A few minutes before eight o'clock
And while he lay groaning in the streets , they left one of their number in charge , while the others proceeded to get handcuffs and chains , in which they bound him , and dragged him , as it were , the distance of four squares to the guard-house . What a sublime picture for the meditations of a people who boast of their bravery and generosity ! SHORTLY after daylight , Tommy fell into a dozing sleep , from which he was awakened by the mustering of the prisoners who had been brought up during the night , and were to appear before the mayor at nine o'clock . A few minutes before eight o'clock , an officer opened the cell-door , and they were ordered to march out into a long room . In this room they found all the prisoners gathered . There were three blacks and five whites , who had been arrested on different charges ; and as the mayor 's court was merely a tribunal of commitment-not judgment-if the charges upon which the prisoners were brought up were sustained-which they generally were , because the policeman who made the arrest was the important witness , they were committed to await the tardy process of the law . Considerable uneasiness had been felt on board of the Janson for Tommy , and the Captain suggested that he might have got astray among the dark lanes of the city , and that the mate had better send some of the crew to look for him .