"Yes, with Evans in the same Pullman section and Old Reliable in the express car forward. I had an idea in my head and followed it out. I felt as certain as I was of my own name that they'd have scouts out to wire ahead when Evans was coming; so it wouldn't be any use to get off at an obscure place. I also knew that the chances were I couldn't get a conveyance there at once for love or money; so Old Reliable was already--good and ready. Every tank was full. The tonneau was packed: ten gallons extra gas, five gallons of water, a week's rations--everything I could think of that we might need. We'd go through to the end of the line, all right, but if I could help it we shouldn't wait long after we got there. And we didn't." This time the girl did not interrupt, either with comment or gesture; merely lay there listening. "Ten minutes after we struck town we were away, under our own power. It was night, but we were away just the same. And that's where we got the lead,--a half hour's lead. They knew, all right, that we'd come, fancied they knew everything--but they hadn't planned on Old Reliable. It took them just that long to come to and make readjustment. Then the real fun began. There was no moon, and out on the desert the night was as dark as a pocket. We simply had to have a light even if it gave us away. Evans thought he knew the road; but, if there ever was one, before we'd gone ten miles we'd lost it. After that I drove by compass entirely--and instinct. But I couldn't go fast. I didn't dare to. For an hour and a half--the indicator showed we'd gone twenty-four miles--we had everything to ourselves, seemingly the entire world. We hadn't heard a sound or seen a live thing. Then, as we came up on a rise, Evans looked back and saw a light,--just one light, away, away back like a star. A few seconds afterward it disappeared and we made a couple more miles. We mounted a second rise and--this time Evans swore. He was with me by this time, body and soul, game to the finish; for the light wasn't starlike now by any means. It didn't even twinkle. It just simply rose up out of the ground, shone steady, vanished for a time, and rose up anew with the lay of the country. They were on our trail at last, they couldn't miss it. It was plain as a wagon road, and they were making two miles to our one. They must have had a good car; but anyway everything was with them. They could drive to the limit by our trail; but I couldn't, for I didn't know what was ahead. I let her out, though, and Evans watched. He didn't swear now, he just watched; and every time that light showed it was nearer. At last,--we'd made thirty-two miles by that time,--he saw two lights behind instead of one--and saw them red, I judge, for how he swore! It was then or never and I opened the throttle to the last notch and we flew over everything, through everything until--we stopped." "You struck something?"