The “outing,” as some of the prisoners termed their journey from one prison to another, was now nearly over.
When the train came to the end of its journey, omnibuses were found waiting at the station, to take the convicts to Princetown, on Dartmoor, where the gaol is situated.
To say the truth, the men had behaved very well, all things considered. They had not given their janitors much trouble, and much to their credit, be it said, they had not made use of any objectionable language. Slang words they could not help introducing in their discourse, as they form part of their vocabulary.
They at once entered the omnibuses, which were driven at a moderate pace, for the road and hills necessitated a slow mode of progression.
Peace, who had chummed up with the cracksman, sat next to him as heretofore, for the men were permitted to take their places according to their own fancy, and there were distinct little coteries inside the prison the same as in the outside world.
As soon as they had got a few miles out of the town they were told to alight and walk up the steep hills—to say the truth, the journey was mostly up hill.
Princetown chiefly consists of the barracks and houses of those connected with the prison; in addition to these there are a few shops kept by tradesmen who supply them. It is rude and rugged in character, and possesses but few attractions, if any. It is true some portion of the land is under cultivation—the remaining parts of the place is composed of granite, gorse, heather, and bog.
It was while walking up one of the hills that Peace and his companions beheld for the first time, at a distance, their new prison-house. As they came upon the piquets of the Civil Guard (uncivil would be the better term), armed with their rifles and bayonets, they were impressed with the rigid discipline carried on at the place.
Upon reaching the prison, a gloomy, cheerless, heavy-looking granite building or series of buildings, surrounded by a high wall, Peace’s heart seemed to sink within him. He turned to the “cracksman” and said—
“This is a God-forgotten place.”