ruce rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and looked over the stern of
the yacht. He saw a tug, with a banner of black smoke, tearing after
them, heaping up a ridge of white foam ahead of her. Some flags
fluttered from the single mast in front, and she shattered the air with
short hoarse shrieks of the whistle.

"Can she overtake us?"

The captain smiled. "Nothing in the harbour can overtake us, sir."

"Very well. Full steam ahead. Don't answer the signals. You did not
happen to see them, you know!"

"Quite so, sir," replied the captain, going forward.

Although the motion of the _Seahound's_ engines could hardly be
felt, the tug, in spite of all her efforts, did not seem to be gaining.
When the yacht put on her speed the little steamer gradually fell
farther and farther behind, and at last gave up the hopeless chase.
When well out at sea something went wrong with the engines, and there
was a second delay of some hours. A stop at Long Branch was therefore
out of the question.

"I told you Friday was an unlucky day," said the General.

It was eight o'clock that evening before the _Seahound_ stood off
from the Twenty-third Street wharf.

"I'll have to put you ashore in a small boat," said Druce: "you won't
mind that, I hope. The captain is so uncertain about the engines that
he doesn't want to go nearer land."

"Oh, I don't mind in the least. Good-night. I've had a lovely day."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. We will take another trip together some time,
when I hope so many things won't happen as happened to-day."

The General saw that his carriage was waiting for him, but the waning
light did not permit him to recognise his son until he was up on dry
land once more. The look on his son's face appalled the old man.

"My God! John, what has happened?"

[Illustration: "WHAT HAS HAPPENED?"]

"Everything's happened. Where are the securities that were in the
safe?"

"Oh, they're all right," said his father, a feeling of relief coming
over him. Then the thought flashed through his mind: How did John know
they were not in the safe? Sneed kept a tight rein on his affairs, and
no one but himself knew the combination that would open the safe.

"How did you know that the securities were not there?"

"Because I had the safe blown open at one o'clock to-day."

"Blown open! For Heaven's sake, why?"

"Step into the carriage, and I'll tell you on the way home. The bottom
dropped out of everything. All the Sneed stocks went dow