There was no cheating in respect to the requisite quantity of oakum on these occasions.
The prisoner who had picked his full allowance was permitted to have the remainder of his time to himself for the rest of the day; but it was sharp work for the best of them to get through the four pounds of oakum.
Many now found it impossible to get through that quantity. Some could not do as much as two pounds, although they worked from morning till nine o’clock at night.
The old “lags,” who were well used to the work, were, in most cases, able to do their quantum.
About three or four days after his sentence, a warder entered Peace’s cell with another prisoner, to crop and shave him.
Peace knew this ceremony had to be gone through, and was, therefore, in no way surprised at the appearance of his new visitors.
He begged to be allowed to shave himself, but this request was refused; so he sat himself down, and submitted himself to the operator, who was a regular bungler.
He, however, managed to effect a clean scrape, after which Peace’s hair was clipped to about half an inch long. He had not much hair on his head at this time, but what there was had to be reduced to the regular length.
The person who performed the operation was very loquacious; most members of the hair-dressing fraternity usually are so, and Peace’s barber was confidential and communicative. He affected to commiserate with our hero, and deprecated in the strongest terms the severity of the sentence passed upon him.
He also told Peace that he (the barber) had done a “lagging” before, and that he was doing a six years’ “stretch” at the present time.