Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/472

 458 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 56. p Herle suggested that if lie could be allowed to leave the prison, Baily might trust him with a verbal mes- sage ; he would ' then enter into more familiarity with the Bishop/ and might learn much. 1 Before this could be done however the keeper of the Marshalsea would have to be admitted into confidence, and that could not be thought of. The best hope was that Baily might be brought to use Herle as his secretary, and trust him with the ciphers, or that Herle might other- wise catch him with some skilful question. The doors of the sleeping cells in the prison were left occasionally unlocked. One night, in the small hours, the spy stole out of his bed and crept to Baily 's side. He woke him, and whispered that he had a letter for him from the Bishop of Ross, which he had concealed and could not find till daylight ; but the Bishop, he said, wanted meanwhile to know whether the council had examined him about the books which he had brought over, or if they had questioned him about his dealings with the refugees. The two points were ill selected, for Baily, in the ciphered letters, had given the Bishop full inform- ation on both of them. Herle heard his teeth chatter in the dark, and felt the bed tremble. < What ! ' he said, 'had not my Lord his letters, then, wherein I answered Yes ? ' He felt that he was betrayed, and not a word more could be extracted out of him, only cold answers, and assertions that he knew nothing of refugees. 2 The next morning, the forlorn creature 1 Herle to Cecil, April 22 : Cotton. MSS. CALIG. iii. a Herle to Burghley, April 24.