He had attempted, by means of one of his puppets, to fasten on Charles and James the crime of murdering Essex in the Tower.

On this occasion the agency of Speke had been traced and, though he succeeded in throwing the greater part of the blame on his dupe, he had not escaped with impunity.
He was now a prisoner; but his fortune enabled him to live with comfort; and he was under so little restraint that he was able to keep up regular communication with one of his confederates who managed a secret press.
Johnson was the very man for Speke's purposes, zealous and intrepid, a scholar and a practised controversialist, yet as simple as a child.

A close intimacy sprang up between the two fellow prisoners.

Johnson wrote a succession of bitter and vehement treatises which Speke conveyed to the printer.

When the camp was formed at Hounslow, Speke urged Johnson to compose an address which might excite the troops to mutiny.