ap, because that was an
obvious maneuver due to altered circumstances. In a word, there was
now no hope or prospect of running him to earth at a rendezvous, but,
giving him credit for the possession and use of a criminal's brains, it
became an urgent matter to overtake him and compel a halt by
deliberately blocking the way.

They debated the point fully, and Devar was about to tell Brodie to act
when the gray car disappeared.

Not wishing to interfere at a critical moment, Devar drew back from the
window. Brodie spurted down a hill and along a short level lined with
suburban villas; he slowed to take a sharp corner, and the car ran
along a winding lane which could lead nowhere but to the water's edge.
It was pitch dark, and a mist from the Hudson filled the valley.
Common sense urged a careful pace, because it had never been possible
to stop and adjust the powerful headlights, while the luminous haze of
an occasional street lamp served only to reveal the narrowness of the
road and the presence of shacks and warehouses.

The descent was fairly steep, so Brodie shut off the engine, and the
big car crept on with a stealthy and noiseless rapidity which seemed to
betoken an actual sense of danger.

Suddenly they heard a loud splash, accompanied by a muffled explosion,
and McCulloch relieved his feelings by a few words, the use of which is
expressly forbidden by the police manual. But their purport was
ridiculously clear; the gray car had plunged into the Hudson, and who
could tell whether or not Anatole had gone with it? Curtis was the
first to adopt a definite line of reasoning: he assumed command now
with the confidence of one accustomed to be in tight places and to
depend on his own wits for extrication.

"Go forward slowly until the buildings stop, Brodie," he said, for the
two front windows were lowered, and the three men were crowded at them.
"That fellow knew exactly where he was going. When you pull up, light
the acetylene lamps, and we will take the other pair and search the
wharf from which that car was shot into the stream."

Within a few yards the brakes went on with a jerk, and a tall crane
loomed up vaguely in front. All four men sprang to the ground, and
while the chauffeur busied himself with the big lamps Curtis and Devar
disconnected the smaller ones.

They found themselves standing on a wooden quay, evidently used for the
trans-shipment of building materials, and a quick scrutiny showed that