I was alternately bullied and cajoled.

Their attitude resolved itself into two propositions.

If I delivered up the dynamite, they would give me a nominal punishment of thirty days in the dungeon and then make me a trusty in the prison library.

If I persisted in my stubbornness and did not yield up the dynamite, then they would put me in solitary for the rest of my sentence.

In my case, being a life prisoner, this was tantamount to condemning me to solitary confinement for life.
Oh, no; California is civilized.