Laurance returned to the office of _The Moment_ and hastily wrote his description of the start for the London to York race, after which he saw the editor and related what he knew about the death of Durwin. Permitted to write the article dealing with the subject, Laurance gave a concise account, and although he did not say too much, yet hinted very plainly that the death of the Scotland Yard official was connected indirectly with the murder of Sir Charles Moon. Remembering that Penn was now Lord Curberry's secretary, and that Lord Curberry's house was near the aviation ground, Freddy wondered if Penn had been amidst the crowd. Dan could have told him that he had been, but, at present, Laurance did not know this. However, he had a shrewd idea that as Penn was connected with one murder, he was probably connected with the other. Then Freddy cursed himself for not having observed if there was any special perfume hanging about the dead man's clothes. As he did not know the particular smell of the Sumatra scent he could not say if it was the one Dan had traced to Mrs. Jarsell, but if there was any scent at all, it was worth while looking into the matter. To repair his negligence he finished writing the article--which was very short--and then started for Blackheath to view the corpse again. As he was leaving the office of the paper a telegram was put into his hand. It proved to be from Dan, and had been sent from Bedford. "Had an accident," ran the wire, "rudder broke. No bones broken, but shaken by fall. I return this evening to town and will call. Halliday." "Now I wonder," murmured Laurance, when he read the telegram, "if that machine was tampered with, after all. If so, the gang must be getting scared. First Moon, then Durwin, now an attempt on Dan's life. By Jove, I'll be the next." The idea was by no means a pleasant one. CHAPTER XI ON THE TRAIL When Dan, looking rather pale and sick, presented himself at _The Moment_ office late that same evening, the first question Laurance put to him was relative to the accident. "Was your machine tampered with?" asked Freddy in a breathless manner, and the second almost the door was closed. "No, it wasn't," replied Halliday, sinking with a tired sigh into the nearest chair. "I was making a quick turn and the rudder gave way; I put too great a strain on it, and came fluttering to the ground like a shot partridge. That was a few miles beyond Bedford. However, I had the aeroplane dismounted and packed away in a village close at hand, then after a rest caught the express to St. Pancras. You got my wire?" "Yes, and I fancied this tumble must be the work of the gang." "Not a bit of it. My bad flying, that's all. Well, I have lost the race, and the man who flew the Zigzag monoplane has won, though he took his own time in arriving at York. A dashed bad machine I think he had, even though it's come out top for the time being. I'm a bit shaken, and feel sick, but a night's rest will put me square."