My whole time and attention were now required to make the necessary preparations for the Court, and I felt myself not a little chagrined on reflecting on the circumstances in which I was placed. This feeling became heightened to a painful degree when I came to understand, by Mr. E. Jones, that the villain, instead of escaping for his life, and getting out of my reach with all possible haste, had only travelled about ten miles the first night, and was seen lying on some straw before the barn of Mr. Robert Bailes, the next morning, on the road to Gagetown, having lain there till 12 o’clock in the day. But Smith did not lie on his bed of straw for rest merely; even there he was projecting fresh schemes of villainy, waiting for an opportunity to carry away some booty from the house of Mr. Bailes; and so it happened that he did not miss his aim, for Mr. and Mrs. Bailes had occasion to leave the house to go some distance, leaving the door unlocked, when the robber entered, broke open a trunk and carried off a silver watch, eight dollars in money, a pair of new velvet pantaloons, and a pocket-book, with several other articles. He then walked leisurely on his way, stopping at the next house and at all the houses that were contiguous to the road, so that he did not make more than three or four miles before dark. When Mr. Bailes returned to his house and found it had been robbed, he immediately fixed his suspicion on the man who had lain before the barn door, from having observed the print of a boot heel, which was thought to be his, and gave the alarm to his neighbours. They immediately set out in pursuit of him, and having heard that he had been seen on the road at no great distance before them, they followed on in high spirits, expecting shortly to seize him; but in this they were disappointed, for the robber warily turned aside from the road, leaving his pursuers to exercise a painful and diligent search, without being able to ascertain which way he had gone. Having followed as far as Gagetown, they posted up advertisements, descriptive of his person, and also of the watch; and sent some of them on to Fredericton.