Editing Jack Sheppard (section)

=== Fourth arrest and final escape ===
[[File:Jack Sheppard.gif|thumb|right|Jack Sheppard in [[Newgate Prison]] before his fourth escape, from the frontispiece of the "Narrative" of his life, published by John Applebee in 1724. The label "A" marks the hole he made in the chimney during his escape.]]

By this time, Sheppard was a hero to a segment of the population, being a [[cockney]], non-violent, handsome and seemingly able to escape punishment for his crimes at will. He spent a few days out of London, visiting a friend's family in [[Chipping Warden]] in [[Northamptonshire]], but was soon back in town.<ref name="moore207">Moore, p.207.</ref> He evaded capture by Wild and his men but was arrested again on 9 September by a posse from Newgate as he hid on [[Finchley Common]],<ref name="moore208">Moore, p.208.</ref> and returned to the condemned cell at Newgate. His fame had increased with each escape, and he was visited in prison by various people. His plans to escape during September were thwarted twice when the guards found files and other tools in his cell, and he was transferred to a strong-room in Newgate known as the "Castle", put in [[leg irons]], and chained to two metal staples in the floor to prevent further escape attempts.<ref>Norton, ''The Daily Journal'' for Thursday 17 September 1724.</ref> After demonstrating to his gaolers that these measures were insufficient, by showing them how he could use a small nail to unlock the horse padlock at will, he was bound more tightly and [[handcuffs|handcuffed]]. In his ''History'', Defoe reports that Sheppard made light of his predicament, joking that "I am the Sheppard, and all the Gaolers in the Town are my Flock, and I cannot stir into the Country, but they are all at my Heels ''Baughing'' after me".<ref name="gutenberg"/>

Meanwhile, "Blueskin" Blake was arrested by Wild and his men on Friday 9 October, and Tom, Jack's brother, was [[penal transportation|transported]] for robbery on Saturday 10 October 1724.<ref name="moore158">Moore, p.158.</ref> New court sessions began on Wednesday 14 October, and Blueskin was tried on Thursday 15 October, with Field and Wild again giving evidence. Their accounts were not consistent with the evidence that they gave at Sheppard's trial, but Blueskin was convicted anyway. Enraged, Blueskin attacked Wild in the courtroom, slashing his throat with a pocket-knife and causing an uproar.<ref name="moore159">Moore, p.159.</ref> Wild was lucky to survive, and his control of his criminal gang was weakened while he recuperated.
 
Taking advantage of the disturbance, which spread to Newgate Prison next door and continued into the night, Sheppard escaped for the fourth time. He unlocked his handcuffs and removed the chains. Still encumbered by his leg irons, he attempted to climb up the chimney, but his path was blocked by an iron bar set into the brickwork. He removed the bar and used it to break through the ceiling into the "Red Room" above the "Castle", a room which had last been used some seven years before to confine aristocratic [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] prisoners after the [[Battle of Preston (1715)|Battle of Preston]]. Still wearing his leg irons as night began, he then broke through six barred doors into the prison chapel, then to the roof of Newgate, {{convert|60|ft|m}} above the ground. He went back down to his cell to get a blanket, then back to the roof of the prison, and used the blanket to reach the roof of an adjacent house, owned by William Bird, a turner. He broke into Bird's house, and went down the stairs and out into the street at around midnight without disturbing the occupants. Escaping through the streets to the north and west, Sheppard hid in a cowshed in "Tottenham" (near modern [[Tottenham Court Road]]). Spotted by the barn's owner, Sheppard told him that he had escaped from [[Bridewell Prison]], having been imprisoned there for failing to provide for a (nonexistent) bastard son. His leg irons remained in place for several days until he persuaded a passing shoemaker to accept the considerable sum of 20 [[shilling]]s to bring a blacksmith's tools and help him remove them, telling him the same tale.<ref name="moore162">Moore, p.162.</ref> His manacles and leg irons were later recovered in the rooms of Kate Cook, one of Sheppard's mistresses. This escape astonished everyone. [[Daniel Defoe]], working as a [[journalist]], wrote an account for John Applebee, ''The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard''. In his ''History'', Defoe reports the belief in Newgate that the Devil came in person to assist Sheppard's escape.<ref name="gutenberg"/>