midnight before
Was he , they wondered , rejoicing over Dean 's untimely end ? Did he , with true Prussian arrogance , in spite of the failure of his plot , still dare to hope that with Dean out of the way , he might escape punishment and yet win Jane Strong ? Even as they picked him up , the last of the prisoners , and put him in the rear seat of the chief 's car , his eyes still sought for Jane . It was long after midnight before the strange cavalcade left the mountain shack . Fleck 's car led the way , with the chief himself at the wheel , and Jane beside him . Crowded on the rear seat were Frederic and two other prisoners , and standing in the tonneau , facing them with his revolver drawn in case they should make an attempt to escape in spite of their shackles , was Fleck 's chauffeur . Carter was at the wheel of the second car with five prisoners and a man on guard , and the arrangement in the third car was the same .