ccelerator, and the machine whirred past Admiral Farragut's statue at
a pace which would have caused even doughty "Old Salamander" to blink
with astonishment.

While four pairs of eyes were watching the fast moving vehicle in
front, Curtis gave the policeman a brief resume of the night's doings
since he and Devar had gone with Steingall to the Police Headquarters.
There was no need to say much about the actual crime, because the man
had full details, with descriptions of the man-slayers, in his notebook.

He was a shrewd person, too. His name was McCulloch; his father had
emigrated from Belfast, and a man of such ancestry seldom takes
anything for granted.

"I suppose you are not quite certain, Mr. Curtis, that the chauffeur
driving that car ahead is the 'Anatole' concerned in the death of Mr.
Hunter?" he asked.

But Curtis was of a cautious temperament, too.

"No," he said, "that is more than I dare state, even if I had an
opportunity to look at him closely. As it is, I merely received what I
may term 'an impression' of him. That, together with the marked
similarity of the car to the one I saw outside the hotel, seems to
offer reasonable ground for inquiry at any rate."

"Did you notice the number of this car?"

"No, not exactly. I believe it differs from that which I undoubtedly
did see and put on record."

"Of course, the plate must have been changed or he would never venture
in this locality again. If you are right, sir, the fellow must possess
a mighty cool nerve, because he is just passing 27th Street, within a
few yards of the hotel."

Somehow, the fact had escaped Curtis's remembrance; excellent though
his topographical sense might be, he was still sufficient of a stranger
in New York not to appreciate the bearings of particular localities
with the prompt discrimination necessarily displayed by the policeman.

During the succeeding few seconds none of the occupants of the
limousine spoke. Devar was kneeling on one of the front seats, and the
roundsman, who had removed his uniform hat to avoid attracting notice
when a lamp shone directly into the interior, quietly took stock of the
men who had so unceremoniously called him off his tour of inspection.
Evidently he satisfied himself that he was not being dragged into a
wild-goose chase. Their tense manner could hardly have been assumed:
they were in desperate and deadly earnest; so he thanked the stars
which had brought him into active connection