SHOWING WHO WAS CONCEALED IN THE JEWEL HOUSE.

After accompanying Magog along the outer ward to the entrance of Saint Thomas’s Tower, where he left him, Lovel passed under the gloomy archway of the Bloody Tower, and, ascending the hill, made his way to the Jewel House.

Arrived there, he did not proceed to that part of the building which we last visited, but sought his private chamber, and having entered it, and bolted the door inside, he tapped at the door of a small inner room, and called out “You may come forth, Sir.”

The summons was promptly obeyed by a young man, who stepping quickly towards him, said, “You have been long absent, Lovel. What news do you bring?”

“Excellent news, good Master Osbert Clinton,” replied the other. “If all goes well, you will have the treasure to-night. It will delight you to hear that the coffers have been transported by the gigantic warders to Traitor’s Gate, and are now lying there, ready for you and your friends to take them away. So far all has gone well—far better than could have been expected—and I hope the rest will turn out equally prosperously. Indeed, it can scarcely fail to do so, unless from ill management.”

“What course do you advise us to pursue, Lovel?” demanded Osbert.

“First of all, there must be no delay in the execution of 383the project,” replied the other. “The business must be done to-night. A boat capable of containing the chests must be brought to Traitors’ Gate. I shall be in Saint Thomas’s Tower, and after going through the usual formalities, will cause the great wooden gate to be opened. If no untoward circumstance occurs, the coffers can thus be readily carried off and conveyed to a place of safety.”

“Once out of Traitors’ Gate, all the rest will be easy,” said Osbert. “Your plan promises well, good Lovel, and I trust nothing will occur to mar it. Possessed of this gold, we shall be able to carry into immediate effect our grand enterprise. It may be wrong to seize this treasure, but neither I nor my associates have any scruples on the subject. We know that this gold is intended to be employed to bribe our nobles to enslave the country, and we consider it lawful plunder, of which we may rightfully possess ourselves by force or stratagem.&r............