At that precise moment several thousand other inhabitants of Great Britain were doubtless engaged in the same hopeful occupation.

He was in the act of turning to the racing news when a lavishly splashed headline on the front page suddenly arrested his attention. Almost simultaneously his eyes fell upon the opening paragraph below. The muscles of his jaw tightened, and bending forward over the column in question, he began to read it with a tense and concentrated interest.


DARING ESCAPE FROM DARTMOOR
Convict Scales Prison Wall

Early this morning a convict named James Wilson, who is serving a seven-years sentence for embezzlement, effected what may justly be described as the most ingenious and daring escape from Dartmoor prison that has ever been recorded in the annals of that famous institution. During the summer months from May to September prisoners have their breakfast at six-thirty. The meal is served in a large building situated in the main courtyard. It is prepared in a neighbouring shed some ten yards away, the trays being carried across by specially selected men, all of whom must have earned full remission marks for good conduct before being detailed for this particular duty. Between each delivery there is an interval of perhaps twelve seconds, and throughout the proceedings an armed warder is constantly patrolling the yard. Only for one brief period is he actually out of sight of the short passage between the two buildings.

Wilson, who was evidently waiting his chance and must have made his plans with meticulous care, was released from his cell at the customary hour of a quarter-past six. The warder on duty failed to detect anything amiss, though a more thorough investigation would have revealed several highly interesting facts. During the night Wilson had occupied himself in tearing his under blanket into long strips and then knotting the ends of them together so as to construct a rough but fairly serviceable rope. To this he had attached the strong canvas slip which provided the covering for his bolster, fastening the whole contraption round his waist with such skill that it successfully escaped the perfunctory examination to which he must have known from experience that he would probably be subjected.

On arriving at the cook-house he took his place among the other men, and in due course was handed the tray which it was his duty to carry across to the adjacent breakfast hall. Instead of doing so he made his way quickly towards a large heap of gravel that had been deposited inside the yard a few days previously. Here he put down the tray, and having removed the rope which encircled his waist, hastily proceeded to load the canvas bolster slip from the convenient dump beside him. Taking advantage of the moment when the patrolling warder was out of sight he then flung up the weighted bag with such accuracy that it impaled itself upon the iron spikes at the top of the fourteen-foot wall. For an active man the rest was comparatively simple. Within a few seconds the resourceful Mr. Wilson was astride the coping, where, unhooking his amateur rope ladder, he lowered himself by his arms and dropped on the soft turf outside. It is believed that this gymnastic feat must have been witnessed by a fellow convict who was the next to leave the shed, but, true to the proverbial honour that prevails among wrongdoers, the man in question stoutly denies having observed any such dramatic incident. Although one or two local farm hands were in the neighbourhood at the time, the fact that there was a considerable amount of mist would explain why none of them has been able to add anything further to what the authorities already know.

As some ten minutes appear to have elapsed before the alarm was raised, Wilson must have had time to reach the shelter of one of the large straggling plantations that adjoin the prison. Since then nothing has been seen or heard of him. An intensive search of the surrounding moor, however, is now in progress, and with all the roads watched and every car and vehicle being held up for examination, it is not considered likely that the fugitive’s spell of liberty will be of very long duration. Contrary to the popular belief, founded upon sensational films and novels, every prisoner who has so far escaped from Dartmoor has been recaptured. In the majority of cases men give themselves up voluntarily on account of the hunger and exposure to which they are subjected.

***

For several seconds after he had finished reading Craig sat staring straight in front of him, his underlip stuck out, his thick eyebrows drawn together in a reflective scowl. Then, getting up abruptly and moving back to the desk, he pressed one of the three buttons which stood in a row beside the large writing-pad. It was apparent that his interest in the day’s racing had been temporarily overshadowed.

After a short interval the door opened quietly, admitting a dark-haired, sleek-looking man of about forty with an oddly expressionless face. He was wearing a well-cut morning suit and had a red carnation in the buttonhole of his coat.

“Didn’t know you were back,” he observed, glancing at the opened letters. “I was wondering whether you’d forgotten that appointment with Sutton.”

“No, I remembered it all right.” Craig paused. “Seen the evening paper?”

“Not yet. Anything special in it?”

“Have a look at this story on the front page.”

Mr. Paul Casey, the highly efficient manager of the Mayflower, took the Star which his employer held out to him.