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[Illustration: HE HAD INSISTED UPON THE TWO WOMEN DANCING FOR HIS
AMUSEMENT]




THE

MOTOR PIRATE

By

G. Sidney Paternoster


With a Frontispiece by Charles R. Sykes


          New York * * * * *
          A. Wessels Company
          * * * * * *  MCMVI




            _Copyright, 1904_
          BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
             (INCORPORATED)

       *       *       *       *       *

          _All rights reserved_




CONTENTS

  CHAPTER                                                      PAGE
      I. MAINLY ABOUT MYSELF                                      1
     II. THE COMPTON CHAMBERLAIN OUTRAGE                          9
    III. WHEREIN I MEET THE PIRATE                               21
     IV. CONCERNING MY RIVAL                                     36
      V. THE COLONEL DREAMS AND I AWAKEN                         48
     VI. I AM ARRESTED                                           59
    VII. I MAKE FRIENDS WITH INSPECTOR FORREST, C.I.D            71
   VIII. MURDER                                                  81
     IX. EXPLAINS A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE                     92
      X. DESCRIBING A RIDE WITH THE PIRATE                      104
     XI. IN WHICH THE PIRATE HOLDS UP THE BRIGHTON MAIL         113
    XII. HOW WE EXCHANGE SHOTS WITH THE PIRATE                  123
   XIII. OF THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING WOUNDED                     135
    XIV. A CLOUD APPEARS ON LOVE'S HORIZON                      145
     XV. A CLUE AT LAST                                         155
    XVI. I COMMIT A BURGLARY                                    165
   XVII. STORM                                                  176
  XVIII. IN WHICH THE PIRATE APPEARS IN A FROLICSOME HUMOUR     187
    XIX. A HOT SCENT                                            196
     XX. RELATES HOW THE PIRATE HOLDS UP AN AUGUST PERSONAGE    207
    XXI. WE PLAN AN AMBUSH                                      218
   XXII. GONE AWAY                                              228
  XXIII. SAVED                                                  240
   XXIV. REVELATIONS                                            249




THE MOTOR PIRATE




CHAPTER I

MAINLY ABOUT MYSELF


OF course every one has heard of the Motor Pirate. No one indeed could
help doing so unless he or she, as the case may be, happened to be in
some part of the world where newspapers never penetrate; since for
months his doings were the theme of every gossip in the country, and his
exploits have filled columns of every newspaper from the moment of his
first appearance until the day when the reign of terror he had
inaugurated upon the roads ended as suddenly and as sensationally as it
had begun. Who the owner of the pirate car was? Whence he came? Whither
he went? These are questions which have exercised minds innumerable; but
though there have been nearly as many theories propounded as there were
brains at work propounding them, so far no informed account of the man
or his methods has been made public.

Nearly twelve months have now elapsed since he was last heard of, and
already a number of myths have grown up about his mysterious
personality. For instance, it is not true, as I saw asserted in a
sensational evening paper the other day, that the Motor Pirate was in
the habit of abducting every young and attractive woman who happened to
be travelling in any of the cars he held up. On only one occasion did he
abduct a lady, and in that case there were special circumstances with
which the public have never been made acquainted. His deeds were quite
black enough without further blackening with printer's ink, and it would
be a pity if the real Motor Pirate were lost sight of in mythical haze
such as has gathered about the name of his great prototype, Dick Turpin.

It has occurred to me, therefore, to tell the story of his doings--it
would be impossible for any mortal man to give an absolutely detailed
account of his life and actions--but I know more than the majority of
people about the personality of the man. Of one thing my readers may be
assured: I personally can vouch for the accuracy of every fact which I
chronicle. You see I am not a professional historian.

How it happened that I am in a position to give hitherto unknown
particulars about the Motor Pirate will appear in the course of my
narrative. Sufficient for the moment let it be for me to say that it was
purely by chance that the opportunity was thrown in my way; though, as
it happened, it was not entirely without my own volition that I became
involved in the network of events which finally resulted in the tragedy
which closed his career. By that tragedy the world lost a brilliant
thinker and inventor, though unfortunately these great talents were
accompanied by an abnormal condition of mind, which led the owner to
utilise his invention in criminal pursuits.

It may probably seem strange that, being in possession of facts as to
the identity of this mysterious person, I did not lay them before the
police, who, at any time during the three months of his criminal career,
would have given their ears to lay him by the heels. You may even think
it is their duty to take proceedings against me as an accomplice. Well,
I am quite prepared to answer any question which the police, or any one
else for that matter, desires to put to me. James Sutgrove, of Sutgrove
Hall, Norfolk, is not likely to change his address. When my poor old
governor died he left me sufficient excuse, in the shape of real estate,
for remaining in the country of my birth; though, if the necessity had
arisen, I should not have hesitated about going abroad. At twenty-five,
my age within a few weeks, a man has usually sufficient energy to enable
him to carve out a career for himself in a new country, and I do not
think I am very different to my fellows in that respect. But the fact
is, I have nothing to fear from the police. My criminality was less than
theirs. An ordinary citizen may be forgiven if he is blind to the
meaning of things which occur under his nose, but the police are
expected to be possessed of somewhat sharper vision. The utmost that can
be urged against me is, that if my eyes had been keener than those of
Scotland Yard, reinforced by the trained vision of some hundreds of
intelligent chief constables throughout the country, I might have been
able to lay my hands upon the Motor Pirate before--but I must not
anticipate my story.

One word of apology, however, before I begin. In order to make my
narrative fully intelligible I shall have to refer to matters which may
seem of a purely personal nature. I will make these as brief as
possible, but it was entirely through such that I was brought into
closer touch with the Motor Pirate than, perhaps with one exception, any
other person in the world. If therefore I seem to be devoting too much
attention to what appears to be merely personal interest, I trust I may
be excused. To begin, then, at the beginning.

       *       *       *       *       *

On the evening of March 31, 19--, I had arranged to dine in town with a
couple of friends, both of them neighbours of mine. I am not going to
mention the name of the restaurant. It was not one of the fashionable
ones, or probably neither the cuisine nor the wines would have been so
good as they were, though both would unquestionably have been more
expensive. I prefer, therefore, to keep the name to myself. It was in
the neighbourhood of Soho, however, and the reason I had invited my
friends was in order to disabuse their minds of the idea that everything
in that neighbourhood was of necessity cheap and nasty. I had
determined that their palates should be charmed by the dinner they were
to eat, so, in addition to sending a note to the proprietor, I thought
it as well to arrive at the restaurant a quarter of an hour before the
appointed time, in order to make assurance doubly sure that everything
was as I desired it. Had my guests been casual acquaintances, I must
confess that I should never have taken this trouble. But they were not.
One of them was the renowned Colonel Maitland. I never heard anything
about his war service, but I do know that as a gastronomist his
reputation is European. The cool way he will condemn an _entree_,
presented to him by an obsequious waiter, merely after casting a single
glance upon it, speaks volumes for his critical insight; and as for
wines--well, he can tell the vineyard and the vintage of a claret by the
scent alone. I verily believe that were he to be served with a corked
wine, the result would be instant dissolution between his gastronomic
soul and body