of into whose hands the english are fast falling � a set of shallow who being greater and greater than four men out of every six that pass you in fleet street or at any hour think themselves wiser than nature and her author suffered body and spirit without the result was that his flesh withered on his bones his eyes were dim and seemed to lie at the bottom of two he crawled stiffly and slowly instead of walking he was not sixteen years of age yet had extinguished his youth and blotted out all its signs but one had you met this figure in the street you would have said � what an old man and no beard one day as robinson happened to be washing the with his up what he took for a small but aged man passed him stiffly with joints by perpetual and that had ensued from perpetually being through this figure had his down at sight of robinson he started and instantly went down on his knee and both then while tying them again slowly he whispered � robinson i am don t look towards me robinson the wall with more vigor than before whispered how are they using you now boy hush don t speak so loud robinson they are killing me the they are trying all they know to kill me too coming said robinson as crept away and having scraped off a grain of with his nail he made a little white mark on his c above his calf for to w him by should they meet next time with both down gave a slight and rapid signal of intelligence as he disappeared two days after this they met on the staircase the boy who now looked at every prisoner s trousers for the white mark recognized robinson at some distance and began to speak before they met i can t go on much longer like this no more can i i shall go to father why where is he he is dead i don t care how soon i go either but not till i have sent on before � not for all the world pass me and then come back they met again keep up your heart boy till his reverence gets well or goes to heaven if he lives he will save us somehow if he dies � i tell you a secret i know where there is a brick i think i can i mean to that beast s skull with it and then you will be all right and my heart will feel like a prince oh i don t do that said better for us he should murder us than we him murder cried robinson contemptuously and there was no time to say any more after this many days passed before these two could get a syllable together but one day after chapel as the men were being told off to their several tasks robinson recognized the boy by his figure and his elbow withdrew a little apart followed him and this time robinson was the first speaker we shall never see mr alive again boy said he in a faltering voice then in a low gloomy tone he muttered i have loosened the brick the day i lose all hope that day i send home and the thief pointed towards the cellar the day you have no more hope robinson that day has come to me this fortnight and more he tells mo it is never too late to mend every day he will make my life hell to me and i am sure it has been nothing else ever since i came here keep up your heart boy he has n t long to live he will live too long for me i can t stay here any longer you and i sha n t often chat together again perhaps never don t talk so keep up your heart � for my sake one bitter tearing sob was all the reply and so these two parted this was just after breakfast at dinner time not having performed an impossible task was robbed of his dinner a little bread and water was served out to him in the yard and he was set on the again with fearful in particular mr repeated his favorite threat � i make your life hell to you but what could a boy of do over and for a month past and now for a hospital than for hard labor of any sort at three o clock his progress on the was so slow that mr ordered him to be on the spot his obedient for the time seized the lad and crushed him in the jacket him in the collar and pinned him to the wall and this time the first time for a long while the prisoner remonstrated loudly why not kill me at once and put me out of my misery hold your tongue you know i can t do the task you set me you know it as well as i do hold tongue you insolent young villain him no no no don t go to me or you will cut me in half � don t mr i will hold my tongue sir then he turned his hollow mournful eyes on and said gently it can t last much longer you know it shall last till i break you you obstinate dog you are hardly used are yon wait till tomorrow i show you that i have only been playing with you as yet but i have got a punishment in store for you that will make you wish you were in hell stood over the martyr fiercely threatening him the martyr shut his eyes it seemed as though the enraged would end hy striking mm he with his eyes he could not with any other part of bis body so tight was 