'Yus,' said the Raven. 'I've seed that in the papers. But wot do they want convicts for on the h'eth?'
'I know,' cried Dick—'I know. I heard my father talking about it at dinner the other day. It's the Horseshoe Fort at the mouth of the river. They're making it ever so much bigger and putting new guns there so as to be ready if ever some enemy should come to our country and try to sail up the river. The convicts are at work there, digging and building and doing all sorts of things.'
'I see,' nodded Chippy; 'that's 'ow they mek' 'em useful, I s'pose.'
'That's it,' said Dick, 'and that sergeant we saw was one of the men in charge of them.'
'He soon started us back,' murmured Chippy.
'Yes,' said Dick; 'I heard my father say that they are very strict about letting any stranger go near the place.'
'That was on'y gammon of his about them convicts,' remarked Chippy.
'Of course it was,' agreed Dick; 'he wouldn't let anyone go nearer the fort on any account.'
'How far are we off?' asked Chippy.
'I'll soon tell you!' replied Dick, and pulled his haversack round. From this he took out a small leathern case with a map tucked away in it. The map was a shilling section of the Ordnance Survey on the scale of one inch to a mile. Dick had bought it and carried it as patrol-leader. The space it covered—eighteen miles by twelve—was ample for their work.