out smiling, the provisions
and the pot of porter were brought in, and in the soc