CHAPTER X
DESCRIBING A RIDE WITH THE PIRATE
"WHEN you left me," Forrest began, "I thought I would pass the timeuntil your return in making a still more detailed inspection of theground than we had already made. I found I had no lights. In order toget over the difficulty, I went to the car in which the dead man wasseated and examined the lamps. They were in good working order, and Icould see that their extinction had not been due to any mischance. Whythey should have been put out and the machinery of the car left runningpuzzled me. I could only conclude that the Pirate, after shooting hisvictim, had approached the car to plunder him, but had been scared awayby the sound of our approach. He must have turned out the lights andhave just had time to draw the car across the road to make a trap forus, before making his own escape. This impression of mine was confirmedlater. I took one of the lamps from its socket, lit it, and looked againat the dead body. I am almost certain he had not been disturbed sincethe fated bullet struck him. His coat was closely buttoned. His rug waswrapped tightly round him. There were papers in his coat pocket, and Icould feel through the coat that his watch and chain were still uponhim. When thinking that the Pirate could not be far off, I regretted Ihad not accompanied you; but remembering you were well armed, I reckonedthat if you did meet the gentleman, you were quite capable of giving agood account of yourself--and of him."
You who happen to have read my account of the state of my mind, asfaithfully described in these pages, will be able to judge how far myfriend's confidence in me was justified. For myself, I doubt not thathad he met me, the Pirate would have been able to add a second victim tothat night's list with little difficulty. This by the way.
"I did not make a very close examination," continued Forrest, "sincethere would be plenty of time for that when the doctor arrived. Besides,I wished him to see the body in the position we found it. So I turned myattention to the road again, going over the surface inch by inch in themost methodical manner. You never know, you see, whether some triflingobject may not be dropped by the criminal which will provide a clue. Iwas so engaged when I became aware of a curious humming sound in theair. I stood upright and peered into the darkness. But my eyes hadbecome dazzled by looking at the white road in the brilliant light ofthe acetylene lamp, and I might as well have expected to be able to seethrough a brick wall. The most sensible course to have pursued wouldhave been to extinguish the lamp; but, instead of doing so, I stood likea fool in the middle of the road and waited until the Pirate--it was hewithout the slightest doubt--swooped down upon me, and if I had not atthe last moment leaped aside I should have been bowled over. As it was,I just escaped being knocked down. The car pulled up with a jerk, andthere, within reach, was the person whose capture would have--well, youcan guess what it would have meant to me, if I could have managed to gethim single-handed. But for the moment I was so astounded at the audacityof the rascal I could do nothing. I was not long in making up my mind tohave a shot at capturing him, however. I dropped the lamp to the ground,and clipping my hand into my pocket I grasped my revolver. I knew I hadto deal with a desperate character, but I was scarcely prepared to findhim as physically powerful as he proved to be. I stepped up close to thecar and with my left hand made a grab at him. It was a fruitlessattempt. I found my wrist held in a grip of steel. I raised my rightwith the revolver. I was just a moment late in pulling the trigger, forhe knocked up my hand and the bullet went wide. Before I had anotherchance, he twisted the weapon out of my grasp with a wrench that numbedmy arm to the shoulder. How he managed to see in the dark was a mysteryto me. He must have eyes like a cat--that man."
Forrest paused to light another cigarette, and after a couple of puffshe resumed--
"But the most startling thing was to come. Holding me tightly he leanedover towards me and said, 'Not this time, Inspector Forrest. You maythink you have the Motor Pirate, but I can assure you that you werenever more mistaken in your life.' Astonishment is not the name for myfeelings at hearing him address me by my name. I had caught a glimpse ofhim before I dropped the lamp, but he was so swathed in his leather coatand disguised by his mask, that I should never be able to identify him.But I seemed to recognize something familiar in the intonation of hisvoice, yet even that was so muffled that I cannot be certain I have everheard it before. However, I did not allow my astonishment to prevent metaking action. I threw myself suddenly backwards, hoping the weight ofmy body would upset his balance and drag him from his car to the ground,where we should have been on more equal terms. The jerk moved him aboutas much as if he had been built into his car. 'No, you don't,Inspector,' he said, with an infernal chuckle; and, so saying, he leanedover and, catching me by the coat, lifted me off my feet and swung me upon to the car before him. I'm not a light weight, as you can guess--Iturn the scale at something nearer twelve stone than eleven--but hehandled me as if I were a baby. I struggled of course, but my right armwas powerless, and he could master me with ease."
"I suppose it was during the struggle that you lost the two buttons fromyour overcoat which you left behind you?" I asked.
"Most likely," he replied, "though I knew nothing of them. Really hisstrength seemed diabolic. There was something else about him which to mymind scarcely seemed natural. At all my struggles he continued to laugh,but there was no merriment in his laughter, it was merely an evenguttural cachinnation, the laugh of a fiend at the aimless struggles ofa lost soul. It seemed to give him immense pleasure to see me wrigglingon the smooth curved metal plate which formed the front of his car. Igrew tired at last and lay still, hoping for a chance to better myposition, for I came to the conclusion that in a mere trial of strengthhe was immeasurably my superior.
"When he saw my resistance had ceased, he spoke again. 'I feel inclinedto take you for a ride with me, Inspector,' he said. 'I can assure youthat you will find the experience a thrilling one. It is given to fewmen to travel with the Motor Pirate. The pace alone should proveexhilarating, to say nothing of the companionship and--what awaits youat the termination of the entertainment.' He chuckled again as heconcluded, and I felt a cold thrill in the region of my spine.
"I made no reply. What would have been the use? But I do wish my rightarm had been of some use, for I think in my anger I might have stoodsome chance of turning the tables on him. I quietly tried to rub thefeeling back into it, but he did not afford me a chance of doing so forlong. He produced a length of rope from somewhere or other, and, beforeI gathered what he was doing, he had twisted it round me and bound myarms tightly to my sides. I was absolutely powerless, and I gnashed myteeth with rage at the helpless state in which I found myself. There wasI, a detective inspector with a reputation at the Yard second to none,trussed like a fowl, and lying on the slippery surface of the Pirate carI had come out to capture."
"Not exactly a pleasant position," I remarked, as Forrest paused tomoisten his throat with the whisky-and-soda at his elbow.
"No; but the worst was yet to come. He had no sooner secured my armsthan he drew another piece of cord through the band, and fastened itsomewhere or other. 'Now, if ever you pray, Inspector,' he remarked,with some more of his beastly merriment, 'pray that this rope doesn'tbreak; for if it should happen to do so at the pace we shall betravelling, you will go to hell even sooner than I intend you to do.'
"With that he set his car in motion, and, judging by the way the windstung me, the pace was something terrific. At first I attempted to paysome attention to the direction we took. But I soon gave up the idea. Myposition on the car was not one from which I could observe anything withany degree of comfort. With my arms bound, I sprawled out upon thesmooth, curved bonnet of the confounded car, only held on by a cordwhich I expected to break and send me flying into the next world everytime we touched a stone, or crossed a rut. My heart was in my mouth forthe next hour or so, but afterwards I think I grew careless or callous.He had pulled the cord round my arms pretty tightly; that numbed me allover, and the exposure to the air did the rest. I fell into a dreamycondition. I only know that ne
ver for a moment were we still. There wasalways the drone of the wheels in my ears, and whenever I made astruggle and opened my eyes, all I could see was the blacker streak inthe blackness caused by the hedges flying past. Heaven only knows howfar and where we went. It seemed an eternity until it ended. But by thenI was very near unconsciousness. I have a sort of impression the car didstop. I fancy that I saw the Pirate's mask bent closely over me while heexamined me, that I heard him say, 'I don't think, Mr. Inspector, yourattentions will trouble me much more.' I do remember distinctly beinglifted in his powerful hands. I felt him swing me once, twice, thrice;then I felt myself flying in the air, and the next moment my senses cameback to me with a rush, for I plumped into several feet of water."
"Well?" I ejaculated, as Forrest paused to light another cigarette. Iwas so interested that I grudged him a moment's delay before completingthe story.
"The curious thing to my mind is that he did not knock me on the head atfirst," said Forrest. "I can only explain it by the conclusion that ourfriend the Motor Pirate is a madman. But, if so, I undoubtedly owe mylife to the means he took to finish it. The sudden immersion brought meto myself much more rapidly than any other process could have done. Indetaching me from the car he must have loosened the knot of the ropebinding my arms; possibly the water made it slip further before itbecame saturated. I felt the rope give, and got one arm free by the timeI came to the surface. I floundered into shallow water, and paused. Bythis time there was just a glimmer of light on the eastern horizon fromthe dawn, and I could see the bank was only a yard or two distant.Somehow or another I managed to scramble out, bringing half the bed ofthe river, or pond, whichever it was I had been pitched into, with me.When I was on firm ground I collapsed. I did not remain long on theground, though. I knew very well that if I wanted to escape a severeillness, the only thing to do was to keep moving until my circulationwas restored. So I got going. It was hard work at first. My limbs wereso cramped and stiff that I was compelled to stop and groan aftercrawling every six paces. But the stiffness wore off gradually. I wentahead until I struck a village, and found out in what part of thecountry I was."
"Why didn't you go to the police-station?" I asked.
"Wasn't going to make myself a laughing-stock for a lot of countryconstables," he answered. "No; if I had got my man, I should not haveminded what sort of figure I cut, but to turn up such a scarecrow afterfailing to get my man--not much. I had learned from the post-officewindow where I was. I had been dropped near Shefford, a village a fewmiles the other side of Hitchin on the North Road, and I thought if Iwalked back here I should avoid all likelihood of getting a chill. So Istarted. I found I had a shilling in my pocket. I had more money aboutme than that when I started out, but whether our friend helped himselfto the balance, or whether it fell from my pockets during the ride, Ihaven't the slightest idea. But the shilling was sufficient to providefor my requirements. The first public-house I found open I went in, andhad six-penny-worth of hot rum. My word! There's nothing like hot rumfor putting new life into one. After I had drunk it I reckoned I shouldget here about noon; but I had not taken the somniferous effects of thatsixpenny-worth of rum into the calculation. Before I had covered half adozen miles, I found myself so sleepy that I could not keep my eyesopen. I dropped off once or twice as I walked, so at last I made for aconvenient haystack, rolled myself up in the loose litter at the base,and let myself go.
"That's how it happened I was so late in my arrival," he remarked; "andnow, Motor Pirate or no Motor Pirate, I am going to finish that snooze."
He gave a prodigious yawn, and held out his hand. "Good night!" I said."The story of my adventures will very well keep until to-morrow."
The Motor Pirate Page 10