"Thanks," said Barney. "I need the practice; but wait and you'll see that a diamond may be infinitely more valuable than even the broker claims," and he was gone again into the shadows of the garage. Here upon the window pane he scratched a rough deep circle, close to the catch. A quick blow sent the glass clattering to the floor within. For a minute Barney stood listening for any sign that the noise had attracted attention, but hearing nothing he ran his hand through the hole that he had made and unlatched the frame. A moment later he had crawled within.
Before him, in the darkness, stood a roadster. He ran his hand over the pedals and levers, breathing a sigh of relief as his touch revealed the familiar control of a standard make. Then he went to the double doors. They opened easily and silently.
Once outside he hastened to the side of the waiting girl.
"It's a machine," he whispered. "We must both be in it when it leaves the garage--it's the through express for Lus-tadt and makes no stops for passengers or freight."He led her back to the garage and helped her into the seat beside him. As silently as possible he ran the machine into the driveway. A hundred yards to the left, half hidden by intervening trees and shrubbery, rose the dark bulk of a house. A subdued light shone through the drawn blinds of several windows--the only sign of life about the premises until the car had cleared the garage and was moving slowly down the driveway. Then a door opened in the house let-ting out a flood of light in which the figure of a man was silhouetted. A voice broke the silence.
"Who are you? What are you doing there? Come back!"The man in the doorway called excitedly, "Friedrich! Come!
Come quickly! Someone is stealing the automobile," and the speaker came running toward the driveway at top speed.
Behind him came Friedrich. Both were shouting, waving their arms and threatening. Their combined din might have aroused the dead.
Barney sought speed--silence now was useless. He turned to the left into the street away from the center of the town.
In this direction had gone the automobile with Maenck, but by taking the first righthand turn Barney hoped to elude the captain. In a moment Friedrich and the other were hopelessly distanced. It was with a sigh of relief that the American turned the car into the dark shadows beneath the overarching trees of the first cross street.
He was running without lights along an unknown way;and beside him was the most precious burden that Barney Custer might ever expect to carry. Under these circumstances his speed was greatly reduced from what he would have wished, but at that he was forced to accept grave risks. The road might end abruptly at the brink of a ravine--it might swerve perilously close to a stone quarry--or plunge head-long into a pond or river. Barney shuddered at the possibili-ties; but nothing of the sort happened. The street ran straight out of the town into a country road, rather heavy with sand. In the open the possibilities of speed were increased, for the night, though moonless, was clear, and the road visible for some distance ahead.
The fugitives were congratulating themselves upon the ex-cellent chance they now had to reach Lustadt. There was only Maenck and his companion ahead of them in the other car, and as there were several roads by which one might reach the main highway the chances were fair that Prince Peter's aide would miss them completely.
Already escape seemed assured when the pounding of horses' hoofs upon the roadway behind them arose to blast their new found hope. Barney increased the speed of the car. It leaped ahead in response to his foot; but the road was heavy, and the sides of the ruts gripping the tires re-tarded the speed. For a mile they held the lead of the galloping horsemen. The shouts of their pursuers fell clearly upon their ears, and the Princess Emma, turning in her seat, could easily see the four who followed. At last the car be-gan to draw away--the distance between it and the riders grew gradually greater.
"I believe we are going to make it," whispered the girl, her voice tense with excitement. "If you could only go a little faster, Mr. Custer, I'm sure that we will.""She's reached her limit in this sand," replied the man, "and there's a grade just ahead--we may find better going beyond, but they're bound to gain on us before we reach the top."The girl strained her eyes into the night before them. On the right of the road stood an ancient ruin--grim and for-bidding. As her eyes rested upon it she gave a little ex-clamation of relief.