Chapter 34 Summary

Paddy and the narrator go to the Cromley spike for their next night's lodging. At the Cromley spike they hear lots of ghost stories about the spike. One story tells of a tramp who committed suicide in one of the cells. Another tells of a Scottish robber who was sentenced to death but then made off for America.

Paddy thinks it would be wise to bury their five pence so as to avoid imprisonment if they're caught with money in the spike. The narrator says that it's not uncommon for tramps to bury their money, because if they take money into the spike, it will probably get stolen, if not confiscated.

Chapter 34 Analysis

Burying their money symbolizes the tramps' outcast status in society. They aren't permitted to use their money in the same ways as other people. They don't have bank accounts and...