l, I
should be in possession of a car which would outpace even the Pirate's.
For months I've racked my brains over it. A week ago an idea occurred to
me. I worked it out. I tried it for the first time last night. It has
proved to be a success. The day after to-morrow I shall join in the
pursuit of the Motor Pirate, so if your Scotland Yard friend does not
make haste, he will be too late."

"What power do you propose to use?" I asked. "Petrol?"

He laughed before replying. "A month ago I would have told nobody; but
to-day there is no need of secrecy; my drawings are all ready for
deposit at the Patent Office, so there is no chance of any one
forestalling me."

"Well, what is it?" I said.

"I don't want you to tell anybody else just yet," he said; and as I
nodded my acquiescence, he continued, "My new motor is on an entirely
novel principle. It is a turbine engine, worked by the expansion of
liquid hydrogen."

"What?" I gasped. The idea was so novel that I could not grasp it. He
lifted his hand, checking the questions which started to my lips.

"No. No questions, if you please: because, if you ask any, I shall not
answer them. Meanwhile, you have not yet told me how you learned of my
presence here?"

I related how, in the course of my inquiries at Chelmsford, I had
ascertained that a person so like himself had passed through the town,
that I had determined to attempt to overtake him, little thinking the
chase would prove so stern.

He chaffingly congratulated me on my tracking powers, and expressed
regret that I had not made my appearance earlier, so that we might have
arranged a race; and by the time we had finished lunch, I was as
completely convinced as I had ever been of anything in my life, that he
had no connection whatsoever with the Pirate. Still, I was none the less
determined to tackle him upon the subject of the influence which Evie
declared he exerted over her, so when the meal was over, we left the
hotel together and, seeing from the front that the pier was practically
deserted, I led the way to the far end, determined to have a complete
explanation.

He was silent during our walk. So was I, for I was deliberating how best
to introduce the subject. As it happened, he made the task easy for me,
as after finding a comfortable seat and lighting a cigarette, he turned
to me with--

"Now, old fellow, what is it you have on your mind? Out with it!"

I told him--told him fully and frankly everything t