riously in London, on
the fruits of his professional industry and skill. Till now he had
escaped all punishment, with the exception of a few months'
imprisonment, for a "mistake" committed at the outset of his
professional career. In answer to my enquiries as to his case, he
volunteered the following information:--

"A few weeks ago, one of my 'pals' (companions) showed me the
advertisement of a Scottish jeweller, wherein he boasted of his safe
having successfully resisted the recent efforts of a gang of burglars.
I said to my pal, 'Get Bob, and let us go down to-morrow by the mail
train to Scotland, and we will see what this man's safe is like.' We
all three came down here a few weeks ago, inspected the jeweller's
premises, and decided on doing the job through an ironmonger's shop at
the back. We had got the contents of the ironmonger's till, and were
just through the intervening back wall, when the 'copper'[4] heard us,
and signalled for another 'bobby'[4] to come and help him. Out I
sprang, and had a fight with the policeman, and got knocked down
insensible. My pal bolted and got off; Bob and I got 'copt,'[6] and as
we had first-class tools on us, new to the authorities here, they have
given it us rather hot."

[4] Policeman.

[5] Caught.

"Do you think you could have opened the safe? I understand those patent
locks are very difficult to pick," I remarked.

"Oh!" said he, "I would not waste time trying to pick the lock. Drill a
hole and get in the 'jack,' and I can bring power to bear on it
sufficient to open any safe. The great thing is to be able to get the
_time_, the work I can easily do; then Bob, my pal, is one of the
best blacksmiths in England, and as true as steel. I always take him
with me in a job of that sort."

It so happened that I had a very good opportunity of proving that the
burglar's high opinion of his "pal's" ability was not without
foundation. On our removal to England, the "cracksman," was leg-ironed
to me as an additional security against his making his escape. There
were five couples besides ours, and after we arrived at our
destination, and whilst the prison blacksmith was engaged hammering and
punching off my irons, Bob, with a smile of contempt at his efforts,
took up some tools that lay beside him and liberated the other five
couples before the blacksmith had freed me and my clever companion.

The chief incident which occurred during my imprisonment in Scotland,
was