the nights were
not fine there was nobody to see whether he walked his beat or not.
Probably, he faithfully fulfilled his obligations; but his constitution
seemed to bear exposure to the weather wonderfully well. Whether he ever
saw anything worth mentioning upon those lonely walks of his, is
uncertain; at all events he never mentioned anything he saw, unless it
was in the secrecy of the reports he was supposed to transmit from time
to time to his superiors.

On the present occasion as he entered the study, the squire observed with
surprise that he looked grave. He had never witnessed such a phenomenon
before and argued that it was just possible that something of real
importance might have occurred.

"Good morning, sir," said Mr. Gall, approaching the squire respectfully,
after carefully closing the door behind him.

"Good morning, Gall. Nothing wrong, I hope?"

"Not yet, sir. I hope not, sir. Only a little matter of business, Mr.
Juxon. In point of fact, sir, I wished to consult you."

"Yes," said the squire who was used to the constable's method of
circumlocution. "Yes--what is it?"

"Well, sir--it's this," said the policeman, running his thumb round the
inside of his belt as though to test the pressure, and clearing his
throat. "There has been a general order sent down to be on the lookout,
sir. So I thought it would be best to take your opinion."

"My opinion," said the squire with great gravity, "is that if you are
directed to be on the look-out, you should be on the look-out; by all
means. What are you to be on the look-out for?"

"In point of fact, sir," said the constable, lowering his voice, "we are
informed that a criminal has escaped from Portland. I never heard of a
convict getting out of that strong'old o' the law, sir, and I would like
to have your opinion upon it."

"But if you are informed that some one has escaped," remarked the squire,
"you had better take it for granted that it is true."

"Juss so, sir. But the circumstances wasn't communicated to us, sir; so
we don't know."

Mr. Gall paused, and the squire smoothed his hair a little.

"Well, Gall," said Mr. Juxon, "have you any reason for believing that
this escaped convict is likely to come this way?"

"Well sir, there is some evidence," answered the policeman, mysteriously.
"Leastways what seems like evidence to me, sir."

"Of what kind?" the squire fixed his quiet eyes on Mr. Gall's face.

"His name, sir. The name of the convict