e against
him. He was accordingly carried off to Kirkwall, and there
committed to prison on the charge of having "wilfully, wickedly,
and with malice aforethought, murdered Colin Lothian by shooting
him with a gun."

The trial was awaited with much interest by the people of the
Mainland. No one doubted that the prisoner would be found guilty of
a capital offence. The only question that gave any one concern was
the nature of the punishment that his guilt would merit.

But several weeks before the date fixed for the trial an event
occurred which made all speculation superfluous. One morning the
rumour reached Stromness that Tom Kinlay and all the smugglers had
escaped from Kirkwall jail. At first this was generally
discredited, for the building in which the men were confined was a
notably strong one; but later reports confirmed the rumour. The
authorities had trusted more to the strength of the prison than to
the vigilance of the guard; and one dark night, by the aid of some
of their comrades outside and the treachery of one of the jailers,
the prisoners effected an easy escape. Dodging through the narrow
streets they went by various ways to the harbour, and there took
forcible possession of a small brig that was lying at anchor in the
bay. Before the alarm spread the vessel was far out at sea beyond
the possibility of pursuit. The escape was well planned, and as the
brig was fully provisioned, her destination could only be surmised.

It was commonly believed that the fugitives would return to their
old trade of smuggling, and, as the men's knowledge of navigation
was known to be extremely limited, it was not thought that they
would venture upon a voyage to very distant parts.

At this time I was away on a short trip in the Falcon. We touched
at the island of Rousay, and here we learnt that some smugglers in
a strange brig had, two days earlier, made a daring raid upon one
of the small villages, robbing the inhabitants of their most
precious possessions. We heard a similar story at Papa Westray. But
it was not until our return to Stromness that we associated these
piratical raids with Tom Kinlay and his companions.

A few weeks afterwards a Glasgow barque, named the Surprise, put in
at Stromness, and reported having, on passing one of the Outer
Hebrides, rendered assistance to a wrecked vessel, which, though
bearing another name, answered exactly to the description of the
stolen brig. Among the passengers on the Su