"Now I guess you wish the _Sleuth_ wasn't faster than my boat," he said, with a grin. "We'll have trouble catching him." He opened the throttle, and the motorboat leaped ahead, leaving a widening trail of foaming water behind. The white shape of the stolen craft could be seen far out in the bay. Paul Blum was losing no time, and it was evident that his method of escape had not yet been discovered by the police, as Tony's craft was the only boat in pursuit. It was doubtful, too, if the fugitive realized as yet that he was being pursued. "I'll let her out as fast as she'll go," said Tony, suiting the action to the word. The boat was drumming along at a high rate of speed and it soon became apparent that they were gaining on the _Sleuth_. This was evidently because Paul Blum thought his flight had passed unnoticed and did not feel it necessary to run the craft at its highest speed. "If we can only sneak up behind him before he knows we're after him, we'll have a chance," said Joe. "No such luck," Tony remarked. "He'll be looking behind once in a while." Frank found a pair of binoculars on one of the seats, and he raised them to his eyes, adjusting them so that Paul Blum and the speeding motorboat were brought within his line of vision. The distant _Sleuth_ leaped closer as he looked through the glasses, and he could plainly see the face of the man at the wheel. They had not been mistaken. The fugitive was Paul Blum. Even as Frank looked, the man turned, and an expression of alarm crossed his face. He had seen the motorboat pursuing him. Frank saw Blum lean forward, and the _Sleuth_ began to increase its speed. The wing of water cleft by its bow became higher and the spray was flying. Swiftly, the motorboat began to draw away. "He's seen us," said Frank, lowering the binoculars. "We'll keep after him, anyway." "We'll chase him clean across the Atlantic if the gas holds out," declared Tony. Joe gave an exclamation of delight. "The gas!" he exclaimed. "The gas! That's where we have him. I went down to the boathouse at noon just to see if there was enough gas in the tank, and it's pretty low. He hasn't enough to take him more than a few miles." "Good!" exclaimed Tony. "That's where we have the edge. My boat may not be as fast as the _Sleuth_ but the gas tank's full and there's some more in that can. We'll chase him till he has to quit." But if the gas in the _Sleuth's_ tank was low, there was no sign of it just then. The motorboat sped on up the bay, gradually widening the distance between itself and the pursuing craft. Tony crouched at the wheel, impassively watching the flashing white streak far ahead. "I wonder where he's heading for," said Frank. "Along the coast, probably," Tony answered. "He'll likely get out of the bay, then head up the coast as far as he can and abandon the boat." "That's probably what he intends to do," put in Joe. "But he'll never get out of the bay. There isn't enough gas."