Page:Singular life, adventures, and depredations of David Haggart, the murderer.pdf/9

9 in 1818. They were intending to leave Dumfries that night, but Barney was taken up. Haggart started for Carlisle next mornling, but was overtaken and carried back to Dumfries. Captain Ross arrived in a few days and carried him back to Leith jail.

Barney was transported for fourteen years. Haggart was tried at Edinburgh on the 12th of July, but got off; he was then sent to Dumfries, to stand trial at the circuit there for housebreaking: his trial did not go on, and he was sent back to jail—Here he got acquainted with a lad, John Dunbar, who was under sentence of transportation. He also got acquainted with some people belonging to the town, who seemed willing to do him a favour: so Haggart made the plan of four keys, and a person was to get them made for him, there being four doors betwixt his cell and the street. Having thus, as he thought, secured his liberty, he was too easily led into another scheme with Dunbar. Haggart thought himself certain of his own liberty, but he thought it would be a grand thing to clear the jail of all the prisoners. Laurie, another prisoner, proposed getting a stone, and tying it in a napkin, and some morning to knock down Hunter, the head jailor, and take the keys from him. Haggart was not fond of using the stone, as he did not want to hurt the jailor; and he