keenly conscious, meanwhile, of that other presence closing in
upon him from the rear. He simulated a violent start when a second
voice cried:

"Don't move. I've got you covered."

"My God!" Gray twisted about in his seat and exposed a startled
countenance. A masked man was standing close to the left running
board, and he held a revolver near Gray's head; the apparition
appeared to paralyze the unhappy traveler, for he still tightly
clutched the steering wheel with both hands.

"Just sit still." The cloth of the mask blew outward as the words
issued; through the slits two malevolent eyes gleamed. "Act
pretty, and you won't get hurt."

"Why! It's--it's Mr. _Mallow_!" Gray hitched himself farther
around in his seat and leaned forward in justifiable amazement.
"As I live it's you, Mallow!" Both highwaymen were in front of
him, now, and shoulder to shoulder; he made sure there were no
others behind them.

"Shut up!" Mallow snapped. "Frisk him, Tony, and--"

The command was cut short by a startled, throaty cry--a hoarse
sound of astonishment and rage--and simultaneously a strange, a
phenomenal thing occurred. An unseen hand appeared to strike down
both Mallow and his accomplice where they stood, and it smote
them, moreover, with appalling force and terrifying effect. One
moment they were in complete mastery of the situation, the next