Soapy's mind became cognisant of the fact that the time had come for him to resolve himself into a singular Committee of Ways and Means to provide against the coming rigour.And therefore he moved uneasily on his bench.
The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest.In them were no considerations of Mediterranean cruises,of soporific Southern skies or drifting in the Vesuvian Bay.Three months on the Island was what his soul craved.Three months of assured board and bed and congenial company,safe from Boreas and bluecoats,seemed to Soapy the essence of things desirable.