Yet being there, I will not lift voice nor finger to
doff it. Methinks it fits thee truly, thou bloody dog. 'Tis thy ensign,
and hangs well above a heart so foul as thine."
He then inquired of Denys if he thought they had secured the whole gang,
or but a part.
"Your worship," said Denys, "there are but seven of them, and this
landlord. One we slew upstairs, one we trundled down dead, the rest are
bound before you."
"Good! go fetch the dead one from upstairs, and lay him beside him I
caused to be removed."
Here a voice like a guinea-fowl's broke peevishly in. "Now, now, now,
where is the hand? that is what I want to see." The speaker was a little
pettifogging clerk.
"You will find it above, nailed to the door-post by a crossbow bolt."
"Good!" said the clerk. He whispered his master, "What a goodly show
will the 'pieces de conviction' make!" and with this he wrote them down,
enumerating them in separate squeaks as he penned them. Skulls--Bones--A
woman's hair--A thief's hands 1 axe--2 carcasses--1 crossbow bolt.
This done, he itched to search the cellar himself: there might be other
invaluable morsels of evidence, an ear, or even an earring. The alderman
assenting, he caught up a torch and was hurrying thither, when an
accident stopped him, and indeed carried him a step or two in the
opposite direction.
The constables had gone up the stair in single file.
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