ch pleased them. Maurice
penetrated everywhere, questioned the prisoners, jested with the
gaolers, even, in the munificence of his heart, bestowed tobacco on the
sick.

With such graceful rattlings of dry bones, they got by and by to Point
Puer, where a luncheon had been provided.

An unlucky accident had occurred at Point Puer that morning, however,
and the place was in a suppressed ferment. A refractory little thief
named Peter Brown, aged twelve years, had jumped off the high rock and
drowned himself in full view of the constables. These "jumpings off" had
become rather frequent lately, and Burgess was enraged at one happening
on this particular day. If he could by any possibility have brought the
corpse of poor little Peter Brown to life again, he would have soundly
whipped it for its impertinence.

"It is most unfortunate," he said to Frere, as they stood in the cell
where the little body was laid, "that it should have happened to-day."

"Oh," says Frere, frowning down upon the young face that seemed to smile
up at him. "It can't be helped. I know those young devils. They'd do it
out of spite. What sort of a character had he?"

"Very bad--Johnson, the book."

Johnson bringing it, the two saw Peter Brown's iniquities set down
in the neatest of running hand, and the record of his punishments
ornamented in quite an artistic way with flourishes of red ink

"20th November, disorderly conduct, 12 lashes. 24th November, insolence
to hospital attendant, diet reduced. 4th December, stealing cap from
another prisoner, 12 lashes. 15th December, absenting himself at roll
call, two days' cells. 23rd December, insolence and insubordination, two
days' cells. 8th January, insolence and insubordination, 12 lashes.
20th January, insolence and insubordination, 12 lashes. 22nd February,
insolence and insubordination, 12 lashes and one week's solitary. 6th
March, insolence and insubordination, 20 lashes."

"That was the last?" asked Frere.

"Yes, sir," says Johnson.

"And then he--hum--did it?"

"Just so, sir. That was the way of it."

Just so! The magnificent system starved and tortured a child of twelve
until he killed himself. That was the way of it.

After luncheon the party made a progress. Everything was most admirable.
There was a long schoolroom, where such men as Meekin taught how Christ
loved little children; and behind the schoolroom were the cells and the
constables and the little yard where they gave their