"I am innocent," asseverated Jack.
"The stolen property was found on you. It is a clear case. An angel could not save you."
"But I assure you, my friend, that I am innocent. It is a base conspiracy of which I am the victim."
"Eat and dress!" said the jailer, harshly. "In half an hour I shall come and fix the chain on you."
With these words he banged to the door with a hollow, sepulchral sound, which to Jack sounded like the knell of doom.
He recognized the fact that he was indeed a slave.
"Well," he muttered, "I must admit it was cleverly done; to repine is useless. I will make the best of the situation. Harvey, if not mortally wounded, will come after me. Thanks to what Elise said, my friends know where I am."
He deliberately ate his breakfast, and then attired himself in the hideous yellow suit of a convict sent to the mines.
In the present there was no hope.
It was to the future that he had to look for comfort, assistance and freedom.