. Chester now
had his school days to thank for the fact that he was more fleet of
foot than the others of the crowd. He passed them rapidly, as he ran
after the flying figure of Duval, now at least 200 yards ahead of him
down the street.

The lad raised his revolver as he ran and fired. But Duval did not halt.
Chester had missed.

With the howling pack at his heels, and Chester gradually closing up the
gap between them, Duval exerted himself to the utmost. Suddenly he
turned into a narrow alley, where he halted. Chester, who was nearer
than any of the others, dashed into the alley without slackening his
speed, and, as he did so, Duval struck him a heavy blow in the face with
the butt of his revolver.

Immediately he turned and dashed forward again.

Chester was not knocked unconscious by the force of the blow, but he
reeled and fell to the ground. He was up in a moment, however, and with
blood streaming from an ugly gash in his head, dashed after the fugitive
once more.

Gradually Duval and his pursuer outdistanced the rest of the crowd.
Chester was near enough not to be thrown off the track, as Duval rounded
corner after corner; and, try as he would to shake off his pursuer, Duval
was unable to do so.

At the next corner Duval darted into a little store, and out the other
side, upsetting a group of men as he did so. Chester dashed in after him.

But here he encountered an obstacle. The group of men upset by Duval rose
to their feet, very angry. At the sight of a second running man, not
realizing the seriousness of the chase, they lined up and stopped the
lad's progress.

Realizing it was no time for talk, Chester struck out right and left, and
men dropped. But the rest closed in, and Chester went down. A heavy
wrench was raised over his head and would have fallen on it.

But a newcomer caught the upraised arm. Chester looked up. It was Hal.

CHAPTER XXVII.

HAL IN PERIL.

Hal was unable to tell just what caused the great crash as, after
releasing his hold on the window in the cellar of the house to which he
had followed Duval he went down into space. His feet struck a projection
of some kind, and the crash followed.

The lad struck the floor in a heap. Although he felt sure that the crash
must have aroused everyone in the house, he lay perfectly still,
listening. Above he could hear the sounds of footsteps, and directly a
door, which he judged to be the door into the cellar from above, opened.