them trying to throw up the gun that killed the young officer."

Father Murray's reply was cut short. Before he could utter two words,
the tree was suddenly thrown open. Madame Neuville sprang out of it,
screaming. Her hair was disheveled, her dress torn, and blood was
trickling down her cheek from a small wound--evidently the result of a
blow.

"_Mon Dieu_! _Mon Dieu_!" she cried, wringing her hands. "Miss Ruth
is gone. They have taken her away in a great car. _Mon Dieu_, Father!
Come--come at once!"

The priest stepped into the tree, and Mark followed closely. As he had
surmised, the tree was a secret entrance into the grounds of Killimaga.
Madame Neuville pointed to the main entrance of the estate and to the
road showing beyond the open gates, "The North Road," Sihasset called
it.

"That way!" she cried. "They went that way. There were two of them.
They were hiding by the wall and seized her just as we were going out.
I was behind Miss Ruth and they did not see me at first. I tried to
fight them, but one of them struck me and they went off like the wind.
_Mon Dieu_! _Mon Dieu_! Let me die!"

"Stop, please." The sternness of Mark's voice effectually silenced the
weeping woman. "What were those men like?"

"Big, so big. One had bushy eyebrows that frown always. He was dark
and short, but he was very large of the shoulders."

Mark turned to Father Murray.

"It is useless to follow in a car, Father. The man she describes is
the murderer. I saw the car early this morning; it is a seventy
horsepower, and nothing but a racing car could catch it now. The lady
is safe, in any event. They will carry her to Washington. When they
find she is not the Grand Duchess, they will let her go. Will you come
to Washington with me?"

"Her mother was my twin sister, and she herself has been as a daughter
to me ever since I first saw her, a babe in arms," replied Father
Murray. "Let us go."

Madame Neuville rushed toward the great house, but the two men stepped
back through the tree and hurriedly returned to Sihasset.

CHAPTER XIV

THE INEXPLICABLE

Saunders, having selected the most comfortable chair in the hotel
lobby, was dozing placidly when Mark rushed in, and shook the detective
vigorously.

"Wake up," he called. "Will you come with me to Washington? When is
there a train connecting with the Congressional Limited? Father Murray
wants to catch that."

Saunders was alert in an insta