The train that had left four hours earlier was almost as fast as the one taken by the detective, so that if no accident happened to the earlier train, there could be little hope of running down his prey before New York was reached.
Nevertheless, Dyke Darrel preserved a hopeful heart, in spite of the terrible anxiety that oppressed him.
The woman who had but a few days before been released from prison was destined to complicate matters and bring about startling and unexpected meetings, as the future will reveal.
When night fell Dyke Darrel found himself yet hundreds of miles from the goal of his hopes and fears.
CHAPTER XXIV.
A RACE FOR LIFE.
As may be supposed, Professor Ruggles was deeply stunned at the coup de main that had deprived him of his fair charge.
Who had robbed him? This was the question that at once suggested itself to his mind, and he found it not difficult to frame an answer, although, until this moment, he had supposed that Madge Scarlet was still in prison.
"It must be her," he muttered, as he gazed madly at the vacant seat.