han ever," I asseverated.

"Then I hope between us we may be successful in running our man to
ground."

"Have you heard anything further?" I inquired, anxiously.

"Nothing of the slightest value. A number of people have been through
our hands, but of the Pirate--not a sign."

"Perhaps we shall get a clue in the morning," I hazarded.

"At present," he declared, "there's not a shred of a clue to work upon.
Of course at any moment information may come to hand. He may endeavour
to dispose of some of his plunder, or he may reappear, but until
then----"

"What do you suggest?" I asked.

"I shall stay and thoroughly explore this district until I hear
something further," he answered.

"I am thinking of going into town in the morning, to see if a more
powerful car than the one I possess at present is to be obtained," I
told him later. "I am hoping to get one capable of doing fifty or even
sixty miles an hour at a pinch, so as to be prepared for emergencies.
Meanwhile, if you like to make this house your headquarters, I shall be
delighted to put you up."

"Do you really mean that, Mr. Sutgrove?" he asked.

"Of course I do," I replied.

He hesitated a moment, then he accepted my invitation. Luck was on my
side after all.

CHAPTER VIII

MURDER

I LEARNED to know Inspector Forrest very well during the next fortnight,
better perhaps, since during that time the Motor Pirate gave absolutely
no sign of existence. It seemed as if, contented with the sensation he
had created and the plunder he had secured, he had retired into the
obscurity from which he originally emerged.

For two reasons I was not sorry for this interval. In the first place, I
found I could not get immediately the type of car I wanted.
Manufacturers and agents were willing enough to book orders, but none of
them had in stock the high-speed automobile such as I required. Only
after a long day's hunt did I discover an agent who thought that he
could obtain for me a 60-h.p. Mercedes, and then it would have to be
sent from Paris. At my suggestion, he telephoned through an order that
the car should be despatched to him at once; but two or three days
elapsed before its arrival in London, and then there were certain
alterations which I required to be made which took a week to complete. I
was glad, therefore, that my enemy did not make a reappearance until I
was provided for him. When the new Mercedes was delivered to me I was
delighted with it, esp