"For several reasons," Mr. Wattles replied. "In the first place, she is a woman who likes mischief for its own sake--there are such people, you know. Then, she is under the influence of Farley; that is a fact that I have known for a long time. That man can make her do almost anything he wishes." "Is she in love with him?" "Sometimes I have thought so, and sometimes I have thought she almost hated him. He seems to exercise a sort of hypnotic influence over her; that is the only way in which I can explain it." "If she is in love with him," suggested Al, "it is rather strange, isn't it, that she should help him to abduct a rival?" "Not when you consider everything. Remember that the woman has a grudge against you. You haven't forgotten that episode at the Boomville Opera House, have you? You were the indirect means of throwing her out of an engagement." "That is so." "You can depend upon it," went on the manager, "that the woman in the case--and in the carriage--was Miss Olga Hollingsworth. But we mustn't stand talking here any longer." Mr. Wattles had observed that the stableman was listening to the dialogue with considerable interest. "Where did the couple say they were going?" he added. "They said," was the reply, "that they wanted to catch a train, but that they had to make a call first." "Did they say where they were going to call?" "They did not." "Did they say what train they wanted to catch?" "No, sir." "Where is the driver that took them out? Has he returned yet?" "He came back long ago, and has gone home." "Did he say where he took them?" questioned Al. "No, sir, he said nothing about the matter; all we were talking about was the theater fire." "Well," said Mr. Wattles, with a wink at Al, "we are much obliged for your information. Good-night." And he took the boy's arm and walked him rather unceremoniously out of the place. "I wanted to ask a few more questions," said Al, when they were outside. "It wouldn't have done any good, my boy. The man told us all he knew about the case." "I'm not so sure about that," demurred Al. "It seems rather queer to me that the driver should say nothing at all about such a peculiar case when he got back to the stable. According to the report of the stage hand he must have been posted about Farley's intention. He was really a party to the crime." "Exactly; and that, of course, is just the reason he said nothing when he got back. But we can find out all that later on. Now, in my opinion, they--Farley, Hollingsworth and their victim--did really take a train. The question now is, what train?" "Perhaps we can learn that at the railway station." "Just what I was going to say. We will go to the station now and find out what trains leave at about the time that our friends would have been likely to reach the place." "Rockton is not a very big place; there are not many trains a day." "No; we shan't have any trouble in getting the information we want."