When Herc hit the sidewalk he utterly forgot all else in his anxiety to follow and trace out the destination of the two he had so providentially, he felt, sighted from the cab.

He had a feeling that if he could run them down without their observing him, he would be able to discover the whereabouts of Ned, for the more he pondered it, the more the Dreadnought Boy felt certain that the two worthies he was trailing knew what had become of his chum.

He was perfectly correct in his prompt recognition of the two men. A second glance as he cautiously negotiated the corner showed him that.

The pair, who no doubt felt perfectly secure,[Pg 193] were walking along at a moderate gait. From time to time they cast sharp glances at some shabby-looking little shops as if in search of something.

It will, of course, be recalled that the last time we saw Saki and his accomplice they were on the point of being precipitated into the stormy sea, following the death-blow the schooner had dealt the frail motor boat.

How they escaped a grave in the tumbling water rows we shall also learn before long. But just now let us follow Herc as, slipping in and out of doorways and taking advantage of every bit of cover, like a trained detective, he follows them.

As they did not look back, Herc's task was rendered considerably more easy of accomplishment than would otherwise have been the case. He kept, however, some yards to the rear in order to guard against the danger of being recognized.

The fact that he was in "mufti" or citizen's[Pg 194] clothes was in his favor. Young Taylor, in his not very stylish gray suit, was an inconspicuous person compared with the somewhat swaggering air he bore when he was in Uncle Sam's uniform.

They were leaving behind them the street that was crowded with summer-garbed promenaders. The stores were small and of no attraction. Dingy, uncleaned windows and slatternly-looking merchants began to make their appearance.

At the foot of the down-at-heel side street, Herc could catch a glimpse of water and could sight the barn-like outlines of some of the deserted factories already referred to.

"Where in the world can they be bound?" he found himself wondering.

Could he have known the events of the last twelve hours, he would also have wondered at their being there at all. It is not given to everyone to come as close to the grim scythe of death and to escape scot-free as Saki and Kenworth had done.

[Pg 195]

As it happened, Herc was not destined to have to wait long before his curiosity was, at least in part, gratified. The two men came to an abrupt halt in front of a store that was even more dingy in appearance than its neighbors. Grass was sprouting through the cracks in the rickety wooden sidewalk in front of it, and, so far as Herc could see, from the distance he was obliged to keep, the establishment bore no outward and visible sign of the goods for sale within. Yet its big, dirty window showed that it was a store of some sort.

Herc dodged into a doorway as the two men came to a standstill in front of this place. By peeping cautiously out he was able to ascertain that they had apparently reached their destination. At any rate, he saw Sa............