Having thus escaped the writ of arrest, Ouvrard, after a few days had passed over, reappeared, and surrendered himself prisoner.

The writ of arrest, drifting loose in the conflict, comes to my feet; I impale the scrap of paper, and read--but can it be?

"I have a writ of arrest signed by the queen herself, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 343 and I am empowered to add the name of any who would impede the execution of the queen's justice.

They were disappointed because the formidable writ of arrest, with symbolic flame-etched runes on a scroll of human skin, was now useless and because there seemed to be no early prospect of trying out the ingenious agonies, the intricately harrowing ordeals which they had devised for Eibon with such care.

In police jargon, these writs are sometimes referred to as a writ of capias, defined as orders to "take" a person or assets.