More and more he was convinced that Amos Belton had suddenly become a raving maniac. He had always been considered somewhat peculiar. He was dark and taciturn, making few friendships and seeking none.
The fact that he had some time before fallen wildly in love with Inza Burrage was a matter of common report. Belton had not taken pains to conceal his passion, and on more than one occasion he had annoyed the girl by thrusting himself into her company.
“Overtake the sleigh!” Frank called to the driver. “I will pay you well for it.”
The command was easy to give, but not easy to carry out. The driver had been doing his best.
Now and then people ran out of their stores or gathered in groups on the corners as pursued and pursuer tore by. Not another policeman had Frank seen, and no one made an attempt to stop the sleigh, which was now approaching the waterside and the wharves.
The ride across the city had been made in an incredibly short time, in spite of the zigzagging character of the route.
Frank kept the cab door open most of the time, ready to spring out if there was any advantage thus to be gained. The part of the city they were now in was not as well lighted nor as thickly populated as that they were leaving.
Again the sleigh took a side street and Frank obtained a look at the occupants. The man was sitting bolt upright, holding the reins, and the girl was apparently leaning against his shoulder. Her long silence had greatly increased Frank’s alarm and anxiety. Inza would not remain in so passive a state unless she were unconscious.
The cab flew round the corner, taking the side street with the wheels tipping. Again the sleigh shifted its course, going straight toward one of the wharves. The driver was evidently familiar with the streets and locality.
“He has some desperate plan in his crazy mind,” was Frank’s conclusion, “and he has studied the thing out in advance with all the cunning of insanity. But he will not be able to go much farther in this direction.”