engine, muffled
though they were, seemed like rifle shots to ears newly accustomed to
the silences of the night. But the speed of the motor increased rapidly,
and she felt the damp of the river fog brushing her cheek. She could see
nothing though she peered into the blackness eagerly. The car was
rushing to destruction for all that she knew, yet Karl was driving
straight and hard for the entrance of the bridge. Marishka saw the dim
gleam of a lantern, heard a hoarse shout, and then the sound of shots
lost in the crashing of the timbers of the bridge as they thundered
over, the throttle wide, past the bridge house at Bosna-Brod upon the
other side of the river, and on without pause through the village into
the open road beyond. All this in darkness, which had made the venture
the more terrible.

It was with relief that she heard the light laugh and even tones of
Captain Goritz.

"That is well done, Karl. Your eyes are better than mine. But I have no
humor for a bath in the Bosna, so we will have the lights, if you
please."

"They will follow us?" stammered Marishka.

"There is a greater danger of detention at Dervent or Duboj, but I'm
hoping the bridge-tender may keep silent. It was stupid of him not to
guard the chain."

"You lowered it----?"

"It made a fearful racket, but the roar of the river helped."

A little further down the road, at a signal, Karl brought the car to a
stop and silenced the engine, while Goritz got down into the road and
listened intently, striking a match meanwhile and looking at the dial of
his watch. There were no sounds in the direction from which they had
come but the distant roar of the river and the whispering of the wind in
the trees.

"It is half-past three, Karl. How far have we to go?"

"More than two hundred kilos--two hundred and fifty perhaps."

"Ah, so much?" and he frowned. "I wish to reach the capital by eight
o'clock, Karl," he said.

"_Zu befehl_, Herr Hauptmann--if it is in the machine. I can at least
try."

As Goritz got in beside Marishka, he started the engine, and they were
off again. As a sign that at least the chauffeur was trying to carry out
his orders, in a moment they were rushing along at a furious pace which
seemed to threaten destruction to them all. In spite of an impending
storm which had now, fortunately, passed, at Brod Karl had lowered the
top of the car in order to make better speed in the final race for their
goal, and the rush of wind seeme