nder, wrote that letter to the
government. It is you who fancy you can fight the entire world. You,
who call yourself the Master of the World!"

And how could he have denied it! I saw at that moment the famous
initials inscribed upon the helm!

Fortunately I restrained myself; and despairing of getting any
response to my questions, I returned to my seat near the hatchway of
my cabin.

For long hours, I patiently watched the horizon in the hope that land
would soon appear. Yes, I sat waiting! For I was reduced to that!
Waiting! No doubt, before the day closed, the "Terror" must reach the
end of Lake Erie, since she continued her course steadily to the
northeast.

Chapter 14

NIAGARA

The hours passed, and the situation did not change. The steersman
returned on deck, and the captain, descending, watched the movement
of the engines. Even when our speed increased, these engines
continued working without noise, and with remarkable smoothness There
was never one of those inevitable breaks, with which in most motors
the pistons sometimes miss a stroke. I concluded that the "Terror,"
in each of its transformations must be worked by rotary engines. But
I could not assure myself of this.

For the rest, our direction did not change. Always we headed toward
the northeast end of the lake, and hence toward Buffalo.

Why, I wondered, did the captain persist in following this route? He
could not intend to stop at Buffalo, in the midst of a crowd of boats
and shipping of every kind. If he meant to leave the lake by water,
there was only the Niagara River to follow; and its Falls would be
impassable, even to such a machine as this. The only escape was by
the Detroit River, and the "Terror" was constantly leaving that
farther behind.

Then another idea occurred to me. Perhaps the captain was only
waiting for night to return to the shore of the lake. There, the
boat, changed to an automobile, would quickly cross the neighboring
States. If I did not succeed in making my escape, during this passage
across the land, all hope of regaining my liberty would be gone.

True, I might learn where this Master of the World hid himself. I
might learn what no one had yet been able to discover, assuming
always that he did not dispose of me at one time or another--and what
I expected his "disposal" would be, is easily comprehended.

I knew the northeast end of Lake Erie well, having often visited that
section of New York State whic