He and Captain Desmond sailed from San Francisco on the 13th of September, 1875, and reached Freemantle on 16th of November.  They were not long in opening up communications with the prisoners, so as to be in readiness for the arrival of the Catalpa.  In the meantime two more men joined the expedition—­John King, who brought a supply of money from New Zealand, which was most useful, and Thomas Brennan, who arrived at the last moment, just as the Catalpa appeared off the coast, and had got into communication with Breslin.

Everything being arranged, it was determined to carry off the following prisoners—­Martin Harrington, Thomas Darragh, James Wilson, Martin Joseph Hogan, Robert Cranston, and Thomas Henry Hassett.  They were at work outside the prison walls, or at other employment equally accessible, when they were taken away in two traps from Freemantle, about nine o’clock in the morning of the 17th of April, 1876.  By the time the news of their flight, and of the direction they had taken, was known in the prison, the party had reached Rockingham, and were on the sea in the whale-boat which was to take them to the Catalpa.

The gunboat Conflict, which was usually stationed at King George’s Sound, was telegraphed for by the authorities, but it was found that the wires had been cut the previous night, and by the time they were repaired the vessel had gone on a cruise.

After some hours’ delay, the governor engaged the passenger steamer Georgette to go in pursuit.  It was nine o’clock that evening before she left Freemantle.  The police boat was cruising about also, looking for the whaler and her boat.  The Georgette came up with the Catalpa about 8 o’clock on the following (Tuesday) morning.  A demand to go on board and search the barque was refused.  As it was found there was a short supply aboard the Georgette, she returned to Freemantle to coal, leaving the police boat to watch the Catalpa, and to look out for the whale boat containing the rescued men, which had not yet appeared, although, as it turned out, not far off at the time.  The boat had been vainly searching for the Catalpa all night, and had only now discovered her.  The party in the boat had actually seen the Georgette overhauling the Catalpa, and had yet themselves remained undiscovered.  In order to keep clear of falling into the hands of the Georgette they stood off from the ship, and it was about half-past two o’clock in the afternoon before the boat containing the rescued men approached the Catalpa again.  They then saw the police boat making for the ship at about the same distance from her on the land side as the whale boat was to the seaward.  The men scrambled aboard just as the police boat was coming up on the other side.

Breslin says:—­“As soon as my feet struck the deck over the quarter rail, Mr. Smith, the first mate, called out to me, ’What shall I do now, Mr. Collins (this was the name Breslin went by); what shall I do?’ I replied, ‘Hoist the flag, and stand out to sea;’ and never was a manoeuvre executed in a more prompt and seamanlike manner.”