After a brief pause, the King turned to Sir Henry Bedingfeld, and ordered him to remove the prisoners to their dungeons. “To-morrow they will be privately interrogated,” he said, “after which their arraignment, condemnation, and execution will speedily follow. You will not have to wait long for your fees,” he added to Mauger. “I humbly thank your Majesty,” replied the headsman. On this, the conspirators were led off by the guard, and placed in different state prisons in the inner ward, a cell in the Flint Tower being assigned to Osbert Clinton. Shortly afterwards, the King rode back to Whitehall, attended by a mounted escort. As soon as tranquility was restored, Og returned to his bride, whom he had left in the care of Dame Trusbut, at the Stone Kitchen. A very substantial supper was in readiness for him, and to this he sat down with his brothers, Xit, Rodomont Bittern, Simnel, and Holiday, and, despite the previous occurrences, they made a right merry night of it. Next day, the treasure-chests, which had been left on the platform in Traitors’ Gate, were removed from the Tower, and safely deposited in the Exchequer. End of the Seventh Book. [Illustration] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration] BOOK VIII. CONSTANCE TYRRELL. CHAPTER I. OF THE IMPORTANT DISPATCH RECEIVED FROM THE EMPEROR BY PHILIP. About a month must now be allowed to elapse. During this time, the whole of the conspirators, with the exception of Osbert Clinton, had suffered death on Tower Hill. But though Osbert’s execution was thus delayed, no hope of pardon was held out to him. On the contrary, he was told by Sir Henry Bedingfeld, who visited him almost daily, that his sentence would infallibly be carried out, and that he ought to be prepared for a sudden summons to the scaffold. “I will give you notice when I am sent for by his Majesty,” he said. “That will be an intimation to you that the hour is at hand.”