The next moment Evie was in my arms.
That is the story of the Motor Pirate. There remain but a few things to say. And first of them, let me explain how it happened that Evie managed to fall into the Pirate's clutches.
I told her later that it was owing to feminine curiosity. She, on the other hand, declares it was entirely owing to her anxiety on my account. Whichever was the reason, the moment she had heard Mannering's car approach, she had gone to the garden-gate, whence she was able to command a view of the coach-house door. She had seen the man Laver rush forward at the sound of the whistle. Then the pistol shot rang out, and the next moment Mannering had appeared on the new car. He had seen her, and she had attempted to fly to the house, but he had overtaken her and carried her off. Once on the car he had proceeded a short distance on the St. Alban's road, and then stopped to speak to her, for the first and only time on that day.
"I am going to take you for a ride with me, Miss Maitland," he had observed. "I merely wish to warn you before we start, that at the pace we shall travel, you will find any attempt to escape exceedingly dangerous."
It was then from his manner and appearance she had realized that she was in the power of a madman.
As regards the ride, she could tell me very little. The pace was so great that, being unprovided with a mask, she was obliged to crouch down on the seat and cover her face with a rug as a protection against the dust. It seemed an interminable time, she said, and the moment the car stopped she made an attempt to regain her liberty, without knowing how near she was to destruction at the time she made it.
Fortunately the strain had been much less than I expected, so far as Evie was concerned, and much more than I anticipated, was its effect upon myself. It was a long time before I completely recovered from the effects of those three adventurous days. And the worst of it was, that everything combined to prevent me obtaining the absolute quiet which I needed. After spending a night at the hotel I, of course, hastened to take train to London in order to restore Evie to her father. But when I arrived at my place at St. Albans, I found a veritable army of pressmen encamped on my doorstep. They would not give me a moment's peace. I was compelled to remain in bed, and upon sending a message over to Evie to inform her of my predicament, she informed me that she was similarly besieged.
We exchanged a dozen notes. I rose when it was dark, and slipped out of my back door. I could only see one method of securing quiet. Even a hardened pressman has a dislike to intrude upon the privacy of a newly married couple, so the next morning Evie and Colonel Maitland joined me in town, and we were married by special license and, without returning to St. Albans, we started for my home in Norfolk.
So much for myself.