hey failed to run him down, they were all to meet at
a little railway-station about two miles away, from which they would go
back to Bardon by rail. They were already a good eight miles from
home, for they had marched right across to an unknown part of the heath
to carry out their manoeuvres.

At one point, where Mr. Elliott's track seemed to have vanished into
the very earth, Dick took a long cast away to the right by himself. As
he moved slowly forward he heard a rustle of bushes, and looked up and
saw Chippy trotting to join him.

'He's done us one this time!' said Chippy, grinning; 'I'm blest if I
can 'it the trail anywheer!'

'It's jolly hard to find any sign,' answered Dick; 'but he told us it
was to be a stiff thing, and if we can't get hold of it we shall have
to head for the station, that's all. But we'll have a good go at it.
What about a cast round by that rabbit warren over there? The ground's
half covered with soft soil the rabbits have thrown out of their holes.
If he's gone that way the irons will leave a dead certain track.'

'Righto!' murmured the Raven leader, and they trotted across to the
rabbit warren and began to search the heaps of sandy soil.

They were working along the foot of a bank with faces bent to the
earth, when suddenly they were startled by a voice hailing them a few
yards away.

'Hallo, there!' called someone.

The boys glanced up, and at once straightened themselves and came to
the salute. A tall man in khaki and putties stood on the top of the
bank looking at them, a revolver in the holster strapped at his side.

'And who may you be, and what do you want here?' he asked pleasantly,
and returned the salute.

'We're Boy Scouts,' replied Dick, 'and our patrols are out for a big
scouting-run over the heath.'

'Ah, yes! Boy Scouts--I've heard of you,' said the big man, still
smiling at them. 'Well, I'm in the same line myself. But you can't
come any further this way, mateys. You'll have to scout back, if you
don't mind.'

'Why must we do that, sergeant?' asked Dick, who had noted the chevrons
on the big man's sleeve, and understood them.

'Well,' said the good-natured soldier, 'it's like this: We've got a lot
of big, bad convicts at work over there,' and he jerked his head behind
him, 'and we keep 'em strictly to themselves, you see. They're bad
company for anybody but the men as looks after 'em, so we keep this
corner of the country clear of other people.'

'At