About seven o'clock
He upset some one -- probably Mr. Bird , -- who was rushing up stairs , alarmed by Mr. Wood 's cries : but , regardless of this , he darted along a passage , gained the shop , and passed through an open door into the street . And thus he was once more free , having effected one of the most wonderful escapes ever planned or accomplished . Fast and Loose . About seven o'clock on the same night , Jonathan Wild 's two janizaries , who had been for some time in attendance in the hall of his dwelling at the Old Bailey , were summoned to the audience-chamber . A long and secret conference then took place between the thief-taker and his myrmidons , after which they were severally dismissed . Left alone , Jonathan lighted a lamp , and , opening the trap-door , descended the secret stairs . Taking the opposite course from that which he had hitherto pursued when it has been necessary to attend him in his visits to the lower part of his premises , he struck into a narrow passage on the right , which he tracked till he came to a small door , like the approach to a vault .