"Sam and Bill aren't going to give up so easily. And they have a speedy machine." "You mean they may follow us?" "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they did. You know they were paid to see that no hostile interests got at me." "And we might be regarded as 'hostile interests'; is that it?" inquired Dick, with a smile. "Somewhat; yes. So put as many miles between them and us as you can. They're sure to discover, sooner or later, that I have gone, and they'll pursue us. But I think I put one over on them at that." "How?" asked Paul, from the rear of the car, for Dick was driving. "I poured water in the gasoline tank. They may be able to run for a few miles, but they're sure to stall sooner or later." "Then there's no use in worrying," said our hero, and he had almost slowed down his car, when Mr. Cameron said: "Don't bank too much on that. They carry an extra supply of the 'gas,' and they're sure to find out, in a little while, what the trouble is. They're both experts, and they were sent off with me on that account. Also, your Uncle Ezra's agents considered that it might be necessary for me to make a quick shift, so they provided a powerful car, and plenty of gasoline, though he did object most strenuously to the price." "I can imagine him doing that," agreed Dick, with a laugh. "Well, then, we'll keep on for a while longer, and remain dark. It won't be so easy for them to trace us then, as this car makes very little noise for its size." "I noticed that," said Mr. Cameron. On they shot, over the desert. It was about an hour since they had left the dry gully where they had picked up the young engineer, and they had covered several miles. Once Dick halted his machine, while they listened for any sounds of pursuit, but they heard none. If the other car was coming after them it was either following silently, or was so far back that no sound of its motor carried over the desert. "And so you put water in their gasoline tank?" chuckled Dick, as he recalled what his guest had said. "Yes, they were both playing 'seven-up,' and disputing over some intricate point, when I just took one of the water cans, and emptied it into the gas tank. I thought I ought to do something after their having taken most of the tricks so far." "That was all right!" rejoined Dick. "I'd like to see them when they stall." "Well, really I owed them something like that," went on the young engineer. "They had things their own way long enough. To think how I let them fool me makes me mad! And yet I believed what they told me--that they were in the right--I mean your Uncle Ezra and his friends--and of course as long as I was paid for my legitimate work, I saw nothing wrong in not coming to court to testify, particularly when they said that the other side had been guilty of the same kind of practice.