them? yes, I suppose every word of it, Peter
Stoupe."

"But," said he, "I have a right as a 'prentice--"

"'Prentice!" shouted I, "you a 'prentice! a mean, chicken-livered,
gluttonous sneak like you, a 'prentice! 'fore heaven, you do the craft
honour! Come, bustle away with you, and God save my master from such
dirty thieves as you."

Here Timothy Ryder was foolish enough to laugh; which enraged me past
all enduring.

So, beadle and all as he was, I took him by the nape of his neck like a
puppy, and flung him into the Strand, bidding him, as he valued his
bones, not come within arm's length of me or my master's house till I
asked him. As for Peter, he made off without my help; and here I was
with the house to myself.

Then I knew I was in a scrape beside which all the troubles of the past
few weeks were as nothing. I had shamefully outraged the beadle of the
Worshipful Company of Stationers, acting under the authority of his
Grace the Bishop of London! Nothing I could say or do could undo that.
Even if I fled now--which I was not in the humour of doing, since my
blood was up--it was too late. For already a crowd was in the Strand,
some led by curiosity and Peter's lamentations, others by Timothy's
halloos; and before I knew where I stood, I was besieged.

I had barely time to bolt the door and heap up reams of paper across the
passage, before such a battering began as you never heard. I ran
upstairs and surveyed the enemy from a window. There were half the men
of the Watch there--they wanted me for assaulting a beadle. There were
Timothy and a body of Company's men--they wanted me for defying the
authority of the Master and Wardens. There were my old friends the
Court bullies--they wanted me for the trouble that had happened in
Finsbury Fields. There were a crowd of idle town-boys--they wanted
their fling against a 'prentice. Take it altogether, I seemed to be in
request.

It was not much use hurling types at them from the window; there was
nothing bigger than Brevier to give them, and that was too small to
break any bones. Nor had I any other weapon. So I put out my head and
shouted "Clubs! Clubs!" with all my voice, and then went down to be
ready for the first man that should break in.

'Twas not long before the door came down; but then they had to pass the
barrier I had put up in the passage. I had at a few of them across
that, and sent them sprawling; but the enemy was too many for me. And