eth, carefully stretched
out his hand and gripped the back of the car. Then his knee touched
something--a chain. He caught it with his other hand. He lay there,
crouching, gripping wherever he could, his fingernails breaking, an
intolerable pain in his knee, death spinning on either side of him....

* * * * *

Back behind the tower, Red Gallagher and his mate bent with horrified
faces over the body of the signalman.

"What the hell did you want to plug him for?" the latter muttered. "He
ain't in the show at all. You've done us, Red! He's cooked!"

Red Gallagher staggered to his feet. Already the horror of the murderer
was in his eyes as he glanced furtively around.

[Illustration: QUEST JUMPS FROM THE SIGNAL TOWER ON TO THE FAST MOVING
TRAIN.]

[Illustration: A PAIR OF MYSTERIOUS HANDS PLACE THE BLACK BOX ON QUEST'S
TABLE.]

"I never meant to drop him," he muttered. "I got mad at seeing Quest get
off. That man's a devil."

"What are we going to do?" the other demanded hoarsely. "It's a quiet spot
this, but there'll be some one round before long. There goes the damned
signals already!" he exclaimed, as the gong sounded in the tower.

"There's the auto," Gallagher shouted. "Come on. Come on, man! I can fix
the tire. If we've got to swing for this job, we'll have something of our
own back first."

They crawled to the side of the road. Gallagher's rough, hairy fingers
were still trembling, but they knew their job. In a few minutes the tire
was fixed. Clumsily but successfully, the great Irishman turned the car
round away from the city.

"She's a hummer," he muttered. "I'll make her go when we get the hang of
it. Sit tight!"

They drove clumsily off, gathering speed at every yard. Behind, in the
shadow of the tower, the signalman lay dead. Quest, half way to New York,
stretched flat on his stomach, was struggling for life with knees and
hands and feet.

2.

Mrs. Rheinholdt welcomed the Inspector with a beaming smile as he stepped
out of his office and approached her automobile.

"How nice of you to be so punctual, Mr. French," she exclaimed, making
room for him by her side. "Will you tell the man to drive to Mr. Quest's
house in Georgia Square?"

The Inspector obeyed and took his place in the luxurious limousine.

"How beautifully punctual we are!" she continued, glancing at the clock.
"Inspector, I am so excited at the idea of getting my jewels back. Isn't
Mr. Quest a