For a moment the man stood as though petrified, and then, with a sudden jerk, he wrenched his hand free and sprang at the policeman with a wild yell of rage, and in a second both men were rolling over in the darkness. Constable Wiseman was no child, but he had lost his initial advantage, and by the time he got to his feet and had found his electric torch Crawley had vanished. CHAPTER XVII THE MAN CALLED "MERRILL" "If Wiseman did not think you were a murderer, I should regard him as an intelligent being," said Saul Arthur Mann. "Have they found Crawley?" asked Frank. "No, he got away. The chauffeur and the car were hired from a West End garage, with this story of a lunatic who had to be removed to an asylum, and apparently Crawley, or Smith, was the man who hired them. He even paid a little extra for the damage which the alleged lunatic might do the car. The chauffeur says that he had some doubt, and had intended to inform the police after he had arrived at his destination. As a matter of fact, they were just outside Eastbourne when the accident occurred." "The Man Who Knew" paused. "Where did he say he was taking her?" he asked Frank. "He was told to drive into Eastbourne, where more detailed instructions would be given to him. The police have confirmed his story, and he has been released. "I have just come from May," said Frank. "She looks none the worse for her exciting adventure. I hope you have arranged to have her guarded?" Saul Arthur Mann nodded. "It will be the last adventure of that kind our friend will attempt," he said. "Still, this enlightens us a little. We know that Mr. Rex Holland has an accomplice, and that accomplice is Sergeant Smith, so we may presume that they were both in the murder. Constable Wiseman has been suitably rewarded, as he well deserves," said Frank heartily. "You bear no malice," smiled Saul Arthur Mann. Frank laughed, and shook his head. "How can one?" he asked simply. May had another visitor. Jasper Cole came hurriedly to London at the first intimation of the outrage, but was reassured by the girl's appearance. "It was awfully thrilling," she said, "but really I am not greatly distressed; in fact, I think I look less tired than you." He nodded. "That is very possible. I did not go to bed until very late this morning," he said. "I was so engrossed in my research work that I did not realize it was morning until they brought me my tea." "You haven't been in bed all night?" she said, shocked, and shook her head reprovingly. "That is one of your habits of life which will have to be changed," she warned him. Jasper Cole did not dismiss her unpleasant experience as lightly as she. "I wonder what the object of it all was," he said, "and why they took you back to Eastbourne? I think we shall find that the headquarters of this infernal combination is somewhere in Sussex."