apparently made no drawings, or else had destroyed them when they had
served his turn, so it would seem as if the secret of the singularly
speedy motor he invented is destined to be lost to the world. Still, it
may be that sufficient will be recovered to give some skilled
mechanician sufficient guidance to enable him to reproduce the lost
pirate car. If not, well, I don't suppose it matters. Some one else will
be sure to invent something similar. In fact, from the hints Mannering
gave me, and owing to the opportunity I had of examining the car in his
workshop, I think it is not unlikely that I shall shortly be applying
for letters patent myself.

CHAPTER XXIV

REVELATIONS

THERE remains only one thing more. I feel that the story would be
incomplete if I kept to myself certain particulars concerning Mannering,
which have come to my knowledge since the day when he made his
sensational flight into eternity from the brow of the cliff at Land's
End. At the time, both my wife and myself wished never to hear again the
name of the man whose actions had provided us with such terrible and
nerve-shattering experiences, but afterwards, when we came to think over
the matter, it occurred to both of us that in fact we knew very little
about the man who had nearly wrecked our lives. To dwell upon that
thought naturally awakened our curiosity concerning his past life, and,
needless to say, when the opportunity occurred for gratifying our
curiosity, we did not for a moment hesitate about accepting it. It is
true that we had gathered from his conversation that he had travelled
widely, but in what capacity, or with what object, we knew as little as
we knew of his birthplace or parentage. We found, too, a difficulty in
understanding the motives which had prompted Mannering's actions, and,
though we often discussed the question, we could never of ourselves
have arrived at a satisfactory solution of the problem.

On this latter point I must mention the conclusion arrived at by _The
Speaker_. This sober-minded and extremely British review declared that
his animating motive was "the strong rock of equity, or abstract
justice," inasmuch as, by principally directing his attention to
motorists, he was avenging _The Speaker's_ quarrel with a class which
this journal held in particular abhorrence. Naturally, both Evie and
myself smiled at the thought that the Motor Pirate was a conservative
gentleman, anxious only to restore to the high