at Kingston. I
have already sent down men to make inquiries at every village in the
district between Reigate and Kingston, and I trust that we shall lay
hands on him, especially now we have got an accurate description of him,
while before we were working in the dark in that respect."

"What is the description, sir? My father is much interested on that
point, for, as I believe I told you, he has a strong suspicion that
the fellow is the man who was transported more than eight years ago to
Australia, and who made his escape from the prison there."

"Yes, I know. At first it appeared to me very improbable, but I am bound
to say the description tallies very closely with that given of him. The
surgeon took him to be nearly thirty; but after what he has gone through
he may well look three or four years older than he is. He had light
hair, rather small gray eyes, and a face that would have been good
looking had it not been for its supercilious and sneering expression."

"I can remember him," Mark said; "and that answers very closely to him.
I should say that it is certainly Bastow, and my father made no mistake
when he asserted that he recognized his voice."

The officer added a note to the description in his register: "Strongly
suspected of being Arthur Bastow, transported for connivance with
highwaymen; was leader of a mutiny in convict jail of Sydney two years
and a half ago. Made his escape."

"There is no doubt," he went on, "that he is a desperate character. No
doubt he is the man who has been concerned in most of these robberies in
the southern suburbs. We must get hold of him if we can, and once we
do so there will be an end of his travels, for the mutiny in prison and
escape is a hanging business, putting aside the affairs since he
got back. Well, sir, I hope he will give you and your father no more
trouble."

"I am sure I hope so," Mark said. "I suppose that the fellow who was
shot was one of the men who escaped with him from the convict prison."

"That is likely enough. Two would get home as easily as one, and the
fact that they were both strangers here would account for the difficulty
our men have had in their search for him. You see, we have had nothing
whatever to go on. You must not be too sanguine about our catching the
man in a short time: he is evidently a clever fellow, and I think it
likely that once he got back he lost no time in getting away from this
part of the country, and we are more likely to