Charles had been entirely prepared for it. He had visited the fair to get an impression of the kind of town his workhouse was situated in and the background of its inmates. He had been told there was a great deal of crime in town because the constable was inefficient, and so he had been on the look out for any trouble makers - potential inmates.

He looked at the young man before him. At a first glance, Charles thought he was a teenager, but then he realized he was older, just short and skinny. "Relieving folk of their hard-earned money, are you?" he said in the thundering voice he had used to scold his men back in the Navy. He did not relinquish his grip, but he kept an eye on the man's other hand, just in case the thug carried a knife. "What's your name?"