t only is he still at liberty, but having
possessed himself of a bicycle and a change of clothes by means of an
amazingly audacious burglary, it is quite possible that he has managed
to get clear away from the immediate neighbourhood."

This opening paragraph was followed by a full and vivid description of
my raid on the bicycle house. It appeared that the machine which I
had borrowed was the property of a certain Major Hammond, who, when
interviewed by the representative of the _Mail_, expressed himself of
the opinion that I was a dangerous character and that I ought to be
recaptured without delay.

The narrative then shifted to my dramatic appearance on the bicycle,
as witnessed by the surprised eyes of Assistant-warder Marshfield.
According to that gentleman I had flashed past him at a terrific
speed, hurling a handful of gravel in his face, which had temporarily
blinded him. With amazing pluck and presence of mind he had recovered
himself in time to puncture my back wheel, a feat of marksmanship
which, as the _Daily Mail_ observed, was "highly creditable under the
circumstances."

From that point it seemed that all traces of me had ceased. Both I and
the bicycle had vanished into space as completely as Elijah and his
fiery chariot, and not all the united brains of Carmelite House
appeared able to suggest a wholly satisfactory solution.

"Lyndon," said the _Mail_, "may have succeeded in reaching Plymouth on
the stolen machine, and there obtained the food and shelter of which
by that time he must have been sorely in need. On the other hand it
is possible that, starved, frozen, and most likely wounded, he is
crouching in some remote coppice, grimly determined to perish rather
than to surrender himself to the warders."

It was "possible," certainly, but as a guess at the truth that was
about all that could be said for it.

The thing that pleased me most in the whole paper, however, was the
interview with George in the third column. It was quite short--only a
six-line paragraph headed "Mr. Marwood and the Escape," but brief as
it was, it filled me with a rich delight.

"Interviewed by our Special Correspondent at his residence on the
Chelsea Embankment, Mr. George Marwood was reluctant to express any
opinion on the escape. 'The whole thing,' he said, 'is naturally
extremely distasteful to me. I can only hope that the unhappy man may
be recaptured before he succumbs to exposure, and before he has the
chance to co