rty-five miles an
hour and the strip was still turning to higher figures.

Suddenly he caught her arm. The road had forked, and he pointed to the
left; she swung the car that way, again seeing as they made the turn,
the tire-tracks they were following. She was not able now to watch
these tracks; she could watch only the road and car; but she was aware
that the way they were following had led them into and out of private
grounds. Plainly the men they were following knew the neighborhood
well and had chosen this road in advance as avoiding the more public
roads which might be watched. She noted they were turning always to
the left; now she understood that they were making a great circle to
west and north and returning toward, but well west of, her father's
house; thus she knew that those they were following had made this
circuit to confuse pursuit and that their objective was the great city
to the south.

They were racing now over a little used road which bisected a forested
section still held as acreage; old, rickety wooden bridges spanned the
ravines. One of these appeared in the radiance of the headlight a
hundred yards ahead; the next instant the car was dashing upon it.
Harriet could feel the shake and tremble of the loosely nailed boards
as the driving wheels struck; there was a crash as some strut, below,
gave way; the old bridge bent but recoiled; the car bounded across it,
the rear wheels skidding in the moist earth as they swung off the
boards.

Harriet felt Eaton grab her arm.

"You mustn't do that again!"

"Why?"

"You mustn't do that again!" he repeated the order; it was too obvious
to tell her it was not safe.

She laughed. Less than five minutes before, as she stood outside the
room where her father's cousin had just been murdered, it had seemed
she could never laugh again. The car raced up a little hill and now
again was descending; the headlights showed another bridge over a
ravine.

"Slow! Stop!" her companion commanded.

She paid no attention and raced the car on; he put his hand on the
wheel and with his foot tried to push hers from the accelerator; but
she fought him; the car swayed and all but ran away as they approached
the bridge. "Give it to me!" she screamed to him and wrenched the car
about. It was upon the bridge and across it; as they skidded upon the
mud of the road again, they could hear the bridge cracking behind.

"Harriet!" he pleaded with her.

She steered the c