new handle for the ax. _Gawd!_"

A few miles farther on the fellow confessed: "I wasn't crazy about
comin' for you to-night. Not after I got a flash at what's in that
valise."

"No?"

"You're takin' a chance, stranger."

"Nothing new about that." Gray remained unperturbed. His left arm
was behind the driver; with it he clung rigidly to the back of the
seat as the car plunged and rolled. "Frequently we are in danger
when we least suspect it. Now you, for instance."

"Me?" The man at the wheel shot a quick glance at his fare.

"You probably take more chances than you dream of."

"How so?"

"Um-m! These roads are a menace to life and limb; the country is
infested with robbers--"

"Oh, sure! That's what I had in mind. Joy-ridin' at night with a
hatful of diamonds is my idea of a sucker's amusement. Of course,
we won't 'get it'--"

"Of course! One never does."