late. The shock of the thing had unnerved her. In the darkness she could
not see his face clearly but the voice had been--different. He'd brought
the whole structure about his ears by one foolish momentary mistake.
Then quite suddenly she fainted against him.

"Fool!" he apostrophized himself. "Blind fool!" and, stopping instantly,
caught her up in his arms just as the lane hove in sight, and throwing
her across his shoulder, took the added burden in his best athletic
fashion, and ran.

CHAPTER XXV

THE MAN IN THE BLACK MASK

They reached the motor only just in the nick of time, for already the
darkness behind them was rent with cries of "There they are! Head them
off!--there they are!" making the night hideous with the noise of them,
and the stampede of feet seemed to grow more dense with every minute.

Cleek flung his unconscious burden in the car, leaped in after it, and
tapped the chauffeur upon the shoulder.

"Extinguish your lamps and make for Aygon Castle--as quick as you can!"
he gave out in the sharp staccato of excitement. "And the quicker the
better! There's trouble here, and if those men catch up with us to-night
I'll not answer for the lady's safety."

"Yessir."

Then with a whizz and a whirr the car was off, rocketing down the lane
and taking the corners upon two wheels, so that Cleek had hardly a
breath left in his body, and the rush of air that swept them as they
sped away began to revive the unconscious form of Catherine Dowd who lay
upon the seat beside him.

A drop of brandy, rather uncertainly administered because of the
darkness and the jolting of the car, revived her still more, and in
another moment she had opened her eyes and let them dwell upon his face.
In the darkness they glowed like two lamps. And her face was very
frightened.

"My God! Not Ross!" she broke out uncertainly, shutting her hands
together across her breast in her agitation. "Then--who are you?"

"Who knows?" he responded with a touch of gallantry. "It was your
mistake in the first place, remember, not mine. A friend in need,
perhaps, who has been able to save you from the consequences of a very
foolish action. You know what those men were doing?"

She shook her head dumbly.

"Then you will learn to-morrow from the lips of a man whom you have
learned to distrust, because he has proved more than a match for you
already. That is so, isn't it? Your Mr. Deland up at the Castle. From
what I heard, you have b