“He did not seem pleased at this information, and was about to tell me something more, when his wife again put the drag on, and kept it on all the time I was in the room.
“‘You were working with Mr. Thompson on a patent for raising sunken ships—were you not?’
“‘I must decline to answer any questions about that.’
“‘Well, but that is a matter about which there is nothing to be gained by reticence. In fact, I know you have got that model in your house now, and that it is enclosed in a box like a plate-chest. I should really, as a mere matter of curiosity, like to have a look at it.’
“It was no use. He entrenched himself behind his spectacles, the wife assisted him to hold the fort of his lips, and nothing further could I obtain from him.
No. 81.
PEACE AT HIS PRISON TOILET AFTER HIS LIFE SENTENCE.
“If it had not been for that excellent lady, I think ‘Mr. B——’ would have been induced to tell something which has not yet been made public, though he was evidently very anxious not to say anything which could in anyway connect him any further with the ‘Thompsons.’
“As I was leaving I tried a parting shot.