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Rh plainly see the face of the man at the wheel.

They had not been mistaken. The fugitive was Paul Blum.

Even as Frank looked, the man turned, and an expression of alarm crossed his face. He had seen the motorboat pursuing him.

Frank saw Blum lean forward, and the Sleuth began to increase its speed. The wing of water cleft by its bow became higher and the spray was flying. Swiftly, the motorboat began to draw away.

"He's seen us," said Frank, lowering the binoculars.

"We'll keep after him, anyway."

"We'll chase him clean across the Atlantis if the gas holds out," declared Tony.

Joe gave an exclamation of delight.

"The gas!" he exclaimed. "The gas! That's where we have him. I went down to the boathouse at noon just to see if there was enough gas in the tank, and it's pretty low. He hasn't enough to take him more than a few miles."

"Good!" exclaimed Tony. "That's where we have the edge. My boat may not be as fast as the Sleuth but the gas tank's full and there's some more in that can. We'll chase him till he has to quit."

But if the gas in the Sleuth's tank was low, there was no sign of it just then. The motor-