o it!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mr. Green," said Burke. The chauffeur sprang into his seat, but
as he did so Shepard was upon the young officer and trying to climb
into the door.

Biff!

Here was a chance for every ounce of accumulated ire to assert itself,
and it did so, through the hardened muscles of Officer 4434's right
arm. Shepard sank backward with a groan, as the taxi-cab shot forward
obedient to its throttle.

Burke was bounced backward upon the unconscious girl, but the machine
sped swiftly with a wise chauffeur at its wheel. He did not know where
his passenger wished to go, but his judgment told him it was away from
pursuit.

He turned swiftly down the first street to the right.

Back on the sidewalk before the restaurant there was intense
excitement. Baxter, Craig and Jimmie the Monk had followed the artful
Shepard to the street by the side door. They assisted the chauffeur in
picking up the bepummeled man from the sidewalk.

"Say, Jimmie! There's somebody shadowing us. Get into that cab of
Mike's and we'll chase him!" cried Baxter.

They rushed for the other cab, leaving Craig to mop Shepard's wan face
with a perfumed handkerchief.

After the slight delay of cranking it the second car whizzed along the
street. But that delay was fatal to the purpose of the pursuers, for
ere they had reached the corner down which the first machine had turned
the entire block was empty. Burke's driver had made another right turn.

Bobbie opened the door and yelled to the chauffeur as he hung to the
jamb with difficulty.

"Drive past the restaurant again very slowly, but don't stop. Then
keep on going straight up the avenue."

The chauffeur knew the advantage of doubling on a trail, and by the
time he had passed the restaurant after a third and fourth right
turn--making a trip completely around the block--the excitement had
died down. The pursuers had gone on a wild-goose chase in the opposite
direction, little suspecting such a simple trick.

The taxicab rumbled nonchalantly up the avenue for five or six blocks,
while Burke worked in a vain effort to restore his fair prisoner to
consciousness.

The car stopped in a dark stretch between blocks.

"Where shall I go, governor?" asked the chauffeur as he jumped down and
opened the door. "Is your lady friend any better, governor?"

Burke looked at the man's face as well as he could in the dim light,
wondering if he could be trusted. He decided that