rators as hardened, brutal criminals, lost to all
sense of humanity, tigers in human shape; and when you came to arrest
them--if by good luck you did so--you would find yourself quite
mistaken. One, perhaps, or two of the ringleaders might be such as I
have described, but the others would be far different. They would be
boys or young men led away by the idea of a frolic, allured by the
romance of being a free-lance for a night, very sorry now, and ready to
confess and do all in their power to atone for their misdeeds.

Nothing, I think, was more striking than the universal confession of
criminals on their arrest. Even now, despite the spread of lawyers and
notions of law, in country districts accused men always confess,
sometimes even they surrender themselves. I have known many such cases.
Here is one that happened to myself only the other day.

A man was arrested in another jurisdiction for cattle theft; he was
tried there and sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. Shortly
afterwards it was discovered that he was suspected of being concerned in
a robbery in my jurisdiction, committed before his arrest. He was
therefore transferred to the gaol near my court, and I inquired into the
case, and committed him and four others for trial before the sessions
judge for the robbery, which he admitted.

Now, it so happened that immediately after I had passed orders in the
case I went out into camp, leaving the necessary warrants to be signed
in my absence by my junior magistrate, and a mistake occurred by which
the committal-warrant was only made out for the four. The other man
being already under sentence for two years, it was not considered
necessary to make out a remand-warrant for him. But, as it happened, he
had appealed from his former sentence and he was acquitted, so a warrant
of release arrived at the gaol, and, in absence of any other warrant, he
was at once released.

Of course, on the mistake being discovered a fresh warrant was issued,
and mounted police were sent over the country in search of him, without
avail; he could not be found. But some four days afterwards, in the late
afternoon, as I was sitting in my house, just returned from court, my
servant told me a man wanted to see me. He was shown up into the
veranda, and, lo! it was the very man I wanted. He had heard, he
explained, that I wanted him, and had come to see me. I reminded him he
was committed to stand his trial for dacoity, that was why I w