Fry strolled into the prison.  He met Mr. Eden at a cell door.  “Josephs refractory again, sir,” said he, with mock civility.

Mr. Eden looked him in the face, but said nothing.  He went to his own room, took a paper off the table, and came into the yard.  Josephs was beginning to sham and a bucket had just been thrown over him amid the coarse laughter of Messrs. Fry, Hodges and Hawes.  Evans, who happened to be in attendance, stood aloof with his eyes fixed on the ground.

As soon as he saw Mr. Eden coming Hawes gave a vindictive chuckle.

“Another bucket,” cried he, and taking it himself, he contrived to sprinkle Mr. Eden as well as to sluice his immediate victim.

Mr. Eden took no notice of this impertinence, but to the surprise of all there he strode between the victim and his tormentors, and said sternly, “Do you know that you are committing an illegal assault upon this prisoner?’

“No, I don’t,” said Hawes, with a cold sneer.

“Then I shall show you.  Here are the printed rules of the prison; you have no authority over a prisoner but what these rules give you.  Now show me where they permit you to pillory a prisoner?”

“They don’t forbid it, that is enough.”

“No! it is not.  They don’t forbid you to hang him, or to sear him with a hot iron, but they tell you in this paragraph what punishments you may inflict, and that excludes all punishments of your own invention.  You may neither hang him nor burn him nor famish him nor crucify him, all these acts are equally illegal.  So take warning, all of you here—­you are all servants of the law—­don’t let me catch you assaulting a prisoner contrary to the law, or you shall smart to the uttermost.  Evans, I command you, in the name of the law, release that prisoner.”

Evans, thus appealed to, fidgeted and turned color, and his hands worked by his side.  “Your reverence!” cried he, in an imploring tone, and stayed where he was.  On this Mr. Eden made no more ado, but darted to Josephs’ side and began to unfasten him with nimble fingers.

Hawes stood dumfounded for a minute or two, then recovering himself he roared out: 

“Officers, do your duty!”

Fry and Hodges advanced upon Mr. Eden, but before they could get at him the huge body of Evans interposed itself.  The man was pale but doggedly resolved.

“Mustn’t lay a finger on his reverence,” said he, almost in a whisper, but between his clinched teeth and with the look of a bulldog over a bone.

“What, do you rebel against me, Evans?”

“No, sir,” answered Evans softening his tone, “but nobody must affront his reverence.  Look here, sir, his reverence knows a great deal more than I do, and he says this is against the law.  He showed you the Act, and you couldn’t answer him except by violence, which ain’t no answer at all.  Now I am the servant of the law, and I know better than go against the law.”