ed
into the gloom; then John turned the wheel and they shot forward down
the drive. The lights of the other car vanished, there was a splash as
they swung into the wet road, and Foster pulled the rug around him when
he had struck a match and noted the time.

"You needn't hurry her too much," he said. "If I catch the train by
about a minute, it is all I want."

"Very good, sir. If I may remark, the other's a powerful car."

"I don't think they'll try to overtake us until we're near the
station," Foster answered with a laugh. "But we can't allow it then."

"No, sir," said John. "I quite understand."

They ran down the valley at a moderate speed, and Foster, looking
around when they came to a straight piece of road, was not surprised to
see a gleam of light in the distance. He lost it a few moments
afterwards, but it flashed out again every now and then, until they
plunged into a thick fir wood. They were about half-way to the
station, but the light had not got much nearer. He had, however, not
expected it to do so, because he thought Daly would be satisfied if he
kept his supposititious victim in sight. The danger would arise when
they got near the station, and whether they overcame it or not depended
on John's coolness and nerve. Foster thought the man would not fail
him.

It was a dark night and a damp haze thickened the gloom. Stone walls
and ragged thorn bushes leaped up in the glare of the lamps and faded,
but one could see nothing outside the bright beam. This was a
disadvantage, because Foster could not tell where he was and much
depended on his reaching the station with exactly the right time to
spare. He was rather anxious about it, since his plan would be spoiled
at the start if the train were late. By striking a match in the
shelter of the screen, he could see his watch, but it did not seem
prudent to distract John's attention often.

By and by the walls vanished and withered heath, glistening with damp,
rolled past the car. They were running through a peat moss, with a
deep ditch on one side, and climbing an incline, to judge by the heavy
throb of the engine. Shallow ruts, filled with water, ran on in the
blaze ahead and showers splashed about the wheels. Outside the bright
beam the darkness was impenetrable. Foster, however, was conscious of
a pleasant thrill. If one looked at the thing in one way, he was
plunging into trouble that might have been avoided; but he had been
prudent l