To everyone concerned it was admitted that Mr. James Hunter, or the "Toff Bird"which latter was the most popular of his many aliasesstood at the very head of his mixed profession. I use the adjective advisedly; for, in addition to being an accomplished burglar, he wasand the blend is most uncommona very competent and successful chevalier d'industrie. Forgery was a speciality of his; so was the "confidence trick" in all its varied branches; "faked" cards and dice, too, had received much attention at his hands. But so clever were his disguises, so consummate his impudence and skill in conducting his operations, that, although at times the Australian police laid hold of him, he invariably slipped through their fingers, owing generally to some defective link in the question of identity. Burglary the "Toff Bird" looked upon as an inferior and demoralizing form of excitement: one to be seldom practised, and then only when the booty was well worth the risk. "Stones" were the only things that appealed to him; and the melting-pot was rarely the richer by any contribution from his hands. This matter was probably another factor in his long immunity. Newspapers were, of course, his principal sources of information