“Don’t you dare to insult me, you nasty ugly little villain,” exclaimed Mrs. Pocklington, rising from her seat and shaking her umbrella menacingly at the speaker. “Hush! Silence! Order in court!” cried the usher. “Sit down, madam, if you please,” said one of the magistrates. The old lady did as she was bid, but she kept rocking herself to and fro, muttering the while to herself inarticulate sentences. Peace was removed, and found himself once more in his cell, in company with the ill-used Mr. Green. Another prisoner was brought in――he was charged with horse stealing. CHAPTER XVII. THIEVES IN THE LOCK UP――A HORSE-STEALER TELLS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE. There were an unusual number of charges to be heard at the court on the day in which Peace was examined. A gang of poachers were charged with an attempt to murder a gamekeeper in the neighbourhood. The prisoners who had been committed were therefore removed from the cells to make room for the fresh arrivals. Peace, Mr. Green, and five others were conveyed to a lock-up which was situated at about two miles distant from the court. They were to remain there till the prison van returned to take them to the county gaol. The lock-up in question has long since undergone demolition, and indeed at the time of which we are writing it was only occasionally used as a temporary and supplementary prison-house for offenders. It was part of a large building originally erected as a receptacle for fraudulent debtors. Peace and his companions were safely deposited in the prison van which conveyed them to what was in reality only a wing of the substantial-looking building. They were conducted into a large lofty stone-room, with windows near to the ceiling, much after the fashion of Millbank prison. In front of these were strong iron bars. A long massive table stood in the centre of the cheerless apartment, and around this were arranged a number of chairs. A cheerful fire was burning in the grate, and in front of this ran some strong iron bars as high as a man’s chest. These were supported and braced by iron uprights. When Peace and his fellow-prisoners entered this place they found several other offenders already assembled therein. The massive door, studded with iron nails, was slammed to and looked from the outside. “What do they mean by bringing us to a crib like this when we are committed to the county gaol?” said Mr. Green, in a tone of disgust. “I shall enter an action agen them for unlawful detention.” “You are particular,” cried a man seated at the corner of the fireplace. “You’ll be taken to the gaol soon enough, but it won’t be till after the rising of the court.” “You seem to know all about it,” returned Mr. Green. “Thank you for the information.” The batch of prisoners who had but just arrived now possessed themselves of the requisite number of chairs, and arranged themselves in a group apart from the others. There was a dead silence for some time after this.