The gaoler put down his work, stood up straight in military fashion,
and said: "Sir, I beg to resign my post."

"What!" exclaimed the judge, "you wish to go?"

"I respectfully hand in my resignation." He stood up straight as a
dart. "Do you know, I've got accustomed to most things here in
six-and-twenty years, I've seen seventeen hanged--just seventeen, sir.
There ought to have been twenty-four, but seven were granted
imprisonment for life. They're still undergoing that mercy. Do you
know, sir, it's a miserable calling! But as to that Ferleitner, I
never afore saw anything like him. What has he done, I ask you? He's
done nothing. You see we've had quite different gallows-birds here. A
speculator who had ruined six families and driven the seventh to
suicide--eight months. A student with two duel murders on his
conscience--six months. But he is there now--because he's done
nothing, it seems to me. Well, the long and the short of it is, it
horrifies me."

"Always the same in temper and disposition, you old bear! God keep
you!" And then a kindly tap on the shoulder. The attempt at
resignation was again met with a refusal. The judge formally put it
aside. But the old man growled on for a long time. "Old bear! old
bear! That's his whole stock of wit every time, I'll show him the old
bear. Good God! that's how things are with us!" He whistled and made
a harsh noise with his bunch of keys so that the prisoners could make
their preparations before he performed his duty of looking through the
spyhole to see how his charges were spending their time. Then he went
and procured a big bottle of ink and a packet of foolscap paper for
Number 19.