e apartment and take a brief survey of the
assembly before the ruffian who guarded the door had bolted it, and I
must confess that my impression was not very favorable. As I said
before, there were between twenty and thirty persons in the room, all
with such villanous-looking countenances that a jury would have hanged
them without a word of evidence in regard to their guilt. The very
_creme de la creme_ of scoundrelism was before us, plotting a recruiting
from deeds of crime, and ready to cut a man's throat for a pound.

The apartment was filled with smoke, for each man had a clay pipe in his
mouth, and was puffing away in a state of great enjoyment. Along the
walls of the room were common pine tables, with rude benches and but a
few rough chairs. The tables were nailed to the floor, or confined by
iron staples; and I afterwards learned that the plan was adopted by the
proprietor of the house to save his property, as sometimes his guests
got angry, and were in the habit of breaking chairs over the heads of
adversaries--a custom which had been discontinued, owing to the
shrewdness of Dan in looking after number one. Of course, the knife and
pistol were the next resort; but that was a matter of the most supreme
indifference to Dan, who didn't care how many were killed or wounded as
long as they didn't injure him or what belonged to him.

Every man was drinking, or had a pot of ale or a glass of rum before
him; and in one corner of the apartment were half a dozen persons
asleep, or else dead drunk, and even beside them were glasses or pewter
cups.

At the farthest end of the room from the street was a small bar, behind
which Dan, with coat off and shirt sleeves rolled up, was the presiding
genius, and to show his aristocracy was smoking a cigar.

He scanned us with his sharp black eyes when we entered, as though
wondering who we were; but apparently satisfied that we were "kenkly
coves," or first-class thieves, he turned his attention to more
congenial matters, and refreshed his inner man with a stiff glass of
rum, diluted with but a slight mixture of water.

The musicians, who had stopped playing upon our knocking, now made
feeble signs of renewing their duties; but still the guests assembled
did not remove their eyes from us, and we could see a number of them
whisper to each other as though making inquiries as to whom we were.

I glanced around the room in hope of seeing Steel Spring, but that
worthy was invisible;