" said Ned.

"Look at this classification, and these marks and badges," said Dick,
"why, isn't it scandalous the way the public are gulled? First there
were big leather badges, that would cost probably a thousand pounds at
all the prisons. Then these were done away with, and we had badges half
the size, and then, after a few weeks, these were replaced by bits of
cloth. I wonder what they mean by all these changes of dress? Do they
think it punishes us?"

"No doubt they do."

"What fools they must be; what do we care what we wear in prison, as
long as it isn't thin rags that won't keep out the cold. Oh, have you
read that article in one of the periodicals about the Andaman Islands?"

"No."

"Well, the bloke who writes it proposes to send convicts out there, and
keep them for life and compel them to marry prostitutes or female
convicts, and then when the 'kids' are grown to take them away from
them! The fool! why, all convicts haven't life sentences, and does he
think that they would remain out there and do as he liked after their
time was up? It isn't likely."

"Why, that would be worse than the slave trade," said Ned, "and
wouldn't there be a nice crop of murders there? Why, they would require
to get a factory specially for making hemp ropes to hang the culprits."

"Who is it that writes the article?" asked Pat.

"A government commissioner, but he does not give his name."

"Troth, and I should be ashamed to give it if I was he; I propose he
should be taken and compelled to marry a 'tail,'[22] and sent out to try
it himself first; why such men are not fit to live, and these are
Christians! those are the men who do unto others as they wish to be
done by, God help us!"

[22] Prostitute.

"Have you heard what the director did when he was down on Saturday?"
enquired Ned.

"A precious sight of good he does to be sure," replied Dick, "why he
has given orders that no prisoner is to be allowed to see him about the
food and the marks, and you must tell the chief warder what you want to
see the director about before you can be allowed to go before him.
Isn't that a pretty thing? What a nice easy way of earning a thousand a
year the director has?"

"What has caused this fresh order?"

"There were two causes--three of the convalescent invalids went to the
director to ask to be able-bodied in order to get the able-bodied diet.
They are doing as much work now, except that they are not quite so long
at it, but