and without looking took a heavy key from Wilson who had come with it behind him; then went on, pointing at the key with his index finger. “You come here thinkin’ you were bigger than the guards; and we’ve known you from the start, and watched you. You’re the kind that generally manage to lose your copper”—9009 went yellow. The captain rose and stood still a moment. ‘“You ought to lose it for this affair,” he went on—9009 swallowed hard—“but I’m going to give you one more chance; I’ll give you a taste of what we have for you bad men.” He weighed upon the last three words heavily, with ponderous sarcasm, but this was lost on 9009. He was taking a big gulp of relief. “Come on,” said the captain.
They went, without a word, across the yard, to one of the cell-houses, and down a flight of stairs, to the basement. The captain stopped before a heavy door of oak, studded with spikes, and signed to a trusty who met him there. The man swung open the outer door of oak, and then an inner door of smooth steel. 9009 entered.
