Baird was afraid to drive too fast in the pouring rain. The surface of the road was treacherous, and he had no intentions of having a smash-up at this stage of the game.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘We’ll stop and see what he does.’
Gradually he slowed down the Packard.
‘He’s slowing down too,’ Rico said in alarm.
Baird swung on the grass verge and brought the Packard to a standstill.
They both watched the headlights of the approaching car. The driver appeared to hesitate, then increased speed and went past them. Baird caught a glimpse of a big man at the driving-wheel of a Lincoln.
Baird lit a cigarette.
‘We’l let him get wel ahead,’ he said. ‘Maybe he wasn’t fol owing us, but I’m not taking any chances.’
‘We’re not over the State line yet,’ Rico said uneasily. ‘We’d better get on.’
Baird grunted. There was some sense in that. He started the car engine and drove along the highway at a steady forty miles an hour.