Wanted Man by Tamsin Spargo

Author:Tamsin Spargo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2009-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Lunatics on a Rampage

IN APRIL 1895 Perry took everyone by surprise once more. In the eighteen months since his transfer from Auburn he had been regularly treated for unruly behaviour but his overall condition seemed to improve. Amelia Haswell had welcomed the chance to visit him in the more conveniently located institution but was often told he was too ill to see her. When she did get to see him, he complained about his cell in the isolation ward, the behaviour of the keepers and doctors, and of being prevented from taking any exercise in the fresh air. Amelia complained to Dr Allison, but Perry decided to take more direct action.

Just after 11 o'clock on the night of 10 April a watchman on his usual round walked towards the isolation ward. Checking here was really a formality. The isolation ward was a prison within a prison, designed to prevent escapes. So its outer walls had a lining of sheet-iron between two layers of brick, its windows were secured by iron bars and galvanized wire shutters, and the ceilings had even been secured with stone flagging. The cells had been constructed just as carefully. The doors were made of two-inch-thick oak and each had two locks, specially designed so that they could only be turned from the outside. As a final security measure, the keepers who held the keys were bound by the strictest orders never to take them outside the prison. Any man who did so was risking instant dismissal.

The watchman walked briskly along the corridor to the only door into the isolation ward. On either side, just before the door, were rooms used by the ward attendants. As he passed by, both were quiet, as he expected. At this time of night most of the prison attendants were asleep. He unlocked the door, entered the ward and was about to start checking the cell doors when he heard someone calling him from a cell at the far end. It was Perry. The train robber, who was housed in one of six cells that stood at a right angle to those along the length of the ward, was a demanding patient. Only the day before he had complained about being disturbed by noise from workmen in the nearby chapel and had asked when he could expect some peace. He was told the work would finish in a couple of days.

'What's the matter in there?' called the watchman. Perry asked for water. As the watchman started to turn away, three men pounced. One grabbed his keys while the others held him down. Before he could cry out, someone placed a hand over his mouth. He was bundled into Perry's cell, then tied to the bed-frame with strips of torn sheet. One of the men stuffed his mouth with rags and his attackers rushed out of the cell.

While he struggled in Perry's cell, its former occupant, together with the watchman's other assailants, Patrick Maguire and John Quigley, and two other men,

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