"And that," declared Forrest, "I absolutely refuse to do; for, with the exception of sixpenny worth of rum and a crust of bread and cheese, nothing has pa.s.sed my lips since dinner last night."

"Then you will be glad to hear that the Winters are punctual people," I remarked as we at once set out for my neighbour's house.

"I suppose," he said, as we reached our destination, "I may count upon you not referring to the plight in which I returned to your place? I should not care for it to get abroad that the Pirate had got the better of me on the first occasion of our meeting."

"Then you have seen him?" I cried eagerly.

"Seen him!" Forrest e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed in reply. "Seen him! After dinner you shall have a full, true and particular account of all that's happened.

Until then--well, a.s.sume you know everything but are not at liberty to divulge anything."

I was as much at home in Winter's house as in my own, so I did not trouble to ring and Forrest followed me in. I had forgotten that his appearance was likely to create as great a sensation there as it had caused me. I entered the drawing-room first, Forrest being a little behind. Mrs. Winter, a fluffy-haired little woman with blue baby eyes, baby lips, and a most engaging little baby dimple, was the centre of the party gathered there. The other women were Miss Maitland and Mrs.

Winter's twin sister, who reproduced the hair, lips, eyes and dimple with such exactness that it was always a puzzle to me how Winter had managed to make up his mind between them. About them were gathered Colonel Maitland, Mannering, Winter himself, and another man whom he had brought down with him from town that day. The subject of conversation, I learned afterwards, had been entirely devoted to Forrest's disappearance, and when they caught sight of him the effect was electrical. The ladies all jumped to their feet, the twin sisters screamed in unison, the men stood stock still. Mannering appeared to be the most astonished, for he turned pale and his lips became livid.

Before any one could say a word, however, the door opened again and the butler announced dinner in an impa.s.sive voice, which sent everybody into convulsions of laughter.

We filed into dinner a particularly merry party. Mrs. Winter had arranged for me to take in Miss Maitland, and the fact that Mannering obviously resented the arrangement added a great deal to my good humour.

The fact of Forrest being the lion of the evening did not disturb me at all. Indeed I was glad some one else had to parry the numberless questions put to him respecting his disappearance.

He fenced them remarkably well, though of course, when cornered, he could always fall back upon the excuse of his mouth being closed by the official pledge of secrecy.

Needless to say, only one topic was mooted, and I should not have referred to it had not the man whom Winter had brought from town said something which, I found afterwards, had some bearing on future events.

This person was a diamond merchant in his business hours, and after the ladies had left us, he expressed the opinion that it was a good thing the Motor Pirate confined his attentions to fellow motorists.

"If, for instance," he remarked, "he were to take it into his head to hold up the Brighton Parcels Mail to-morrow night, he would make one of the best-known firms in Hatton Garden feel very sick."

"How's that?" asked Mannering, carelessly. He had quite recovered from the temporary shock which Forrest's unexpected appearance had occasioned him.

"Well, I heard they are sending off a particularly valuable collection of stones by registered parcel post to-morrow," he answered.

"Seems a silly thing to do," commented Winter.

"I don't know about that," was the reply. "Their theory is that the chances of robbery are infinitely less than by any other method of forwarding. They have followed the practice for years, and hitherto have never made a loss. You see, no one knows anything about it except the princ.i.p.al, who takes the packet to the post office. He registers it at St. Martin's, and the packet is immediately placed amongst a number of parcels of all sorts, shapes and sizes; and the chance of a casual thief selecting that particular parcel, even if he had the chance, are at least a hundred to one, while it is well known that the postal employee who steals always lets the registered letter severely alone."

The subject was not pursued further, and soon after we joined the ladies. The party broke up early, and I was not sorry, for I could see Forrest was tired and I wanted to get his story from him before he turned in. But when we were back in my snuggery, I found that he considered it necessary to report himself at St. Albans. I was on the telephone, so I suggested its use, and he jumped at the idea. After some little difficulty we managed to get a message through to the police-station. Then settling down into an easy chair with a great sigh of content, he reeled out an account of his adventures.

CHAPTER X

DESCRIBING A RIDE WITH THE PIRATE

"WHEN you left me," Forrest began, "I thought I would pa.s.s the time until your return in making a still more detailed inspection of the ground than we had already made. I found I had no lights. In order to get over the difficulty, I went to the car in which the dead man was seated and examined the lamps. They were in good working order, and I could see that their extinction had not been due to any mischance. Why they should have been put out and the machinery of the car left running puzzled me. I could only conclude that the Pirate, after shooting his victim, had approached the car to plunder him, but had been scared away by the sound of our approach. He must have turned out the lights and have just had time to draw the car across the road to make a trap for us, before making his own escape. This impression of mine was confirmed later. I took one of the lamps from its socket, lit it, and looked again at the dead body. I am almost certain he had not been disturbed since the fated bullet struck him. His coat was closely b.u.t.toned. His rug was wrapped tightly round him. There were papers in his coat pocket, and I could feel through the coat that his watch and chain were still upon him. When thinking that the Pirate could not be far off, I regretted I had not accompanied you; but remembering you were well armed, I reckoned that if you did meet the gentleman, you were quite capable of giving a good account of yourself--and of him."

You who happen to have read my account of the state of my mind, as faithfully described in these pages, will be able to judge how far my friend's confidence in me was justified. For myself, I doubt not that had he met me, the Pirate would have been able to add a second victim to that night's list with little difficulty. This by the way.

"I did not make a very close examination," continued Forrest, "since there would be plenty of time for that when the doctor arrived. Besides, I wished him to see the body in the position we found it. So I turned my attention to the road again, going over the surface inch by inch in the most methodical manner. You never know, you see, whether some trifling object may not be dropped by the criminal which will provide a clue. I was so engaged when I became aware of a curious humming sound in the air. I stood upright and peered into the darkness. But my eyes had become dazzled by looking at the white road in the brilliant light of the acetylene lamp, and I might as well have expected to be able to see through a brick wall. The most sensible course to have pursued would have been to extinguish the lamp; but, instead of doing so, I stood like a fool in the middle of the road and waited until the Pirate--it was he without the slightest doubt--swooped down upon me, and if I had not at the last moment leaped aside I should have been bowled over. As it was, I just escaped being knocked down. The car pulled up with a jerk, and there, within reach, was the person whose capture would have--well, you can guess what it would have meant to me, if I could have managed to get him single-handed. But for the moment I was so astounded at the audacity of the rascal I could do nothing. I was not long in making up my mind to have a shot at capturing him, however. I dropped the lamp to the ground, and clipping my hand into my pocket I grasped my revolver. I knew I had to deal with a desperate character, but I was scarcely prepared to find him as physically powerful as he proved to be. I stepped up close to the car and with my left hand made a grab at him. It was a fruitless attempt. I found my wrist held in a grip of steel. I raised my right with the revolver. I was just a moment late in pulling the trigger, for he knocked up my hand and the bullet went wide. Before I had another chance, he twisted the weapon out of my grasp with a wrench that numbed my arm to the shoulder. How he managed to see in the dark was a mystery to me. He must have eyes like a cat--that man."

Forrest paused to light another cigarette, and after a couple of puffs he resumed--

"But the most startling thing was to come. Holding me tightly he leaned over towards me and said, 'Not this time, Inspector Forrest. You may think you have the Motor Pirate, but I can a.s.sure you that you were never more mistaken in your life.' Astonishment is not the name for my feelings at hearing him address me by my name. I had caught a glimpse of him before I dropped the lamp, but he was so swathed in his leather coat and disguised by his mask, that I should never be able to identify him.

But I seemed to recognize something familiar in the intonation of his voice, yet even that was so m.u.f.fled that I cannot be certain I have ever heard it before. However, I did not allow my astonishment to prevent me taking action. I threw myself suddenly backwards, hoping the weight of my body would upset his balance and drag him from his car to the ground, where we should have been on more equal terms. The jerk moved him about as much as if he had been built into his car. 'No, you don't, Inspector,' he said, with an infernal chuckle; and, so saying, he leaned over and, catching me by the coat, lifted me off my feet and swung me up on to the car before him. I'm not a light weight, as you can guess--I turn the scale at something nearer twelve stone than eleven--but he handled me as if I were a baby. I struggled of course, but my right arm was powerless, and he could master me with ease."

"I suppose it was during the struggle that you lost the two b.u.t.tons from your overcoat which you left behind you?" I asked.

"Most likely," he replied, "though I knew nothing of them. Really his strength seemed diabolic. There was something else about him which to my mind scarcely seemed natural. At all my struggles he continued to laugh, but there was no merriment in his laughter, it was merely an even guttural cachinnation, the laugh of a fiend at the aimless struggles of a lost soul. It seemed to give him immense pleasure to see me wriggling on the smooth curved metal plate which formed the front of his car. I grew tired at last and lay still, hoping for a chance to better my position, for I came to the conclusion that in a mere trial of strength he was immeasurably my superior.

"When he saw my resistance had ceased, he spoke again. 'I feel inclined to take you for a ride with me, Inspector,' he said. 'I can a.s.sure you that you will find the experience a thrilling one. It is given to few men to travel with the Motor Pirate. The pace alone should prove exhilarating, to say nothing of the companionship and--what awaits you at the termination of the entertainment.' He chuckled again as he concluded, and I felt a cold thrill in the region of my spine.

"I made no reply. What would have been the use? But I do wish my right arm had been of some use, for I think in my anger I might have stood some chance of turning the tables on him. I quietly tried to rub the feeling back into it, but he did not afford me a chance of doing so for long. He produced a length of rope from somewhere or other, and, before I gathered what he was doing, he had twisted it round me and bound my arms tightly to my sides. I was absolutely powerless, and I gnashed my teeth with rage at the helpless state in which I found myself. There was I, a detective inspector with a reputation at the Yard second to none, trussed like a fowl, and lying on the slippery surface of the Pirate car I had come out to capture."

"Not exactly a pleasant position," I remarked, as Forrest paused to moisten his throat with the whisky-and-soda at his elbow.

"No; but the worst was yet to come. He had no sooner secured my arms than he drew another piece of cord through the band, and fastened it somewhere or other. 'Now, if ever you pray, Inspector,' he remarked, with some more of his beastly merriment, 'pray that this rope doesn't break; for if it should happen to do so at the pace we shall be travelling, you will go to h.e.l.l even sooner than I intend you to do.'

"With that he set his car in motion, and, judging by the way the wind stung me, the pace was something terrific. At first I attempted to pay some attention to the direction we took. But I soon gave up the idea. My position on the car was not one from which I could observe anything with any degree of comfort. With my arms bound, I sprawled out upon the smooth, curved bonnet of the confounded car, only held on by a cord which I expected to break and send me flying into the next world every time we touched a stone, or crossed a rut. My heart was in my mouth for the next hour or so, but afterwards I think I grew careless or callous.

He had pulled the cord round my arms pretty tightly; that numbed me all over, and the exposure to the air did the rest. I fell into a dreamy condition. I only know that never for a moment were we still. There was always the drone of the wheels in my ears, and whenever I made a struggle and opened my eyes, all I could see was the blacker streak in the blackness caused by the hedges flying past. Heaven only knows how far and where we went. It seemed an eternity until it ended. But by then I was very near unconsciousness. I have a sort of impression the car did stop. I fancy that I saw the Pirate's mask bent closely over me while he examined me, that I heard him say, 'I don't think, Mr. Inspector, your attentions will trouble me much more.' I do remember distinctly being lifted in his powerful hands. I felt him swing me once, twice, thrice; then I felt myself flying in the air, and the next moment my senses came back to me with a rush, for I plumped into several feet of water."

"Well?" I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, as Forrest paused to light another cigarette. I was so interested that I grudged him a moment's delay before completing the story.

"The curious thing to my mind is that he did not knock me on the head at first," said Forrest. "I can only explain it by the conclusion that our friend the Motor Pirate is a madman. But, if so, I undoubtedly owe my life to the means he took to finish it. The sudden immersion brought me to myself much more rapidly than any other process could have done. In detaching me from the car he must have loosened the knot of the rope binding my arms; possibly the water made it slip further before it became saturated. I felt the rope give, and got one arm free by the time I came to the surface. I floundered into shallow water, and paused. By this time there was just a glimmer of light on the eastern horizon from the dawn, and I could see the bank was only a yard or two distant.

Somehow or another I managed to scramble out, bringing half the bed of the river, or pond, whichever it was I had been pitched into, with me.

When I was on firm ground I collapsed. I did not remain long on the ground, though. I knew very well that if I wanted to escape a severe illness, the only thing to do was to keep moving until my circulation was restored. So I got going. It was hard work at first. My limbs were so cramped and stiff that I was compelled to stop and groan after crawling every six paces. But the stiffness wore off gradually. I went ahead until I struck a village, and found out in what part of the country I was."

"Why didn't you go to the police-station?" I asked.

"Wasn't going to make myself a laughing-stock for a lot of country constables," he answered. "No; if I had got my man, I should not have minded what sort of figure I cut, but to turn up such a scarecrow after failing to get my man--not much. I had learned from the post-office window where I was. I had been dropped near Shefford, a village a few miles the other side of Hitchin on the North Road, and I thought if I walked back here I should avoid all likelihood of getting a chill. So I started. I found I had a shilling in my pocket. I had more money about me than that when I started out, but whether our friend helped himself to the balance, or whether it fell from my pockets during the ride, I haven't the slightest idea. But the shilling was sufficient to provide for my requirements. The first public-house I found open I went in, and had six-penny-worth of hot rum. My word! There's nothing like hot rum for putting new life into one. After I had drunk it I reckoned I should get here about noon; but I had not taken the somniferous effects of that sixpenny-worth of rum into the calculation. Before I had covered half a dozen miles, I found myself so sleepy that I could not keep my eyes open. I dropped off once or twice as I walked, so at last I made for a convenient haystack, rolled myself up in the loose litter at the base, and let myself go.

"That's how it happened I was so late in my arrival," he remarked; "and now, Motor Pirate or no Motor Pirate, I am going to finish that snooze."

He gave a prodigious yawn, and held out his hand. "Good night!" I said.

"The story of my adventures will very well keep until to-morrow."

CHAPTER XI

IN WHICH THE PIRATE HOLDS UP THE BRIGHTON MAIL

ON joining Forrest at breakfast the following morning, I found he had mapped out a programme for the day which promised to keep us pretty busily occupied.

"First," he said, "I must get into St. Albans, and see whether there is any fresh information to hand. If possible, I should like to run over to Shefford, for I want to look at the place where I had my ducking, and recover the piece of cord with which that almighty scoundrel secured me.

Then there's the inquest at Towcester at twelve, and sometime to-day I must put in an appearance at head-quarters to hand in my report. Perhaps I had better train from Towcester for that. It will be making too great demands on your time."

"Nonsense!" I replied; "I can run you up to town very nearly as quickly as you could manage the journey by rail."