son.

"Did you notice a few minutes since that a low wall bounded the road on
both sides?" said Curtis, breaking a somewhat strained silence.

Yes, each had seen it.

"Well, I am inclined to believe," he went on, "that that wall formed
part of an accommodation bridge, under which the car passed in the dark
without our being aware of it. Indeed, I feel confident that if we
turn back along this main road, we shall meet our lane on the right,
and about three hundred yards from this very point."

They agreed to make the experiment, and Devar grinned broadly when the
lane presented itself exactly as Curtis had predicted.

"What did I tell you?" he cackled to the roundsman. "John D. is a
Chinese necromancer. I'm getting used to his tricks, and you will
catch the habit in another hour or two. By four o'clock you won't be
the least bit surprised if you find yourself flying across the New
Jersey flats in an aeroplane, or having a cup of hot coffee on board
the pilot steamer off Sandy Hook."

"I'll risk either of those unlikely things, sir, if we find your car
where we left it," They stepped out briskly. When all was said and
done, none of the three wished to be stranded in some unknown byway of
Westchester County at that ungodly hour, and their relief was great
when the stark outline of the crane became visible in an otherwise
impenetrable wall of darkness.

"By Jove! The car is here all right," crowed Devar joyously.

In the next few strides the automobile came in sight, the blaze of its
headlights casting a cheerful glow over the wharf. Brodie was standing
where the barge had been moored, and gazing blankly at the river; he
turned when he heard their footsteps, and ran quickly to the car.

"It's O. K., Arthur," cried Devar, realizing that the chauffeur might
be dreading an attack from the rear, "little Willie has returned, and
won't go boating again in a derelict barge at two o'clock in the
morning if he can help it."

"Oh, it's you, sir!" came the answer in a tone of vast relief. "My,
but I'm glad to see you! I didn't know what to do. I thought you were
safe enough, because I heard your voices as you drifted away, and I
fancied you might make the shore again lower down, but it seemed to be
a hopeless job to go in search of you, so, after things had calmed down
a bit, I decided to stop right here."

After the first gasp of excitement, there had crept into the placid
Brodie's voice a note of quiet jubilat