A patrol wagon bore the prisoners to the lock-up, and Bernard had Dyke Darrel taken to a private hospital, where he could have the best of care. It was some days, however, before the badly battered detective came to his senses sufficiently to converse on the subject of the racket in the building on Clark street. "My soul! Harry, has nothing been discovered of poor Nell?--was she killed?" questioned the wounded man in a voice wrung with anguish. "I don't think Nell was mortally hurt," returned Bernard in a reassuring tone, although he hardly felt hopeful himself. "If she was, why should the villains have taken her away, or the villain rather, since, from your account, I judge that but one of them escaped, and he the man with the red hair." "Yes, he seemed the chief scoundrel among them. I heard him called Professor Ruggles." "He is about as much a professor as I am," answered Bernard. "HE is the man we want for that midnight crime on the express train. I have evidence enough now, Dyke, to prove that this man is the guilty principal, and I also believe that one of his accomplices is now in prison." "Indeed!" And then the detective groaned in anguish of spirit and of body. It was hard to lay here, helpless as a child, while the fate of Nell was uncertain, and there was so much need for a keen detective to be afloat. Harry realized how his friend suffered, and soothed him as best he could. "Leave no stone unturned to find her, Harry," urged the detective. "If you do find and save her, great shall be your reward. If she is dead, then I will see about avenging the deed." "And in that you will not be alone," assured Harry Bernard, a moist light glittering in his eye. Even Dyke Darrel did not suspect how deeply his young friend was interested in the fate of Nell. The days dragged into weeks ere Dyke Darrel was able to be on his feet again. He was not very strong when he once more took it upon himself to hunt down the scoundrels who had wrecked his happy home. Even the railroad crime was forgotten for the time, so intense was his interest centered in the fate of his sister. If not dead, Dyke Darrel believed she had met with a far worse fate, and it was this thought that nerved him to think of doing desperate work should the cruel abductor ever come before him. Madge Scarlet was dismissed after an examination, but Nick Brower and his companion were held to await the action of a higher court. One morning the pallid man in brown suit who had haunted the various depots of the city for several days made a discovery. On one of the early morning trains a man and veiled female had taken passage East. Dyke Darrel trembled with intense excitement when the depot policeman told him of this. "Only this morning, you say?" "It was on one of the earliest trains, I believe, this morning. "A New York train?" "I am not sure. I see so many people, you know. You might inquire at the ticket office." Dyke Darrel did so.