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Psychology and Crime

What does a criminological psychologist actually do? Most people picture a modern-day
Sherlock Holmes, helping the police to solve crimes, but the reality is far more
interesting and complex. Psychology and Crime offers a fascinating introduction to
criminological psychology, providing the reader with a comprehensive grounding
in everything from cognitive forensics to police interviewing.
Concise, informative and accessible, the book explores a range of theories to
understand criminal behaviour, from the physiological to the social. It covers a
range of contexts within the criminal justice system where psychology offers unique
insights, including police investigation, the perspective of witnesses and victims, and
courtroom proceedings. Thoroughly updated throughout to reflect developments
in the field, and featuring new chapters covering cybercrime, terrorism and insights
from neuroscience, this edition also includes a student-friendly ‘Apply your learning’
feature and case studies to bring the research to life.
Accessibly written for all levels and with concise coverage of both classic and
contemporary psychological theory, this is the ideal book for anyone studying
criminal or forensic psychology.

Aidan Sammons has been teaching, writing about, and training teachers of
introductory psychology for over 20 years.

David Putwain has taught psychology from GCSE through to doctoral level for
over 25 years. His research interests focus on how psychology can be used in
applied contexts.
Psychology and
Crime
2nd Edition

Aidan Sammons and

David Putwain
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2019 Aidan Sammons and David Putwain

The right of Aidan Sammons and David Putwain to be identified as authors of

this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or

utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered

trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-0-8153-6928-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-8153-6952-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-25214-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Palatino
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
 Contents

List of tables x

1 Introduction 1
The origins of criminological psychology 2
Applying psychological principles to crime 3
Forensic psychology 4
Aims, organisation and content of this book 5
2 Defining and measuring crime 6
What is a crime? What is a criminal? 6
The legalistic approach 7
The deviance approach 7
Variables associated with criminality 8
Age 8
Gender 9
Socio-economic status 10
Race and ethnicity 10
Measuring crime 11
Official crime statistics 11
Victimisation surveys 12
Offender surveys 13
Trends in crime 15
Victimisation 16
Property crime 16
Violent crime 16
Intimate violence and sexual crime 17
Repeat victimisation 17
Effects of victimisation 18
Fear of crime 20
Chapter summary 20
Further reading 21
3 Biologically oriented explanations of offending 22
Biological differences between offenders and non-offenders 23
Low heart rate 23
Brain structure and functioning 23
 Contents

Brain chemistry 26
Influences on the nervous system 27
Genetics 27
Genetic influences and evolution 30
Environmental toxins: lead pollution 31
Traumatic brain injury 32
Adverse childhood experiences 33
Biopsychology and offending: general considerations 34
Chapter summary 35
Further reading 36
4 Psychologically oriented explanations of offending 37
Psychodynamic theories 37
Attachment, delinquency and offending 39
Eysenck’s personality theory 39
Psychopathy 41
Moral development 43
Social cognition 45
Cognitive and emotional deficits 46
Moral disengagement 46
Rational choice theory 48
Chapter summary 50
Further reading 50
5 Socially oriented explanations of offending 51
Social learning theory 51
The influence of TV, films and videogames 54
Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy 57
Social identity theory 60
Poverty 62
Neighbourhood influences 64
Chapter summary 65
Further reading 66
6 Psychology and police investigations 67
The processing of forensic evidence 67
Police interviews 70
The standard interview procedure 70
Cognitive interviewing 71
Interrogation of suspects 73
False confessions 74
Ethical interviewing and the PEACE model 75
Offender profiling 77
Types of profiling 78
Crime scene analysis 78
Clinical profiling 79
Geographical profiling 79
Investigative psychology 80

vi
 Contents

Does profiling work? 81

Chapter summary 83
Further reading 84
7 Witness testimony 85
Cognitive processes and witness testimony 86
Weapon focus 87
Contamination by post-event information 88
Emotional arousal 90
Child witnesses 91
Identity parades (lineups) 93
Facial composites 96
Chapter summary 98
Further reading 98
8 Courtroom processes 99
Trial procedures 99
Juries 100
Jury size and composition 100
Jury deliberation 101
Influences on jury decisions 103
Persuasion by trial lawyers 103
The Yale Model 103
Systematic versus heuristic processing 104
Storytelling in court 104
Courtroom evidence 105
Pretrial publicity 106
Defendant characteristics 108
Attractiveness 108
Gender 108
Race/ethnicity 109
Death penalty decisions 110
Issues arising from mock jury research 111
Chapter summary 112
Further reading 113
9 Judicial responses to offending 114
Imprisonment 114
Does prison work? 115
Retribution 116
Incapacitation 116
Deterrence 117
Reform 118
Why does prison not reform offenders? 119
Effects of imprisonment 120
Imprisonment: general considerations 122
Non-custodial sentencing 122
Fines 123

vii
 Contents

Probation and community sentences 124

Restorative justice 126
Chapter summary 127
Further reading 128
10 Crime prevention 129
Approaches to crime prevention 129
Situational crime prevention 130
Improved street lighting 131
Closed-circuit television 131
Defensible space 132
Developmental crime prevention 132
School-based programmes 133
Community-based programmes 133
Family programmes 134
Offender rehabilitation 134
Anger management programmes 135
Sex offender programmes 137
The reasoning and rehabilitation programme 138
Crime prevention: general considerations 139
Chapter summary 140
Further reading 140
11 Contemporary topics: terrorism and cybercrime 141
Terrorism 141
Psychological effects of terrorism 142
Who becomes a terrorist? 143
Explanations of terrorism 144
De-radicalisation 145
Cybercrime 147
Measuring cybercrime 148
Involvement in cybercrime 148
Explanations of cybercrime 149
Personality 150
Social learning theory 151
Routine activity theory 152
Future developments 153
Chapter summary 153
Further reading 154
12 Critical perspectives: crime, gender and race 155
The mainstream view 155
Critical perspectives on crime 156
Feminism, gender and crime 157
Woman offenders 158
Intimate partner violence 159
Feminism: general considerations 161

viii
 Contents

Critical perspectives on ethnicity, race and crime 162

‘Intrinsic criminality’ and racism in criminological psychology 163
Critical Race Theory 164
Chapter summary 167
Further reading 167

References169
Index205

ix
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 Tables

1.1 Examples of pure psychology applied to criminological questions 3

4.1 Levels and stages of moral development in Kohlberg’s theory 44
6.1 Interrogation techniques recommended by Inbau et al. (2011) 73
8.1 Stages in jury decision making (Hastie et al., 1983) 102
10.1 Meta-analyses of CBT programmes for sex offenders 138
11.1 Steps in the ‘staircase model’ of terrorist involvement
(Moghaddam, 2005) 144
11.2 Typology of cybercriminal groups (McGuire, 2012) 149

x
CHAPTER

1
Introduction

Imagine asking a member of the public the following question:

■ What is a criminological psychologist?

■ What does a criminological psychologist do?
■ What types of people do criminological psychologists work with?

The answers to these questions are likely to be informed by TV programmes, films

and, possibly, high-profile media cases. In the public imagination, the criminologi-
cal psychologist is a Sherlock Holmes-like figure, solving crimes and mysteries with
a combination of arcane scientific knowledge and penetrating insight into the work-
ings of the criminal mind. This makes good television but it does not represent the
reality of criminological psychology. Criminological psychologists do sometimes
contribute directly to police investigations but this is a relatively minor aspect of
a very diverse field. Psychologists are involved in researching the causes of crime,
rehabilitating offenders, preventing crime, providing expert advice to law enforce-
ment and the courts and a great deal more. Criminological psychology is just one
of a number of academic disciplines that contribute to policing and criminal justice.
Others include criminology, sociology, psychiatry and law. Each has its own pur-
pose, assumptions and methods and, consequently, each has something different to
contribute to understanding and tackling crime.
Psychology is, broadly, the use of scientific methods to understand the behaviour
of individuals. The contribution psychology can make to criminological issues
reflects the strengths and limitations of the discipline as a whole. Psychologists
undergo rigorous training in research methods, which makes them well placed to
conduct investigations and to comment on and evaluate the research and practices
of others. However, psychology tends to over-emphasise individual factors at the
expense of social ones. In explaining crime, psychologists focus on things like brain
function, personality and thinking processes. Sociology and criminology, by con-
trast, are much more likely to focus on social structural factors like inequality and
social class. Although they frequently disagree on where the emphasis should go,
each of these disciplines complements the others. In isolation, each tells only part of
the story of crime and victimisation but, together, they give a more comprehensive

1
 chapter 1 Introduction

picture. Consequently, this book draws on sociological and criminological research

as well as psychological.

The origins of criminological psychology

Criminological psychology emerged as a distinct field in the 1960s but its origins
are much earlier. A key influence was the work of Cesare Lombroso in the late 19th
century. Lombroso was the first to advance the view that criminality is a herita-
ble, constitutional characteristic. He suggested that criminals were a biologically
distinct class of people who exhibited ‘atavistic’ or primitive features. They com-
mitted crimes because they were dominated by their primitive aggressive, sexual
and acquisitive urges. Lombroso claimed that their atavistic nature led not only to
criminal behaviour but also to distinct physical forms. Consequently, he believed
that criminals could be identified from their features, such as heavy brows and
strong jawbones. Different types of criminal were said to have different features,
so murderers had bloodshot eyes and curly hair whereas sex offenders had thick
lips and projecting ears. Lombroso supported his claims with measurements taken
from the skulls of known criminals. However, he did not compare these data with
measurements of non-criminals and, consequently, did not establish that the fea-
tures he identified as ‘criminal’ only occurred in the criminal population. He also
did not distinguish clearly between criminals and those suffering from various psy-
chological disorders. It is also the case that Lombroso’s views reflected many of the
prejudices of his time and he was overtly racist in linking criminality with minority
ethnicity (Holmes, 2015; see Chapter 12). For these and many other reasons, Lom-
broso’s work is rejected nowadays. However, his important contribution was to
insist on empirical evidence and (a version of) the scientific method in presenting
his work. This helped to move discussion of criminality away from moral and phil-
osophical discourse and into the realm of scientific research.
Another key early influence on criminological psychology was the psycho-
logical laboratory founded by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig in 1879 (Gudjonsson &
Haward, 1998). Wundt was instrumental in establishing psychology as a scientific
discipline where the measurement and experimental manipulation of sensory and
behavioural phenomena were foregrounded. Wundt’s students studied a range of
psychological processes with applications to everyday life. This included topics like
witness memory, which is still central to criminological psychology (see Chapter 7).
One of Wundt’s students, Hugo Munsterberg, settled in the United States, where
he advocated for the introduction of applied psychology to the courtroom (with
limited success) and carried out extensive research into the effect of leading ques-
tions on testimony, the discrepancies between witnesses to an event, the impact
of attentional focus and the misleading nature of witness confidence, all of which
remain current topics of interest (Memon et al., 2008). However, while psycholo-
gists researched and commented on crime and related topics throughout the 20th
century, it was not until the 1960s that criminological psychology emerged as a
distinct branch of psychology.
2
 chapter 1 Introduction

Applying psychological principles to crime

Criminological psychology is an example of ‘applied’ rather than ‘pure’ psychology.
Pure psychology refers to the type of research usually carried out by academics in
universities pursuing answers to questions about the basic processes of thinking and
behaviour. Although academic psychologists may also be interested in questions
about ‘real-world’ processes, they tend to carry out their investigations in the labora-
tory. This has the advantage of controlling for the influence of nuisance and confound-
ing variables encountered in real-life situations. The researcher can create her own
‘micro-world’ where every variable of interest can be isolated and its effect examined
free of other influences. Pure researchers usually belong to a theoretical tradition that
influences the types of question that interest them and the way they go about answer-
ing them. For example, cognitive psychologists typically use laboratory experiments
to investigate phenomena like attention, memory and problem solving. This is all done
without necessarily considering how such processes might operate in real-life settings.
In criminological psychology, theories and research findings from pure psychol-
ogy are applied to the questions raised by real-life legal and criminal problems.
The pure theoretical approaches can be applied to crime and criminal justice in a
number of ways (see Table 1.1).

TABLE 1.1 Examples of pure psychology applied to criminological questions

Pure psychological areas Criminological psychology topics

Cognitive psychology studies mental The distorting effect of perceptual, attentional
processes including perception, and memory processes on witness testimony
attention, memory and problem (e.g. the effect of leading questions); techniques
solving to improve witness accuracy (e.g. cognitive
interviewing); criminal decision making (e.g.
rational choice theory)
Social psychology studies social Social influences on criminal behaviour (e.g.
interaction and the effect of situational gang membership and learning from the peer
and group influences on behaviour group); group decision making by juries
Developmental psychology studies The role of parental attachment and early
changes in psychological attributes adverse experiences in criminal behaviour; the
over the lifespan, for example, the effect of victimisation on child development;
development of moral reasoning developmental crime prevention
and personality and the influence of
parenting and other environmental
factors on development
Learning theory studies how the The role of learning from the family or peer group
environment shapes behaviour in offending; the use of techniques to modify the
behaviour of offenders
Biopsychology studies the influence of The role of genetics, brain structure and
physiological processes on behaviour, functioning and neurochemistry in offending
including the workings of the nervous
system and the influence of genetics
on behaviour
3
 chapter 1 Introduction

Forensic psychology
The terms criminological, forensic, criminal and legal psychology are often used
interchangeably, which can be confusing. Criminological, criminal and legal psy-
chology all refer in a general way to the application of psychology to crime and the
law. Forensic psychology, however, has a restricted meaning. Forensic psychology
denotes expert professional knowledge of psychology as it applies to the courts
and legal processes. The majority of forensic psychologists work within the court
and prison system, giving expert evidence, advising courts and parole boards,
designing and implementing offender rehabilitation programmes and doing
research into offending and rehabilitation. In the UK, ‘forensic psychologist’ is a
legally protected title: a person may only use it if he has completed an approved
course of study and accreditation and has been granted a licence to practise by the
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Anyone who calls himself a forensic
psychologist but is not registered with the HCPC is breaking the law and may be
prosecuted.
Forensic psychologists may find themselves doing a great range of activi-
ties. In their clinical role, they may be asked to psychologically assess individ-
uals who come into contact with the authorities and advise those authorities
accordingly. For example, Brown (1997) describes a case in which an adolescent
complained to the police that she was receiving frequent, indecent phone calls.
Despite continuous monitoring of the phone line, nothing was intercepted. She
then alleged that her property was being smeared with paint and some items
were shown to the police, damaged as described. She became rather belligerent
at the police station and considerable time was spent in enquiries. A forensic
psychologist was asked to provide an assessment as to whether the complainant
was manufacturing the evidence in order to satisfy some psychological need.
The result of the assessment confirmed the police’s suspicion that she had fabri-
cated the incidents.
In their experimental role, a forensic psychologist might be asked to investi-
gate questions relating to evidence presented in a criminal case. Brown (1997)
gives the example of a case in which three motorcyclists were charged with caus-
ing the death by dangerous driving of two other riders. The case hinged on a
claim by a police officer that he had seen the motorcyclists speeding and had
taken their number plates. But was it really possible to recall four muddy num-
ber plates, two and a half inches high, at a distance of 90 yards? Psychologists
set up a laboratory experiment in which 100 participants were asked to identify
four sets of number plates. These were presented in a degraded form to mimic
the real conditions. They found that a few participants could recall one number
plate but none could recall all four. Although this cast doubt on the eyewitness
evidence given by the police officer, the jury was not convinced and all three of
the motorcyclists were convicted.

4
 chapter 1 Introduction

Aims, organisation and content of this book

The aim of this book is to introduce the reader to a range of psychological research
into crime. It is aimed at those who are studying introductory courses in crimi-
nal psychology, those who require a basic overview of the field for professional
purposes and those who are simply interested in the area. A book of this nature
cannot hope to cover such a diverse and complex field exhaustively, so the topics
have been selected to reflect what is encountered in most introductory courses and
to illustrate the range of topics that criminological psychology covers. Chapter 2
addresses basic questions about how crime is defined and measured and outlines
some research on victimisation. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 present a range of explana-
tions of offending including biological, psychological and social causes. Chapter 6
considers how psychological issues come to bear on police investigations through
an examination of how evidence is processed, how police interview witnesses
and suspects, and the controversial area of offender profiling. Chapter 7 examines
how psychological processes affect witness memory and Chapter 8 outlines the
psychological processes that affect what happens in a courtroom, with particular
emphasis on how juries reach their verdicts. Chapter 9 discusses what happens to
convicted offenders through an examination of prison and the alternatives, and
Chapter 10 extends this into offender rehabilitation and the contributions of psy-
chology to crime prevention. The field of criminological psychology continually
evolves and so Chapter 11 outlines two areas that are of particular current interest,
terrorism and cybercrime. Finally, Chapter 12 presents a range of critical perspec-
tives on criminological psychology that offer alternative views to the mainstream
one that dominates both the field and this book. In each chapter, a section called
‘Apply your learning’ invites you to develop your understanding of what you
read by applying it to real-world questions and, at the end of each chapter, some
further reading is suggested for those who wish to pursue a deeper understanding
of any of the topics presented.

5
 CHAPTER

2
Defining and measuring
crime
The study of offenders and offending requires some agreement between practi-
tioners about which people and acts should be studied. This chapter discusses dif-
ferent definitions of ‘criminal’, the relationship of offending with age, gender and
socio-economic status and different ways of measuring the extent of crime within
society. Trends in crime and victimisation are described. Finally, there is a discussion
of the psychological effects of victimisation and fear of crime in the general public.

What is a crime? What is a criminal?

The most straightforward answer to the question, ‘what is a crime?’ is: ‘any act that
breaks the criminal law’. Under this view, criminal law sets down, in an objective
way, those things that society considers harmful. This apparent simplicity hides a
great deal of complexity, as it does not address the question of why some acts are
criminal and others are not, or why the acts prohibited by law vary between differ-
ent places and change over time. For example, purchase of alcohol by people over
the age of 18 is legal in the United Kingdom but not in Saudi Arabia. An 18 year old
purchasing alcohol in the UK has occasioned no crime but the very same person in
many parts of the US has. And between 1920 and 1933, under the ‘prohibition’ laws,
most purchase and possession of alcohol in the US was a crime, regardless of age.
So the same act – the purchase of alcohol – either is or is not a crime depending on
where and when it took place. Even the act of deliberately killing another human
being may or may not be a crime depending on whether the killer did so in order
to inherit the victim’s money, to defend herself against a deadly threat, as a soldier
under orders on a battlefield or an official carrying out a judicial execution. No
behaviour is inherently criminal. Rather, societies define certain acts, under certain
circumstances, as criminal for a wide range of reasons. As societies change, so does
people’s understanding of and response to the act considered criminal. In other
words, crime is a social construct.
This raises difficulties for criminological psychologists. If their aim is to study
crime and criminals it is important for them to distinguish between those people
who are objects of study and those who are not. However, the socially constructed

6
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

nature of crime makes this a matter of debate. To shed light on this problem it is
useful to consider two possible approaches to defining ‘criminal’, referred to here
as the ‘legalistic’ and ‘deviance’ approaches.

The legalistic approach

The simplest definition of a criminal is a person who transgresses the laws of her
society. The problem with this definition is that it defines as ‘criminal’ many people
who would not normally be considered as such. There are few people who have
never broken a single law. Even someone who uses the work telephone for a per-
sonal call, takes home some office stationery for personal use or who picks up and
pockets a banknote he finds in the street may technically be breaking the law. If
we define all such people as criminals then virtually everyone is a criminal. This
is clearly unsatisfactory. An alternative is to define criminals as those who have
been convicted of a crime by the state. It would follow from this that we should
study only those people who have a criminal record. This is also unsatisfactory. In
many cases, those responsible for a crime escape detection. If apprehended, they
may not be prosecuted and, if prosecuted, they may not be convicted. Thus, many
people who have committed criminal acts would not be considered appropriate for
study by criminological psychology. There are other problems with the legalistic
approach. First, the population of convicted offenders inevitably contains people
who have been wrongly convicted. Second, those who have been criminally con-
victed are, in a sense, ‘unsuccessful’ criminals. If we were to restrict ourselves to
the study of such individuals it is likely we would be using samples biased towards
those attributes (e.g. carelessness) that made it more likely they would be caught.

The deviance approach

Some writers (e.g. Sellin, 1938) suggest that the appropriate object of study for
criminological psychology is ‘deviance’, or ‘antisocial behaviour’, of which legally
defined crime is just a part. Under this definition, criminological psychologists
should study those people who behave in antisocial ways. Given the problems with
the legalistic view, this might seem more satisfactory. Unfortunately, the classifica-
tion of behaviour as deviant or antisocial is notoriously subjective and an act might
be considered as pro- or antisocial depending on one’s point of view. For example,
defacing a building to draw attention to the oppression of a particular group of peo-
ple might be regarded as antisocial by the building’s owner but prosocial by those
sympathetic to the cause being represented. This being the case, it is difficult to see
how consensus could be achieved among researchers about the acts they ought to
be studying.
Different researchers resolve this issue in different ways but many follow the
suggestions of Blackburn (1993) who makes several useful recommendations. First,
‘criminal behaviour’ should be defined in terms of the conscious breaking of rules.
That is, the people of interest to criminological psychology are those who know
what the rules are, but do something different. This inevitably means that some

7
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

behaviour that is legally permissible is nonetheless of interest to psychologists and

criminologists whereas other behaviour that is technically criminal is not. So those
who park their cars in the spaces reserved for parents with children are not com-
mitting a crime but might still be of interest because there is an underlying simi-
larity between this act and other acts that are illegal. This approach allows us to
recognise the continuity between, for example, conduct problems in childhood and
later delinquency and criminality in adolescence and adulthood. Second, Blackburn
recommends that criminological psychology should focus, in the main, on crime as
legally defined. The problems this raises notwithstanding, it at least offers research-
ers a clear framework on which they can agree.
The majority of ‘mainstream’ criminological psychologists accept this but not
all. Those who adopt one of the more critical perspectives on criminological psy-
chology take issue with this apparent willingness to admit, on the one hand, that
‘crime’ and ‘criminal’ are social constructs but, on the other hand, treat them as if
they were natural or objective facts. Critical perspectives raise questions about how
the social construction of crime relates to issues of power, gender and race in society
(see Chapter 12).

Variables associated with criminality

Surveys in which people are asked about their own criminal activities suggest that
the prevalence of criminality (i.e. the number of people in the population commit-
ting crimes) is higher than many people assume. It could even be suggested that
petty crime, rather than being an aberration, is actually a normative activity among
certain groups. The fact that most people will break the law at some point in their
lives notwithstanding, a minority of people commit the majority of criminal offences
and certain types of people are over-represented in the offender population. Some
of the variables associated with criminality are age, gender, socio-economic status
and ethnicity.

Age
Surveys of young people indicate that criminal acts are relatively common among
this group. The prevalence and incidence of offending (i.e. the number of offences
committed) starts to rise in adolescence and peaks around the age of 18, falling
sharply thereafter. This relationship is called the age–crime curve. The majority of
offenders are in their teenage years but by the age of 28, 85% of them have stopped
committing crimes (Farrington, 1986). However, there are marked differences if
different types of crime are accounted for. Property crimes like theft or vandalism
follow this pattern closely but fraud and embezzlement are more likely to be com-
mitted by older adults (Steffensmeier et al., 1989), principally because opportunities
are more plentiful to them.
Moffitt (1993) suggests that the age–crime curve conceals two distinct categories
of offender. Adolescence-limited (AL) offenders follow the pattern described above

8
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

and account for the majority of offenders overall. Life-course-persistent (LCP)

offenders are a smaller group but are criminally active throughout their lives. They
start to offend at an earlier age following a history of conduct problems in child-
hood and continue offending into mature adulthood. Moffitt suggests that the two
types of offender represent distinct developmental processes. AL offending stems
from a ‘maturity gap’ between a person’s biological and social maturity. Although
adolescents have reached adulthood biologically, socially they are restricted from
many adult behaviours. Delinquency is a reaction against these restrictions and is
learned from the peer group through social learning processes (see Chapter 5). As
they enter social adulthood, their social maturity ‘catches up’ with their biological
maturity and consequently their motivation to offend disappears. LCP offending,
by contrast, is linked to neuropsychological deficits with a range of causes (e.g.
genetics, environmental toxins) which, when combined with an adverse develop-
mental environment (e.g. abuse, neglect) result to produce an antisocial personality
type with a high propensity to offend at all ages (see Chapter 3).

Gender
Criminal statistics consistently find that men commit more crime than women.
Data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a lon-
gitudinal study of around 1,000 people born in the early 1970s, suggest that this is
true for most types of offence but there are some exceptions. Rates of drug use and
domestic violence are similar between males and females and there are few gender
differences in the types of low-level delinquency that prevail in adolescence (Mof-
fitt et al., 2001). The gender–crime gap has been explained in a number of ways.
One possibility is that offending patterns reflect constitutional differences between
women and men. Males have a higher risk of many types of neurodevelopmental
problem that could manifest in an increased tendency to commit crimes. It is also
believed that human males have developed a tendency towards aggression through
evolutionary processes, which might explain the preponderance of males among
violent criminals. However, gender differences in offending might also reflect dif-
ferences in the socialisation of women and men. Box (1983) found that criminality
in women correlated with the degree of female subordination and powerlessness in
society. Possibly, societies that stress a more ‘traditional’ feminine role restrict the
opportunities available to women to become involved in criminal activity.
Crime statistics from recent years have suggested that the gender disparity in
offending is reducing (Lauritsen et al., 2009). It has been suggested that the nar-
rowing of the gender–crime gap represents the ‘dark side’ of gender equality as
women act on the opportunities for offending previously denied them. However,
crime has been falling since the mid-1990s. The gender gap has narrowed princi-
pally because rates of offending have fallen faster in men than they have in women
(Lauritsen et al., 2009). Where offending by women has apparently increased, this
may be because attitudes towards arresting and charging female offenders have
changed over time: the actual rate of offending by women has been stable but an

9
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 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

increased willingness to process women through the criminal justice system results
in a rise in arrests and convictions (Estrada et al., 2016). Feminist views on gender
and offending are explored in Chapter 12.

Socio-economic status
It is widely believed that there is an inverse relationship between socio-economic
status (SES) and offending. That is, people from lower SES backgrounds are
over-represented among the population of offenders. Early studies of the SES–crime
link found that the relationship between crime and social class was much stron-
ger for official figures than for self-report measures of offending, possibly reflect-
ing bias in the way that people from different social backgrounds are processed
by the criminal justice system. Lower SES individuals might be more likely to be
arrested, charged and convicted even if their true rate of offending were the same
as those with higher SES. Self-reports of offending correlate relatively weakly with
SES. Dunaway et al. (2000) collected data from 555 adults about a variety of demo-
graphic variables including personal and family income, use of welfare services,
education and employment. They also asked their respondents about offences they
had committed in the previous year. Dunaway et al. could only find a weak correla-
tion between SES and general offending. There was variation within this, so SES
was a better predictor of violent than non-violent offending and the relationship
between SES and offending was stronger among non-white respondents. Dunaway
et al. did find, however, that poverty was significantly related to offending. The
effect of poverty and neighbourhood conditions is discussed in Chapter 5.

Race and ethnicity

People from minority ethnic groups are over-represented in the crime and victim-
isation statistics. UK data show that black people are eight times more likely to be
stopped and searched by the police than white, 3.5 times more likely to be arrested
and four times more likely to be prosecuted. Although non-white defendants are
slightly less likely to be convicted than white, there are proportionately more black
people in prison than white (16 for every 10,000 white people and 58 for every
10,000 black people; ONS, 2017a). The picture is similar in the US, where black and
Hispanic males have a higher lifetime risk of arrest and imprisonment than white
and a higher risk of involvement in serious violence (Piquero & Brame, 2008). There
are two competing explanations for the ethnic disparity in recorded crime. The dif-
ferential involvement hypothesis suggests that black and ethnic minority (BEM)
individuals commit more crime than white and persist in involvement in crime
to a later age than do white individuals typically. Alternatively, the differential
selection hypothesis suggests that the real rate of offending is similar across ethnic
groups but that BEM individuals are more likely to end up in the crime statistics
because they are subject to more police attention through racial profiling and con-
sequently are more likely to be arrested, charged and convicted, especially if, as is
sometimes claimed, the courts are biased in their treatment of different ethnicities

10
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

(see Chapter 8). An associated claim is that the excess of crime among black males
is accounted for by the types of ‘victimless’ crime (e.g. possession of drugs) where
the authorities have more discretion about who to arrest, investigate and charge.
Critical perspectives on race, ethnicity and crime are explored in Chapter 12.

Measuring crime
Just as it may seem simple at the outset to define what a criminal is, it might also
seem relatively straightforward to measure how much crime there is. Surely it is
just a matter of counting how many crimes occur? Again, matters are not so sim-
ple. The crime rate of a given country or area is calculated by counting how many
offences occur and dividing by the number of people who live there. The problem is
that there are several ways of counting crimes and they tend not to agree with one
another. The three main sources of information about the extent of crime are offi-
cial statistics, victimisation surveys and offender surveys. Each of these sources of
information has its strengths and limitations but all of them distort the ‘true’ figure
of crime to some extent.

Apply your learning

Two candidates are standing for election as local police commissioner. The
current commissioner is campaigning on the basis that her policies have
resulted in a low level of crime. The challenger is campaigning on the basis that
crime is ‘out of control’ in the locality. How might each justify their campaign
position? How might each criticise their opponent’s stance?

Official crime statistics

In England and Wales, official crime figures are published by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) on the basis of two sets of data, the crimes recorded by the police
and a victimisation survey now known as the Crime Survey for England and Wales
(CSEW). Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Self-report victimisation surveys were adopted as part of the official figures because
the police recorded crime rate heavily underestimates the true extent of crime. For
a crime to end up in the police statistics, someone first has to notice that it has
occurred. Then, they must report it. People may not do this because they believe
the crime is too trivial or that the police can do nothing about it. Crimes involving
a ‘willing victim’ (e.g. drug dealing) are unlikely to be reported. Consequently, a
large number of crimes never come to the attention of the authorities. While many
of these offences are relatively minor, a proportion of unreported crime would be
classified as serious.

11
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

The police have substantial discretion about the recording of crime. Even if an
incident is reported there are several reasons why it may not be recorded as a crime
in the official count. The victim may withdraw her complaint. The police may decide
that the report is a mistake, a malicious accusation or that there is insufficient evi-
dence that a crime has actually occurred. The decision to ‘no-crime’ a complaint may
reflect an objective, professional decision on an officer’s part but ‘no-criming’ may
also be a response to pressure from government to meet law enforcement targets or
may reflect a police culture of disbelieving victims. An investigation by Her Maj-
esty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (2014) estimated that around 800,000 crimes
a year went unrecorded in England and Wales. This included serious offences.
The under-recording rate for violence against the person was 33% and for sexual
offences it was 26%. This included 200 reports of rape.
Changes to the way the police record crime can give rise to apparent fluctuations
in the crime rate that do not actually reflect the amount of offending. For example,
police figures for England and Wales in 2017 show a 27% increase in violence against
the person compared with 2016. While this might represent a genuine increase in
the level of violent offending, it is likely that at least some of the increase reflects
improvements in police recording in response to the HMIC (2014) investigation. In
addition, victims’ perception of the police can affect their willingness to report some
crimes. For example, victims of intimate partner violence may not report offences
for fear that their complaint will be dismissed or minimised (Wolf et al., 2003). If
the police adopt policies to persuade victims to come forward this can result in an
apparent rise in offending when the actual level of crime has not really changed.

Victimisation surveys
In a victimisation survey, a large sample of the population are asked about their
experience of crime. In the US, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
surveys the experience of crime of around 160,000 people in about 90,000 house-
holds and has been running continually since the early 1970s. The UK followed in
the 1980s, starting with the British Crime Survey (BCS; Hough & Mayhew, 1983).
Currently, the CSEW surveys 50,000 households in England and Wales, the Scottish
Crime and Justice Survey 6,000 adults each year and the Northern Ireland Crime
Survey around 4,000. All use similar methodologies. In the CSEW, the sample is
selected at random from the Post Office’s list of addresses and approached to take
part. Around 75% of those approached participate. Data collection is by structured
interview, with one person from the household answering questions about whether
they have been a victim of crime, the details of the crime (if any) and their atti-
tudes towards crime and policing. The responses are recorded on a computer. The
methodology of the CSEW undergoes revision periodically. For example, in 2009
a parallel survey for children aged 10 to 15 years was introduced so that offences
against children could be estimated and, in 2015, fraud and cybercrime were intro-
duced as categories. However, the use of a fairly stable methodology over time has
allowed the CSEW to track changes in the incidence of different offences over time.

12
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

Respondents are asked about violence, robbery and theft, vehicle crime and dam-
age to property. Data about sexual offences are collected but are not published as
part of the main survey results because the low numbers of offences recorded make
extrapolation to the wider population difficult.
The CSEW has consistently revealed a far higher number of crimes than do the
police statistics. For the subset of crimes covered by the CSEW, the data suggest that
somewhere between only a third and a quarter of offences that occur get recorded
by the police (Maguire & McVie, 2017). Much of the dark figure consists of relatively
minor offences resulting in little or no personal loss or injury. Victimisation surveys
and police statistics for more serious offences differ less than for less serious ones.
In general, where victimisation surveys employ large samples and robust meth-
odology they are regarded as more accurate and trustworthy than police recorded
crime rates. The CSEW has used the same ‘core’ set of questions since it started,
unlike police statistics, which are significantly affected by changes in recording
practices. This makes the CSEW much better as assessing trends in offending and
victimisation.
This does not mean that victimisation surveys are free of problems. The CSEW
relies on respondents’ recall of what has happened in the past year, which may not
be accurate. Victimisation surveys also tend to put an upper limit on the number
of crimes that any single respondent can report. In the CSEW the maximum is five.
This is done because otherwise a small number of respondents could inflate the
estimated risk of crime in the population. However, a small number of people are
disproportionately the victims of repeated offences (Farrell & Pease, 2014) so only
recording the first five crimes that a victim reports risks under-representing the
level of offending.
The CSEW does not gather data on all offences. Murder, obviously, is omitted,
as are crimes against businesses and anyone who does not live in an ordinary res-
idential street address. This includes people living in institutions, student halls of
residence and homeless people. Large-scale victimisation surveys tend to under­
estimate violent crime because people are unwilling to disclose offences committed
by a family member or intimate partner to a researcher who is a stranger. Jones et al.
(1986) developed methodologies with the aim of gaining respondents’ trust and
found that reported rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence were much
higher than those reported by the British Crime Survey. They also found that some
people’s risk of victimisation was much higher than others so, for example, young
black women were 29 times more likely to be assaulted than older white women.

Offender surveys
Police and victimisation statistics allow us to estimate only how many offences have
occurred, not how many people are committing them. An alternative way of esti-
mating the extent of crime is to focus on the perpetrators rather than the victims.
Offender surveys help to shed light on whether changes in the crime rate are due to
changes in the number of people committing offences (the prevalence of offending)

13
 chapter 2 Defining and measuring crime

or changes in the number of offences committed by each offender (the incidence

of offending). In the 1990s, offending among young people was measured by the
British government as part of its Youth Lifestyles survey. The 1998 survey indicated
that 26% of young men and 11% of young women had committed an offence in the
previous year. Of these, only 12% reported having been cautioned or prosecuted
(Campbell & Harrington, 1999). Although at least some of the remainder is likely
to have come to the attention of the police, these data support the conclusion that a
substantial dark figure exists.
Between 2003 and 2006 the Home Office carried out a national, longitudinal
self-report survey of offending called the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey
(OCJS). The OCJS initially recruited a representative sample of people from England
and Wales aged between 10 and 65, to estimate the prevalence of offending in the
general population. The follow-up longitudinal study focused only on those aged 10
to 25, in order to obtain data about how offending behaviour changed over time. Of
the former set of individuals, 41% of 65 year olds reported committing at least one
offence in their lifetime, with men (52%) more likely to offend than women (30%).
The most commonly reported offences were minor thefts and assaults. Around 20%
of offenders had done so only once, with 35–40% reporting four or more offences
in their lifetime. Across the whole sample, about 10% had committed an offence
in the previous year (Budd et al., 2005). As with other research on age and gen-
der, prevalence of offending was highest in the late teens and there were gender
differences in both the amount and type of offending. Males were more likely to
offend than females and engaged in a wider variety of crimes with the majority of
offences by women being minor thefts and assaults. The longitudinal component of
the OCJS tracked respondents over a four-year period. It found that over the four
years covered by the survey 49% of the sample reported at least one offence. Con-
sistent with the age–crime curve, the prevalence of offending peaked in the mid-
teens (14–16 years) and declined subsequently. While the OCJS confirmed that some
degree of criminal behaviour is common in the general population, it also showed
that a relatively small number of prolific offenders accounted for a disproportionate
number of crimes. A group of just 4% of the sample was responsible for 32% of the
offences reported (Hales et al., 2009).
Self-report measures seem to agree quite well with other measures of offending
such as peer reports and police records (Hindelang et al., 1981). However, they are
subject to some criticism. First, they rely on the assumption that the respondents
are accurate in their memories and willing to admit to their offences. Given that for-
getting increases with time and since respondents are probably less likely to admit
their more serious offences, estimates of offending may be in the low side. Second,
there is a danger of sampling bias since the most prolific offenders are least likely to
be sampled for the survey. For example, if the respondents are surveyed at school,
persistent truants are unlikely to be present. Since they are also the most likely to
offend, estimates of both incidence and prevalence of offending are likely to be low.
In conclusion, it is impossible to know exactly how much crime is committed.
All of the available methods for gathering this information tend to underestimate

14
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 During the past three days they had sighted several islands, most of
them small, but one or two of considerable size. Early in the voyage Mr.
Lakewood had explained that his plan was to proceed to the island which he
had reached in the open boat so many years before, and which, he told
them, was the most northerly of the group called The Marquesas Islands,
and which were owned by the French. This Island was of considerable size,
and being a coaling station, he was sure that they would be able to lay in a
fresh supply of fuel oil. From there they would set out on the search for the
Island of Pearls, as they had come to call it, and which, he was quite sure,
was not shown on any map.

"That's the island," Mr. Lakewood assured them a few minutes later. "I
remember those two low hills which you can see just a little way in from
the shore."

"Looks as though we were expected," Jack declared. "Look at the crowd

down there by the wharf."

"It's quite an event for a boat to come in," his uncle told him.

"You're sure they're peaceful?" Bob asked a bit anxiously, as the boat
came near enough for him to see the dark skins and scanty attire of the
natives.

"You're not afraid, are you?" Mr. Lakewood asked in a tone of surprise.

"No," Bob told him. "I'm not afraid only, you know, I always had an
idea that I'd make pretty good soup and——"

"Don't let him razz you, Uncle," Jack interrupted. "When you see Bob
afraid you can know there's something to be afraid of."

By this time the boat was only a few yards away from the long flimsy
looking pier, which reached out some fifty feet into the sea and Pat rang to
reverse, and a moment later, her side brushed the end of the structure and a
half dozen, all but naked, natives eagerly caught the line thrown them by
one of the deck hands. Scarcely was the boat tied up, when a short pompous
appearing man, clad in a somewhat soiled suit of white duck, pushed his
way through the crowd.

"Welcome," he shouted as soon as he had reached the edge of the wharf.

"Thanks," Mr. Lakewood smiled as he stepped ashore and grasped the

man's outstretched hand.

From the deference paid him by the natives, the boys judged that the
white clad man must be the head man of the island or, at least, someone
high in authority. A moment later their uncle introduced them, and,
somewhat to their surprise, they learned that Mr. Umgubsolongas spoke
almost perfect English with only the faintest trace of a soft slightly slurring
accent.

"I am very much pleased to have the honor of welcoming you to my

poor island," he told them as he took each by the hand, "and all that I have
is yours."

The boys eagerly assured him that the pleasure was mutual, and their
uncle invited him aboard, an invitation which he readily accepted, and, after
they had shown him over the boat, they sat down to a meal which Mr.
Lakewood had cautioned Wong to make particularly good. Their guest
proved an excellent conversationalist and, before the meal was finished, the
boys knew more about the lives and habits of the people of the South Sea
Islands than they could have gotten from books in a long time.

"You must be my guests for the evening meal," Mr. Umgubsolongas

told them when, finally, they pushed back their chairs. "Of course," he
added, "I cannot hope to equal your most splendid hospitality but I hope to
offer you a dish or two which will, at least, be new to you."

For an hour they chatted beneath an awning of the forward deck and
then their guest took his departure, after promising to call for them at six
o'clock.

"And you must bring your captain with you," was his parting word.
 "Afraid he'll eat you, Bob?" Mr. Lakewood chuckled as the native
disappeared amid the crowd which still thronged the pier.

"He seems fine, all right, but you never can tell," Bob replied with a
smile.

"He's a prince," Jack declared.

"King, rather," his uncle corrected him.

"But I thought this island belonged to the French."

"So it does, but they all have a king just the same."

"But who would have thought of finding so well educated a man on one
of these islands," Bob said.

"Most of their head men are more or less educated," his uncle told him.
"I imagine you'll find that fellow has been to school and maybe to college in
England or France."

"How long are you going to stay here?" Jack asked.

"Not more than a couple of days, I reckon."

"Did you ask him if we could get oil?" Bob asked.

"No, but I will tonight. I'm pretty certain we can."

"Suppose we can't?" Jack asked.

"Then we'll have to load on some coal. We can burn coal as well as oil,
you know. By the way, if you want to see some real swimming and diving
go over to the rail and throw a dime in the water."

There were perhaps twenty boys, naked save for a loin cloth, sitting on
the edge of the wharf as the two boys reached the railing at a point some ten
feet away from the side of the pier.
 "Some of them look almost white," Jack whispered as they gazed at
them.

"But their oval faces, wide nostrils and large ears stamp them as
Polynesians all right," Bob whispered back.

"But some of them are not bad looking at that."

"I'll say they aren't. Look at that fellow the third from the end. Dress
him up in evening clothes and he'd pass for a gentleman anywhere."

As he spoke Bob took a bright new quarter from his pocket, and held it
up. Instantly the native boys sprang to their feet, their sharp eyes fixed on
the coin. With a smile Bob threw the money some twenty feet out from the
side of the boat and, although he did not throw it very high, Jack afterward
declared, that every mother's son of them was in the water before the coin
had disappeared. The race to the spot where the coin had disappeared was a
matter of a moment only, and then the entire crowd disappeared. One by
one the curly heads reappeared and soon one held up his hand and showed
the coin.

"Good boy," Bob shouted as he threw a dime into their midst.

This time they remained below the surface longer than before, and the
boys were beginning to wonder if they were ever coming up, when the boy,
Bob had pointed out to Jack, shot out of the water and held up the coin.
Followed more coins and for the better part of an hour the boys amused
themselves watching them dive.

"I'll be bankrupt if we keep this up much longer," Jack finally said.

"I'll let them have this last dime," Bob replied as he threw the coin.

"They sure are at home in the water," Jack said as they turned away
from the rail.

"Well, I reckon they about live in it."

"No doubt."
 "Did you get a run for your money?" Mr. Lakewood smiled as they
rejoined him.

"Sure did, and the other fellows had a dive for it," Jack laughed.

"They're probably the best swimmers and divers in the world," Mr.
Lakewood told them.

"But I'd like to see Jack try one of them on a long swim," Bob said.

"He'd be licked before they started. Those boys think nothing of

swimming ten miles or more."

"Don't the sharks ever get them?" Jack asked.

"Not often. You see, they very seldom come in so close as this and when
they swim outside they carry a knife in a belt and if a shark attacks them he
usually gets the worse of the argument."

It was exactly six o'clock when they saw a Ford touring car drive down
the beach to the wharf, and their newly made friend stepped out and came
toward the boat. They met him before he had reached the end of the wharf
and he once more shook hands with them all, including Captain Ole who
somewhat against his wishes, had been persuaded to accompany them.

"I deeply regret that I have not a more luxurious car to offer you," the
native apologized as he led the way.

"They get you there and bring you back," Mr. Lakewood smiled.

The home of the king of the island proved to be a large affair when
compared with the others of the village. Built almost entirely of bamboo it
contained several rooms, including a large comfortably furnished living
room, as well as a commodious dining room. The meal was very good,
consisting of many courses, several of which were entirely new to the boys.
But they liked them all, and afterward agreed that they had never eaten a
better dinner. At eleven o'clock they were driven back to the boat more
pleased than ever with their host.
 "He says we can get all the oil we want," Mr. Lakewood told them, as
they parted for the night shortly before twelve o'clock. "We'll spend
tomorrow getting stocked up and be off early the next morning."

Filling the oil tanks took the best part of the next day, as the oil was
brought out to the boat in buckets by the natives. After watching them for
some time in the morning, the boys decided they would take a walk about
the village and, after being cautioned against getting into trouble by their
uncle, they started off shortly before ten o'clock. There was much to interest
them in the quaint settlement, and the time passed so rapidly that they were
surprised when Bob's watch told them that it was high noon.

"We'll be late to dinner," Bob said. "Wonder how far we are from the
wharf."

"Can't be more'n a half mile, I reckon."

"Well, come on, we'll have to hustle to get back on time and you know
how much Wong likes to have us late for a meal."

"About as much as I like castor oil," Jack laughed as they turned down a
side street thinking to take a short cut back.

"Sure this is the way?" Bob asked a moment later.

"I'm pretty sure of the general direction. We can't miss it very much I
reckon," Jack replied.

They had walked rapidly for several minutes, turning a number of

corners and had just come in sight of the ocean, when Bob suddenly caught
hold of Jack's arm.

"What's up?" Jack asked.

"S-s-s-s-s-h," Bob whispered. "Follow me quietly, and don't speak."

Mystified at his brother's action but never doubting, but that he had a
good reason for it, Jack fell in behind and followed close at his heels. About
a hundred feet in front of them was a large low building, constructed of
bamboo with a thatched roof and as they reached the corner on which it
stood, Bob paused and held up his hand. Jack stopped and wondered what
was going to happen next. Bob pressed his body close to the side of the
building and Jack did the same. In a moment he heard a voice which he
recognized and the meaning of Bob's move was partly solved.

"You understand?"

It was Josh Kelley speaking.

"I get you all right, but are you sure you have the right dope?"

The reply was in a voice strange to Jack and he strained his ears to catch
Josh's next words.

"Oh, I've got the dope all right. If you do as I say, everything will go off
all right."

"I'll play my part all right, don't you fret yourself about that."

"Sure you understand?"

"Sure's shooting."

"Then I'll have to hurry back. See you later."

"So long."

That was the end of the conversation and, after waiting a few minutes
they started again for the boat. Josh was not in sight as they stepped around
the corner nor did they see anyone who, they thought, could have been his
companion.

"That was Josh Kelley," Jack declared.

"Sure it was," Bob assured him. "I saw him come out of that shed there
and turn the corner. That's why I stopped."

"Sure he didn't see us?"

 "I wasn't at first, but if he had, I guess he wouldn't have been talking to
that other fellow."

"Probably not."

"What do you make of it?"

"Search me."

"He's up to something."

"Looks that way."

"And it must be something shady."

"Shouldn't wonder. It seems funny he should know anyone here."

"Especially as he never mentioned it on the boat."

"The plot thickens," Jack quoted.

"And there's no knowing how thick it may be," Bob added.

By this time they had reached the end of the wharf and, for a moment,
Bob stood looking at the boat.

"Think we ought to tell uncle?" he asked.

"I don't think, I know," Jack replied decisively. "It can't possibly do any
harm, and it may save a lot of trouble."

"Just what I was thinking," Bob agreed as he stepped onto the pier.

There was no one in sight when they stepped on board, except a couple
of the sailors, and the boys hurried to the dining salon where they found
Wong clearing away the dishes from the table. There was no one else in the
room.
 "You tlink you gleet dinner now, you have velly well one more tlink
coming," he greeted them.

"We're awful sorry, Wong," Bob began, but Wong interrupted.

"No use be solly now. Dinner velly well over."

"But, Wong, old man, we're starving," Jack gave him his most enticing
smile.

"You no stlarve till supper."

"But we might, and then think how you'd feel," Bob too smiled.

"Wong no feel velly bad," he grinned.

"Now you know that's not true," Jack told him. "Come, just give us a
little bite, that's a good fellow."

"No blite."

"But, Wong——"

"No blut. Dinner velly well over," and he started out of the room with
the last of the dishes.

"Guess he means it," Jack whispered.

"'Fraid so," Bob replied.

But just as he reached the door he turned back.

"You slit down. Mebby gleet leetle blite," he grinned over his shoulder.

"I knew he was fooling," Jack sighed as he sat down.

"Yes, I did not," Jack grinned.

"Wonder where uncle and Captain Ole are," Bob said a moment later.
 "Guess they're not very far off."

"They can't have been through dinner very long."

"We'll hunt them up as soon as we get something to eat. It wouldn't do

to leave the room now."

"I'll say it wouldn't."

Just then Wong returned bearing a large tray filled with dishes piping
hot.

"Wong, you old fraud, you saved our dinner for us," Bob said as he sat
the tray down.

"Mellican boy no deserve it," he grinned placing the food on the table
before them.

"I'll say we don't," Jack agreed. "But you're one good scout."

"You no velly bad boys," Wong conceded.

Just as they were finishing Mr. Lakewood entered the room.

"So Wong saved you something after all," he smiled.

"I'll say he did," Jack told him.

"He declared by all his gods that he wouldn't."

"And he really convinced us that he hadn't," Bob told him.

"I thought all the time he would. What did you think of the town?"

"Good what there is of it and plenty of it as 'tis," Jack replied.

"We couldn't find an ice cream store, that's what's the trouble with him,"
Bob laughed.
 "Well, you said yourself that you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your
life here," Jack retorted.

"By the way, we had a bit of an adventure," Bob said and proceeded to
tell his uncle what they had overheard.

"You're sure it was Josh?" he asked when he had finished.

"There's no doubt about that," Bob assured him.

"Then it looks bad."

"What do you think he's up to?" Jack asked.

"Haven't an idea."

"But you think he's up to something shady?" Bob asked.

"It looks that way to me. By the way, are you sure he wasn't talking to
one of the crew?"

"Pretty sure," Bob told him. "Of course we didn't see the fellow but his
voice was strange to me."

"And to me too," Jack added.

"I've never trusted the fellow, though I couldn't say why," Mr.
Lakewood mused.

"What'll you do?" Jack asked.

"Nothing."

"But——"

"Think a minute and you'll see that we haven't enough to go on. If we

accused him of crooked work he'd deny it, of course, and he could easily
make up a plausible story to explain it."
 "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am. No, the only thing to do is to keep a close eye on him.
I'll tell Ole and put him on his guard. After all, you know, it may not be
anything that concerns us."

"But you think it is?" Bob asked

"I almost know it is."

"But not quite, eh?" Jack grinned

"Exactly. Now, don't let Josh know you suspect him," he cautioned them
as he rose and led the way out on deck.

The natives had resumed their work of filling the oil tanks, but by three
o'clock the task was completed and Mr. Lakewood announced that he and
the captain had decided to put to sea at once and not wait until morning.
"Kind of too bad not to say goodbye to the king," he added. "But we told
him we might leave this afternoon and he said he'd try to come down."

"And there he is now," Jack announced pointing to the shore.

The old Ford ran down dose to the end of the wharf and then stopped
with a suddenness which nearly threw the driver through the windshield.
Jumping out of the car the king ran down to the boat and leaped aboard.

"I was afraid you might be gone before I could get here," he gasped as
he held out his hands for them to grasp.

Followed an hour of pleasant conversation during which the king urged

them to remain longer as his guests but, finding that they were determined
to leave, he finally bade them goodbye about four o'clock and, insisting that
they make him another visit sometime, he cranked up the Ford and
disappeared up the street in a cloud of dust.

"Gee, but he did his best, short of asking outright, to find out where
we're going," Jack declared as they turned back to the boat.
 "I'll say he did," Bob agreed, "but I reckon it was nothing but curiosity."

"Which same killed the cat, you know," Jack reminded him.

"Look here, son, don't you go getting suspicious of everybody. Pretty

soon you'll be watching me," Bob grinned.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea at that."

An hour later they pulled out and, after running south until the island
was out of sight, swung in a wide circle until they were headed north.

"Just as well not to let them know which way we're going," Mr.
Lakewood explained as he stood with the boys on the bridge.

"Does the second mate know what we're after?" Jack asked.

"Not unless he's overheard something," his uncle told him. "We three
and Captain Ole are the only ones in the secret so far as I know. But he may
be wise at that."

"How far away do you think that island is?" Bob asked.

"I haven't much idea. When I took that trip I wasn't in a condition to
notice much of anything especially during the last part of it, and I may have
come a hundred miles and then again it may been nearer five hundred.
We're simply to hunt until we find it. I know it's around here somewhere,
and I reckon we'll strike it sooner or later."

"But aren't we likely to pass it in the night?" Jack asked.

"We're going to anchor as soon as it is dark, provided it's not too deep
and if it is we'll just drift."
 CHAPTER VI.

CAPTURED BY SAVAGES.

"She's all out and still banging."

It was after supper and then the sun had sunk, a huge red ball of fire,
below the western horizon. Captain Ole made the announcement as the
boys and their uncle, together with three or four of the sailors, stood
watching the big chain run out.

"Then I reckon we'll have to let her drift," Mr. Lakewood said as the
captain gave the signal to raise the anchor. "I don't really think that we're
anywhere near the place yet," he whispered to Bob, who was standing close
at his side, "but we don't want to take any chances. There's so little wind
that we won't go far."

"Well, guess we might's well go in and send a picture to the folks at

home," Jack said as the anchor appeared.

Every night they had turned on the machine for a few minutes but, to
their great disappointment, they had failed to receive any results from far
away Maine.

"Not time for more'n an hour yet," Bob said looking at his watch.

Some time in the night Jack awoke. This was such an unusual
occurrence that for some moments he lay awake and wondered what had
disturbed him. He could not hear a sound save the gentle lap of the water
against the side of the boat and the regular breathing of his brother. And yet
he knew that something was wrong. He reached beneath his pillow and
brought out his tiny flashlight and a glance at his watch told him than it was
twenty-five minutes past one.

"Guess I'm getting the heebie-jeebies," he thought as he slipped from

his bunk and, in his bare feet, stole toward the door.
 He opened it without making the slightest sound and stepped outside. It
was a beautiful night and, although there was no moon, the stars, which
thickly studded the sky, rendered it far from dark. For a full three minutes
he stood there, close to the door of his cabin, and listened. Was Bob right,
he wondered, when he told him he was getting too suspicious? Finally,
hearing no sound which could, in any way, be construed as being
mysterious, he decided to make a tour of the boat before going back to bed.

"Reckon I'm an idiot all right, but I'm going to take a look about, just
the same," he muttered, as he started slowly toward the stern.

The night was so warm that he was perfectly comfortable in his light
pajamas, and the floor felt delightfully cool to his bare feet. Not a sound did
he make as he stole along, keeping close to the side of the cabins where it
was darker than over by the railing. Suddenly a slight sound reached his
ears, and he stopped. Had he really heard anything, or were his suspicions
getting the better of his judgment? The sound was not repeated, and he was
about to move on again, when a spot of light, from far out across the water,
caught his eye. It glimmered an instant, and then disappeared, to reappear a
moment later in a series of flashes. Was it a signal? It seemed hardly
possible, but it certainly looked very much like it.

He crept on, until he reached the end of the cabins, and was but a few
feet from the stern of the boat. Cautiously he peeped around the corner, and
his heart gave an extra beat, as he saw a figure standing only a matter of six
or seven feet from him. It was too dark for him to distinguish the man's
features, even had his face been turned toward him, but the tall lanky figure
left no doubt in his mind as to his identity. It was Josh Kelley, and he was
up to something, for he raised his right hand, and a flash of light sprang out.

"It was a signal all right," he thought, as he shrank back, fearful lest the
man see him.

What should he do? He knew now that his suspicions, as well as those
of his uncle, were confirmed. The second mate was in league with someone,
and was signaling to him, or to them. But what was the object? Did he
know of their quest? These and many more questions flashed through his
mind as he stood there, watching that twinkling light, which came and went
in answer to the mate's signal. At first he thought they might be signaling in
the Morse code, and tried to read the flashes, but he could make nothing of
them. If they were using a code, it was not one with which he was familiar,
that was certain.

He had made up him mind to wake his uncle, and had taken a couple of
backward steps, when the light from a powerful flash struck him full in the
face.

"Wot's the idea?"

It was evident that the mate was mad, and for an instant the boy was too
startled to reply.

"I—I reckon I might ask you the same question," he finally stammered.

"Wot yer mean?"

"Who are you signaling to?"

"Who said I was signaling?"

"I saw you."

Almost instantly the mate's expression changed and the look of anger,
which had been plain even in the dim light, was replaced by an uneasy
smile.

"Oh, yer mean that flashlight?"

"Sure."

"Wal, I guess mebby I was signalin' kind of. That is yer might call it
that, but, bless yer heart, I dunno who it was I was signalin' to."

"But he answered you," Jack insisted.

"You saw him?"

 "Sure."

"Wal, yer know jest as much as I do who it was. Yer see, it's like this.
It's my watch an' I was looking out back here when I saw that flash out
there. Three or four times I saw it an' then, seein' as how I had this thing
with me, I thot as how I'd jest answer it an' I did. That's all I know about it."

"I see."

Jack knew that the man was lying, but he also knew that, at present, he
was powerless to prove it.

"Wot yer doin' out here this time o' night?" the mate asked suddenly, the
stern look coming back to his face.

"Oh, I woke up and, as it was pretty hot in the cabin, I though I'd get a
little fresh air," Jack replied easily.

"Hum, then yer didn't hear nothin'?"

"Why, no, not till I got out here and heard you."

"Hum."

"Who do you suppose it is out there?" Jack asked as the light flashed
again.

"Bless yer, how should I know?"

"Let me take the light a minute."

"Wot fur?"

"I want to answer him."

"Fur wot?"

"Just for fun."

 "All right."

He handed over the light and Jack flashed the message in Morse, "W-H-
O A-R-E Y-O-U?" But there was no answering flashes and, after waiting a
few minutes, the mate asked:

"Did yer send a message?"

"Asked them who they were, but I guess they don't know either," Jack
told him.

"Mebby they don't understand that code."

"Maybe not."

"I reckon that's it. Probably it's jest some fishermen becalmed out
there."

"You may be right."

"Sure I am."

"Well, I guess I'll be getting back to bed," Jack said with a deep yawn.

The mate made no reply, and he walked slowly back to his cabin
conscious that the man was watching his every move. He felt that he ought
to tell his uncle what he had seen without delay, but he knew that unless he
went at once to his own cabin the mate would know what he was going to
do. So, as he reached his door, he pushed it quickly open and, without
glancing behind him, went in. Bob was still sleeping and he got into bed
again without waking him. But, for a long time, he could not sleep. Not that
he thought there was any immediate danger. Whoever it was that the mate
was in league with, they would hardly make an attack on them until they
learned where they were going, and something in regard to their plans. That
the man was a villain he felt sure, and he was in no less certain that he was
a deep and crafty one. Finally he slept and the sun was streaming in at the
window when he again awoke. Bob, he saw, was fully dressed.

"What time is it?" he asked.

 "After seven."

"We under way?"

"Sure. You didn't think we'd stay drifting around all day, did you?"

"Huh, I suppose you've been up several hours."

"Not so many," Bob laughed. "But hurry or we'll be late to breakfast and
our rating with Wong isn't very high just now, you know."

Jack was already dressing and by the time he had finished he had told
Bob what he had seen in the night.

"What do you know about that?" Bob said, when he had concluded the
account.

"Not much," Jack confessed.

"Of course he was lying."

"You think so?"

"I don't think, I know he was."

"He's a scamp all right."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, cut out the kidding and come along to breakfast. We must tell
uncle as soon as possible."

They found their uncle in the dining room just finishing his breakfast
and, as he was alone, they at once told him.

"It surely confirms our suspicions," Mr. Lakewood said when they had
finished.

"But does it help any?" Bob asked.

 "I can't really see that it does," his uncle confessed after a moment's
thought.

"Was there any boat in sight when you got up?" Jack asked.

"Not a sign of one."

"Well, I wish he'd been a few minutes later when we started," Bob said.
"Then we wouldn't have been bothered with him."

"But there's no use wishing," Jack declared. "We've got him and the
only question is what are we going to do with him?"

"That's it, what are we going to do with him?" his uncle repeated.

"If we could only prove something against him," Bob mused.

"Perhaps we can later," Jack told him.

"But later may be too late."

"Well, there's no use hanging crepe all over the boat about it," Jack
grinned. "I'm going to keep a close watch on him and, mark my word, I'll
get him where the hair's short if he gives me half a chance."

"Sometimes chances have to be made," Mr. Lakewood said drily.

"And maybe I can do that too," Jack responded.

"Well, about the only thing I can do now is to tell Cap'n Ole about it and
put him on his guard, although I think he's watching him pretty closely
already," their uncle said, as he pushed back his chair and, followed by the
boys, went out on deck.

"We're going to run nor'east for about fifty miles and then tack back
nor'west and keep a-zig-zagging back and forth that way so as to cover a
pretty big area," he explained as they paused for a moment at the foot of the
stairway leading to the bridge.
 "Seems to me that ought to hit it," Bob told him.

But all that day they sighted no land, and when darkness came they
were again unable to anchor owing to the depth of the water. Mr. Lakewood
had told the captain about Jack's adventure, and he had advised taking Pat
Barney into their confidence and telling him where they were going and
their object.

"Pat's true blue and, what's more, he's sharp. He has a good chance to
keep an eye on the snake, and he'll do it if he knows he's up to something
crooked."

So, at the first opportunity he had told Pat all about the trip, and had
confided to him their suspicions in regard to the second mate.

"Faith an' it's meself as niver did loike the face uv him," Pat had
declared.

It was Pat's watch on deck that night from twelve until six and he
assured them that he would see that there was no signaling done while he
was on the job. Unlike the previous night, the wind was blowing fairly hard
from the west, although the night was clear and the captain told them that
they would have to keep the engine going to avoid being blown back.

"But we won't make more'n two or three miles an hour, so I reckon we

won't pass anything," he assured them.

The night passed without incident, and when the boys went on deck
shortly after six o'clock the captain told them that they had not made more
than a dozen knots during the night. The wind still held strong from the
west and there was enough of a sea to make the Valkyrie "kick up her
heels," as Jack put it.

They were eating dinner when they heard the lookout shout "Land ho"
and there was a scramble to see who would reach the deck first. Jack won
and, as he burst out from the room, he heard the mate cry:

"Off the port bow, sir."

 He could see nothing from the deck and hurried to the bridge closely
followed by the others.

"Right off there," the second mate told him pointing.

"I see it now," he replied turning to Bob who had reached his side.

"Looks pretty small from here," Bob said as he stepped into the wheel-
house for the glasses.

He was out again in a minute with the glasses in his hand and handed
them to his uncle, who by this time, had also reached the bridge. Mr.
Lakewood gazed for a long time before he took the glass from his eyes.

"It's too far away to be sure but I hardly think it's the place," he said as
he handed them to Bob.

The remainder of the breakfast was forgotten as they watched the land
as it seemed to rise higher and higher from the water and pretty soon Wong
appeared at the foot of the stairway.

"You goin' catch um some bleakfast?" he shouted.

"How about it, boys?" Mr. Lakewood laughed.

"I had enough," both replied in the same breath.

"Then you can clear away, Wong," he told him.

"All light," and Wong shuffled away a look of keen disgust on his
yellow face.

"Wong's slighted now," Captain Ole laughed.

"And I don't blame him," Bob declared. "But I just can't leave the bridge
now."

At the end of another hour Mr. Lakewood was able to say that he was
almost certain that it was not the island.
 "Of course," he added, "I may be mistaken, but I don't think so. It's too
large in the first place and then again it's too low at the near end."

"Suppose we land anyway," Captain Ole suggested. "I think I can see a
grove of trees not far inland and perhaps we can get some cocoanuts."

"Sure we'll land," Mr. Lakewood agreed. "Do you know," he added with
a smile, "it was several years after I got away from that island before I
could bear the sight of a cocoanut, but that's gone now and I really like
them again."

"Then we'll sure get you some," Jack laughed.

"No, that's not the place," Mr. Lakewood declared definitely a little
later, as the island now loomed up large before them. "Think it's inhabited,
Cap'n?" he asked turning to Captain Ole.

"Don't see any signs of anything that looks like it on this side, but you
never can tell about these places. Some of the tribes on these islands don't
go in much for architecture and a cocoanut tree will hide a whole lot of
'em."

As the captain had said, there was no sign that the island was inhabited.
The low lying beach stretched back, with only a gentle rise, for a distance
of some hundred yards, where it met a long line of trees which, the captain
assured them, were cocoanut trees. What was beyond they could not see. A
few minutes later and the Valkyrie swung at anchor at the mouth of a
narrow cove where the water was only about twenty feet deep.

"See that the second mate goes ashore with us," Mr. Lakewood
whispered to Captain Ole, as the latter was about to give the order to lower
one of the small boats.

Leaving the boat in charge of the first mate, the two boys together with
their uncle, Captain Ole, and Josh Kelley and two of the sailors, were soon
standing on the beach.
 "Bring those two baskets along," the captain ordered the sailors, as he
led the way toward the grove of trees.

"Look at the nuts, will you?" Jack shouted as they stood beneath the
trees. "I reckon it won't take us long to fill the baskets. Wait a minute and
I'll climb up and shake some down."

He was up one of the largest of the trees almost before he had finished
speaking, and soon the big nuts began to fall, and in less than fifteen
minutes they had filled the baskets.

"We should have brought more baskets," Jack declared regretfully.

"Those two were all we had," the mate told him.

"You two," the captain said turning to the two sailors, "take these nuts to
the ship, and then bring the baskets back. We'll help you carry them down to
the beach."

"Let's see how far this grove goes," Bob said a moment later after he
had jumped to the ground.

"Atta boy," Jack agreed.

"You look out you don't get lost," their uncle warned them.

"We won't. We'll be back by the time they get back with the baskets,"
Bob assured him.

The cocoanut trees came to an end before they had gone a hundred feet
and they found themselves on the edge of a narrow ravine on the other side
of which the land was too high for them to see beyond.

"Let's go up to the top of that hill and see what we can see from there,"
Jack suggested.

"Think we'll have time?"

"Sure. They won't be back for a half hour at least."

 "All right, but make it snappy."

But they were unable to hurry, as the ravine was filled with a peculiar
long grass, the edges of which were as sharp as a knife blade and they were
obliged to be careful to avoid being cut. But finally, panting and wringing
with perspiration, they reached the top of the hill, only to find that another
ravine and another hill beyond again shut off their view.

"All that for nothing," Bob panted as he threw himself down on the
ground.

"Can't we go on?" Jack asked.

"Not on your life. We've been gone nearly half an hour and uncle'll be
worried if we don't get back pronto."

"All right, then, let's beat it."

Bob got to his feet and they were about to start back when, without the
least warning, a dozen men seemed to rise from nowhere all about them.
They were small brown men dressed in nothing except a wide fringe of
some kind of grass about the waist. Their faces and the upper part of their
bodies were profusely painted with grotesque figures, making them appear
most hideous. They were unarmed save for a thin reed about six feet long
which each man carried in his right hand. But both boys had read accounts
of the dreaded blow-pipes and recognized them as the most formidable of
weapons. One slight prick from their tiny darts and they knew that it was
death.

"Mind your step," Bob whispered.

For a moments the brown men had stood still gazing at them as though
undecided what to do. Then one, a man slightly larger than the others and
evidently their leader, advanced a few steps and said something in a
language they were unable to understand. Bob shook his head and smiled
although, as he afterward declared, it was the last thing he felt like doing.
The native repeated his statement this time in louder tones and seemed
angry when Bob again shook his head.
 "Reckon he wants us to go down the hill," Jack said in low tones.

Bob smiled again at the man and pointed down the hill away from the
boat.

"Ugg," the man grunted.

"I reckon he understands and means yes," Bob said. "So, come on and
be careful and don't do anything to make them mad. You know what those
tubes are."

"Reckon I'm hep," Jack groaned as he fell into step beside his brother.

The natives formed a semicircle about them and, with many

gesticulations, urged them on.

"We're in a mess," Jack whispered.

"Looks that way."

"What do you think?"

"Can't tell. Have to wait and see."

"How in the world do they get through this stuff in their bare feet
without getting cut all to pieces.

"Guess they must be tough."

"And then some."

For some time they pushed their way through the thick sharp grass
being constantly urged to make more haste by their captors who seemed not
to have the slightest difficulty of locomotion. Finally they reached the top
of the next hill all but exhausted, although Bob cautioned Jack against
showing it any more than he could help. A short distance in front of them
they saw a grove of cocoanut trees and toward it their captors urged them.
 "Guess we've got there," Jack said as he saw a number of children
playing about the trees.

"Looks that way," Bob agreed.

Just beyond the grove was the village of the tribe, consisting of about a
dozen huts of bamboo shaped not unlike an Indian teppee. Several women,
dressed like their captors except that their grass girdles were somewhat
wider, sat or lay on the ground most of them engaged in weaving grass into
what seemed to be large mats. As the party approached, the children flocked
about them looking in amazement at the two boys. But they were roughly
brushed away by the men who seemed to begrudge them even a look at
their prisoners. The women gave little sign that they were aware of the
presence, although the boys could see that they were casting sly glances at
them.

The leader pointed to one of the huts which was located in the center of
the group and made them understand that they were to get inside and they
meekly obeyed. The hut was about a dozen feet in diameter and the peak of
it some fifteen feet from the ground. The ground inside was nearly covered
with the grass mats but they were all it contained.

"What a mess," Jack groaned as he sank back.

"Never say die," Bob consoled him. "I've seen sicker cats than this get
well."

"Maybe, but you'll have to acknowledge that this is an awful sick one."

"This must be a small tribe if this is all there is to it."

"But it's big enough. Got a gun with you?"

"Yes, have you?"

"Sure. How about fighting our way out?"

"It would be suicide."

 "Why would it? We've got two guns and six shots in each."

"But they've got those blamed pipes, and one of them would be sure to
get us before we could get them all, and you know what the least prick from
one of their dart means. I'd rather face them if they were armed with guns.
You'd have a show then, even if you got hit, but with those things you
haven't."

It was indeed a desperate situation, and both the boys were fully aware
of their peril. But they knew that there was One who had the power to save
them, and, at a nod from Jack, Bob got to his knees and sent up an earnest
petition, that, if it was His will their lives might be spared.

CHAPTER VII.

SAVED BY MAGIC.

"That sure helps," Jack declared, as Bob finished his prayer.

"I hope uncle and the others won't try to find us right away."

"How come?"

"Because someone'll get killed if they do."

"But you know they will. They're probably on their way here right
now."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Think they'll find us right off?"

 "I don't know. We aren't very far away, you know, but that grass is so
lodged in all sorts of ways that I don't know's they'll be able to pick up our
trail."

"But they'll find us sooner or later."

"Sure they will and then there'll be a fight."

"But they must know about the blow-pipes, don't you think?"

"Sure they do, and I reckon they'll be careful."

For some moments they were silent, each busy with his own thoughts. It
was quiet outside for the most part, although they could now and then hear
the sound of jabbering. After that seemed a long time, but in reality was not
more than an hour from the time they had arrived, the leader stuck his head
into the hut and motioned for them to come out.

"I've got an idea," Bob whispered as they got to their feet. "Be careful
and don't start anything."

"What you going to do?" Jack asked anxiously.

"No time to tell you now. Watch and you'll see."

As they emerged from the hut, they saw the group of native men sitting
on the ground in the form of a circle a short distance away, and toward them
the man urged them.

"Council of war, I reckon," Jack whispered.

"Likely. Watch your step," Bob again cautioned.

Into the midst of the circle the native pushed them and they noticed that
the women of the tribe were gathered a short distance away eagerly
watching the proceedings. Jack's mind was busy, wondering what Bob was
going to do and he did not have long to wait before finding out. Once they
were within the circle, the leader took his place beside one of the others and
at once began jabbering at them making many gestures with both hands. Of
course they were unable to understand what he was saying, but, when he
paused, Bob held up one hand and Jack saw that, between his thumb and
finger, he held up a bright half dollar. Instantly he knew his plan.

For an instant Bob held the coin so that all the men could see it, at the
same time striking an imposing attitude. Then he made as though he was
throwing the coin in the air, but instead, it disappeared. A look, first of
wonder stole over the faces of the natives, followed by one of uneasiness.
Then Bob stepped boldly forward and, with a slow movement picked the
coin from the nose of the leader. Now the look of uneasiness changed to one
which plainly indicated fear. Catching a wink from his brother Jack also
showed signs of amazement.

Bob's next trick was to run quickly here and there within the circle
snatching coins from the air until it seemed that he had collected a score or
more. Then he paused and looked solemnly at the leader who squirmed and
twisted as though expecting to be annihilated the next instant. It was evident
that, as Jack afterward declared, he had 'em going. But when Bob next
swallowed one of the coins and then, taking off of his shoes, shook it out
onto the ground, it was more than they could stand and one or two sprang to
their feet. But, with an imperious gesture, Bob motioned them to resume
their seat and, tremblingly, they obeyed. Again he looked with his stern
gaze at the leader, and again that individual acted as though he were sitting
on a hot stove, as Jack afterward laughed.

Then the leader, as Bob removed his gaze, gave an order and instantly
the entire company bowed their heads almost to the ground.

"Good boy, you got 'em on the run all right," Jack chuckled.

"Looks like it," Bob smiled. "Now for the climax."

He strode majestically up to the leader, who sat with his head almost
touching the ground, and, seizing him by his long hair, jerked him up until
he was sitting upright again.

"And, believe me I wasn't very gentle about it either," he afterward told

Jack.