find him in the west or
north than we are of laying hands on him here. We will send descriptions
all over the country, and as soon as I hear of a series of crimes
anywhere, I will send off two of my best men to help the local
constables."

On his return home Mark told his father what he had done.

"I thought that I could not have been mistaken, Mark; we have got that
rascal on our hands again. I hope now that they have got a description
of him to go by, they will not be long before they catch him; but
the way he escaped after being badly wounded shows that he is full of
resources, and he may give them some trouble yet, if I am not mistaken.
At any rate, I will have a talk with the Reigate constable, and tell him
that there is very little doubt that the man who attacked us was Arthur
Bastow, who has, as we have heard, escaped from Botany Bay, and that he
had best tell his men to keep a sharp lookout for him, for that, owing
to his animosity against us for his former capture and conviction, it
is likely enough that sooner or later he will be in this neighborhood
again. After his determined attempt at my life when pretending to rob
us, I shall certainly not feel comfortable until I know that he is under
lock and key."

"I wish, Guardy, you would give up this magistrate's business,"
Millicent said at dinner. "I am sure that it is worrying you, and I
can't see why you should go on with it."

"It does not worry me, as a rule, Millicent; indeed, I like the duty.
Besides, every landowner of standing ought to take his share in public
work. There are only two of the magistrates younger than I am, and
whatever you may think of me, I feel myself capable of doing what work
there is to do. When Mark gets a few years older I shall resign, and let
him take my place on the bench. I own, though, that I should be glad if
these highway robberies could be suppressed. Poaching and the ordinary
offenses of drunkenness and assaults are disposed of without any
trouble; but this stopping of the coaches, accompanied occasionally by
the shooting of the coachman or guard, gives a great deal of trouble,
and the worst of it is that we are practically powerless to put such
crimes down. Nothing short of patrolling the roads in parties of three
or four between sunset and sunrise would put a stop to them, and the
funds at our disposal would not support such an expenditure."

"It is a pity that you cannot get up a corps like the yeomanry, and call
i