ay, was unable to rise to
her feet. They lifted her to her feet. She took a step or two, while
they watched her curiously. Quickly strength and self-control came
back to her. With a sudden spring, she struck at Wrentz with her fist,
and as he drew back, astonished she darted across the roadway toward
the wood.

It was but a futile, maneuver. She had gone but a few paces when she
was gripped from behind and snatched back.

"You see, Louis--I told you she would do something of the kind," said
the old bandit.

"And I told you it would do no harm. Place her in the car between you
and Rocco. If she screams or makes a move to get away you may do as
you wish, but not until then."

Pauline still struggled feebly as she was lifted into the machine.
Wrentz kicked the empty trunk to the side of the byroad and took the
wheel again. He drove back to the main drive that skirted the
railroad.

Distant as they were by now, the clamor of the caged beasts in the
circus train could still be heard. To Pauline the creatures seemed
less wild and cruel than these, her human captors.

Wrentz put on even greater speed than he had ventured before. Two
policemen, Burgess and Blount, of the Motorcycle Squad, were standing
by their wheels in the roadway when the sound of the car's rush reached
their ears from half a mile away.

"By George, that fellow's coming some," exclaimed Blount.

"And looks as if he wasn't going to stop," said the other. "Halt!
Halt, there!" he commanded, as the machine flashed up in a mantle of
dust.

"They are coming, Louis," said one of the men.

"I know they are. But there is no machine made that can catch this
one. Have your guns ready, though. In case they begin to fire, pick
them off."

Pauline shuddered at the matter-of-fact way in which Rocco and the man
on the other side drew their heavy pistols from their hip pockets and
rested them on their knees.

"Do you see the girl in that car?" yelled Burgess to his companion over
the din of their streaking machines.

"Yes. We want that party for more than speeding, I guess," answered
Blount. They bent low over their handle-bars and raced on.

"If he takes the 'S' curve like that we've got him--dead or alive,"
said Burgess.

"And it looks as if he would. By George, he is!"

Wrentz's car had shot suddenly out of sight around a twist in the
road. Wrentz was an able driver, and, even at its terrific speed, the
machine took the first turn