Whatever might be one’s feelings towards these men, there was no denying they were a fine type--active, young, for the most part in splendid physical condition, and most romantically dressed. I kept on dozing and coming to again, coming to and dozing, for I would suddenly be aware of everything--of the room full of miscellaneous and dreary things, of the sandbagged window with the Lewis gun in position, of the men nodding on their arms, of the two young prisoners rolled up in one blanket, of O’Grady dreaming of Mrs. Slaney’s basement, and of the kindly fire next door to me leaping up the chimney--and then all would pass away again. About breakfast time everybody awakened. I sat up blinking with my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, O’Grady felt himself all over and put on his boots, the youthful prisoners came to, and the Auxiliaries emerged from their baths and stayed out. Breakfast came in--ham and eggs in a pile, and pyramids of bread. These encouraging things began to disappear down the throats of the Auxiliaries; but half-way through the feast somebody heartened us a little by announcing we would get something later on. And in time we found ourselves sitting down to ham and immense wedges of bread and butter. While we ate somebody cleaned the Lewis gun, pointing the muzzle at the pit of my stomach. The last wedge of ham was eaten, and that was the end of whatever good time O’Grady and I had at the Castle. We were still looking at our empty plates when an escort turned up, and O’Grady and I began a new journey, down winding passages where the plaster was peeling off walls and roof. We seemed to be going on and on into the bowels of the Castle; but at last came round a sudden corner into a small chamber given over to a military guard. The soldiers looked at us resentfully, as if they thought us a disturbing influence; but the sergeant of the guard came forward, shuffled some dreary papers, produced a bad pen, which he straightened upon the wooden table, found some worse ink, and proceeded to give a receipt for us. After that transaction I gathered we no longer belonged to the police; but our new possessors seemed to distrust their possessions until we had proved beyond a doubt that we were our fathers’ sons. This I found a more difficult thing to do than it sounds, and it took several sheets of official paper. These papers were slapped on top of a pile of others, and we were told to go through an ancient wooden door, past a sentry with fixed bayonet. Through the door we went into the most dismal place I have seen in my life. Verily we had fallen from the frying-pan into the fire.