off to York Castle to be tried at the 'sizes."

"Yes; I have no doubt he will be committed after his next appearance,
Bill; but what is the plan that you and your friend Luke were thinking
of?"

"Well, we was a-thinking vor twenty or so on us to coom down at noight
and break open t' cells. There be only t' chief constable and one other,
and they wouldn't be no good agin us, and we could get Maister Ned
owt and away long afore t' sojers would have toime to wake up and coom
round; then we could hide un up on moor till there was toime to get un
away across the seas. Luke he be pretty well bent on it, but oi says
as before we did nothing oi would coom and ax thee, seeing as how thou
bee'st a friend of his."

"No, Bill," Mr. Porson said gravely. "It would not do at all, and I am
glad you came to ask me. If I thought it certain that the jury would
find a verdict of guilty, and that Ned, innocent as I believe him of
the crime, would be hung, I should say that your plan might be worth
thinking of; for in that case Ned might possibly be got away till we his
friends here could get at the bottom of the matter. Still it would be an
acknowledgment for the time of his guilt, and I am sure that Ned himself
would not run away without standing his trial even if the doors of his
cell were opened. I shall see him tomorrow morning, and will tell him
of your scheme on his behalf. I am sure he will be grateful, but I am
pretty certain that he will not avail himself of it. If you will come
down tomorrow evening I will let you know exactly what he says."

As Mr. Porson expected, Ned, although much moved at the offer of his
humble friends to free him by force, altogether declined to accept it.

"It is just like Bill," he said, "ready to get into any scrape himself
to help me: but I must stand my trial. I know that even if they cannot
prove me guilty I cannot prove I am innocent; still, to run away would
be an acknowledgment of guilt, and I am not going to do that."

On the day appointed Ned was again brought up before the magistrates.
The examination was this time in public, and the justice room was
crowded. Ned, whose face was now recovering from the marks of ill usage,
was pale and quiet. He listened in silence to the evidence proving the
finding of Mr. Mulready's body. The next witness put into the box was
one of the engineers at the factory; he proved that the rope which had
been used in upsetting the gig had been cut from one which h