"Yes, you are! You look it!" and the officer sneered at Cora. "Tell that to the marines!"
"Well, what's the price?" demanded Duncan with some impatience. "I'm in a hurry."
"Wait till your hurry cools off," said the officer, who from his own wild chase was now plainly uncomfortably warm. "You made the marked-off distance in the shortest time on record, from post to post in one minute."
"How do you know?" asked the chauffeur sharply.
"What's that to you?" replied the officer. "Didn't I see you?"
"You did not!" shouted Tom. "Some one 'squealed,' and you have no proof of what you are saying."
The man hesitated. Then he blurted out: "Well, what if a friend did tip me off? Wasn't he in as much danger from your runaway machine as the next one?"
"That man!" whispered Cora to Duncan. "He stopped and told him to arrest us."
"Well, the price?" called Duncan, with his hand in his pocket. "I tell you I am a doctor, and I am in a hurry to get to Chelton. Can't you make it something reasonable—and then something for your own trouble?"
The man eyed Duncan sharply. "I was told you would say just that," he said with a curious laugh.