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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc7bea1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50080 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50080) diff --git a/old/50080-8.txt b/old/50080-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 905a4cc..0000000 --- a/old/50080-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4825 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt Makes Good, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Motor Matt Makes Good - or, Another Victory For the Motor Boys - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: September 30, 2015 [EBook #50080] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT MAKES GOOD *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Demian Katz and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images -courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - - - - - - - - - - MOTOR STORIES - - THRILLING - ADVENTURE - - MOTOR - FICTION - - NO. 20 - JULY 10, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - - MOTOR MATT - MAKES GOOD - - ANOTHER VICTORY - FOR THE MOTOR BOYS - - _BY THE AUTHOR - OF "MOTOR MATT"_ - - [Illustration: _"FIRE away, kevik!" clamored Carl, - and just then Matt pulled the trigger._] - - _STREET & SMITH, - PUBLISHERS, - NEW YORK._ - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -_Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Entered according to -Act of Congress in the year 1909, in the Office of the Librarian of -Congress, Washington, D. C., by_ STREET & SMITH, _79-89 Seventh Avenue, -New York, N. Y._ - - No. 20. NEW YORK, July 10, 1909. Price Five Cents. - - - - -MOTOR MATT MAKES GOOD - -OR, - -ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE MOTOR BOYS. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. OFF THE CHILIAN COAST. - CHAPTER II. HURLED INTO THE SEA. - CHAPTER III. SAVED BY A TORPEDO. - CHAPTER IV. WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE. - CHAPTER V. A SURPRISING SITUATION. - CHAPTER VI. ANOTHER ATTACK. - CHAPTER VII. A BAD HALF HOUR. - CHAPTER VIII. CHASING A TORPEDO. - CHAPTER IX. NORTHWARD BOUND. - CHAPTER X. A HALT FOR REPAIRS. - CHAPTER XI. DICK MAKES A DISCOVERY. - CHAPTER XII. A WARY FOE. - CHAPTER XIII. PLUCK THAT WINS. - CHAPTER XIV. A LITTLE WORK ON THE INSIDE. - CHAPTER XV. A STAR PERFORMANCE. - CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION. - THE SPIDER WATER. - GOOD WORDS FOR THE 'GATOR. - VENOMOUS FISH. - - - - -CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. - - - =Matt King=, otherwise Motor Matt, king of the motor boys. - - =Carl Pretzel=, a cheerful and rollicking German boy, stout of frame - as well as of heart, who is led by a fortunate accident to link his - fortunes with those of Motor Matt. - - =Dick Ferral=, a young sea dog from Canada, with all a sailor's - superstitions, but in spite of all that a royal chum, ready to stand - by the friend of his choice through thick and thin. - - =Ensign John Henry Glennie, United States Navy.= - - =Sons of the Rising Sun.= - - =Captain Pons=, who has come from Havre, France, to deliver the - submarine boat, _Pom_, to the Chilian Government, only to fall into a - net spread by the Sons of the Rising Sun. - - =Captain Sandoval=, of the Chilian Navy, who has appeared before, in - the MOTOR STORIES, and appears for the last time and bows himself out. - - =Captain of the Port of Lota, Chili=, who plays a small but important - part. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -OFF THE CHILIAN COAST. - - -"Great spark plugs!" - -"Strike me lucky!" - -"Py shiminy Grismus!" - -There were three surprised and excited boys on the rounded deck of -the submarine boat _Grampus_. It was a calm, cloudless night, and the -sea was as smooth as a mill pond; but, for all that, the night was -cloudless, a dank, clinging fog had rolled down from the Andes and -out upon the ocean, blotting out moon and star and rendering their -surroundings as black as Erebus. - -The _Grampus_ was proceeding slowly northward along the Chilian coast. -Motor Matt, Dick Ferral, and Carl Pretzel were on the deck forward, -keeping a sharp lookout. The electric projector from the conning tower -bored a gleaming hole into the darkness ahead, giving the lads a -limited view in that direction. Speake was half in and half out of the -conning tower, steering from that position. - -The waters gurgled and lapped at the rounded sides of the boat, then -floated rearward in long lines of phosphorescence, spreading out in the -wake like two sticks of an open fan. At the stern of the submarine the -propeller churned up a glittering froth. - -What the boys saw, however, that had aroused their startled -exclamations was a cluster as of glowing lights a foot or two under the -surface of the water. This mysterious glow was moving, at a moderate -rate of speed, in a course that crossed that of the _Grampus_. - -"Slow down, Speake!" called Matt to the helmsman. - -The jingle of a bell, down in the motor room, was heard faintly, and -the submarine's speed fell off perceptibly. The cluster of starlike -points bubbled onward, missed the bow of the _Grampus_ by a few feet, -and vanished in the gloom on the port side. - -"Vat it iss?" murmured Carl, rubbing a hand dazedly across his eyes. -"Dere iss lighdning pugs on der land, und I vonder iss dere lighdning -pug fishes in der sea? Dot looked schust like a shark mit some search -lights on his headt." - -"I'm a Fiji if there was any fish about that," averred the bewildered -Dick. "Can you rise to it, matey?" he asked, turning to Matt. "What -sort of a sizing do you give it?" - -The king of the motor boys was puzzled. - -"It might be a piece of drift from the shore," he answered, "or the -fragment of a wreck." - -"Aber it _moofed_!" exclaimed Carl. "It moofed droo der vater schust -like it vas alife!" - -"The current may have caused that. There are all kinds of currents in -this part of the ocean." - -"Und der lights, Matt. Pieces oof wreck don'd haf lights like dot!" - -"That was a trick of the phosphorescence. There were probably nails or -spikes in the timber, and wherever they projected and caused a ripple -there was a glow in the water." - -Matt turned to Speake. - -"Make a turn to the left, Speake," said he. The submarine swerved -slowly to the port tack. "There," said Matt; "hold her so." - -Dick gave a low laugh. - -"You don't take much stock in that explanation of yours, matey," he -remarked, "or you wouldn't be following that bit of supposed flotsam -and jetsam." - -"I've explained it in the only way I know how, Dick," returned Matt, -"but I'm still a good deal in doubt. We'll see if we can overhaul the -thing and make a further examination. I don't like to take the time, -but it may turn out to be time well spent." - -Motor Matt knelt well forward, just where the V-shaped waves parted -over the sharp nose of the _Grampus_, and while he knelt he peered -fixedly into the water ahead. - -"You're such a cautious chap," spoke up Dick, hanging to one of the -flagstaff guys and likewise staring ahead, "that I've been all ahoo -wondering why you were doing this night cruising. The night's as black -as a pocket, and this coast is about as dangerous as you can find -anywhere, and yet here we are, groping our way along, never knowing -what minute we may bounce upon a reef or say how do you do to a sharp -rock." - -"Remember that Pacific Mail boat we spoke yesterday?" inquired Matt, -over his shoulder. - -"The one that told us they had news, in Santiago, that a Japanese boat -had got away from the Chilian, Captain Sandoval, below the Strait of -Magellan?" responded Dick. - -"Exactly. When we left English Reach, at the western end of the strait, -we know Captain Sandoval, of the Chilian warship _Salvadore_, was -pursuing the mysterious Japanese steamer; and we also know that that -steamer had on board our enemies, the Sons of the Rising Sun. The mail -boat said the news that the steamer had escaped the _Salvadore_ had -been flashed by wireless from Punta Arenas, and had been repeated by -telegraph to Santiago and Valparaiso." - -"I don'd pelieve dot Chap poat efer got avay from der _Salvatore_!" -declared Carl. - -"It may be that she did, Carl," went on Matt, "and we've got to make -sure of it just as soon as we possibly can. That's the reason we're -traveling through this thick fog, and taking our chances on hitting a -reef or sunken rock. We've got to reach Lota and find out for sure if -those Japs are again free to bother us. You know what it means if the -Sons of the Rising Sun got away from Sandoval. Those misguided Japs -have sworn that the _Grampus_ shall never be turned over to the United -States Government at Mare Island Navy Yard. They're a desperate and -fanatical lot, and we've got to know just what we're up against, so far -as they are concerned. Lota is on the railroad and telegraph line, and -we'll get news there, if anywhere." - -"As usual," observed Dick, "that head of yours has been working, old -ship, while the rest of us have been wondering what you were trying to -do. I don't think you'll catch up with that piece of drift." - -"Nor I," Matt answered, getting to his feet and coming aft. "Whatever -that was, I suspect we'll never be able to discover, so my guess will -have to stand. Put her on the starboard tack, Speake," he added to the -man in the conning tower. - -The submarine once more resumed her course toward Arauco Bay and Lota. - -"You fellows go below and turn in," Matt went on to Dick and Carl. "I -can con the ship, all right, and there's no need of the two of you -staying awake and helping me on the lookout." - -"You'd better let Glennie relieve you, mate," suggested Dick. "You've -been on deck duty for six hours." - -"I'm going to stay right here," said Matt, "until we get safely into -Arauco Bay." - -There was no use arguing with Motor Matt when he made up his mind that -duty commanded him to do a certain thing, and Dick and Carl wished him -luck and went below. - -Ensign Glennie was lying on the locker in the periscope room. - -"You shifted the course," said he, rising on one elbow and peering at -Dick and Carl as they dropped off the iron ladder. "What was up?" - -"Somet'ing mit a shiny headt vent past us," replied Carl, dropping down -on a stool and beginning to draw off his shoes. - -"Something with a shiny head?" queried the nonplused ensign. - -"Yah, so. It vas a funny pitzness." - -"What was it, Dick?" - -"I'm by," answered Dick, shaking his head. "I've seen a good many queer -things afloat, but that was the queerest. It was too dark to see much, -though. Mayhap if we'd had a little more light, we could have made a -closer examination and the mystery would have been explained." - -Thereupon he went into details, telling Glennie all that he and Carl -knew. - -"Can you make anything out of it, Glennie?" Dick finished. - -"I'm over my head, like the rest of you," answered the ensign. -"Probably Matt hit it off pretty well when he said it was a bit of -water-logged drift, floating between two waves, with spikes cutting -the water and throwing off gleams of phosphorescence. This part of the -Pacific is full of cross-currents. And it's a mighty dangerous stretch -of water, too, I'm telling you. Matt is certainly anxious to reach -Lota, or he'd never persist in pushing through waters like these in -such a fog." - -"He's worrying again over those Sons of the Rising Sun." - -Dick pulled off one of his shoes and swung it reflectively in his hand. - -"I don't think it is possible that that Jap steamer got away from -Sandoval," said Glennie. "The officers on that mail boat must have got -it wrong." - -"Our old raggie is bound to find out just how much truth there is in -the yarn, anyhow," continued Dick. "We're what you might call on the -last leg of our cruise, and the little old _Grampus_ has covered the -east coast of two continents and is well up the west coast. We have -dodged trouble in pretty good shape, so far, and Matt don't intend to -let the Sons of the Rising Sun put us down and out at this late stage -of the game." - -"The Japs can't put Motor Matt down and out," averred Glennie, with -suppressed admiration. "He has met them at every point, and has given -them the worst of it. They'll never be able to destroy the _Grampus_. -Mark what I say, my lads, Motor Matt is going to 'make good' with -ground to spare, and chalk up another victory for the motor boys." - -Dick and Carl would have cheered this warm sentiment, but before they -had a chance to do so, a wild yell came from Speake. - -"Tumble up here, you fellows! Quick, now!" - -Speake, as he spoke, crushed himself against the side of the -conning-tower hatch, in order to make room for those in the periscope -room to pass him and reach the deck. - -Startled by the words and wildly excited manner of the helmsman, Dick, -Carl, and Glennie lost not an instant in rushing up the ladder and -dropping over the side of the conning tower. - -"Where's Matt?" cried Dick. - -"That's just what I want to know," answered Speake, his consternation -growing and a tremulous awe finding its way into his voice. "He was on -the deck a few minutes ago, but he isn't here now. The last I saw of -him he went aft, around the conning tower. The next thing I knew, when -I turned and looked for him, he wasn't aboard." - -All three of the lads were stricken dumb. For a brief space none of -them spoke, but looked toward each other in the gloom, frantically -alarmed and vaguely fearing--they knew not what. - -"He couldn't have fallen overboard," spoke up Glennie, first to break -the silence that held them as by an uncanny spell, "and yet it's -certain he's not on the boat." - -"Matt!" roared Dick, making a trumpet of his hands and calling into the -blank darkness. "Ahoy, Matt!" - -No answer was returned. All that could be heard was the hum of the -submarine's motor, the swish of the propeller, and the lap and gurgle -of waves along the rounded side. - -Carl began to whimper. - -"Ach, du lieber! Oof anyt'ing has habbened py dot bard oof mine, I -don'd know vat I shall do, py shinks! He vas der pest friendt vat I -efer hat, und----" - -"Put about, Speake!" cried Dick, now thoroughly alive to the situation. -"If Matt went overboard, then we're rushing away from him, and he's -swimming somewhere in our wake." - -The shaken helmsman immediately turned the _Grampus_ in a wide circle -and rang for full speed. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HURLED INTO THE SEA. - - -Matt was very much worried when Dick and Carl, agreeably to their -orders, went below. It was not the strange visitor that had passed the -bows of the _Grampus_ on its glowing way that rested heavily on his -mind, but the news gathered from the captain of the mail boat that had -been spoken early in the day. - -On leaving the western end of the Strait of Magellan, the submarine -and her crew had, as they supposed, left behind them for the rest of -their cruise their wily enemies, the Sons of the Rising Sun. They had -had trouble enough on account of the Japanese while coming through the -strait, and Matt thought that he and his friends were entitled to a -respite, so far as the nefarious plots of the fanatical young Japs were -concerned.[A] - -[A] The adventures of the motor boys, in and around Magellan Strait, -were set forth in No. 19 of the MOTOR STORIES, entitled, "Motor Matt's -Defiance; or, Around the Horn." - -It was the responsibility for the safety of the _Grampus_ that rested -so heavily on the young motorist's mind. Weeks before, when the -submarine had left Belize, British Honduras, Captain Nemo, Jr., the -owner of the boat, had placed the craft entirely in Matt's hands. - -"I wouldn't trust the _Grampus_ with any one else, Matt," declared the -captain. "But you've got nerve, your judgment is good, you know the -craft from one end to the other, and whenever anything goes wrong and -you get into a scrape, you've got a knack of always getting out of it -without much damage to yourself. A hundred thousand dollars is to be -paid for the _Grampus_ when she reaches Mare Island. If the submarine -doesn't reach there in good condition, the money will not be paid. -Sickness will detain me for a while in Belize, and so that puts this -work of taking the boat around the Horn up to you. Now go ahead!" - -Motor Matt appreciated to the full Captain Nemo, Jr.'s trust and -confidence. He had vowed to himself over and over again that he would -prove to the captain he was worthy of the trust reposed in him. Matt -was thinking of all this on the deck of the _Grampus_, after Dick and -Carl had left him; and, in the midst of his reflection, he fancied he -heard a muffled sound from somewhere in the submarine's wake. - -Instantly alarmed, he passed the conning tower, without exchanging any -words with Speake, and took up a position not far from the churning -propeller. But he heard nothing further, and could see nothing either -to increase or diminish his fears. He was just turning about to make -his way forward, when a coil struck about his throat, drawing taut on -the instant and preventing any outcry. At the same instant there came -an irresistible pull backward. - -Matt, astounded by this unexpected attack, reaching him from some point -away from the boat and darting silently and suddenly out of the thick -gloom, flung up his hands in an attempt to clutch one of the wire guys -of the periscope mast. - -He missed the guy by a fraction of an inch, slipped downward over the -rounded deck and rolled into the water. He made little noise, so little -that Speake could not hear it above the swirl of waves thrown up by the -rounded plates of the _Grampus_. - -Another moment and Matt was in the water and swimming. The deadly -compression at his throat continued, and he was unable to voice a -sound. He could see the little search light of the submarine moving -rapidly onward into the darkness, and could see the half of Speake's -form, like a blot of shadow, rearing out of the tower hatch. - -All this time Matt felt the pull of the rope about his neck, drawing -him steadily and remorselessly away into the foggy night. No one spoke -behind him, and there was not the slightest sound to tell him who his -captors were, or where they were, or how they had succeeded in making -him a victim in that mysterious fashion. - -A minute, two minutes, passed. At the end of that time Matt felt his -strength leaving him because of the strangling grip about his throat. -Then, suddenly, the rearward "pull" relaxed and the constriction at -his throat ceased. With one hand he reached upward and pulled the -strangling coil loose and gulped down a deep draught of air. - -A moment later he gave vent to a cry, hoping to attract the attention -of Speake. But the _Grampus_ was too far away. With difficulty Matt -freed himself of his shoes and coat. He had no idea how long he would -have to swim, but he prepared himself to keep afloat as long as -possible. What the end was to be he did not know, and he had no time to -give to that phase of the question. - -Some mysterious force had hurled him from the deck of the _Grampus_ -into the sea, and perhaps this same force would continue to take care -of him. Turning about in the water, he lifted himself high with a -downward stroke of his powerful arms, and peered in the direction from -which the attack had come. He could see nothing and could hear nothing. - -For a moment Motor Matt was tempted to forget his dire plight in -marveling over the mysterious nature of that attack. The next instant, -however, he began asking himself if it would be possible to reach the -Chilian shore. It was a mile away, at least. To swim such a distance -was no very extraordinary feat, but there were currents sucking Matt -oceanward, and against these it was powerless for him to struggle. - -Matt could keep afloat, but to what purpose? Would it be possible -for him to keep on the surface until his friends on the submarine -discovered his absence and put back to his rescue? Even if he could -swim for that length of time, could his friends find him in that -darkness, with the current dragging him farther and farther from the -course over which the _Grampus_ had recently passed? - -In Motor Matt's place, a good many lads would have given up the -struggle, but Matt was of different calibre. As long as there was a -breath in his body he would fight, for he knew that while there is life -there is always hope. - -Blindly and doggedly he continued his battle with the waves, peering -into the northeast from time to time, in the hope of seeing the search -light of the _Grampus_. He did not see the search light, but he saw -something else lying sluggishly in the water not a great distance from -where he was. - -"A log!" he thought. - -Under the impression that fate had thrown across his path a bit of -drift from the mainland, he swam to the object and laid hold of it as -it heaved and ducked on the placid waves. - -It was not a log. As he put out one hand it came in contact with -smooth, wet metal. The object was a long cylinder, blunt at one end and -pointed at the other. - -"A torpedo!" ran his thought, as he hung over the rounded object with -one arm and supported himself in the water. "Who fired the torpedo?" -was the question he asked himself. - -He had leisure now for a little reflection. No strength was required to -keep himself afloat, for the steel cylinder supported him. - -As he hung there, lifting and falling with the long, deadly tube, his -thoughts harked back to the queer object he, and Dick, and Carl had -seen in the water. The result of his reflections paralyzed him. - -_Some mysterious enemy had launched the torpedo at the Grampus!_ - -Had the infernal machine struck the submarine, the craft and every one -aboard would have been torn to pieces. - -A slow horror pulsed through Motor Matt's veins. - -The same enemies who had launched the torpedo must surely have jerked -Matt from the deck of the submarine. But who were they? where were they? - -With difficulty he lifted himself and got astride the rolling cylinder. -From that elevated position he looked around him into the darkness. -Silence reigned in every direction. There was no sign of the mysterious -foes who had attempted to destroy the _Grampus_ and to make a prisoner -of her commanding officer. - -Presently the young motorist became conscious that the coil was still -about his throat, and that a long object was trailing downward and -hanging with some weight from his neck. - -It was a rope. He began pulling it in, coiling the wet length of it in -his hand. The rope was all of seventy-five feet long, he judged, and -that distance must have marked the position of his foes when the noose -was cast. To see even half that distance into the thick darkness was -impossible, but why had Matt not been able to _hear_ the men who had -attempted such dastardly work? - -Speculations were useless. Matt, however, had secured a makeshift raft -which would keep him afloat until such time as the _Grampus_, or some -other boat, could pick him up. - -Hoping that the submarine would come to no harm, and determined to make -the best of his desperate situation, the king of the motor boys set -about making an examination of the steel tube that supported him. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -SAVED BY A TORPEDO. - - -Matt's first move was to take the noose from about his throat and pass -the rope around and around the torpedo, tying it fast. The loops of -the rope gave him a handhold which he could not possibly have secured -otherwise on the hard, smooth shell, rendered slippery by the water -with which it was drenched. - -The torpedo, he quickly discovered, was a Whitehead--a powerful and -deadly engine in use by all the navies of the world. - -It was about seventeen feet long and a foot and a half in diameter. -Torpedoes of this nature are constructed to run under the surface at -any required depth down to twenty feet. A propeller and compressed -air furnishes the motive power, and as the air becomes exhausted, the -torpedo rises higher and higher. With the air shut off and engine -stopped, the cylinder rises to the surface. As that was the case in -the present instance, it seemed certain that the motive power of this -particular torpedo had been nearly exhausted. - -The _Grampus_, being constructed for work in time of war, had torpedo -tubes and one torpedo aboard. Matt had studied the mechanism of the -Whitehead, and he was able to proceed intelligently in his present -dilemma. If there was still any air in the big tube, he might use it -to carry him to the north and east, in the direction taken by the -_Grampus_. - -The lever, he discovered, which locked the engine was standing erect, -while the "tripper," which worked automatically the instant the torpedo -was discharged and put it under its own power, was lying flat on the -curved side. - -Before trying to get the compressed air in the shell to working, he -swam to the blunt end of the torpedo and removed the small propeller -that manipulated the firing pin. By this wise move he rendered harmless -the explosive within the shell. - -Swimming back, he mounted his queer raft by means of the rope loops, -lifted the "tripper," and depressed the starting lever. - -The twin screws, placed tandem fashion at the stern, began slowly to -revolve. Heading the point of the tube north by east, he began one of -the strangest rides that had ever fallen to his lot. - -As the air within became more and more depleted, the steel cylinder -rose higher and higher in the water. - -For a lad so deeply in love with motors as was Matt, the novelty of -that ride could not fail to appeal to him. He was safe, at least for -a time, and felt sure that ultimately he would gain the shore or be -picked up by a coastwise ship. As for the _Grampus_, there were cool -heads and steady nerves aboard of her, and the submarine's safety would -be looked after. Besides, the mysterious foes had failed in their -night's work, and there was probably no more danger to be apprehended -from them. - -As Matt held himself astride his queer craft, guiding it by a pull this -way and that, he fell to thinking of the manner in which he had been -hurled into the sea. - -Some boat had discharged the torpedo, and it seemed certain that -those who had tossed the rope over his head and pulled him from the -submarine's deck had been on the same boat. - -Had it been the intention of Matt's enemies to haul him aboard their -boat, or only to strangle him and keep him in the water until the -_Grampus_ got well away, then cast him off and let him sink to the -bottom? - -Matt's humane instincts rebelled against the latter supposition. His -enemies, he reasoned, had intended hauling him aboard their boat, but -in some manner had lost hold of the end of the line. - -A Whitehead torpedo costs something like four thousand dollars, and -is altogether too valuable to leave adrift when it has been fired and -misses its target. Those who had discharged the torpedo would surely -look for it--and, if they found it, they would also find Matt. - -This caused the young motorist a good deal of trepidation. He reasoned, -however, that on account of the darkness of the night and the fog, his -mysterious foes would probably remain in the part of the ocean where -the torpedo had been fired and look for it in the daylight. Between -that hour and daylight, Matt was hoping to be picked up. - -The compressed air in a torpedo will carry it about nine hundred yards. -This torpedo had not gone its full distance, on account of an automatic -misplacement of the "tripper" and starting lever, but enough of the air -had been used so that Matt's ride was a short one. - -After a few minutes the propellers ceased to revolve, and Matt and the -steel cylinder came to a stop, heaving up and down on the surface of -the water. Yielding to the pull of the current, the torpedo started -erratically seaward, and another fear was born in Matt's mind. - -The farther seaward he was carried, the more difficult it would be to -fall in with a passing boat, and the farther off would be his rescue. -To carry his grewsome thoughts still farther, there was a good chance -that he would succumb to thirst and hunger before his woeful plight was -discovered, and---- - -But this gloomy train of reflections was interrupted. In the distance -Matt could see a glow of light, shining hazily through the fog. Was it -the search light of the _Grampus_, or a gleam from the other boat? - -Divided between hopes and doubts, he waited and watched. The glow -presently resolved itself into a pencil of light, and he became fairly -positive that it was the searching eye of the submarine. - -"Ahoy!" he shouted. - -Instantly a distant commotion struck on his ears. - -"Ahoy, ahoy!" came an excited answer. "Is that you, Matt?" - -"Yes. Shift your wheel a couple of points to starboard and you'll be -heading straight for me. Come slow--and don't run me down." - -The gleam of light suddenly shifted its position. Aiming directly at -Matt, it grew brighter and brighter. Matt was able to make out the dark -outlines of the submarine's low deck and conning tower, and to see -three figures well forward toward the bow, all clinging to guys and -leaning out over the water. - -"Are you swimming, old ship?" came the tense voice of Dick Ferral. - -"Hardly," Matt answered. "I've been in the water for upward of an -hour--and I couldn't have fought the current that long if I had been -compelled to swim." - -"How you vas keeping off der pottom, Matt?" piped up the relieved voice -of Carl. - -"There's a sort of a raft under me," Matt laughed. - -"A raft? Where the dickens did you get hold of a raft, Matt?" - -This was Glennie. - -"Not exactly a raft," went on Matt, "but a Whitehead torpedo. We met -each other at just the right time for me. I'm riding the torpedo, and -it's a fine thing for keeping a fellow afloat." - -Startled expressions came from those on the submarine. By then the -Grampus was so close that her search light had Matt and the Whitehead -in full glare. The amazement of the boys on the submarine increased. - -"Dot's der plamedest t'ing vat I efer heardt oof!" gasped Carl. "Modor -Matt riding on a dorpeto schust like it vas a tree, oder somet'ing like -dot! Ach, himmelblitzen!" - -Speake guided the _Grampus_ alongside the torpedo. - -"Be careful, Speake!" warned Glennie. "If that infernal machine bunts -into us, we're gone." - -"I'm looking out for that," answered Speake. - -"You don't need to worry," called Matt reassuringly. "I wasn't going to -take chances with two hundred pounds of high explosive, and one of the -first things I did was to fix the priming pin so it wouldn't work." - -The _Grampus_, responding to a signal flashed into the motor room, came -to a halt. Dick threw Matt a rope, and he began tying it to one of the -loops that encircled the shell of the torpedo. - -"Why are you making fast, matey?" inquired Dick. - -"Because I want to tow this torpedo into Lota," answered Matt. - -"Oh, bother that! Here we've been all ahoo thinking you were at the -bottom and as good as done for. Now that we've found you again--and in -a most amazing way, at that--cut loose from that steel tube and come -aboard. What's the use of fussing with it?" - -"I'll explain when I come aboard," Matt went on. "Make the other end -of the line fast, Dick, and give the cable a scope of fifty feet. I've -hooked to her so that she will follow us stern foremost." - -Glennie helped Dick make the cable fast; then Matt, drawing in on the -line, came alongside the rounded deck plates, and Carl helped him off -the torpedo. - -"Ach, vat a habbiness!" sputtered Carl. "I hat gifen you oop for deadt, -Matt, und vat shouldt I efer have done mitoudt my bard? How you come to -be like dot, hey?" - -"There's something mighty mysterious about it," said Matt. "I thought -I heard a noise somewhere in the darkness behind the _Grampus_, and -stepped aft to watch and listen; then, before I knew what was up, the -noose of a rope fell over my head and tightened about my throat. I went -into the water with hardly a splash, unable to give a cry for help." - -"I didn't hear a sound!" put in Speake excitedly. - -"It was all done so quickly and silently, I don't see how you could -have known anything about it, Speake," said Matt. "I was in a bad -way when I sighted that torpedo. I got astride of it, started the -propellers, and rode in the direction the _Grampus_ had taken. When the -compressed air gave out, I was expecting to be picked up by some other -boat--by the boat that had fired the torpedo at us." - -"At us!" exclaimed Glennie. "Do you mean to say that torpedo that saved -you was launched at the _Grampus_?" - -"Exactly," returned Matt. "It was the torpedo Dick, Carl, and I saw, -and which I thought might be a floating log or a piece of wreckage." - -This astounding intelligence almost carried Matt's chums off their feet. - -"What enemies have we in these waters?" cried the startled Glennie. - -"Why," answered Matt, "who but the Sons of the Rising Sun?" - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE. - - -"Let's go below, mates," suggested Dick, "and overhaul all this. -There's meat in it for us, and it will stand us in hand to get at it." - -"I'll not go below this night, Dick," said Matt, "and we'd better all -of us stay on deck and keep our eyes peeled for Japs. Carl can go and -bring me up some dry clothes, an extra pair of shoes and stockings, and -an extra coat." - -"Dot's me, bard," chirruped Carl, making for the conning tower. - -"Get the boat on her proper course, Speake," said Matt; "we must get -out of this neighborhood as soon as we can--and as quick as we can. -Watch the torpedo as we come about, Dick, you and Glennie. See that the -cable doesn't foul the guys or the periscope mast." - -Speake signaled for a fresh start, and as the submarine described a -circle and pointed the other way, Dick and Glennie kept the hawser -clear. The torpedo took its scope of cable, and the drag of it was -plainly felt as soon as the submarine began to pull. - -"It's main lucky, mates," remarked Dick, as Carl regained the deck with -Matt's dry clothing, and the young motorist began to get out of his wet -togs, "that we've such a smooth sea. If the wind was blowing hard and -the water was choppy, Matt would have a hard time with that torpedo of -his." - -"A lucky thing, too," added Glennie, "that there's a thick fog. If -Matt's enemies had seen him, they'd have finished the work they set out -to do with that lariat." - -"On the other hand, Glennie," put in Matt, "we don't want to forget -that it was the fog that enabled them to come so close. Their boat must -have got within seventy-five feet of the _Grampus_ in order for any one -to drop that noose over my head." - -"I'll be keelhauled if I can understand how such a trick was done," -said Dick. "From my experiences on the cattle ranges of Texas, I should -say that a seventy-five-foot cast with a riata is a mighty big one, and -liable to be successful about once in a hundred times. But here's this -swab that lassoed Matt, snaring him the first crack--and throwing from -a boat's deck and across water, at that!" - -"Then, too," proceeded Glennie, "their boat has less noise to it than -any craft I ever heard of. It shoved along within seventy-five feet of -us--and none of us heard a sound!" - -"I thought I heard a noise, Glennie," returned Matt, "and that was what -took me aft." - -"I can't understand how it was done," muttered the ensign. - -"Veil, anyvays," struck in Carl, "id vas done, no madder vedder anypody -oondershtands it or nod. Kevit making some guesses aboudt der vay it -vas pulled off und look der pitzness skevare in der face. It vas der -Chaps--who else vould dry to plow der _Grampus_ oudt oof water? So -vat's to be done aboudt it?" - -"Carl's talking sense, fellows," said Matt. "Those Japs are against us. -We thought we had left them behind, and that we should be able to reach -San Francisco before they could make us any trouble, but here they are, -going for us harder than ever." - -"They're not using that steamer of theirs, mates," averred Dick. - -"The steamer might have torpedo tubes," answered Glennie. - -"Ay, so she might; but she couldn't lie along within seventy-five feet -of us without making noise enough to wake the dead. The Sons of the -Rising Sun have changed boats--and how have they had time to do that, -and reach this part of the coast almost at the same time as ourselves? -We've plugged right along ever since leaving the strait." - -"That gives me an idea," said the ensign, "and you fellows can take it -for what it's worth. Our knowledge of the Sons of the Rising Sun is a -trifle hazy, but we know them to be a secret organization whose aim -is to help Japan. The organization is not sanctioned by the Japanese -government, for its members commit deeds which would plunge the nation -into war if it sanctioned them. Now, this secret society is probably -quite extensive. Perhaps we are not dealing with the branch of it that -kept us busy most of the way to the Horn, but with another outfit of -the Sons of the Rising Sun that has been laying for us here." - -"That's possible," agreed Matt. "The question is, shall we put into -Lota and try to find out something more regarding our enemies, or keep -on to Valparaiso, as we had originally intended?" - -"I'm for putting in at Lota," said Dick. "We can't tow that infernal -Whitehead all the way to Valparaiso." - -"It will be just as well to stop there, in my opinion," seconded -Glennie. "If we're dealing with another branch of the Sons of the -Rising Sun, perhaps we can get some information about them in Lota." - -"Meppy," ventured Carl, "ve could lay in a sooply oof gasoline in Lota, -und vouldn't haf to shdop at Valparaiso, huh? Dot vould safe dime, und -I am gedding hungry for a look at der Unidet Shtates again. Der more I -see of odder gountries, der more vat I like my own." - -"His own!" laughed Dick, who, now that Motor Matt had been safely -recovered, was feeling in fine fettle. "You could tell he was a Yank, -just by the way he talks, eh?" - -"I peen an American mit a Dutch agsent," protested Carl, "und I t'ink -so mooch oof der Shdars und Shdripes as anypody. I vould schust as soon -shtep on der Pritish lion's tail as anyt'ing vat I know." - -"If you step on the British lion's tail, and I find it out, matey," -laughed Dick, "I'll have you hauled up and fined for cruelty to -animals. One of these days I'm going to write to the kaiser and tell -him about you." - -"Vat I care for der kaiser?" snorted Carl. "He iss a pooty goot feller, -aber he ain'd so big like der Bresident oof der land oof der free und -der home oof Modor Matt." - -"Fine-o!" chuckled Dick. - -"A dandy sentiment, Carl!" exclaimed Glennie. "What do you think of -that, Matt?" - -"Why," returned Matt, "I think that if the lot of us don't stop -joshing and attend more to watching our immediate neighborhood that -the land of the free and the home of the brave is liable to be minus -one submarine and a lot of motor boys. That Jap boat is a particularly -noiseless craft; she came close enough to us to launch a torpedo, and -close enough to tangle me up in a rope and pull me into the ocean. If -she did it once, she can do it again. We've got to keep sharp eyes -forward, aft, and on both sides. Dick, you'll be the bow lookout, and -Glennie can go aft; you watch the port side, Carl, and I'll watch the -starboard. Can you steer for the rest of the night, Speake?" he added -to the man in the conning tower. - -"I guess I can stand this extra duty if you can, Matt," replied Speake, -"considering what you've been through." - -"A dip in the ocean and a ride on a torpedo doesn't count," said Matt, -dropping his wet clothes down the hatch; "it's what may happen to us if -we don't keep on our guard that bothers me. This boat is going to be -delivered at Mare Island, Japs or no Japs." - -"Und righdt site oop mit care, you bed you!" cried Carl, dropping down -on the port side of the conning tower. "I feel so easy in my mindt as -oof I vas alretty pack in der best gountry vat efer vas." - -"Carl is full of patriotism to-night, mates," observed Dick, from the -bow. - -"I vas dickled pecause Matt is alife und kicking. Dot inshpires me -mit batriotic sendiment, und odder feelings oof choy. Be jeerful, -eferypody." - -Weighing the evidence offered by the torpedo attack, and the snaring -and dragging of Matt into the water, had not resulted in bringing out -very much that was of importance. It served, however, to emphasize the -need of vigilance by developing the resourcefulness and malevolence of -a wily foe. - -At 4 a. m. the submarine was close to the land lying south of the Bay -of Lota, and, as the mist was still too thick to make out the distance -and bearing of the coast, Matt thought it advisable to stop the motor -and wait for the fog to clear with the sun. - -Advantage was taken of this stop to prepare breakfast. While all hands -were eating, Gaines and Clackett, who had been at their posts during -the exciting occurrences of the night, were duly informed of all that -had taken place. - -At 6 a. m. the morning was bright enough so that Matt felt they could -proceed with safety. - -The passage into the Bay of Lota, between the island of Santa Maria and -Lavapié Point, is narrow and difficult, abounding with sunken rocks and -other hidden dangers that have not been surveyed and charted. - -Luck, however, was with the motor boys, and the passage into the bay -was succesfully accomplished. Just as the sun broke through the mist -and brought out the beauties of the bay, the _Grampus_ nosed her way -into it. - -On three sides the bay is surrounded by wooded hills, which shelter it -in every direction except on the north. - -"Dowse me," muttered Dick; "this coast looks like that of Cornwall and -Devonshire, with that red earth, those granite cliffs, and the trees -running down to the water's edge. What are those chimneys and all that -smoke over there?" - -"Smelting works and potteries," explained Glennie. "They are owned by a -woman, Madam Cousiņo, one of the richest women in Chili." - -The _Grampus_, being of light draught, was able to go close inshore. -Anchor was dropped within a couple of cables' length of the wharf. The -"mud hooks" had hardly taken hold before a man in a tawdry blue uniform -came off from the shore in a boat. He was rowed by two negroes, and -appeared to be very much excited. - -When his boat was laid alongside, the official stood up, flourished his -arms, and spouted a stream of language. It was Spanish, and came in -such a torrent that Matt, who knew something of the lingo, could make -nothing of it. Glennie was better versed in the tongue, and listened -attentively and with growing concern. - -"Here's a go, Matt!" exclaimed the ensign, as soon as the official -paused to catch his breath. "This man is the captain of the port, and -he has placed us all under arrest." - -"Arrest?" cried Matt incredulously. "What for?" - -"He says we're thieves, and that we have stolen this submarine boat." - -"Dot's aboudt der lasht t'ing vat I oxpected!" muttered Carl. "Take der -uniform off dot feller, und ve vill find he iss a Son oof der Rising -Sun, I bed you. Led's go to der pottom oof der pay und infite him to -come down und ged us." - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A SURPRISING SITUATION. - - -"Sink me!" growled Dick. "Here's a rum go, if anybody asks you. It's -bobs to sovereigns that those Japs are mixed up in this." - -"We can very soon convince the captain of the port that he's made a -mistake," said Matt quietly. "Get your written instructions, Glennie, -and we'll go ashore with him. There's something queer about this, and -it may be a good thing for us to get to the bottom of it." - -"How aboudt Tick und me?" inquired Carl. "Ain'd ve going along mit you?" - -"You and Dick and the rest of the crew," Matt answered, "will stay -here and take care of the _Grampus_. Somebody will have to do that, -you know, Carl. It's fully as important as going ashore and explaining -matters to the officials." - -Glennie told the captain of the port that he and Matt would go ashore -with him and make it plain to everybody that there was a mistake. The -ensign's uniform, spick and span and mighty fetching, made a wholesome -impression upon the captain of the port. - -While Glennie was getting his papers, the port official dropped back -alongside the torpedo and examined it with considerable interest. When -the ensign reappeared on the submarine's deck, the boat was brought -back and Matt and Glennie got aboard. In five minutes they had reached -the wharf and clambered ashore. - -The negroes who had rowed the boat dropped in on each side of the two -young Americans, each drawing an old-fashioned pistol that fired with a -percussion cap. - -"They're bound we're not going to run," laughed Matt. - -"I don't know," returned Glennie, "but I'd rather be in front of those -old relics when they're shot off than behind them. I guess a fellow -would be safer." - -The captain of the port led the way to the Casa de la Administracion -of the Seņora Cousiņo. It was built on the crest of a low rise, and -afforded a fine view of the bay. A tall, slim man, who looked like -a Frenchman, stood on the steps of the casa surveying the _Grampus_ -through a glass. With an expression of disappointment, he lowered the -glass and turned toward the captain of the port as he drew near. Then -there was French talk and Spanish talk--the tall, slim man using his -native tongue, which the Chilian evidently understood, and the Chilian -using the Spanish, with which the Frenchman appeared familiar. - -Glennie gave strict attention to all that was going on. The finger and -whole-arm movements, the hunching of the shoulders, and the shaking and -ducking of the heads, accompanied the talk as a sort of pantomime. -Matt was highly amused. - -A look of astonishment appeared in Glennie's face as he listened. - -"By George!" the ensign exclaimed, when the conversation between -the Chilian and the Frenchman had died down. "We've jumped into a -surprising situation here, Matt, if I've got this thing right." - -"What is it, Glennie?" asked Matt. - -"Well, the Frenchman says that the submarine isn't the boat he thought -it was, and that our arrest has been a mistake." - -"I'm glad they found that out without putting us to any trouble. Is -there another submarine in these waters? And has it been stolen?" - -"That's where the surprising part comes in. I'll have to talk with -these fellows, and ask them a few questions, before I can get the -layout clear in my mind." - -French and Spanish had formed a part of Glennie's education at -Annapolis; he reeled off both languages now, first at one and then -at the other of the two men, asking questions and receiving voluble -replies. - -In five minutes he had the situation straightened out to his -satisfaction, and sat down on one of the stone steps beside Matt. - -"The tall man, Matt," said Glennie, "is Captain Pons, of Edouard -Lavalle et Cie, shipbuilders, of Havre, France. This firm of Lavalle & -Co. are builders of submarines, and they recently finished such a craft -for the Chilian navy. The boat was brought over on a tramp freighter, -and Captain Pons came along to instruct the Chilian officers and crew -in the manner of running the submarine, and also to secure a draft for -the purchase price. - -"The submarine was unloaded safely, and was provisioned by Captain Pons -for a run to Santiago, where she was to be inspected by the secretary -of the navy. Captain Pons was not to get his money from the government -until the submarine reached Santiago. The Chilian crew was to come -over from Coronel yesterday afternoon, but arrived in the morning, a -good twelve hours ahead of time. Captain Pons rowed out with them to -the submarine, showed the captain of the crew all over the boat and -explained the machinery to him; then, quite unexpectedly, so far as -Captain Pons was concerned, the crew grabbed the Frenchman, threw him -into the rowboat, closed the hatch of the submarine, and dropped into -the bottom of the bay." - -Matt was listening with intense interest. - -"The crew that Captain Pons took out to the submarine wasn't the right -one?" he observed. - -"No. The real crew arrived in the afternoon, agreeably to schedule, and -found Captain Pons without a submarine and very much up in the air. If -he can't recover the submarine from the thieves, his firm may hold him -responsible for the loss of the stolen boat." - -"There were torpedoes in the French submarine?" - -Matt began to grow excited as the situation cleared before him. - -"Two," replied Glennie. - -"And the bogus crew--who were they?" - -"Instead of coming from Coronel, it was discovered that they came -from the south--by railroad from Valdivia, on the coast. It has also -been discovered that they were Japanese--Japs who had their eyes -straightened. It is supposed that they are from the mysterious steamer -that escaped from Captain Sandoval, below English Reach." - -Matt's astonishment almost lifted him off the stone step on which he -was sitting. - -"Our old enemies!" he exclaimed. "The Sons of the Rising Sun have -secured a submarine boat, and that means that they can follow us -wherever we go." - -"Hard luck, Matt, that events should drift into this tangle! That -French submarine had to be here, it seems, at just the right time to -help out the Japs. The young Samurai must have known about this other -craft. After dodging Captain Sandoval, they managed to reach Valdivia -and came on from there by train. That is how they were able to get -ahead of us." - -"Every mysterious twist is taken out of the situation now, Glennie," -said Matt, almost stunned by the audacity of the Japs and the marvelous -way in which circumstances had aided them. "They took possesion of -the French submarine and started south to meet the _Grampus_. The -noiseless way in which they hung upon our flanks is easy to understand. -The torpedo was launched at us while the French boat was submerged; -and when that rope was hurled at me, the boat was just out of the -water--there were no lights about her, and the search light of the -_Grampus_ enabled those on the French craft to make that cast with the -riata." - -Matt's face went pale. - -"Glennie," he continued, "the hardest job of our lives is ahead of -us! The Japs have a submarine, and there's not one of them who would -not willingly give his life if, by doing so, he could destroy the -_Grampus_. As long as our enemies were in a steamboat, and compelled to -remain on the surface, it was easy to keep away from them; but now, no -matter where we go, they can follow us." - -"I don't know anything about this French boat," returned Glennie -thoughtfully, "but I'll bet something handsome she's not half so good -a craft as the _Grampus_. There's a big advantage for us, right at the -start. Then, again, about the only thing we're to fear from the stolen -submarine is the torpedo work. Captain Pons says there were only two -torpedoes in the craft. One of them is accounted for. They have only -one more--and I guess we can get away from _that_. Besides all this, -don't forget that the Japs are green hands with the submarine, and have -had no practical experience in running her. Captain Pons explained to -them the theoretical part of the machinery, but, you take it from me, -those wily Orientals are going to get themselves into trouble." - -"They manoeuvred the submarine pretty well last night," said Matt. "I -don't see how they could improve much on their work. A Jap, Glennie, is -a regular genius in 'catching on' to things. Show him how to do a piece -of work once, and he knows it for all time. They're clever--as clever -as they are wily, and sometimes treacherous." - -At this point, Captain Pons put in a few words. - -"I see ze torpedo is wiz youar boat, monsieur. You say zat you peek -heem out of ze sea, but he is my torpedo, and he is vorth many sousand -francs. I am to have him, eh?" - -Matt looked at Glennie. - -"We might need that torpedo, Matt," suggested the ensign, "for the -_Grampus_ has only one. If it comes to a fight with the French boat -that extra Whitehead would come in handy. I think we had better keep -it." - -"So do I," agreed Matt. He turned to Captain Pons. "The torpedo was -fired at us, captain," he went on, "and it was by a happenchance, and -at a considerable risk to myself, that I was able to save it and tow it -in." - -"He is mine, by gar!" cried the Frenchman. - -"What good is the torpedo to you without the submarine?" - -"Ma foi, I can sell heem. I save zat much." - -"Any way you figure it," insisted Matt, "we're entitled to salvage on -the torpedo." - -"Nozzing, not one centime!" screeched Captain Pons, jumping up and down -and flourishing his arms. - -"Suppose I pay you the difference between the salvage and the cost of -the torpedo?" asked Matt, willing to adjust the matter in any way that -would secure peace. - -"Non! I want ze torpedo, and zis talk of ze salvage is w'at you call -boosh; _oui_, zat is all, nozzing but boosh." - -There seemed no amicable way of settling the dispute. Matt, feeling -that the Whitehead was of prime importance to the _Grampus_, was -determined to stick to his contention. - -He and Glennie stood up, and all on the steps of the casa turned their -eyes downward to where the _Grampus_ lay on the placid waters of the -harbor, the long, black cylinder of the Whitehead some forty or fifty -feet back of the stern. - -While they looked, a most astounding thing happened. The torpedo seemed -suddenly to become imbued with life. It shivered, jerked sidewise like -an animated log, whirled around frantically, and then, with one end -leaping into the air, it darted downward, out of sight! - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -ANOTHER ATTACK. - - -This weird vanishing on the part of the object in dispute between Motor -Matt and Captain Pons left those on steps of the Casa gasping. The -Frenchman dropped limply down and hugged his folded arms to his breast; -the Chilian looked wild, and a superstitious fear arose in the eyes of -the two negroes. Glennie grabbed up the glasses the captain had been -using a few minutes before, clapped them to his eyes, and proceeded to -examine the surface of the bay. - -The strange movements of the torpedo had had something of an effect -upon the _Grampus_, for she had swung about on her cable and dipped -slightly sternward. She was lying quietly enough now, however, and -Carl, Dick, Speake, Gaines, and Clackett were swarming over her deck -and evidently wondering what had become of the Whitehead. - -Matt, with his naked eyes, could see his friends moving about, although -it was impossible for him to discover exactly what they were doing. - -"They're pulling in the rope that was made fast to the torpedo," said -Glennie. "They've got the end of it in their hands." - -"Great spark plugs!" murmured Matt dazedly. "That was a queer -performance, I must say. Can you see anything of the Whitehead, -Glennie?" - -"Not a thing. There must have been some compressed air still left in -the cylinder, and in some way it got to the screws." - -Matt shook his head. - -"That's not it, Glennie. Even if the Whitehead's screws had begun to -work they couldn't have caused the big tube to dance around in that -unheard-of fashion. I----" - -Matt, with a sudden alarming thought running through his mind, started -down the steps at a run. The Frenchman shouted something. Taking his -cue from Captain Pons, the Chilian also shouted. Probably it was a -command for Matt to halt, but the young motorist did not construe -it in that way. Pons, himself, had said that there was no cause for -the arrest of Matt and Glennie, and Motor Matt believed that he was -perfectly free to go wherever he wished. Just then he was tremendously -eager to get aboard the _Grampus_. - -One of the old-fashioned pistols went off with a _bang_ like a small -cannon. A lead slug screeched through the air well over Matt's head. - -"Come back, Matt!" yelled Glennie. "If you don't, the next bullet may -come closer to you." - -Matt faced about indignantly. - -"What are they shooting at me for?" he demanded. - -"They don't want you to get away, just yet." - -"But I've got to get away! We must get aboard the _Grampus_ as quick as -the nation will let us. Can't you understand this business, Glennie? -That French submarine is in the bottom of the bay! The Japs are -recovering that torpedo! You know why they want it, as well as I do." - -"Jupiter!" exclaimed Glennie, "I hadn't thought of that. But you'd -better come back here, Matt, while we explain the situation to Captain -Pons. It's better to have him and the captain of the port for friends -rather than enemies." - -"Every minute's delay makes the position of the _Grampus_ just that -much more dangerous. Carl, Dick, and the rest don't know a thing about -this other submarine, and if the Japs made an attack on our boat, while -she's lying at anchor----" - -"Don't fret about that, Matt," cut in Glennie. "The Japs will have -their hands full saving their torpedo. They're thinking more about that -Whitehead just at present than of anything else. But, anyhow, we can't -try to dodge the bullets these negroes will send after us if we make a -run of it." - -Matt, fretting over the delay, slowly returned to the steps. The negro -was reloading his pistol, the other was making ready to use his weapon -in case Matt refused to obey orders, and both the captain of the port -and Captain Pons were looking extremely fierce and determined. - -Both captains were talking to Glennie. The ensign answered them -sharply, and the captains gave responses equally sharp. - -"What a pair of dunderheads!" growled Glennie to Matt. - -"How's that?" queried Matt. - -"Captain Pons has developed a very bright idea," was the ensign's -sarcastic response. "He says we caused the torpedo to act in that -unaccountable manner, and that we did it in order to steal it from him." - -Matt caught his breath. - -"Is Captain Pons in his sober senses?" he demanded. - -"All the senses Heaven endowed him with are on duty." - -"How does he think we could cause the torpedo to act in that manner?" - -"He lays it to our friends on the _Grampus_, but is gloriously -indefinite concerning the way they worked the trick." - -Matt walked up the steps and faced Captain Pons. "We had nothing to -do with the disappearance of the torpedo!" he cried. "Why, the very -idea is preposterous! How could any of our men cause the Whitehead to -disappear in that fashion?" - -"You want ze torpedo," insisted Captain Pons doggedly. "You make ze -dispute wiz me. Zen, w'en I say _non_, ze torpedo belong wiz me, -_pouf!_ away he go lak a streak. You haf stole heem, and you will -answer to ze French government for zat, by gar!" - -"That is foolish talk, Captain Pons, for a man of your age and -experience." - -"Hein! I am not so foolish as w'at you zink." - -"It was the other boat that stole the torpedo--the submarine the Japs -stole from you." - -"Zat could not be ze _Pom_. Ze Jap zey would not dar-r-r-e bring ze -_Pom_ back in ze bay." - -"You don't know those Japs as well as we do, captain. They are enemies -of ours, and have followed us clear from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. They -want to destroy the _Grampus_, to keep her out of the hands of the -United States Navy. If I don't go down there, and warn my friends and -do something to protect our submarine, this _Pom_ of yours may make an -attack." - -"Zis is a friendly port," replied Captain Pons, with a wave of the -hand. "Ze Japs will not dar-r-r-e make attack in ze friendly port." - -Matt was disgusted. He felt that he had never met a man so dense as -this Captain Pons. - -"The Japs stole your submarine in a friendly port," he remarked dryly. -"I guess that proves that they're not above committing lawless acts -in a Chilian harbor. You have no right to detain Ensign Glennie and -myself. We are under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. If -you are determined to keep us with you on this ridiculous charge of -stealing the torpedo, then will you not accompany us to the _Grampus_ -while we take measures for the boat's protection? While there, perhaps -we may be able to convince you how foolish this charge of yours is." - -"Zat is reasonable talk," admitted Captain Pons gravely. "I vill spik -wiz my good friend, Captain Arco." - -Matt and Glennie drew apart while the two captains held a whispered -conversation, although a very animated one. - -"A couple of jumping jacks!" muttered Glennie; "and blockheads, to -boot. I wonder what those French shipbuilders were thinking of to send -a man like Captain Pons with their submarine." - -"Well, he may know all about the submarine, and be perfectly -trustworthy," answered Matt. - -"I wouldn't trust him to drive a pair of mules on a canal." - -The ensign was completely disgusted. - -"Ah!" he said, a moment later. "The two great minds have at last come -to a decision in this momentous matter." - -Captains Pons and Arco approached the two lads importantly. - -"Ze good captain has agreed to go back wiz you and me to ze submarine," -announced Captain Pons. "If, w'en we get zere, you will hand ovair ze -torpedo, zen we not make ze trouble for you any more. _Allons!_ let us -be gone." - -The negroes, following an order from the captain of the port, dropped -in on either side of Matt and Glennie, their antiquated pistols -prominently displayed. Then, with the two captains leading the way, the -American lads left the Casa de la Administracion. - -"How those Japs managed to get hold of that torpedo without showing -themselves," remarked Glennie, on the way to the landing, "is a -conundrum." - -"They must have come up under the torpedo," answered Matt, "just close -enough to the surface to grapple a coil of the rope that was around the -steel shell." - -"Even on that theory the move is hard to understand. While the _Pom_ -was under water it would not be possible for any one aboard of her to -work at the ropes around the torpedo." - -"Perhaps the grappling was done by manoeuvring the boat." - -"That might be----" - -Glennie was interrupted. By that time the party had nearly reached the -landing. Before any of them stepped foot on the wharf, however, there -came a loud detonation, and a geyser-like column of water arose high -in the air. So lofty was the column that some of the spray from it was -hurled across the intervening stretch of the bay and into the faces of -Matt, Glennie, and the rest. - -When the column had sunk downward, those on the shore could see that -the _Grampus_ had disappeared! - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A BAD HALF HOUR. - - -Matt, Glennie, the two captains, and the negroes were stupefied. They -stood as though rooted to the ground and stared across the water toward -the spot where the _Grampus_ had been anchored. - -"_Sacre!_" muttered Captain Pons. "Zat was a torpedo, by gar!" - -"It was fired at the _Grampus_!" cried Matt, almost beside himself. "I -was afraid an attack would be made--and the boys didn't know anything -about that other submarine, Glennie. If our boat has been destroyed, -if--if----" - -Matt staggered against the post to which the painter securing the -rowboat was made fast. - -The negroes began talking excitedly between themselves, and Pons and -Arco likewise began to air their opinions. - -"Don't lose your nerve, Matt," said Glennie. "That was a torpedo, all -right, and it goes without saying that the Japs discharged it from -the _Pom_, under water. It hit something, and was discharged, _but it -didn't hit the Grampus_." - -"No," answered Matt, his moody eyes resting on the spot where the -_Grampus_ had been anchored, "the torpedo didn't hit the _Grampus_, for -the column of water spouted up almost a fathom from the place where -she was moored; but the boat may have been destroyed by the explosion, -for all that. When the geyser dropped, it covered the place where our -submarine ought to have been. But you can see, Glennie, she isn't -there." - -Motor Matt had gone through many perils and difficulties since he and -his chums had started for "around the Horn" with the _Grampus_, but he -had never been so greatly cast down as he was at that moment. He was -thinking of Carl, of Dick, and of the three brave men, Speake, Gaines, -and Clackett, who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him through all -the dangers that had met them since leaving British Honduras. - -It was a good thing that Glennie, at that moment, was so hopeful. - -"We haven't been able to see the _Grampus_ for several minutes, Matt," -he observed. "In coming down the hill from the casa, the boat was -hidden from us." - -"All the same, Glennie, she was in her berth, whether we saw her or -not. If she hadn't been where we left her, the Japs wouldn't have had -any target, and the torpedo would not have been exploded in that spot. -If it comes to that, the fact that we didn't see her goes to show that -she may have changed her position a little, and have been right where -the torpedo exploded." - -"I don't think that for a minute," averred Glennie stoutly. "The last -we saw of the _Grampus_ all our friends were on deck. If she had been -torpedoed, we'd certainly see some of the boys in the water. They were -under hatches when that Whitehead went off; and, if they were under -hatches, they may have been safe. I'm inclined to think they were." - -"If the bottom plates of the submarine were blown in," proceeded Matt, -"she would sink and go down like so much lead. Let's get into the boat -and row out, Glennie. We can see a good deal more if we're right over -the spot where the _Grampus_ was anchored than we can from here." - -Matt, suiting his action to the word, dropped hastily over the edge of -the wharf and into the boat. The wharf was in a bad state of repair. -The planks had been torn from the piles, and a region of semi-darkness -stretched away under the floor. - -As Matt dropped into the boat, his face was turned landward and his -eyes rested for a moment on the gloom that lay between the outer piles -and the shore; but, during that moment, he glimpsed something that gave -him a start. Unless he was greatly mistaken, he could make out the dim -shape of a human form crouching in the darkness. - -"Cast off the painter, Glennie, quick!" he called. - -The ensign lifted the loop over the top of the post and flung it into -the boat. - -Grabbing the wharf planks, Matt gave a pull that sent the boat in -between the piles. He could hear shouts of wild suspicion coming from -Captain Pons and Captain Arco. Unable to figure out what impelled Matt -to vanish under the wharf, they jumped to the conclusion that he was -doing something he ought not to do. - -Paying no attention to the frantic voices, or the frenzied tramping -on the planks overhead, the young motorist continued to drag the boat -onward toward the shore. Several yards back from the edge of the wharf, -the bow of the boat struck against a timber that had one end imbedded -in the sand, while the other end rose upward, clear of the water. - -The human form Matt had seen was lying upon the timber. The man made -no move to escape, or to protect himself, and Matt was not long in -discovering that he was either dead or unconscious. - -For a moment Matt's heart was in his throat. His fears, even against -his better judgment, made him apprehensive that this form, lying -helplessly on the timber under the wharf, might be that of one of his -friends. - -Close examination, however, proved his fears groundless. The man -was under medium height and had a tawny skin. He was barefooted, -bareheaded, and stripped to his waist. Rolling him into the boat, Matt -drew the light craft back into the daylight at the edge of the wharf. - -"What under the canopy are you about, Matt?" called Glennie, from the -edge of the wharf. Then, seeing the man in the bottom of the boat, he -gave vent to an astonished whistle. "_That's_ what you went under the -wharf for, eh? Where was that fellow?" - -"He was lying on a timber, just out of the water," answered Matt. "The -question is, where did he come from, and what was he doing there?" - -"He looks as though he was stripped for swimming." - -"And he worked so hard in the water, and in getting ashore, that he -gave out and lost consciousness as soon as he pulled himself upon that -timber. The fact that he was under the wharf proves that he didn't want -anybody to find him. He's a Jap, Glennie." - -A yell escaped Captain Pons, and he began talking excitedly and -pointing his finger at the Jap. - -"What does Pons say, Glennie?" Matt asked. - -"He says that that fellow was one of the men who stole the _Pom_. The -captain is very sure he is not mistaken. There were five in the party." - -"Gif the r-r-rascal here!" cried Captain Pons, stretching his arms -downward, "gif heem to me! By gar, he is one of ze t'ieves--ve haf -captured one of ze t'ieves!" - -Matt lifted the unconscious man, and three pairs of hands caught him -from above and pulled him up on the wharf. Hardly had the Jap touched -the planks than, with amazing suddenness, he jumped to his feet and -tried to run. - -"He was shamming!" exclaimed Glennie. - -"No," answered Matt, as the two negroes deftly caught the fleeing -Jap and flung him roughly down on his back, "I'm positive he was not -shamming, Glennie. He recovered while we were lifting him to the wharf -and thought he could make a bolt and get away." - -As the two negroes held the prisoner down on the planks, Captain Pons -stepped to his side, bent over, and shook a fist in his face. - -What the captain said was in Spanish, which he probably used for the -Jap's benefit, and Matt could not follow his words further than to be -sure that Pons was threatening and reviling the man for the treacherous -part he and his countrymen had played. - -The prisoner looked up calmly into the Frenchman's face, seeming to -take his capture and his failure to escape as a matter of course. - -"We get the torpedo," said he, in good English, the moment Captain Pons -ceased talking. - -"How did you get the torpedo?" queried Glennie, pushing the captain -aside and drawing closer to the prisoner. - -"I volunteered," went on the Jap, a note of ringing exultation in his -low voice; "they passed me through the torpedo tube, and I cut the -cable that secured the torpedo to the other submarine, and made a rope -fast from our boat. It was hard work, all under water. Then I swim -ashore, but I am weak and faint and try to hide. You have captured me. -Do what you will. _Banzai_, Nippon!" - -The Chilian could not understand English, and he was consumed with -curiosity. Captain Pons understood, however, and the calmness of the -prisoner, during his brief recital, filled him with rage. He tried to -strike the Jap, but Glennie interfered. - -"Let him alone, Pons!" cried Glennie. "He thinks he has done right. -Anyhow, he's a prisoner, and a prisoner should not be mistreated." - -"_Diable!_" ground out the captain. "He make ze brag zat he steal ze -torpedo! S-scoundr-r-el! He should be hang', by gar!" - -Glennie turned to Motor Matt. - -"You heard, Matt?" he queried. "The Japs passed this fellow out through -the torpedo tube of the _Pom_ while the boat was under water. He made -a line fast, cut the cable securing the torpedo to our submarine, and -then swam ashore. A rare piece of work!" - -"Ask him about that torpedo attack on the _Grampus_," said Matt. "See -if you can find out anything about the intentions of the other Japs." - -"You are one of the Sons of the Rising Sun?" queried Glennie, again -addressing the prisoner. - -A gleam darted through the Jap's eyes. - -"I say nothing," he answered. "I have told about the torpedo. But I -tell you nothing more. It is all for Nippon, for my beloved country." - -"That's the way with those fellows," said Matt disappointedly. "He -wouldn't speak another word even if he was tortured. I'm surprised that -he said what he did about the torpedo. Turn him over to Pons and the -captain of the port, Glennie, and let's row out into the bay and see if -we can learn anything about the fate of the _Grampus_." - -Matt's face was haggard with fear and anxiety. He had had a bad half -hour, since the explosion of the torpedo and the disappearance of the -_Grampus_, and his face reflected the intensity of his feelings. - -Glennie turned away from the prisoner and stepped to the edge of the -wharf. He paused there for a moment, rigid as a statue, his eyes -wandering over the surface of the bay. - -Motor Matt, wondering at his manner, likewise directed his gaze off -over the water. As he did so, Glennie recovered his wits abruptly and -gave vent to an exultant yell. - -"Hurrah!" he roared, jerking off his cap and waving it. "What's the -matter with the motor boys, Matt? We've had our worry all for nothing!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -CHASING A TORPEDO. - - -Dick and Carl, together with the rest of the crew of the _Grampus_, did -a lot of guessing after Matt and Glennie left them with the captain of -the port. - -The commotion kicked up by the torpedo put a sudden and effectual stop -to their speculations. Carl, Dick, and Speake were on deck when the -Whitehead began its peculiar performance, and the jerks administered to -the _Grampus_ by the tow line quickly brought Gaines and Clackett up -through the tower hatch. - -"Ach, du lieber!" cried Carl. "See vonce vat has habbened mit der -dorpeto. A vale has got dangled oop mit der tow line; oder oof id don'd -vas a vale id vas a shark, und a pig feller, I bed you. Vat a funny -pitzness! From der actions, id looks like der dorpeto vas alife." - -"Whale!" scoffed Dick. "Don't you believe that a whale, or shark, -either, has got anything to do with that." - -"Vat it iss, den?" - -"I give it up. What do you think, Speake?" - -"Ask me something easy," answered Speake. "Mebby something has got -loose inside the torpedo--compressed air, or something--and that that -is what's putting the big tube through its jig." - -"Led's pull in der line," suggested Carl, "und make der dorpeto pehave." - -"Not on your life!" cried Dick. "It's full of dynamite, and I'll never -let the _Grampus_ get any closer to that infernal machine than she is -now." - -"Matt vants dot dorpeto or he vouldn't haf taken der drouple to tow her -in." - -"Matt can have it, matey, but I don't intend to board a Whitehead when -it's dancing a hornpipe. If the dynamite should happen to let go----" - -Dick was interrupted by a chorus of surprised yells from the rest of -his companions. - -The torpedo, kicking one end high in the air, had taken a "header" -toward the bottom of the bay. - -"Dot means goot-by," murmured the amazed Carl. "Der vale's run off -mit it. Bedder dot vale look a leedle oudt und not knock his tail too -hardt against der dorpeto. Oof he do dot, den, py shinks, he make some -mincemeat out oof himseluf." - -"Great guns!" exclaimed Gaines. "What do you suppose did that, Dick?" - -"More mysterious things have happened to us since we left Magellan -Strait," ruminated Dick, "than ever came our way before. Suppose we -haul in on the tow line and have a look at the end of it." - -The line was pulled aboard. There were some forty feet of it, and the -end was sliced off clean. - -"A knife did that!" declared Clackett. - -"Der vale dit id mit his teet'," asserted Carl, who always hung to one -of his own theories like a dog to a bone. - -"Bosh, Clackett!" scoffed Gaines. "How could a knife have done that? -Who was down there to cut the rope?" - -"It don't make any difference what separated the rope," put in Speake, -"the thing was done, and something or other is running away with Motor -Matt's torpedo. Matt must have wanted that Whitehead or he wouldn't -have gone to the trouble to tow it in. Are we going to let it get away -from us?" - -"How can we help it?" inquired Clackett. - -"We can follow it," asserted Speake. - -"We haven't any business taking the _Grampus_ from her anchorage while -Matt's ashore," said Gaines. - -"I guess Matt wouldn't mind if we took a dive along the bottom of the -bay to overhaul that runaway torpedo," remarked Dick. - -"Sure, nod!" chimed in Carl. "Matt vill be as madt as some vet hens ven -ve tell him der dorpeto skyhooted avay mit itseluf und ve ditn't do -nodding to shdop id." - -"We'll chance it, anyway, mates," said Dick. "I'm always in command -whenever our old raggie is off the boat. Get down to the motor, Gaines. -Clackett, get after the tanks. Come below, the rest of you, and let the -last man down secure the hatch." - -Speake was the last one to drop down the hatch. The ballast tanks were -already filling as he stepped off the iron ladder upon the floor of the -periscope room. - -Dick was at the wheel. - -"Turn on the electric projector, Speake," said Dick. "I'm going up into -the tower and do the steering from there." - -Dick got just two rounds up the ladder when a muffled roar enveloped -the _Grampus_, and she was heaved violently over until the tower was -almost on a level with her keel. - -Carl, who had been inspecting the periscope, was thrown violently -against the rounded wall over the locker. Speake, just reaching up to -turn the electric switch that sent a current through the wires of the -projector, went head over heels against one of the bulkheads. As for -Dick, he pulled off a remarkable stunt at ground and lofty tumbling, -winding up with his head under the periscope table and his heels in the -air. - -Yells came in muffled volume from below, proving that Gaines and -Clackett were likewise having their troubles. - -The _Grampus_ righted herself almost as quickly as she had flopped -over. This, taking place before those aboard had had a chance to adjust -themselves, still further complicated matters. - -When every one was finally right side up, Dick jumped to the speaking -tubes. - -"How are you down there, Gaines?" he called. - -"I turned a handspring over the motor," came back the voice of Gaines, -"but I guess I didn't damage anything." - -"I stood on my head in one of the accumulators," added Clackett through -the tank-room tube. "We turned turtle there for about half a minute. -What caused it, Dick? I heard an explosion, too." - -"That bally old torpedo must have gone off," answered Dick. "No use -hunting for it now." - -"I don't believe it was that torpedo that exploded," said Speake. "What -could have set it off?" - -"Der vale shlowed oop a leedle," explained Carl, "und id run indo him. -I bed you somet'ing for nodding dere iss vale all ofer der pay." - -"We're in luck, anyhow," exulted Dick. "This old flugee is as trim -and steady as ever. Now that we're down near the bottom we'll cruise -a little and see what we can discover. We've got an hour or two, I -guess, before Matt and Glennie get back to the landing and want to come -aboard. Slow speed, Gaines," he called. - -Hurrying up into the conning tower, Dick pressed his eyes against the -forward lunettes. The trail of light, reaching out through the lunette, -illuminated the murky waters for several yards beyond the point of the -submarine's bow. - -There was a commotion in the depths, and fishes were darting in all -directions. - -Steering from the ladder, Dick headed the _Grampus_ toward the north. -They had not gone far before Dick saw something which made him rub his -eyes. - -"Am I doing a calk," he muttered, "or are these lamps of mine making -a monkey's fist of their work? Strike me lucky! Carl! Look into the -periscope!" - -A vague shape was passing through the gleam of the search light. It -looked like a huge cigar, its pointed end tilted slightly upward. At -the rear of the object there was a flurry of water. - -"Id's a vale!" boomed Carl, whose mind seemed to be running on whales -that day. - -"It's another submarine," gasped Speake, "that's what it is. I wonder -if Matt didn't know there was another submarine in these waters?" - -"Watch!" cried Dick excitedly. "What's that behind the thing?" - -The other boat was moving in a course that angled slightly with the -direction the _Grampus_ was following. Because of this the second craft -was some time in passing through the glow of the search light. - -As Dick called out, those at the periscope table saw the Whitehead -torpedo glide into the gleam from the electric projector. A rope held -the forward end of the torpedo to the stern of the other submarine, the -buoyancy of the steel cylinder causing its rear part to stand almost -straight up in the water. - -It was an odd procession the boat and the torpedo made as they defiled -through the pencil of light. - -"Dot's der feller vat shtole Matt's dorpeto!" cried Carl. "Run against -der rope, Tick, und preak der dorpeto loose." - -"Not much, I won't, matey," breathed Dick. "We're not going to take any -chances with _that_ Whitehead." - -"It certainly wasn't that torpedo that went off, a little while ago, -Dick," observed Speake. - -"Right-o," Dick answered, startled by the thought this remark of -Speake's had aroused. "It was a torpedo, though, and that other craft -must have launched it at us." - -"Ach, himmelblitzen!" gasped Carl. "For vy should dot odder poat shoot -some dorpetos ad us, hey?" - -"Give it up, Carl, unless there are some of those Sons of the Rising -Sun aboard." - -Dick slid down the ladder in a hurry. - -"Empty the tanks, Clackett!" he sang out. "We've got to hustle out -of this," he added to Carl and Speake, "before they shoot another -Whitehead at us. Keelhaul me, but this will be news for Matt. We've got -to tell him about it as soon as ever we can get the _Grampus_ back to -her old berth." - -Two minutes later the submarine lifted her turtle-like back out of the -waves. Dick headed her south, and Carl and Speake pushed open the hatch -and went out on the wet plates. Dick ascended the ladder to steer from -the hatch. Hardly had he got head and shoulders into the outside air -when a shout from Carl and Speake drew his eyes toward the wharf. - -Matt and Glennie, and a few more the boys did not know, were on the -landing. Glennie was yelling and waving his cap. - -"Vat's der madder mit him, I vonder?" queried Carl. "He vouldn't be -doing dot oof he knowed aboudt dot odder poat und der dorpeto." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -NORTHWARD BOUND. - - -The _Grampus_ had no more than dropped anchor in her old berth than -Matt, Glennie, Captain Pons, the captain of the port, and the negroes -were alongside in the boat. - -"Great spark plugs," cried Matt, "but you fellows gave me a scare." - -"Vell, bard," answered Carl, "ve vas a leedle schared ourselufs." - -"Here's another scare for you, matey," called Dick. "The Sons of the -Rising Sun have a submarine of their own, and are after us. They were -here, off Lota, and just went north with that torpedo in tow." - -"Jupiter!" exclaimed Glennie. "How did you fellows know that?" - -"You act as though it wasn't any news to you." - -"It isn't, but we thought you fellows were not informed and would fall -a victim to the _Pom_." - -"_Pom?_" echoed Dick. - -"That's the name of the other submarine," went on Matt. "She's a French -craft and was brought here by this man, Captain Pons, to be turned over -to the Chilian government. Five Japs worked a trick and succeeded in -getting hold of her." - -"Why, how----" - -"We'll tell you all about it later, Dick. Where were you when that -torpedo went off?" - -"Just diving to the bottom to go hunting for the other torpedo. That -Whitehead they fired never touched us." - -"It must have touched something," put in Speake, "or the firing pin -wouldn't have got in its work." - -"It hit a harbor buoy," said Matt. "At least, the captain of the port -says there was a buoy at this point. As it isn't here now, it must have -been demolished. It's a lucky thing for all of us that the buoy was -between the _Grampus_ and the Whitehead. Glennie and I will go back to -the shore, Dick, and get a barrel of gasoline. You get the hose rigged -and have everything ready to discharge the gasoline in short order. -We're northward bound, and are going to get away from these waters just -as quick as the nation will let us." - -There was something of a disappointment in this for the men on the -submarine. They had hoped for a chance to stretch their legs ashore, -but they appreciated the necessity of getting the _Grampus_ out of -harm's way as quickly as possible. - -"Won't the _Pom_ lay for us as we pull out of the bay, Matt?" asked -Dick. - -"She can't lay for us. You see, she had only two torpedoes. One of -those was destroyed in the attack made on the _Grampus_ in the bay; -the other one the _Pom_ is dragging off to some place where she can -get it in shape for work. We need not fear any attack from the Sons -of the Rising Sun until the other Whitehead is ready for use. If we -act quickly, we can get well away from the _Pom_ before she becomes -dangerous." - -"_Diable!_" rasped out Captain Pons. "Is it ze American vay to r-run -from ze enemy? Pur-r-r-soo and capture, zat is ze sing. I will go wiz -you, _oui_, I, myself, Captain Pons. You will help me get back ze -_Pom_. Eh?" - -"We're not here to take any risks with the _Grampus_, captain," said -Matt. "Responsibility for the safety of the boat rests on my shoulders, -and you'll have to get some Chilian war ship to help you." - -"Zat is not right!" cried the captain. "One mariner is in ze duty bound -to help anozzer mariner in ze distress. Me, I call on you. You refuse, -zen zat is mos' contemptible." - -"I'm sorry you look at it in that way, captain," replied Matt; "but -it's just possible I know my own business better than you do." - -Captain Pons had a little fit all by himself, and while he had it he -was saying unpleasant things. - -"What's the matter with the frog eater?" cried Dick. "Throw him -overboard!" - -Matt signed for the captain of the port to have the negro oarsmen get -the boat back to the landing. The captain at once gave the order and -the boat danced away in the direction of the wharf. - -Captain Pons was still calling down anathemas on the heads of all -Americans who refused to help a Frenchman in "ze distress." - -"By gar," he cried, "I vill vire my government how you haf treat' me! I -vill use ze cable, and let ze president of my country know it all. It -is mos' contemptible!" - -"Captain," said Matt, "we are not allowed to take any strangers aboard -the _Grampus_. Our submarine has appliances which put her so far ahead -of every other boat in her class that we are all under seal of secrecy -and are bound by a pledge to keep strangers away. So, you see, it would -be impossible for you to take a cruise in the _Grampus_." - -Captain Pons glared. - -"It is mos' contemptible!" was all he could say. - -Matt and Glennie, without delaying further, pushed into the town. Matt -had little difficulty in finding the gasoline he wanted. He had to go -to two or three places before he found fuel that answered the severe -tests he put it to, but finally he got what he desired and had it -hauled to the landing. - -The captain of the port was not in evidence, but his two negroes were -waiting at the boat. - -Matt had come down to the wharf in the wagon that brought the gasoline, -and Glennie had been left to follow on foot. The ensign put in an -appearance just as the barrel had been transferred to the boat. Matt -was surprised to see him carrying a rifle. - -The only firearms aboard the _Grampus_ consisted of a six-shooter which -had accompanied the ensign when he first assumed his duties on the -submarine. - -"What are you going to do with that, Glennie?" laughed Matt. "Shoot -Japs?" - -"Well, no, not exactly," answered Glennie, "There are a good many ways -in which a weapon of this sort might come in handy, besides using it -for shooting Japs. It's an American gun, Matt--a Marlin. It looked sort -of homelike, so I just took it in, along with a box of cartridges." - -If Matt hated one thing more than another, it was a gun. He had seen -firearms used so recklessly while he was in the Southwest that he had -acquired a strong prejudice against them. Notwithstanding this fact, -he was a crack shot, and had more than once carried off the prize in a -shooting contest. - -"All right, Glennie," said he, although a trifle reluctantly, "bring it -along." - -"You don't like guns, Matt," observed the ensign as he lowered himself -into the boat and dropped down on one of the thwarts. - -"Or knives, either," added Matt, "when they are used to get the better -of another fellow. A pair of fists make pretty good weapons." - -"Fists are all right," laughed Glennie, "so long as the other chap uses -them; but when you find an enemy standing off forty or fifty feet and -looking at you over the sights of a gun--well, that's the time another -gun would be mighty valuable." - -By the time the small boat fell in alongside the _Grampus_, Dick, Carl, -and the rest had the hose ready and it took only a few moments to rig -the pump. Presently the gasoline was flowing down the tower hatch and -into the reservoir below. - -Dick, keeping one eye on the negroes while they bent over the pump -handles, leaned against the conning tower and heaved a long breath. - -"I'm hoping, old ship," said he to Matt, "that we'll be able to leave -the Japs behind, this time, for good and all. Those on the _Pom_ must -have seen us while we had their craft under our search light, and I -guessed good and hard why they didn't turn and send another torpedo at -us. I didn't know, you see, that they only had two Whiteheads to their -blessed name. We could have pulled their fangs if we had opened up that -torpedo and took out the dynamite." - -"I intended," answered Matt, "to take the torpedo aboard through one -of our tubes as soon as we reached this harbor, but the captain of the -port came down on us before I had the chance." - -"How did you find out about that submarine, and the Japs being in -charge of her?" - -Matt straightened out this point to his chum's satisfaction. That part -of Matt's recital which had to do with the Jap who had been captured -under the wharf was particularly interesting to Dick. - -"Those fellows don't care a rap for their own lives," muttered Dick, -"and that's what makes 'em such nasty fighters. When that fellow got -out through the _Pom's_ torpedo tube, he must have come up directly -under the Whitehead. By hugging the torpedo close, he could have got -his head out of water without any of us on the _Grampus_ seeing him. -But he took long chances, just the same, and there are only four Japs -left to navigate the other craft. The work probably calls for all -hands, and there's bound to be a time when the _Pom_ can't run for lack -of hands to navigate her. The Japs are only human, and they'll have to -have a spell of rest like every one else." - -"We've got a good chance to show them our heels," said Matt, "and it's -our duty to make the most of it." - -"I'm a Fiji, though," said Dick, "if I don't hate to run away from -those Sons of the Rising Sun. It looks as though the United States and -Great Britain had struck their colors to the yellow rascals." - -"I feel the same way, Dick, but this submarine is worth a hundred -thousand dollars, and we're only her trustees. It's our duty not to -take any chances with her." - -"Right-o, matey. I understand that just as well as you do. Captain -Nemo, Jr., ought to give you a good slice of that hundred thousand when -you tie up the _Grampus_ at the navy-yard wharf." - -"I'm not looking for that, Dick," returned Motor Matt earnestly. "It's -the idea of _making good_ that appeals to me beyond anything and -everything else. It isn't so much the money that comes to us for what -we do, but the way we toe the scratch that counts." - -An hour later all preliminaries were finished and the _Grampus_ was off -up the bay, tanks emptied and steel hull high in the water, her motors -humming and setting a record pace. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A HALT FOR REPAIRS. - - -Late in the afternoon of the day they left Lota Bay the _Grampus_ spoke -the British ship _Sovereign_, bound from Santiago to Liverpool. By -means of a megaphone, Matt had a brief talk with the captain of the -sailing vessel. - -"What craft is that?" inquired the British captain, after answering -Matt's hail with information concerning his own vessel. - -"The submarine _Grampus_," answered Matt, "six weeks out from Belize, -British Honduras, and bound for San Francisco." - -"My word!" came from the other megaphone. "Sure about that?" - -Matt was "stumped." It was certainly an odd question to ask. - -"Of course I'm sure of it. Why?" - -"Well, we passed another submarine, two hours ago, and she was towing -a torpedo. Said she had discharged it at a target and was going to -beach it somewhere, and get it in shape for further use. But the bally -joke of it is that the captain of that other submarine said that _his_ -boat was the United States submarine _Grampus_. It's a main queer go -if there are two submarines of that name both belonging to the United -States Government." - -"Well, what do you think of that?" muttered Glennie, leaning out of the -hatch. "The nerve of it!" - -"That other boat was the _Pom_," called back Matt, "sent over to Chili -by a firm of French shipbuilders. She was stolen from the harbor of -Lota by a handful of Japs." - -"Fancy that! Those Japs are----" - -The rest of it Matt could not hear. The two boats had merely spoken -each other in passing and were quickly out of reach of each other's -megaphones. - -"Those Sons of the Rising Sun are stealing our thunder," remarked -Glennie. - -"I suppose," returned Matt, "that it's a heap safer for the Japs to -call their boat the _Grampus_ than the _Pom_. If they happened to speak -a vessel that knew of the stealing of the _Pom_ results might prove -disastrous if they told the truth." - -Matt descended to the periscope room to give the news to Carl and Dick. - -"Dot's der vorst yet!" grunted Carl. "Der itee oof dem Chaps calling -deir old frog-eader poat der _Grampus_! I don'd like dot. Id vas some -insulds." - -"I guess we can stand it, Carl," said Matt. - -"Did Pons tell you anything about that French submarine, matey?" -inquired Dick. - -"A little, but not as much as I would have liked to learn. The _Pom_, I -infer, is smaller than the _Grampus_, and is propelled by electricity -when submerged and by gasoline on the surface. She's only able to -stay under water an hour. Captain Nemo, Jr., could teach those French -builders a trick or two with his patent submerged exhausts." - -"How's her diving? Can't she remain submerged longer than an hour with -her ballast tanks full and her electric motor quiet?" - -"No. Her rudders keep her below the surface, and the diving rudders -won't work unless her motor's going." - -"She don'd amoundt to mooch, oof dot's der case," commented Carl. -"Der _Grampus_ has got der _Pom_ shkinned bot' vays for Suntay. I bed -you somet'ing for nodding der _Pom_ couldn't have come aroundt der -bottom end oof Sout' America like vat ve dit. _Pom!_ She vas vat der -French fellers call a _pomme de terre_, by vich, ven I so expression -meinseluf, I mean a botato. Whoosh!" and the Dutch boy gave a grunt of -disgust. - -The night fell clear and bright. It was Matt's intention to continue -running during the night, but submerged so that only the periscope ball -was awash. - -When the time came to fill the ballast tanks, however, an unexpected -difficulty presented itself--a difficulty which had almost brought -overwhelming disaster once before, when the _Grampus_ had just emerged -from Magellan Strait: the Kingston valves by mean of which the tanks -were operated failed to work. - -This was no particular fault of the valves, but of some damage that had -been done to them, and which caused them to go wrong occasionally--and -usually at the most inopportune times. - -Matt had made up his mind that new valves would have to be put in, but -that was a job which would necessarily have to wait until the submarine -reached the end of her long journey. - -Repairing the valves would take several hours, and Matt decided to stay -on the surface and put in a little bay on Quiriquina Island. - -It was not necessary to reach the island before morning and when Dick -relieved Gaines at the motor, a call for half speed went through the -speaking tube to the motor room. - -The young motorist studied his charts, then, with the surroundings of -the islands clearly in mind, took the steering wheel himself and laid -his course by compass. - -It was about five o'clock in the morning when the _Grampus_ rounded a -bluff headland and took a due east course across Tona Bay. Quiriquina -Island loomed up clear and distinct against the gray dawn hovering in -the eastern skies. - -The cove which Matt selected as a berth for the submarine while repairs -were being made had a sloping beach of white sand. It was virtually a -bay within a bay, and the waters were as calm as those of an inland -lake. - -As soon as the anchors were down, all hands came on deck to get a whiff -of the morning air. - -"We'd better have breakfast before we tackle the valves, hadn't we, -Matt?" inquired Speake. "I know I can work better on a full stomach, -and I suppose the rest of you can." - -"Good idea, Speake," returned Matt. "I had thought about that, but -supposed you would like to loaf a little and not pen yourself up in the -torpedo room with an electric stove." - -"Those confounded valves bother me," grumbled Speake, "and I couldn't -loaf and enjoy myself if I had to think about them." - -"They bother me, too," added Glennie, "and I believe I'll go below and -look them over." - -"I'll go with you," said Clackett. "We can make a preliminary survey -and then get busy right after breakfast. Plenty of chance to loaf -during my watch below." - -"Glad to see you fellows so industrious," laughed Matt. "Perhaps, if -you are real smart, you can get those valves fixed by breakfast time, -and the rest of us won't have to tinker with them." - -"You'll be needed, Matt, when it comes to the fixing," answered -Glennie, as he climbed into the conning tower. - -Clackett followed him. - -"I guess I'll go down, too," yawned Gaines, "and catch forty winks on -top of the periscope-room locker. This morning air is fine, but I'm -satisfied to take my share through the open hatch." - -He followed Clackett into the tower. Dick, descending to the edge of -the rounded deck, peered into the clear depths of the water below. - -"I can see our cable, mates," said he, "and our anchor with one fluke -in the sand. Come on, Carl. Let's take a swim before breakfast." - -"Nod me, Tick," answered Carl. "I feel like loafing, und shvimming iss -too mooch like vork." - -"How about you, Matt?" - -"I feel as Carl does," said Matt. "Take your swim if you want to, Dick, -and Carl and I will be the anchor watch." - -Dick was out of his clothes in a jiffy. "So long," he called, as he -took a "header" from the bow of the boat. - -He was perfectly at home in the water, and when Matt saw him swimming -out toward a headland that walled in the cove on the south, he thought -little of it. When he saw that Dick was intending to swim around the -point, however, he stood up and called out a warning. But Dick only -laughed and kept on until he was out of sight. - -"He von't go so far dot he can't ged pack again," remarked Carl. "He -iss like a fish, Tick iss, und he feels pedder in der vater as oudt oof -id." - -Carl, for some days, had been wearing an outfit of sailor togs which he -had found in the slop chest of the submarine. He was trying to be as -nautical as possible, so that he could "shiver his timbers" and "dash -his deadeyes" with the best of them when the _Grampus_ reached San -Francisco. - -"I can valk like a sailor," remarked Carl, getting up from his seat by -the tower, "und aboudt all I lack now iss to be aple to hitch oop my -drousers like vat a sailor does. How iss der vay oof it, Matt?" - -"Never mind that part of it, Carl," laughed Matt. "You'll be enough of -a sailor at the end of this cruise, even if you don't know how to hitch -up your trousers. Besides," and Matt squinted at him critically, "I -doubt if you could ever do the trick." - -"For vy nod?" - -"Why, the trousers are too tight a fit around the waist." - -"Yah, so, aber dey're so pig a fit oop und down dot I valk on der -pottoms, und id iss eider hitch dem oop oder cut dem off. Now, vatch. -Meppy id goes like dis." - -Carl jumped into the air, grapped the band of the trousers with one -hand in front and the other behind, and kicked out his legs. When he -came down, his feet were so far apart that they slipped on the rounded -plates, and he went down and rolled over and over. Matt grabbed him -just in the nick of time to keep him out of the water. - -"Look out," warned Matt, "or you'll take a swim whether you want to or -not." - -"I guess dot I leaf der hitching pitzness oudt," said the chagrined -Carl, "aber id vas so bicturesque dot I vish I could manach id. Now, -ven I----" - -Carl was interrupted by a shout, wafted toward them from across the -cove. He and Matt started up and saw Dick swimming in their direction -with all his might. - -"What's the matter, Dick?" called Matt. - -"Sharks!" came back the breathless answer. - -Matt was no more than a second making up his mind what he should do. -To help Dick by bringing the _Grampus_ closer to him was out of the -question--disaster might overtake the young sailor before the anchor -could be lifted from the bottom. - -"Ach, himmelblitzen!" murmured Carl fearfully. "Vat ve going to do, -Matt?" - -"Below with you, quick!" flung back the king of the motor boys. -"Glennie's rifle is in the periscope room. Get that and a coil of rope -and hustle back here." - -Carl, shaking with excitement, hurried to carry out the order. As he -vanished into the tower, Matt went forward toward the bow of the boat, -keeping his keen eyes on Dick. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -DICK MAKES A DISCOVERY. - - -The ability of the king of the motor boys to "keep his head" in trying -situations had more than once turned the tide for himself and his -chums. Matt could become as excited as anybody, but excitement never -interfered with the steadiness of his nerves or with his ability to -think quickly and resourcefully in time of danger. - -Far beyond Dick Matt could see a black, triangular fin slitting the -water, tacking this way and that, but coming closer and closer to the -young sailor. - -Dick was swimming rapidly, but the shark, of course, was cutting -through the water at a much faster gait. Had the shark laid a straight -course for its intended victim, the latter would long since have been -overtaken. - -With a keen eye Motor Matt made a quick estimate of the distance -separating Dick and the shark from the boat. He concluded that Dick -could not by any possibility reach the _Grampus_ before the shark would -be upon him, but the sea scavenger would be close enough for a good -shot. - -Carl, in a veritable tremor of excitement, rolled over the top of the -conning tower with the rifle in one hand and a coil of rope in the -other. - -"Don'd led dot shark ged avay mit Tick," he pleaded, handing the rifle -to Matt. "Pud a pullet righdt indo dot shark, Matt, mitoudt vaiting any -longer as bossiple." - -"I've got to wait until I can get a good shot, Carl," answered Matt, -"and that time will come when the shark goes over on its back." - -"Ven id does dot," quavered Carl, "id iss retty to bite. Oof you make a -miss, Matt, id iss all ofer mit Tick." - -"I'll not make a miss. Get a clamp on your nerves and be ready to throw -the rope as soon as Dick comes near enough." - -"My teet' chatter a leedle," whimpered Carl, "aber my nerfs iss all -righdt. Don'd you be afraidt pecause I am, Tick," he cried. "Schvim -like der Olt Poy vas afder you!" - -Dick had need of all his breath and could not waste any in useless -words. He was coming through the water at a fierce clip, his arms -working like piston rods in a fine, steady, overhand stroke. He could -see Matt on the deck with the rifle ready, and he knew that whatever -the king of the motor boys could do would be done. - -"Ach, shood, shood!" implored Carl, watching the black fin zigzagging -nearer and nearer. "Don'd vait, Matt!" - -But Matt paid no attention to Carl. He knew what kind of a target he -wanted, and that the shark would give it to him if he waited. - -When Dick was about a dozen feet from the boat, the right moment came. -With a flip of its tail the shark leaped partly out of the water and -turned on its back, its great jaws opening. - -Matt had braced himself firmly and lifted the Marlin repeater to his -shoulder. - -"Fire avay, kevick!" clamored Carl, and just then Matt pulled the -trigger. - -It was a bull's-eye hit. Straight to its mark leaped the murderous bit -of lead, and the shark, stunned by the impact of the bullet, snapped -its jaws harmlessly together and sank downward in the reddening water. - -"You're all right, Dick!" cried Matt. "Toss the rope, Carl." - -Carl threw the line and Dick laid hold of it. The report of the rifle -brought Gaines from the periscope room, Glennie and Clackett from the -tank room, and Speake from the torpedo room in short order. All of them -were on the deck just as Matt and Carl assisted Dick out of the water. - -"What's the rumpus?" inquired Gaines. - -Matt pointed to the shark, which was floating, belly up, on the water. - -"Your rifle did it, Glennie," said Matt. "If it hadn't been for that, -nothing could have saved Dick. I didn't think there was a shark within -miles of us when Dick went into the water." - -Dick was nearly fagged. The tremendous exertion he had put forth had -tried him severely. - -"It was foolish of me to go around that point," said Dick, leaning back -against the conning tower, "but I'm glad I did." - -"Dot's funny," returned Carl. "Glad you vent aroundt der point und -shdirred oop dot shark! How you make dot oudt?" - -"Well, I made a discovery," went on Dick. "If I hadn't made that -discovery, like enough I'd have kept on swimming and have got so far -away the shark would surely have nipped me before I could have got back -close enough for Matt to shoot." - -"What was the discovery?" asked Glennie. - -"There's another cove around the point, a good deal like this one. The -_Pom_ is there, close inshore, and----" - -"Der Chaps!" breathed Carl, thunderstruck. - -"The _Pom_!" exclaimed Glennie. - -"Here's a piece of luck!" ground out Gaines. "Who'd have thought we'd -moor ship alongside the same island picked out by the Japs! There seems -to be a fatality about our dealings with these Sons of the Rising Sun. -Even after we dodge them we have the knack of dropping right into their -hands again." - -"Mebby," suggested Speake, "they saw us and followed us to the island." - -"Hardly that, mate," spoke up Dick. "They've beached that torpedo, and -all four of the Japs are ashore, tinkering with it." - -Matt was puzzled to know what to do. If the Japs had not heard the -rifle shot, it would be possible for the _Grampus_ to haul in her -anchor and slip away, unnoticed, providing the tank valves were -repaired and she could leave the bay under water. But this manoeuvre -would leave a threatening danger behind, and Matt and his friend would -never feel safe from an unexpected attack. - -In that critical moment, Motor Matt would have given a deal if he could -have known all about the _Pom_ and her capabilities. For a few moments -he stood on the deck, turning the situation over and over in his mind, -his eyes on the point around which lay the hostile submarine. - -"How far is the _Pom_ anchored off the shore, Dick?" he asked. - -"Not more than half a cable's length." - -"Do you think the Japs saw you?" - -"I'm sure they didn't--they were too busy with that torpedo. But they -may have heard me yell, or the report of that gun may have reached -them. They have good ears, those fellows." - -"Get into your clothes, Dick," said Matt, having at last made up his -mind as to what he should do. "After that, take the rifle and sit here -on the deck. Watch that point of land. If the Japs fix that torpedo so -they are able to use it, they will have to come around the point in -order to launch it at us. Finish getting the breakfast, Speake. Gaines -will pass it around as soon as you have it ready. Clackett and I will -go below and see what we can do with those valves. Don't bother us with -any breakfast until we have them once more in working order." - -"What are Carl and I to do, Matt?" inquired Glennie. - -"Stay up here with Dick, and keep your eyes peeled." - -Matt, Clackett, and Speake went below. Matt and Clackett were an hour -at the valves before they were finally made dependable. All the while -they were at work a deep silence reigned throughout the boat. Every one -realized the necessity of keeping quiet so as not to arouse the Japs. - -Matt, after swallowing a cup of coffee, came out on deck and began -taking off his clothes. - -"What's the game, matey?" asked Dick. "You're not going into the water -and give the sharks a chance at you, are you?" - -"I'm going ashore," said Matt. - -"I wouldn't do that, Matt," counseled Glennie. "Why is it necessary? -If the valves are in shape, we can pull out of here and make our way -north under water. The Japs will never be the wiser." - -"I'm tired of bothering with these Sons of the Rising Sun," Matt -answered. "We never know what they're going to do, or when they're -going to do it. I thought we had dropped them for good, down below -English Reach, but they were clever enough to get away from Sandoval -and play that trick in Lota. If possible, let's put them out of the -running, now, for keeps." - -"How will you do it?" questioned Gaines. - -"I'm not just sure of that, and won't be until I do a little -reconnoitring ashore. I've a scheme in mind, but I want to be positive -it will work before we try it. Go down to the engine room, Gaines, and, -Clackett, you take your usual place in the tank room. Heave up the -anchor, Speake. Glennie, you get into the conning tower. If the current -sets inshore and causes the _Grampus_ to drift that way when the anchor -is up, have the motor run just enough to hold the boat where she is. -Dick, you hang on to the rifle. When you go down, Gaines, pass up the -strongest cable we have, so that Carl can bend it on to the mooring -ring at the stern. Understand?" - -"I guess we all understand what we're to do," replied Glennie, "but -I'll be hanged if I know why we're to do it." - -"You'll know--perhaps sooner than you imagine." - -Matt, stripped to his trousers, stepped to the landward side of the -boat. - -"Sharks always go in pairs, mate," cautioned Dick. - -"If you see one take after me, Dick," returned Matt, "treat it the same -as I did the one that took after you." - -With hardly a splash Matt dropped into the water and swam toward the -beach. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A WARY FOE. - - -Matt reached the beach without mishap. Beyond the white stretch of sand -grew a chaparral of bushes and low trees, covering the slope which -ended at a ridge forming the backbone of the point to the southward. - -The young motorist took his way in this direction, halting at the edge -of the brush for a moment to turn and give a reassuring wave to his -comrades on the _Grampus_. - -Carl was just securing the end of a rope to the iron ring at the stern -of the boat, Glennie was half inside the conning tower, and Dick had -the rifle across his knees. All three answered Matt's parting salute, -and he faced about and hurried into the chaparral. - -Matt's course carried him up the side of the ridge. Once at the crest -he would be able to look down on the Japs and take note of their -operations. He would thus be able to determine whether the bold scheme -which he had at the back of his brain would be feasible or not. - -The crest of the ridge was not more than fifty feet above sea level, -and the king of the motor boys was not long in reaching it. There, -screened by a thicket of bushes, he was able to look down on the other -cove, and make a leisurely examination of the _Pom_ and the Japs. - -The _Pom_, as Dick had said, was lying within a short distance of the -shore. She was an odd-looking craft, being of a much smaller diameter -than the _Grampus_, and having a flat deck built over the rounded -plates of her hull. The conning tower was only about half the height -and diameter of that of the _Grampus_, and seemed to have a solid top -without any hatch opening. The hatch was forward, on the flat deck, and -the cover was pushed back. - -From the submarine, Matt's eyes wandered to the shelving beach. - -The torpedo was there, rolled up beyond the reach of the lapping waves, -and two of the Japs were busy about the conical end of the tube. Matt -chuckled as he thought of how he had tampered with the firing pin. -Before they could make the pin serviceable, the Japs would have to rig -another of the little propellers; and, while their ingenuity was no -doubt equal to the job, yet it would take time to finish it. - -The two men who were at work were clad only in their trousers, and had -clearly reached the shore as Matt had done, by swimming. They went -about their work steadily and with an application which indicated that -they had little attention for anything else. - -From their manner, it seemed a fair inference that the rifle shot, or -Dick's yell, from the other side of the point, had failed to reach them. - -But where were the other two Japs? Had they returned to the _Pom_? - -It might be that the two on the beach were in need of more tools and -had sent the others out to the boat after them. - -Matt, thinking of his plans, measured the distance from the end of the -point to the _Pom_. - -"The _Grampus_ can do it!" he muttered, with an undernote of exultation -throbbing in his voice. "A quick dash, and then a hustle seaward--and -the trick is done. But those other two Japs--I wish they would leave -the boat and come ashore. They form the danger point in the carrying -out of the scheme." - -There was something else Matt noticed as he peered out from behind his -thicket, and that was that two rifles lay on the sand within easy reach -of the Jap mechanics. - -"Those guns are another danger point," he said to himself. "The _Pom_, -however, will be between the _Grampus_ and the beach, and will act as a -sort of barricade. Anyhow, nothing venture, nothing win." - -For five minutes longer Matt waited, watching for the other two Japs to -reappear through the _Pom's_ hatch. But they did not come, and he felt -that he could wait no longer. - -Arising from his crouching position, he turned to retrace his course -down the hill. He had not taken a dozen steps, however, when, dodging -around a clump of bushes, he came face to face with the two missing -Japs! - -From the actions of the two men, it was plain that they were as much -surprised as was Motor Matt. - -The cause of this unexpected meeting flashed through Matt's brain like -lightning. - -The rifle shot had been heard, and these two Japs had been told to -cross the ridge and investigate. Matt had gained the shore before the -Japs had cleared the bushes and were able to see him. As they descended -the slope, he was going up, and fortune had decreed that they give each -other a wide berth. But fortune had taken another tack, for she was -now bringing Matt and the Japs altogether too close to each other for -comfort. - -These Japs, like the two at work on the torpedo, were stripped of all -unnecessary clothing; and, fortunately for the young motorist, they -carried no weapons. - -For an instant Matt and the two yellow men stared at each other; then -the Japs gave vent to a yell, and prepared to keep Matt from continuing -on down the hill. - -Matt, remembering the two rifles he had seen on the beach, had no -intention of waiting for the other two Japs to reach the scene. He -saw the men before him preparing to lay him by the heels in the most -approved ju-jutsu style, but that did not keep him back. - -He leaped forward, apparently aiming to pass directly between the two -men. They jumped to get in his way, whereupon he dodged to the right. - -But, if he was quick, so were the Japs. No sooner had he changed his -course than they also had faced the new direction. - -As Matt went flying down the hill, one of them made a dive for him. The -king of the motor boys struck out with his right fist--and he had a -"right" about which Carl Pretzel was wont to sing praises. - -The fist accomplished its work, so far as that one Jap was concerned. -A sharp breath was jolted from the yellow man and the hands he had put -out dropped limply, the while his whole body slumped backward. - -But something happened to Matt, just what he had not the least idea. -All he knew was that he was lifted high and sent crashing headfirst -into a thicket of bushes. - -The second Jap had put into practice one of the wrestling tricks he had -learned in Nippon. - -Matt, however, was not sorry he had been thrown in that unceremonious -fashion, for, just as he dropped into the bushes, the sodden _whang_ -of a rifle spoke from the crest of the ridge and a bullet flew whining -over the very spot where he had been running. - -The other two Japs had lost little time in coming to the aid of their -comrades. - -Matt was up almost as soon as he was down. His superb physical training -rendered him proof against any such fall as that he had just received. - -Both Japs were reaching for him as he ducked clear of the bushes, but -he slipped out from under their gripping fingers and flashed down -the slope like a streak, screening his flight with every particle of -tangled undergrowth that got in his way. - -The rifles behind him continued to cough and splutter. The unarmed -Japs, however, were between Matt and the marksmen, and the care the -latter had to use sent their bullets wide. - -The Japs were no match for Matt when it came to sprinting. Matt had -learned the game from a half-breed friend, the best "miler" in Arizona, -and he now showed the Japs how an American boy can run when he has his -heart in it. - -Before the yellow men had cleared the fringe of bushes at the edge of -the beach, Motor Matt was in the water; and when the Japs emerged, Dick -plowed up the ground at their feet with bullets from the Marlin, and -drove them back. - -Matt could not have swum faster if there had been a whole school of -sharks after him, but before he got to the _Grampus_ lead from the -shore was pounding a merry tattoo against the submarine's steel plates. -Dick, exposing himself recklessly, was answering with the Marlin. -Neither side was damaging the other, but the firing spurred Matt to -superhuman exertions. - -When the young motorist reached the boat, Carl ducked out from behind -the conning tower and gave him a hand up the slope of the deck. - -"Now's the time," panted Matt, falling at full length across the curved -plates. "Start her--full speed." - -"Where are we to go?" demanded Glennie. - -"Around the point and take the _Pom_ in tow," Matt answered. "All -four of the Japs are ashore, in this cove. Before they can cross the -ridge and interfere with us, we ought to be able to pick up the other -submarine and make off with her. Look alive, now! We can't turn the -trick if you don't hustle." - -The daring nature of Matt's scheme dawned on the lads with something -like a shock. And it appealed to them, too! It was just such a scheme -as they might have expected Motor Matt to set going. - -"Hoop-a-la!" jubilated Carl, as Glennie punched the motor-room jingler. -"Vat do you t'ink oof dot? Modor Matt goes ashore mit himseluf und -coaxes der Chaps to shace him mit rifles, schust to ged dem oudt oof -der vay so ve can shteal pack der _Pom_. Vat a feller he iss!" - -"You're giving me altogether too much credit, Carl," expostulated Matt. -"I ran onto those Japs by accident, and would have gone a good ways to -keep clear of them." - -"Vell, vat's der odds aboudt der tifference? Der modor poys iss on dop -und----" - -A bullet from the shore slapped against the side of the conning tower -and whistled off into space, passing so close to Carl's head in its -flight that he stopped his glorying and fell flat on the deck. - -"They'll not stay long on the beach there when they see where we're -going," remarked Matt grimly. - -"They've stopped their firing now, old ship," cried Dick, "and are -rushing back into the bushes as fast as they can scramble." - -"It has probably dawned upon them that we're planning to run off with -the _Pom_," said Matt. "Quick work, now, and we'll win the day, and cut -these Sons of the Rising Sun out of our future calculations." - -The propeller was churning the waters like mad, and Glennie was laying -a safe course to round the point and bring the _Grampus_ close to the -_Pom_. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -PLUCK THAT WINS. - - -By the time that the _Grampus_ got around the point and was plunging -onward, with "a bone in her teeth," straight for the _Pom_, Matt had -recovered his breath and was ready to play his part in the rest of the -work. - -"Make a circle around the stern of the _Pom_, Glennie," said Matt, -peering shoreward to see if there were any signs of the Japs coming -down the south side of the ridge. "That will give Dick a chance to jump -to the deck of the other craft." - -"I'll do it, Matt," replied Glennie. - -"Give me the rifle, Dick," went on Matt, "and you lay hold of the end -of the rope Carl has secured to the ring. As soon as you get on the -other boat, make the rope fast." - -"Ay, ay, matey!" cried Dick, elation ringing in his voice and his eyes -glimmering with excitement. "We'll make a go of this, now that you have -planned the scheme and done the heft of the work in getting it started." - -"There may still be a whole lot of trouble and hard work between us -and success. Let's not be too confident. Ah," and Matt pointed toward -the side of the ridge, "there come the Japs. They're running even -faster than they did when they were after me. We're going to have a -tight squeak of it, Glennie, to double the stern of the _Pom_, get Dick -aboard and pull away with our tow before the Japs get into the water." - -"It's their guns I'm thinking of," said Glennie. "If they happen to -pick me out of the conning tower, or to knock Dick off the deck of the -_Pom_, the fat would all be in the fire." - -"They'll not do either of those things, matey," averred Dick -confidently. "It's our innings, now, and we're bound to score." - -The _Grampus_ raced on, and down the slope rushed the Japs in a frantic -endeavor to reach the water and gain the _Pom_ before the venturesome -motor boys could carry out their plans. - -No shots were fired by the Japs. This seemed strange, since a -well-placed bullet would have meant so much to them. - -"What's the reason they're not tuning up, matey?" asked Dick. - -"Dey hafen't got der time for dot," chuckled Carl. "Dey're in too mooch -oof of a hurry, py shinks." - -"They could put a couple of bullets where they would play hob with us," -went on Dick, "and they must know it." - -"They do know it," said Matt. "There are four of the Japs, and only two -guns. I rather surmise that they have used up all the ammunition in the -magazines of the rifles, and that their reserve supply is on the _Pom_." - -Just at that moment Glennie swerved the _Grampus_ to pass between the -stern of the _Pom_ and the shore. - -"Ready, Dick!" warned Matt. - -"Right-o," answered Dick, seizing one end of the cable and balancing -himself on the port side of the _Grampus_. "Swing her as close as you -can, Glennie," he added to the ensign. - -Supporting himself by clinging to a wire guy with one hand, Dick -waited. Glennie signaled the engine room for slower speed, and the -_Grampus_ rounded neatly and pushed her nose past the tower of the -other boat. - -"There you are, Dick!" cried Matt. - -The next instant Dick had leaped across the intervening stretch of -water and had landed on the flat deck of the _Pom_. - -Before his feet had struck the deck, however, Matt saw a Jap's head and -shoulders push upward through the _Pom's_ hatch. If there had been time -to feel anything so useless as surprise, Matt would certainly have been -taken all aback. - -Captain Pons had said that only five Japs had comprised the crew which -had palmed themselves off as Chilians. One of these five had been left -in Lota, a prisoner. According to Matt's reckoning, that left only four -of the yellow men in charge of the _Pom_. Where, then, did this extra -Jap come in? - -Matt did not pause to let this drift through his mind. Making a short -run across the _Grampus_, he flung himself after Dick, reaching the -flat deck of the other submarine and only saving himself a fall over -the opposite side of the craft by dropping to his knees. - -Hardly had he landed when a pair of heavy feet clanged down behind him -and a form collided roughly with his back. Once more Matt came within -a hair's breadth of dropping off the port side of the _Pom_. - -"Py shinks," puffed a choppy voice, "you don'd vas going to leaf me -pehindt! Dere iss more Chaps on dis poat as we knowed aboudt, und----" - -Carl's sentence was never finished. The Jap Matt had seen in the open -hatch had gained the deck and had rushed at Carl like a whirlwind. -Another showed himself, following close upon the heels of the first. - -"Make the rope fast, Dick!" roared Matt. "Carl and I will look after -these fellows." - -Dick went down on his knees and began securing the rope. It was -necessary to make it fast before the slack was all taken up, otherwise -the tow line would have been jerked out of Dick's hands and the work -would have had to be done all over again. - -Matt caught the second Jap about the waist as he crawled through the -hatch. There was a brief struggle, and it ended by Matt heaving the -Jap over the side and into the water. The other Jap had performed a -like service for Carl, and the Dutch boy, blowing like a porpoise, was -floating around in the bay, trying to get hold of something and pull -himself back on the deck. - -The Jap started at once for Matt. Before he reached him, Dick, who had -made fast the line, rushed him from the rear and literally bore him off -the boat. He dropped into the water alongside his comrade. - -"Help Carl aboard, Dick!" called Matt. - -Dick bent over and gave Carl a hand. Just at that moment the boat -leaped forward under the sudden pull of the _Grampus_. - -But here, just as victory was all but ranged on the side of the motor -boys, the unexpected happened. - -Perhaps Glennie was to blame. It would have been better if he had -slowed the _Grampus_ down almost to a stop and then picked up the -strain on the tow line with a steady pull. - -It was useless, however, to find fault with anybody. The thing -happened, and that was all there was to it. - -The tow line snapped. One end of it jerked back and caught Matt a -tremendous blow on the temple, and he dropped as though from the impact -of a heavy fist. - -A howl of consternation broke from Carl. - -"Id's all oop mit us!" he shouted. "Der rope iss pusted in der mittle, -Matt is down, und der Chaps iss all aroundt us!" - -Carl's quick eyes had sized up the situation correctly. The four Japs -who had crossed the ridge from the other cove had reached the water and -were swimming to the _Pom_. The two who had been forced overboard by -Matt and his chums were paddling about and making frantic efforts to -regain the deck. - -Dick had not much time to think of what they should do. With Matt down, -could he and Carl successfully beat off the six yellow men? - -Dick flung a despairing glance after the _Grampus_. Glennie, wild with -anxiety over the outcome of what seemed a certain _fiasco_, was ringing -all kinds of signals in the motor room, and, for once in his life, -seemed completely "rattled" and at a loss as to what move he should -make. - -At that moment an idea darted into Dick's brain. - -"Keep away, Glennie!" Dick yelled, waving his hands. "Sheer off to a -good distance, and wait! Carl," and he whirled on the Dutch boy with -fierce determination, "we'll take Matt below. We can close ourselves -inside the steel shell and the Japs won't be able to get at us." - -"Meppy dere's more Chaps in der poat!" demurred Carl. - -"No!" thundered Dick. "Do you suppose they'd stay below while this -scrimmage was going on over their heads? Down the hatch with you, and -take Matt as I lower him!" - -Carl saw that there was nothing else for it, and made haste to carry -out his orders. The floor was less than five feet under the deck, and -Carl was able to stand erect and take Matt in his arms as Dick let him -down. The Japs were gaining the deck from all sides as Dick followed, -and the hatch cover was banged shut and made fast just in the nick of -time. - -"Ach, du lieber!" muttered Carl, listening to the patter of bare feet -on the plates overhead. "Vat a fix iss dis. Der Chaps haf got us, und -dey ain'd got us; und ve haf got dem in der same vay. Ve can't ged -oudt, und dey can't ged in. Vat's der answer?" - -"A little light, first," said Dick coolly. "Don't let the Japs worry -you--there's a stout steel armor between us and them. It's as black as -a pocket in here, now that the hatch is closed. Have you got a match?" - -It took Carl several moments to dig a match out of his blouse. He had -one, just one, and it was a wonder he had even that. No one had any use -for matches aboard the _Grampus_. - -Carl drew the match along the steel floor. As the flickering gleam grew -stronger, he and Dick took in the dimensions of that part of their -prison. - -The floor apparently divided the interior of the steel hull in half, -the rounded plates of the hull meeting it on both sides. A bulkhead cut -off the view aft. - -"You rub Matt's forehead and hands and see if you can't fetch him to," -said Dick. "I'm going aft to see what's on the other side of that -bulkhead." - -"Der match iss gone!" muttered Carl, dropping the charred stick. - -"I've located the bulkhead door, so it doesn't much matter," answered -Dick. - -The opening of the door brought in a little daylight. The door led out -under the conning tower, and the light came through the tower lunettes. - -Dick, straightening up, shoved his head and shoulders into the tower. -On all sides Jap eyes were glaring in at him. - -"Ugh!" he muttered, and dropped down again. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -A LITTLE WORK ON THE INSIDE. - - -When Matt drifted back to consciousness, his head lay on Carl's knee. -Carl and Dick had dragged him out under the conning tower, where the -light was better. - -"Where are we?" were Matt's first words. - -"In the _Pom_, matey," was Dick's grim response. - -"Ve can't ged oudt, eider, Matt," croaked Carl gloomily, "und der Chaps -can't ged in. Vich vould you radder be, der Chaps or us?" - -Matt sat up, rubbing his head. - -"I remember now," he murmured. "The tow line broke, and the _Pom_ end -of it sprang back and hit me on the forehead. You brought me below?" - -"I couldn't think of anything else to do, matey," said Dick. "We were -surrounded by six Japs, and I thought it better to take our chances -inside. We got below and closed the hatch just in time. Listen! You can -hear the Japs walking around on deck. If you get up in the tower you -can see them looking in at the lunettes! But it's not pleasant. The -straightened eyes of those swabs are pretty savage. I wouldn't give -tuppence for our chances if they could get at us. And they may find out -a way to come in here. If you can think of anything to do that will -help us out of this hole, Matt, please be in a hurry about it." - -"Yah," put in Carl, "don'd vaste any time." - -"Where's the _Grampus_?" asked Matt. - -His head bothered him, but there was no time to think of physical -troubles of that sort. - -"I told Glennie to keep her away. There wasn't anything he could do by -running close, anyhow. The Japs would have boarded the _Grampus_, if he -had come too close, and there would be only four on our boat to stand -off the six Japs." - -"Oh, well," remarked Matt, looking around, "this might be worse." - -"How?" moaned Carl. "I don'd see dot." - -Matt's interest in the _Pom_, now that he was able to give the boat a -personal examination, bade fair to eclipse his concern for the dangers -by which he was surrounded. Here was a brand-new piece of mechanism, a -boat crammed with French machinery that would well repay a close study. - -A rigid box under the conning tower, enabled a man to lift the upper -half of his body into the cupola and get his eyes opposite the -lunettes. As the man stood there, his right hand fell naturally on a -steering wheel and his left on push buttons which must communicate with -the engine room. - -"This is a whole lot different from the interior of the _Grampus_," -muttered Matt. - -"Id is so shmall as a rat drap," shuddered Carl. "I feel like I vas -shut oop in a cage." - -Matt, pushing backward from the turret, fell off a ledge into a sort -of well. As he sat up and groped about with his hands, he touched a -switch. Pulling the switch, an incandescent lamp flared out overhead. - -"That's better," said he. "Now we can look around without so much -trouble." - -Here, aft from the conning tower, machinery was packed away closely. - -Up against the roof, on the port side, was a little engine, operated -by compressed air, by which the submarine was steered. Matt discovered -that by observing the wires that ran to the engine from the steering -wheel. - -On the starboard side, likewise against the roof, was another engine, -with disks at each end as large as dinner plates. - -"H'm," mused Matt, trying to rub the ache out of his head so his brain -would be clearer, "those disks are diaphragms, and must be connected, -in some way, with the water pressure. I have it!" and a triumphant -look crossed his face, "this is the diving engine, and that wheel"--he -touched the wheel as he spoke--"controls it." - -At one side was a cubic steel box. - -"Air compressor," said Matt, touching the box. - -On the floor, just where Matt had dropped into the well, were two -levers. Matt lifted one of them. Instantly there came a gurgle and -splash of water, directly under Carl and Dick. - -"Avast, matey!" cried Dick. "I wouldn't fool with those things until -you know more about them." - -Muffled cries came from the Japs outside. - -"They hear what's going on," laughed Matt, "and they don't like it. -We're filling the submerging tanks, Dick," he explained. - -"Then why don't we sink?" - -"It takes the engine to help us sink--the diving engine and the motor." - -Farther back beyond the well was the engine room. - -"Here's where I'm at home," said Matt, creeping into the engine room -and turning on another incandescent light. - -In one side were switchboards for the dynamotors, and near them were -spiral resistance coils curving along the roof. Over on the other side -was a trolley controller, which Matt knew must be used for speeding the -vessel under water. - -"Give the wheel of that diving engine a turn to the right, Dick," -called Matt. - -Dick obeyed the order. Matt turned the switch of the controller and -then instantly there was a low, electrical hum and the _Pom_ started -toward the bottom. - -"Get on the box under the conning tower, Dick," said Matt, "and do the -steering." - -"How'll I steer? There's no periscope." - -"Steer by compass--there's one right in front of you as you stand in -the tower." - -"But what'll I do for light? We're under water and no daylight comes in -at the lunettes." - -Matt touched a switch, and electric light flooded the tower. - -"I don't like this tinkering, I'm a Fiji if I do," muttered Dick, as he -crawled up into the tower. - -"We've got rid of the Japs by the tinkering, Dick," said Matt. "They're -swimming ashore by now." - -"What I'm afraid of is," went on Dick, "you'll get us on the bottom and -not be able to take us to the surface again." - -"Don't let that worry you. If we want to go to the surface, all we have -to do is to twist the diving rudders and empty the tanks." - -"What's the course, matey?" asked Dick. - -"West by north until we clear the point, then north." - -"How am I to know when we clear the point?" - -"Why, we'll go to the surface and take a look. Glennie will probably be -glad to have a sight of us before long." - -"I'll bet he's worrying his head off! The quicker we can go up, Matt, -the better." - -"All right. Carl!" - -"On der chump!" answered the Dutch boy. - -"Give the wheel of the diving engine a turn to the left--to the _left_, -mind." - -"Dere she goes." - -Instantly there was a perceptible movement upward. - -"Now," went on Matt, "lift that other lever on the floor near you--the -one I didn't lift, if you can remember." - -Carl lifted the lever, and, by chance, the right one. A hiss of -compressed air was heard, followed by a splash of water being forced -from the ballast tanks. The _Pom_ jumped for the surface like a streak. - -"Daylight at the lunettes!" shouted Dick, overjoyed to make sure that -Matt really knew what he was about. "All you've got to do to know all -about a piece of machinery, Matt," he added, "is just to look at it." - -"And use my head," laughed Matt. - -"Py shinks," boomed Carl, "you can do more mit a cracked head dan any -odder feller can do mit vone dot's all ridght. Yah, so helup me. You -know more aboudt machinery in a year as anypody else does in a minid." - -"See anything of the Japs, Dick?" inquired Matt, stopping the electric -motor. - -"Not a sign!" exulted Dick. "But there's the old _Grampus_, with Speake -on deck and Glennie half out of the tower. Their eyes are this way, and -you'd think, from their faces, they're looking at a ghost." - -"Dey can't oondershtand how ve got oudt oof dot schrape," said Carl. -"Ve hat some pooty pad brospects, for a vile, you bed you." - -"Holy smoke!" exclaimed Dick, almost falling off the box he was -standing on. - -"What's the matter?" - -"Why, there's our old friend, the cruiser _Salvadore_, with--with---- -'Pon my soul, Matt, I'm a Fiji if that Captain Pons isn't on the bridge -with Captain Sandoval!" - -This was amazing news. - -"The war ship must have just got here, then," said Matt. - -"But how did she know where we were?" - -"Probably she spoke the _Sovereign_," Matt answered. "That would have -given Sandoval a pretty good clue." - -"Oh, strike me lucky! The _Salvadore_ is turning broadside on, and some -of her crew are manning the small guns--the rapid-fire guns. They're -going to blow us out of water, Matt!" - -"Hardly that, Dick," said Matt easily. "Sandoval isn't going to destroy -this submarine. Pons wouldn't let him, even if he had such a notion. If -anything happened to the boat, Pons wouldn't be able to deliver her to -the Chilian government." - -"They're mighty warlike, anyway," went on Dick. "And there's Glennie, -on the _Grampus_, trying his best to attract the attention of Sandoval." - -"Sandoval and Pons think the _Pom_ is full of Japs," laughed Matt. -"We'd better go up and clear the fog out of their brains. It will be a -pleasure to meet Captain Sandoval again. He's a good friend of ours, -you know." - -"Meppy dot vas a lucky t'ing," vouchsafed Carl, "seeing as how Pons iss -madt pecause ve vouldn't go afder der _Pom_ mit der _Grampus_." - -"That's just what we did, though, although we didn't intend making any -such move. We shall now have the pleasure of turning the _Pom_ over to -Captain Pons." - -Making their way through the bulkhead door, Matt, Dick, and Carl gained -the hatch, threw it open, and crawled out on the submarine's deck. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -A STAR PERFORMANCE. - - -The _Pom_ was lying between the _Grampus_ and the _Salvadore_. When -Matt, Dick, and Carl showed themselves there were loud cheers from -Glennie and Speake. Pons, on the bridge of the war ship, could be seen -jumping up and down like a pea on a hot griddle, waving his hands and -yelling. The war ship was too far away for the boys to hear what Pons -said. - -"I'd about given you fellows up!" exclaimed Glennie. "When that -confounded tow line parted, my hopes parted with it. We saw you sink -and throw the Japs into the water, and we were sure you'd gone down to -stay." - -"The Japs got ashore, did they?" asked Matt. - -"Every last one of them." - -"Well, Glennie, come along here and take us off. I want to go to the -war ship and make a report to Captain Sandoval." - -Glennie brought the _Grampus_ close to the French boat, and the three -boys transferred themselves to their own craft. - -"I vouldn't trade vone oof der _Grampuses_ for a tozen of der _Poms_," -asserted Carl, as they were borne away in the direction of the -_Salvadore_. - -"I don't know how seven Japs ever stowed themselves away inside the -_Pom_," muttered Dick. "They must have been packed in there like -sardines." - -"They managed to do a pretty fair amount of work, too," said Matt. "Not -the least of it was lassoing me and pulling me into the water." - -As the _Grampus_ approached the war ship, Captain Sandoval leaned from -the bridge with his megaphone. - -"Motor Matt, king of the motor boys!" he shouted. "Ah, ha, _amigo_, you -are as full of surprises as the egg is of meat." - -Captain Pons failed to join Captain Sandoval in his amiable sentiment. -Pons shook his fist. - -"R-r-rascal!" he shouted. "He is mos' contemptible!" - -"Throw over your sea ladder, captain," called Matt; "I want to come -aboard and talk with you." - -"_Gracias!_" cried Sandoval. "I am delighted, _amigo_." - -A few minutes later Matt was in the captain's cabin. He had been there -once before, but not under circumstances that were very pleasant. On -the previous occasion, Captain Sandoval had been hostile and full of -unjust suspicions. Now he was more than friendly, and it was Captain -Pons who was hostile. - -"You heard how those rascally Japs gave me the slip, _amigo_?" asked -Sandoval. "Ah, ah, what a wretched piece of business! It was in a fog, -and one could not see his hand in front of his face. Thus they escaped. -_Ay de mi_, it was a blow! I came north looking for the rascals, and -I reached Lota last night and found Pons. He told me of the troubles -he has been having with the Japs, and since it was my duty to aid him -in recovering the _Pom_, why, I took him aboard and we started north. -The British vessel Sovereign gave us a tip, and we followed it to this -bay. First, we saw the _Grampus_; then, all so suddenly, up out of the -ocean came the _Pom_! I trained my guns on her to fire in case the Japs -proved unreasonable. Presently, behold, the hatch of the _Pom_ opens -and you appear. Wonderful! I can hardly believe my eyes because of the -so great surprise!" - -"Ah, my captain," broke in Pons, "zis Matt is ze r-ruf-fian, ze -villain. He say he no haf ze time to bozzer wiz my little boat, zat he -not go hunt for her; now, by gar, we see heem on her deck. He play ze -trick wiz me. He do w'at he say he not do. He try steal ze boat, _oui_, -zat is w'at he do. I demand of heem ze satisfaction!" - -The captain's eyes became very fierce and he threw back his shoulders -and slapped his chest. - -"Ah, my captain," said Sandoval, "don't make a mistake. I know Motor -Matt, and he is a gentleman. I have given him my hand, my captain, and -Captain Sandoval never gives his hand to a scoundrel." - -Captain Pons arose with much dignity and bowed to Captain Sandoval. - -"_Merci, monsieur!_" he murmured. "Nevair vill I say ze derogatory word -to youar honor, but ze actions of zis Motor Matt, w'at you call, is -mos' contemptible. Let heem spik, let heem explain if he can." - -"_Amigo_," said Captain Sandoval, "you will explain, for my sake, to my -honorable friend, Captain Pons?" - -"That's what I came here to do," answered Matt. "I and my friends have -saved the _Pom_ for Captain Pons, and this is the reward he gives us." - -Captain Pons got up and bowed again to Captain Sandoval. Not to be -outdone in courtesy, Captain Sandoval arose and bowed to Captain Pons. - -"If I do heem ze wrong," said Captain Pons gravely, "zen I make -ze _amende_. Until he explains, I have ze right to call him mos' -contemptible." - -"You have the right," agreed Captain Sandoval. - -Then they bowed again and sat down. - -All this was highly edifying to Matt, but it did not get him very far -along with his explanation. - -When he got started, however, he held the floor in spite of disturbing -symptoms on the part of Pons to get up and bow. He carried the -explanation through to its conclusion, and not failing to put due -stress on the dangers he and his friends had undergone in their attempt -to get the better of the Sons of the Rising Sun. - -The two captains were deeply impressed. For some moments after Matt had -finished they sat speechless in their chairs; then, as one man they -arose. Together they bowed to Matt. - -"_Ay de mi_," breathed Captain Sandoval, "did you ever hear of anything -so wonderful?" - -"Mos' r-r-remarkable!" exclaimed Captain Pons. - -Then they bent to each other. After that Captain Sandoval sat down, but -Captain Pons stepped over to Matt and embraced him; then, before Matt -could defend himself, Captain Pons kissed him on the cheek. - -"_Mon ami!_" said he; "my friend, I mak' ze apologee. I ask zat you -forgeeve ze talk about you as ze mos' contemptible. It is I, me, zat is -mos' contemptible----" - -"No, no, my captain," protested Captain Sandoval, putting up his hand, -"you shall not so greatly injure yourself." - -"I r-r-repeat," thundered Captain Pons, thumping his chest fiercely, "I -made ze mistake, and I, myself, am mos' contemptible." - -Captain Sandoval sighed and looked depressed. - -"Zis brav' young man," proceeded Captain Pons, "save ze _Pom_ for me. I -sank heem, as one gentleman sank anozzer. Zere, ze debt is cancel. All -zat remain is for me to hol' him in mos' tender memory." - -"The six Japanese are on the island, Captain Sandoval," said Matt, who -was beginning to get a little bit tired of Pons and his mushy nonsense. -"Will you send a party ashore to capture them?" - -"At once," was the answer. - -"And, by the way, Captain Pons," went on Matt, "didn't you say there -were only five Japs in the crew that stole the _Pom_." - -"Fife, _oui_. I count zem and I know." - -"Well, that one we captured under the wharf, at Lota, comes out of the -five, and would leave four." - -"_Oui_, wan from fife is four." - -"Then, captain, how do you account for the fact that there were six on -the _Pom_ when she reached this bay?" - -"Do you say I spik untruths?" flared the captain, displaying a tendency -to renew his quarrel with Matt. - -"Not at all, not for the world," answered Matt, with an inward laugh, -"but I am puzzled. One from five, in this case, seems to have left six." - -"I know nozzing, sare," said Captain Pons. "If zere was seex w'en zere -should only haf been fife, zat is zeir business." - -"Then we'll let it stand that way," said Matt. - -"I am mos' agreeable," returned Captain Pons. "Presently, my captain," -he went on, to Sandoval, "I go aboard ze _Pom_ wiz ze crew you gif me, -an' we take ze boat to Valparaiso. Is it not so?" - -"Yes, my captain," replied Sandoval. "I will lend you the crew and will -convoy you to Valparaiso." - -"You are mos' kind." - -This was enough for Matt. He excused himself, shook hands with -Sandoval, and hurried away. - -As soon as he was safely in the periscope room of the _Grampus_, he -threw himself down on the locker and laughed until he was sore. - -"Get me the rest of my clothes, somebody," said he, "and then start the -_Grampus_ northward again." - -"Where's our next port of call, old ship?" queried Dick, while Matt was -getting into the garments he had taken off just before swimming ashore -in the cove. - -"Callao," answered Matt. "Then Panama, Acapulco, San Diego--and -Frisco." - -"Dot lisdens like home!" rumbled Carl. - -"In two weeks," cried Glennie, "we'll be at Mare Island, and the cruise -will be finished. It's all plain sailing from this on. The Sons of the -Rising Sun will have all they can do to take care of themselves, let -alone try to make any more trouble for us." - -"We're done with them, and there are no ifs or ands about it this -time," said Matt. "I'll admit, when I learned they had made off with -that French submarine, that I thought they were equipped to accomplish -something against us; but we cleared that difficulty in one-two order -when we got started." - -"It might have been a lot worse, mates," observed Dick, "and there were -several times when I thought we were done, done as brown as a kippered -herring; but we pulled through--mainly because Matt had his shoulder to -the wheel and gave us the right sort of a boost over the hard places." - -"As much credit should fall to the rest of you as to me," spoke up -Matt. "Take the wheel, Glennie. Full speed ahead, Gaines," he added, -through the motor-room tube. - -The cylinders never hummed a cheerier tune than they did when they -started the _Grampus_ once more on her journey northward, and no boat, -surface or submarine, ever carried a happier crew. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -CONCLUSION. - - -As day followed day and week followed week, bringing no sign of any -further trouble with the Sons of the Rising Sun, Motor Matt and his -friends realized that, beyond all doubt, they had worsted their wily -foes, and perhaps had taught them a lesson which they could ponder -wisely. - -At Panama, which was almost the same as United States soil, the boys -took shore leave, turn and turn about. From this place Matt sent a -cablegram to Captain Nemo, Jr., at Belize. - - "On the last leg of our journey. All well and _Grampus_ as fit as a - fiddle. Telegraph me at Acapulco." - -"Too bad that old canal wasn't finished," observed Dick, as the -_Grampus_ left Panama, "at the time we left Belize. We could have come -through it, if it had been, and saved a month's time and all that -mix-up with the Japs." - -"That wasn't the point, Dick," spoke up Glennie. "This trip has been in -the nature of a try-out for the _Grampus_. The government wanted to see -what she could do--and I guess the government will know when my log is -read at headquarters." - -"You're giving us a good report, Glennie?" laughed Dick. - -"As good as I can make it." - -"Then that means a sale of the boat, without a doubt." - -"I understood that my report was to be final. I've had the cruise of -my life with you motor boys, and I almost hate to reach San Francisco, -because we'll have to separate there." - -"You're an A One comrade, Glennie," said Matt heartily, "and you need -never look for a pal while this outfit of motor boys is around." - -"My sentiments to a t, y, ty," averred Dick. - -"Und mine, too, py shinks!" cried Carl. - -Glennie was deeply touched. At the beginning of the cruise there had -been some hard feelings between him and Dick and Carl, but as they had -come to know each other better the unpleasantness had worn away. - -All four of the lads were now loyal friends, having undergone perils -and dangers shoulder to shoulder, and so each had tried the other's and -had not found them wanting. - -At Acapulco Matt was confidently expecting to receive a message from -Captain Nemo, Jr. In this, however, he was disappointed. There was no -message for him. Matt could not understand the reason and was prone to -think dire things. - -"Captain Nemo, Jr., would surely have answered that message I sent him -from Panama," said Matt, "providing he had received it." - -"Sure he would," agreed Glennie; "and the fact that you did not get an -answer is proof that the captain did not receive your message." - -"Aber vy ditn't he receif id?" asked Carl. - -"That's the point that alarms me, friends," went on Matt gloomily. "You -know we left the captain sick at Belize; too ill, in fact, to come with -us on the _Grampus_. We haven't heard a word from him since the cruise -began, and it may be that his sickness terminated fatally." - -This thought cast a depression over the motor boys. Captain Nemo, Jr., -was a good friend of theirs, and all of them liked him. The _Grampus_ -was the triumph of the captain's career, and if he was to be stricken -down just as the boat, in charge of the motor boys, was to pass -successfully through the Golden Gate, the elation Matt and his friends -would otherwise feel must give way to dejection and sorrow. - -The victory of this successful cruise was entirely theirs, but the loss -of Captain Nemo, Jr., would rob the victory of all pleasure for them. - -But the gloom that accompanied the submarine from Acapulco northward -was lost in rejoicing at San Diego; for no sooner had the _Grampus_ -anchored in the bay off the latter place than no less a person than -Captain Nemo, Jr., himself, rowed out and came aboard. - -The captain was well and hearty, and his delight in welcoming the boys -was boundless. - -He looked over the boat and complimented all hands on her efficiency -after such a long cruise--the longest and hardest any submarine had -ever made; and in the periscope room, until long into the night, the -captain sat wide-eyed and absorbed, listening to the adventures of -those whom he had commissioned to take the _Grampus_ from Belize to -Mare Island. - -When all had had their say, and the recital was done, there followed a -period of silence. The captain was the first to speak. - -"A hundred thousand dollars, my lads, is a great deal of money; but -if I had been able to look ahead and learn what dangers were to beset -you on your long journey, I would not have allowed you to start -for a million. I had some inkling of this Japanese business, for I -was offered two hundred thousand for the _Grampus_ by the Japanese -government. I chose to deal with the navy department of my own country, -even at a direct pecuniary loss to myself. My refusal to sell to the -Japs brought a threatening letter from the Sons of the Rising Sun, but -I treated it with contempt. I should have taken you into my confidence -regarding this Japanese matter before you left Belize, but I thought it -of no moment and hesitated to alarm you by even mentioning it." - -"It's all but over now, captain," laughed Matt lightly, "and I think -we are all of us better for the experience. I know I wouldn't sell the -benefit that has accrued to me from this cruise for a lot of money." - -"Nor I," said Dick. - -"Me, neider," chirped Carl. - -"Let me go on record, too," put in Glennie. - -"I'm glad you all feel in that way about it," said the captain. - -"By the way," asked Matt, "why didn't you answer the cablegram I sent -you from Panama, captain?" - -"Principally because I never received it," was the smiling response. -"Where did you address the message, Matt?" - -"To you, at Belize." - -"Why, I left Belize a week after you did! It was my intention all along -to leave Central America, work up into the States, and then meet you -here and take the last lap of the cruise with you." - -"It was a mighty big relief to see you come aboard at this port," said -Matt. "I hadn't the least idea what was the matter." - -"You had a guess that I had taken the One-way Trail, hadn't you, Matt?" -jested the captain. - -"I didn't know but that might have happened." - -"In that event," said the captain, "I had already made a will whereby -you boys were to receive the whole amount to be paid by the government. -So, you see, my being alive has cost you a pretty pile." - -"The money doesn't count, captain," declared Matt stoutly. - -"No? Well, money usually counts in this world, Matt--in fact, it cuts a -pretty wide swath in every direction." - -"It is secondary, captain, to the idea of 'making good.' When we left -Belize I vowed that we'd make good and prove that your confidence in -us wasn't misplaced. We've all had that in mind before anything and -everything else." - -"It's a good trait in you," replied the captain, "and in any young man, -to love a piece of work for itself, and, money apart, centre every hope -on making a success of it. That's the spirit that brings its reward, -not only in money, but in self-approval, which is something money can't -buy. Every one who went around South America on the _Grampus_ will -find, I think, that I know how to be grateful; this, while of secondary -importance to the consciousness of duty well performed, will be a -substantial acknowledgment of the debt I hold myself under to all of -you. - -"In San Francisco the _Grampus_ will be sold. The motor boys will -go one way, Captain Nemo, Jr., another way, and Speake, Gaines, and -Clackett still another. But I hope that this will not be the last of -our associations, but that we shall sometime come together again and -renew our friendships, which have been so firmly woven together by this -cruise of the _Grampus_, and the persistent and successful effort of -the king of the motor boys to _make good_." - -With the hearty echoes this sentiment received still lingering in -our ears, the hour seems propitious for taking leave of Matt and the -motor boys, while they are at the threshold of another of their many -victories. - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (21) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt's Launch; - -OR, - -A FRIEND IN NEED. - - New Friends and New Fortunes--The Raffle--Ping-pong Objects--Another - Rescue--An Odd Tangle--The Rich Man's Son--A Plan that Failed--A - Chase Across the Bay--The Lion's Mouth--The Mouth Closes--Surprising - Events--McGlory's Run of Luck--Waiting and Worrying--Ping Stars - Himself--A New Twist, by George--Another Twist, by Matt and McGlory. - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, July 10, 1909. - - -TERMS TO MOTOR STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS. - -(_Postage Free._) - -Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each. - - 3 months 65c. - 4 months 85c. - 6 months $1.25 - One year 2.50 - 2 copies one year 4.00 - 1 copy two years 4.00 - -=How to Send Money=--By post-office or express money-order, registered -letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent by -currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter. - -=Receipts=--Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper change -of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly -credited, and should let us know at once. - - ORMOND G. SMITH, } - GEORGE C. SMITH, } _Proprietors_. - - STREET & SMITH, Publishers, - 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City. - - - - -THE SPIDER WATER. - - -II. - -On the 30th there was trouble beyond Wild Hat, and all our extra men, -put out there under Healey, were fighting to Hold the Rat Valley levels -where they hug the river on the west slope. It wasn't really Healey's -track. Bucks sent him over there just as the emperor sent Ney, wherever -he needed his right arm. Sunday, while Healey was at Wild Hat, rain -began falling. Sunday it rained; Monday all through the mountains it -rained; Tuesday it was raining from Omaha to Eagle Pass, with the -thermometer climbing for breath and the barometer flat as an adder--and -the Spider woke. Woke with the April water and the June water and the -storm water all at once. - -Trackwalkers Tuesday night flagged Number One, and reported the Spider -wild, with heavy sheet ice running. A wire from Bucks brought Healey -out of the west and into the east, and brought him to reckon for the -last time with his ancient enemy. - -He was against it Wednesday with dynamite. All the day, all the night, -all the next day the sullen roar of the giant powder shook the forming -jam above the bridge, and after two days Healey wired, "Ice out," and -set back without a minute's sleep for home. Saturday night he slept and -Sunday all day and Sunday night. Monday about noon Bucks sent up to -ask, but Healey still slept. They asked back by the lad whether they -should wake him. Bucks sent word, "No." - -It was late Tuesday morning when the tall roadmaster came down, and he -was fresh as sunshine. All day he sat with Bucks and the dispatchers -watching the line. The Spider raced mad, and the watchers sent in panic -messages, but Healey put them in his pipe. "That bridge will go when -the mountains go," was all he said. - -Nine o'clock that night every star was blinking when Healey looked -in for the trackwalkers' reports and the railroad weather bulletins. -Bucks, Callahan, and Peeto sat about Martin Duffy, the dispatcher, who -in his shirt sleeves threw the stuff off the sounder as it trickled in -dot and dash, dot and dash over the wires. - -The west wire was good; east everything below Peace River was down. We -had to get the eastern reports around by Omaha and the south--a good -thousand miles of a loop--but bad news travels even around a Robin Hood -loop. - -And first came Wild Hat from the west with a stationary river and the -Loup Creek falling--clear--good night. And Ed Peeto struck the table -heavily and swore it was well in the west. Then from the east came -Prairie Portage, all the way round, with a northwest rain, a rising -river, and anchor ice running, pounding the piers bad--track in fair -shape, and--and---- - -The wire went wrong. As Duffy knit his eyes and tugged and cussed a -little, the wind outside took up the message and whirled a bucket of -rain against the windows. But the wires wouldn't right, and stuff -that no man could get tumbled in like a dictionary upside down. And -Bucks and Callahan and Healey and Peeto smoked, silent, and heard the -deepening drum of the rain on the roof. - -Then Duffy wrestled mightily yet once more. - -"Keep still," he exclaimed, leaning heavily on the key. "Here's -something--from the Spider." - -He snatched a pen and ran it across a clip; Bucks leaning over read -aloud from his shoulder: - - "Omaha. - - "J. F. BUCKS: - - "Trainmen from No. 75 stalled west of Rapid City--track afloat in - Simpson's Cut--report Spider bridge out--send----" - -And the current broke. - -Callahan's hand closed rigidly over the hot bowl of his pipe; Peeto sat -speechless; Bucks read again at the broken message, but Healey sprang -like a man wounded and snatched the clip from his hand. - -He stared at the running words till they burned his eyes, and then, -with an oath, frightful as the thunder that shook the mountains, he -dashed the clip to the floor. His eyes snapped greenish, and he cursed -Omaha, cursed its messages, and everything that came out of it. Slow -at first, then fast and faster, until all the sting that poisoned -his heart in his unjust discharge poured from his lips. It flooded -the room like a spilling stream, and none put a word against it, for -they knew he stood a wronged man. Out it came--all the rage, all the -heart-burning, all the bitterness--and he dropped into a chair and -covered his face with his hands. Only the sounder clicking iron jargon -and the thunder shaking the wickiup like a reed filled the ears of the -men about him. They watched him slowly knot his fingers and loosen -them, and saw his face rise dry and hard and old out of his hands. - -"Get up an engine!" - -"Not--you're not going down there to-night?" stammered Bucks. - -"Yes. Now. Right off. Peeto, get out your men!" - -The foreman jumped for the door. Little Duffy, snatching the train -sheet, began clearing track for a bridge special. In twenty minutes -twenty men were running as many ways through the storm, and a live -engine boomed under the wickiup window. - -"I want you to be careful, Phil," Bucks spoke anxiously as he looked -with Healey out into the storm. "It's a bad night." Healey made no -answer. - -The lightning shot the yards in a blaze and a crash split the gorge. "A -wicked night," muttered Bucks. - -Evans, conductor of the special, ran in. - -"Here's your orders," said Duffy. "You've got forty miles an hour." - -"Don't stretch it," warned Bucks. "Good-by, Phil," he added to Healey, -"I'll see you in the morning." - -"In the morning," echoed Healey. "Good-by." - -The switch engine had puffed up with a caboose; ahead of it Peeto had -coupled in the pile driver. At the last minute Callahan concluded to -go, and with the bridge gang tumbling into the caboose, the assistant -superintendent, Ed Peeto, and Healey climbed into the engine, and they -pulled out, five in the cab, for the Spider Water. - -Healey, moody at first, began joking and laughing the minute they got -away. He sat behind Denis Mullenix, the engineer, and poked his ribs -and taunted him with his heavy heels. At last he covered Denis' big -hands on the throttle with his own bigger fingers, good-naturedly -coaxed them loose, and pushing him away got the reins and the whip into -his own keeping. He drew the bar out a notch and settled himself for -the run across the flat country. - -As they sped from the shelter of the hills, the storm shook them with -a freshening fury, and drove the flanges into the south rail with a -grinding screech. The rain fell in a sheet, and the right-of-way ran -a river. The wind, whipping the water off the ballast, dashed it like -hail against the cab glass; the segment of desert caught in the yellow -of the headlight rippled and danced and swam in the storm water, and -Healey pulled again at the straining throttle and latched it wider. - -Notch after notch he drew; heedless of lurch and jump; heedless of -bed or curve; heedless of track or storm; and with every spur at her -cylinders the engine shook like a frantic horse. Men and monster alike -lost thought of caution and drunk a frenzy in the whirl that Healey -opened across the swimming plain. - -The Peace River hills loomed suddenly in front like moving pictures; -before they could think it the desert was behind. - -"Phil, man, you must steady up!" yelled Callahan, getting his mouth -to Healey's ear. The roadmaster nodded and checked a notch, but the -fire was in his blood, and he slewed into the hills with a speed -unslackened. The wind blew them, and the track pulled them, and a -frenzied man sat at the throttle. - -Just where the line crosses the Peace River the track bends sharply -through the Needles to take the bridge. The curve is a ten degree. As -they struck it, the headlight shot far out upon the river--and they -in the cab knew they sat dead men. Instead of lighting the box of the -truss, the lamp lit a black and snaky flood with yellow foam sweeping -over the abutment, for the Peace had licked up Agnew's thirty-foot -piles--and his bridge was not. - -There were two things to do; Healey knew them both, and both meant -death to the cab, but the caboose sheltered twenty of Healey's faithful -men. He instantly threw the air, and with a scream from the tires, -the special, shaking in the brake shoes, swung the curve. Again the -roadmaster checked heavily, and the pile driver, taking the elevation -like a hurdle, bolted into the Needles, dragging the caboose after it. -But engine and tender and five in the cab plunged head on into the -river. - -Not a man in the caboose was killed. They scrambled out of the -splinters and on their feet, men and ready to do. One voice came -through the storm from the river, and they answered its calling. It was -Callahan, but Durden, Mullenix, Peeto, and Healey never called again. - -At daybreak, wreckers of the West End, swarming from mountain and -plain, were heading for the Peace, and the McCloud gang--up--crossed -the Spider on Healey's bridge--on the bridge the coward trainmen had -reported out, quaking as they did in the storm at the Spider foaming -over its approaches. But Healey's bridge stood--stands to-day. - -Yet three days the Spider raged, and knew then its master, while he, -three whole days, sat at the bottom of the Peace, clutching the engine -levers, in the ruins of Agnew's mistake. - -And when the divers got them up, Callahan and Bucks tore big Peeto's -arms from his master's body and shut his staring eye and laid him at -his master's side. And only the Spider, ravening at Healey's caissons, -raged. But Healey slept. - - -THE END. - - - - -GOOD WORDS FOR THE 'GATOR. - - -Twenty years ago a visitor to that part of the South below North -Carolina could see alligators in almost every stream and bayou, but now -one may frequently spend months traveling through this region and not -see a single alligator except those in captivity. The killing of the -creatures for sport or for their hides has been the main cause of their -great decrease in numbers. In addition thousands of the young have been -killed or shipped away, while enormous numbers of the eggs have been -gathered and sold as curios. - -It was not until about 1855 that the demand for alligator leather -became of importance. The market was not long continued. In 1869 -fashion again called for the leather for manufacturing into fancy -slippers, traveling bags, belts, card cases, music rolls, etc. The -demand has continued to the present and many thousands of the animals -have been killed, while the preparation of the skins has given -employment to hundreds of people. - -The output of the tanneries of this country approximates 275,000 skins -annually, worth about $425,000, part of which come from Mexico and -Central America. It is estimated that about 3,800,000 alligators were -killed in Florida alone between 1880 and 1909, nearly 20,000 being -killed in 1908. - -The earliest settlers in the Southern States found alligators, or, as -they were then called, crocodiles, exceedingly abundant in almost all -streams, especially in Florida and Louisiana. Many marvelous tales are -found in the early chronicles of the ravages of these monsters. They -were said to eat dogs and pigs, and to consider the negro an especially -succulent tidbit, while it was considered dangerous to go into streams -where they were known to exist. When such a stream had to be crossed -hours were spent sometimes in beating it to frighten off the alligators. - -The researches of scientists have shown that there is very slight -foundation for such stories, and it is probable that the greater number -of pigs lost by the planters could have been traced to other enemies, -particularly the two-footed kind, while runaway slaves would naturally -encourage the belief that alligators had dined off them. - -The greater part of the supply of alligator leather now comes from -Florida, and owing to excessive hunting the industry is profitable -only in the central part of the peninsula, in what is called the Lake -Okeechobee region and in the Everglades. Here the principal hunters -are Seminole Indians, who have their homes on hummocks far back in the -Everglades and come to the settlements only when in need of articles -which they cannot produce themselves. - -The alligator is most active at night, and his days are usually spent -lying on some low bank or log overhanging the water, where it can enjoy -the warmth of the sun and be able to retreat to its native element at -the first sign of danger. While on land alligators are very clumsy, in -the water they are exceedingly active, and, being strong swimmers, are -able to catch the larger fish with but slight trouble. For animals like -the muskrat and otter swimming across lagoons they are always on the -watch. - -On seizing its prey the alligator sinks with it to the bottom and there -remains until all struggling has ceased; it is then able with less -effort to tear it into pieces. While thus submerged a peculiar collar -at the base of the tongue prevents the water from passing into its -lungs. - -While the alligator is said to make very effective use of its tail -in warfare, the widely disseminated story that it uses its tail to -sweep animals off the banks into its jaws appears to have but slight -foundation in fact. - -In April or May the mother alligator seeks a sheltered spot on a -bank and there builds a small mound with a hole in the middle. The -foundation of this mound is of mud and grass, and on these she lays -some eggs. She then covers the eggs with another stratum of grass and -mud, upon which she deposits some more eggs. Thus she proceeds until -she has laid from twenty-five to sixty eggs. The eggs are hatched out -by the sun. - -As soon as they have chipped the shell the baby alligators are led -to the water by the mother, who provides them with food, which she -disgorges. Papa Alligator has to be carefully watched at this time, for -he highly esteems a dinner of young saurians, and is not particular -whether they are his own or his neighbor's children. When by strategy -or downright fighting the mother has got her family safely into their -natural element it is not long before the young scatter, each to begin -life on his own hook. At this period they form a favorite food for -turtles and the larger fishes. - -When fully grown the alligator is about sixteen feet in length. In the -adult stage it is greenish-black above, having lost the yellowish color -bands that belong to its earlier years. Hunters say that alligators -grow very slowly, attaining the first year a length of about one foot. -When two feet in length they are said to be from ten to fifteen years -old, while those twelve feet long are supposed to be seventy-five or -more. Their normal life is estimated at from one hundred to one hundred -and fifty years. - -Alligator hunting originally began as sport. Then some one tanned the -skin and found that it could be put to commercial use. Carried on as it -must be, at night, the hunt is picturesque. - -In many places the hunters fasten bicycle lamps on their caps, and when -the animal is attracted by the light pick it off by hitting it in the -eye with a rifle ball. Torches are often used. Sometimes the hunter -lures the alligator to the surface of the water by "telephoning to the -'gator," as it is called. - -An alligator is always attracted by the peculiar grunt which the young -alligators make, for there is no sort of food they love better than -newly hatched 'gator. The hunter takes a long, slender pole and lets -one end of it down very quietly into the water. The other end he places -between his teeth and imitates the grunt of the baby 'gators. The old -fellows easily hear the call and come up to feast on babies they think -are there. - -In catching them alive hunters frequently lasso them while asleep on -the bank or on a log. When asleep in their holes in the mud they are -occasionally drawn out by means of an iron hook. These holes are easily -found. Sometimes the grass is set afire and the animals lassoed as they -seek the water. - -After the alligator is caught the hunter in sport sometimes mounts it, -using the reptile's fore feet and legs as reins. It is needless to say -that it is only by the exercise of considerable skill that the hunter -keeps his seat through the struggles of the reptile, and if care is not -used the fun may develop into tragedy. - -Alligators three feet and more in length are generally killed at -once and the hide removed. All of the hide except the ridge of the -back, which is very bony, is used. The hide is salted, and is then in -condition for sale to the buyers, who are usually storekeepers, who -furnish provisions and ammunition in exchange. - -The hides range in value to the hunter from 20 cents for a three-foot -hide to $1.25 for a hide seven feet or more in length. The five and -six-foot hides are the most desirable, as the larger hides have a hard -piece of bone in the square checks on the hide, and it is impossible to -sew through this. Nearly all of the tanning is done at Newark, N. J. - -Young alligators are often brought in, and are worth about 8 cents -apiece. The eggs are also gathered, and sell for 2-1/2 cents each. -They are mainly sold to curio dealers, who either hatch them out or -blow them and sell the shells. Most of the small alligators are stuffed -and sold as curios to tourists, who pay from 50 cents to $2 apiece for -them. - -Many of them used to be shipped North alive by tourists as presents. -Owing to ignorance as to how the animal should be cared for many of -these soon died. - -If properly cared for, the young alligator will thrive even in -unnatural circumstances. Its main requirement is sufficient heat. -Its diet should consist of bits of fresh meat, insects and worms. -They often show great fondness for the ordinary earthworms, and will -frequently refuse all food but these. The larger specimens in captivity -are fed about three times a week on fresh meat or small live animals, -and they require little attention other than this. - -Alligators' teeth, which are secured by burying the head until they -have rotted out, are of fine ivory and valued for carving into -ornaments. They are worth to the hunter about $2 a pound--from fifty -to seventy-five teeth. The dealers will not buy very many of them, as -there is but a limited demand. At one time the paws were saved and -mounted as curios, but it is impossible to do anything with them now. - -Both flesh and eggs are eaten by a few persons, but it requires a very -hardy stomach to stand the disagreeable, musky odor. There is nothing -better, hunters declare, than the tip of the tail of an alligator which -has reached, say, the pullet period. It is creamy in color, tasting -a little like frogs' legs, but with a more pronounced gamy flavor, -juicy--altogether tempting. The dish is a great favorite with the -crackers of Florida. - -Alligator tails are best at the time of the ricebird season. The big -alligators float in the water with only their eyes showing. When an -alligator gets near a flock of these fat, juicy little birds it dives -to the bottom. Its long, wide snout scoops up some of the loam, and it -floats to the surface again with just the rich soil showing. - -The birds think it is an island. They alight upon it. When the whole -family is there the big beast turns suddenly. Just as the birds -scramble off the alligator opens its mouth once. They are gone. - -The birds are neat little feeders, and the alligator is an epicure at -this time of the year. The ricebird diet makes the tip of its tail -tender and sweet. - -In St. Augustine is an alligator farm, one of two in the United States, -the other being at the Hot Springs in Arkansas. Here the alligators are -kept in confinement until large enough for market. - -It will probably be news to many that Florida has a representative of -the crocodile family. This animal was first supposed to be confined -to the West Indies and South America, but it has been occasionally -captured on the peninsula of Florida. It is easily distinguishable -from the alligator by its narrow snout. For many years scientists were -skeptical of reports from Florida of the appearance of this animal in -that State, but the capture of several fine specimens in recent years -has settled all doubt. - - - - -VENOMOUS FISH. - - -It is curious that while so much has been written in our language -on snake bites there has been comparatively little placed on record -concerning the stings of fishes. - -Snake bites are rare in this country, but fish stings are very common, -especially among fishermen and fishmongers. The fishes that most often -sting are the great and little weevers. A prick on the hand or foot -from a weever causes much swelling and inflammation. - -If the arm is affected the inflammation may spread to the shoulder, the -swelling of the whole limb being enormous. The pain is agonizing, the -patient often falling into a state of collapse or becoming delirious. -Usually the inflammation subsides in about three days, followed by -desquamation. - - - - -LATEST ISSUES - - -MOTOR STORIES - -The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it -is. See for yourself. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. -Price, 5 cents.= - - 6--Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On The High Gear. - - 7--Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto. - - 8--Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds Forward. - - 9--Motor Matt's Air-Ship; or, The Rival Inventors. - - 10--Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon House Plot. - - 11--Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen Brady. - - 12--Motor Matt's Peril; or, Castaway in the Bahamas. - - 13--Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the Iron Chest. - - 14--Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the _Hawk_. - - 15--Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise of the _Grampus_. - - 16--Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters. - - 17--Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos. - - 18--Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon. - - 19--Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn. - - 20--Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor Boys. - - -TIP TOP WEEKLY - -The most popular publication for boys. The adventures of Frank and Dick -Merriwell can be had only in this weekly. =High art colored covers. -Thirty-two pages. Price, 5 cents.= - - 681--Frank Merriwell's Patience; or, The Making of a Pitcher. - - 682--Frank Merriwell's Pupil; or, The Boy with the Wizard Wing. - - 683--Frank Merriwell's Fighters; or, The Decisive Battle with - Blackstone. - - 684--Dick Merriwell at the "Meet"; or, Honors Worth Winning. - - 685--Dick Merriwell's Protest; or, The Man Who Would Not Play Clean. - - 686--Dick Merriwell In The Marathon; or, The Sensation of the Great - Run. - - 687--Dick Merriwell's Colors; or, All For the Blue. - - 688--Dick Merriwell, Driver; or, The Race for the Daremore Cup. - - 689--Dick Merriwell on the Deep; or, The Cruise of the _Yale_. - - 690--Dick Merriwell in the North Woods; or, The Timber Thieves of the - Floodwood. - - 691--Dick Merriwell's Dandies; or, A Surprise for the Cowboy Nine. - - 692--Dick Merriwell's "Skyscooter"; or, Professor Pagan and the - "Princess." - - 693--Dick Merriwell in the Elk Mountains; or, The Search for "Dead - Injun" Mine. - - -NICK CARTER WEEKLY - -The best detective stories on earth. Nick Carter's exploits are read -the world over. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, -5 cents.= - - 642--The Detective's Disappearance; or, Nick Carter is Saved by - Adelina. - - 643--The Midnight Marauders; or, Nick Carter's Telephone Mystery. - - 644--The Child of the Jungle; or, Nick Carter's Ingenious Ruse. - - 645--Nick Carter's Satanic Enemy; or, The Case of an Easy Mark. - - 646--Three Times Stolen; or, Nick Carter's Strange Clue. - - 647--The Great Diamond Syndicate; or, Nick Carter's Cleverest Foes. - - 648--The House of the Yellow Door; or, Nick Carter in the Old French - Quarter. - - 649--The Triangle Clue; or, Nick Carter's Greenwich Village Case. - - 650--The Hollingsworth Puzzle; or, Nick Carter Three Times Baffled. - - 651--The Affair of the Missing Bonds; or, Nick Carter in the Harness. - - 652--The Green Box Clue; or, Nick Carter's Good Friend. - - 653--The Taxicab Mystery; or, Nick Carter Closes a Deal. - - 654--The Mystery of a Hotel Room; or, Nick Carter's Best Work. - - 655--Tragedy of the Well; or, Nick Carter Under Suspicion. - - - - -_For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt -of price, 5 cents per copy, in money or postage stamps, by_ - -STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York - -=IF YOU WANT ANY BACK NUMBERS= of our Weeklies and cannot procure them -from your newsdealer, they can be obtained from this office direct. -Fill out the following Order Blank and send it to us with the price -of the Weeklies you want and we will send them to you by return mail. -=POSTAGE STAMPS TAKEN THE SAME AS MONEY.= - - ________________________ _190_ - - _STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City._ - - _Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find_ ___________________________ - _cents for which send me_: - - TIP TOP WEEKLY, Nos. ________________________________ - - NICK CARTER WEEKLY, " ________________________________ - - DIAMOND DICK WEEKLY, " ________________________________ - - BUFFALO BILL STORIES, " ________________________________ - - BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY, " ________________________________ - - MOTOR STORIES, " ________________________________ - - _Name_ ________________ _Street_ ________________ - - _City_ ________________ _State_ ________________ - - - - -A GREAT SUCCESS!! - -MOTOR STORIES - - -Every boy who reads one of the splendid adventures of Motor Matt, which -are making their appearance in this weekly, is at once surprised and -delighted. Surprised at the generous quantity of reading matter that we -are giving for five cents; delighted with the fascinating interest of -the stories, second only to those published in the Tip Top Weekly. - -Matt has positive mechanical genius, and while his adventures are -unusual, they are, however, drawn so true to life that the reader can -clearly see how it is possible for the ordinary boy to experience them. - - -_HERE ARE THE TITLES NOW READY AND THOSE TO BE PUBLISHED_: - - 1--Motor Matt; or, The King of the Wheel. - - 2--Motor Matt's Daring; or, True to His Friends. - - 3--Motor Matt's Century Run; or, The Governor's Courier. - - 4--Motor Matt's Race; or, The Last Flight of the "Comet." - - 5--Motor Matt's Mystery; or, Foiling a Secret Plot. - - 6--Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On the High Gear. - - 7--Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto. - - 8--Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds Forward. - - 9--Motor Matt's Air Ship; or, The Rival Inventors. - - 10--Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon House Plot. - - 11--Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen Brady. - - 12--Motor Matt's Peril; or, Cast Away in the Bahamas. - - 13--Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the Iron Chest. - - 14--Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the "Hawk." - - 15--Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise of the "Grampus." - - 16--Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters. - -To be Published on June 14th. - - 17--Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos. - -To be Published on June 21st. - - 18--Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon. - -To be Published on June 28th. - - 19--Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn. - -To be Published on July 5th. - - 20--Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor Boys. - - -PRICE, FIVE CENTS - -At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt -of the price. - - STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_, NEW YORK - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - - -Added table of contents. - -For this text edition, oe ligatures have been expanded to oe; the HTML -edition retains the ligatures. - -Italics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=. - -Page 5, corrected typo "odder" in "oder somet'ing like dot!" - -Page 7, added tilde to "Madam Cousiņo" for consistency. - -Page 9, corrected typo _Gampus_ in "started south to meet the -_Grampus_." Retained unusual spelling of "possesion" on the assumption -that it is intentional. - -Page 12, corrected typo "Wihtehead" ("Whitehead began its peculiar -performance"). - -Page 14, corrected typo "Glennine" ("'Jupiter!' exclaimed Glennie."). - -Page 22, corrected typo "baot" ("bore him off the boat"). Removed -unnecessary quote after "six yellow men?" at end of page. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt Makes Good, by Stanley R. 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Matthews. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%} -hr.full {width: 95%;} -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - .tdl {text-align: left;} - .tdr {text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} - -.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} - -.br {border-right: solid 2px;} - -.bbox {border: solid 2px;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } -img { border: 0; } -.huge { font-size: 200%; } -.large { font-size: 150%; } -.medium { font-size: 125%; } -.small { font-size: 75%; } -.chaptitle { text-align: center; } -.sig { text-align: right; margin-right: 1.5em; } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt Makes Good, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Motor Matt Makes Good - or, Another Victory For the Motor Boys - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: September 30, 2015 [EBook #50080] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT MAKES GOOD *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Demian Katz and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images -courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<a href="images/coverlarge.jpg"><img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="567" alt=""Fire away, kevik!" clamored Carl, -and just then Matt pulled the trigger." /></a> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<h1>MOTOR STORIES</h1> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-right: 1.5em;" class="tdr"> -THRILLING<br /> -ADVENTURE -</td> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 1.5em;" class="tdl"> -MOTOR<br /> -FICTION -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="bb bt tdl"> -NO. 20<br /> -JULY 10, 1909. -</td> -<td class="bb bt tdr"> -FIVE<br /> -CENTS -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="tdl large"> -MOTOR MATT<br /> -MAKES GOOD -</td><td class="tdr large"> -ANOTHER VICTORY<br /> -FOR THE MOTOR BOYS -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td> </td><td class="tdl" style="padding-left: 2em;"> -<span class="smcap"><i>By The Author<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of "Motor Matt"</span></i></span> -</td></tr> -<tr><td></td><td class="tdc"> -<br /><i>STREET & SMITH,<br /> -PUBLISHERS,<br /> -NEW YORK.</i> -</td> -</tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><i>Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1909, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, -Washington, D. C., by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y.</i></p> - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bb bt"> -<tr><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdl">No. 20.</td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdc">NEW YORK, July 10, 1909.</td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdr">Price Five Cents.</td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p class="center huge"><a name="MOTOR_MATT_MAKES_GOOD" id="MOTOR_MATT_MAKES_GOOD">MOTOR MATT MAKES GOOD</a></p> - -<p class="center">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE MOTOR BOYS.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> -<p class="center">By the author of "MOTOR MATT."</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<p class="center"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. OFF THE CHILIAN COAST.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. HURLED INTO THE SEA.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. SAVED BY A TORPEDO.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. A SURPRISING SITUATION.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. ANOTHER ATTACK.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. A BAD HALF HOUR.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. CHASING A TORPEDO.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. NORTHWARD BOUND.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. A HALT FOR REPAIRS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. DICK MAKES A DISCOVERY.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. A WARY FOE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. PLUCK THAT WINS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. A LITTLE WORK ON THE INSIDE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. A STAR PERFORMANCE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION.</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_SPIDER_WATER">THE SPIDER WATER.</a><br /> -<a href="#GOOD">GOOD WORDS FOR THE 'GATOR.</a><br /> -<a href="#VENOMOUS">VENOMOUS FISH.</a><br /> -</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="bbox"> -<h2><a name="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY" id="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY">CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY.</a></h2> - - -<blockquote> - -<p><b>Matt King</b>, otherwise Motor Matt, king of the motor boys.</p> - -<p><b>Carl Pretzel</b>, a cheerful and rollicking German boy, stout of frame -as well as of heart, who is led by a fortunate accident to link his -fortunes with those of Motor Matt.</p> - -<p><b>Dick Ferral</b>, a young sea dog from Canada, with all a sailor's superstitions, -but in spite of all that a royal chum, ready to stand by -the friend of his choice through thick and thin.</p> - -<p><b>Ensign John Henry Glennie, United States Navy.</b></p> - -<p><b>Sons of the Rising Sun.</b></p> - -<p><b>Captain Pons</b>, who has come from Havre, France, to deliver the -submarine boat, <i>Pom</i>, to the Chilian Government, only to fall -into a net spread by the Sons of the Rising Sun.</p> - -<p><b>Captain Sandoval</b>, of the Chilian Navy, who has appeared before, in -the <span class="smcap">Motor Stories</span>, and appears for the last time and bows -himself out.</p> - -<p><b>Captain of the Port of Lota, Chili</b>, who plays a small but important -part.</p></blockquote> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">OFF THE CHILIAN COAST.</p> - - -<p>"Great spark plugs!"</p> - -<p>"Strike me lucky!"</p> - -<p>"Py shiminy Grismus!"</p> - -<p>There were three surprised and excited boys on the -rounded deck of the submarine boat <i>Grampus</i>. It was -a calm, cloudless night, and the sea was as smooth as -a mill pond; but, for all that, the night was cloudless, a -dank, clinging fog had rolled down from the Andes and -out upon the ocean, blotting out moon and star and -rendering their surroundings as black as Erebus.</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i> was proceeding slowly northward along -the Chilian coast. Motor Matt, Dick Ferral, and Carl -Pretzel were on the deck forward, keeping a sharp -lookout. The electric projector from the conning tower -bored a gleaming hole into the darkness ahead, giving -the lads a limited view in that direction. Speake was -half in and half out of the conning tower, steering from -that position.</p> - -<p>The waters gurgled and lapped at the rounded sides -of the boat, then floated rearward in long lines of -phosphorescence, spreading out in the wake like two -sticks of an open fan. At the stern of the submarine -the propeller churned up a glittering froth.</p> - -<p>What the boys saw, however, that had aroused their -startled exclamations was a cluster as of glowing lights -a foot or two under the surface of the water. This -mysterious glow was moving, at a moderate rate of -speed, in a course that crossed that of the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>"Slow down, Speake!" called Matt to the helmsman.</p> - -<p>The jingle of a bell, down in the motor room, was -heard faintly, and the submarine's speed fell off perceptibly. -The cluster of starlike points bubbled onward, -missed the bow of the <i>Grampus</i> by a few feet, and -vanished in the gloom on the port side.</p> - -<p>"Vat it iss?" murmured Carl, rubbing a hand dazedly -across his eyes. "Dere iss lighdning pugs on der land, -und I vonder iss dere lighdning pug fishes in der sea? -Dot looked schust like a shark mit some search lights on -his headt."</p> - -<p>"I'm a Fiji if there was any fish about that," averred -the bewildered Dick. "Can you rise to it, matey?" he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> -asked, turning to Matt. "What sort of a sizing do you -give it?"</p> - -<p>The king of the motor boys was puzzled.</p> - -<p>"It might be a piece of drift from the shore," he -answered, "or the fragment of a wreck."</p> - -<p>"Aber it <i>moofed</i>!" exclaimed Carl. "It moofed droo -der vater schust like it vas alife!"</p> - -<p>"The current may have caused that. There are all -kinds of currents in this part of the ocean."</p> - -<p>"Und der lights, Matt. Pieces oof wreck don'd haf -lights like dot!"</p> - -<p>"That was a trick of the phosphorescence. There -were probably nails or spikes in the timber, and wherever -they projected and caused a ripple there was a -glow in the water."</p> - -<p>Matt turned to Speake.</p> - -<p>"Make a turn to the left, Speake," said he. The submarine -swerved slowly to the port tack. "There," said -Matt; "hold her so."</p> - -<p>Dick gave a low laugh.</p> - -<p>"You don't take much stock in that explanation of -yours, matey," he remarked, "or you wouldn't be following -that bit of supposed flotsam and jetsam."</p> - -<p>"I've explained it in the only way I know how, Dick," -returned Matt, "but I'm still a good deal in doubt. We'll -see if we can overhaul the thing and make a further -examination. I don't like to take the time, but it may -turn out to be time well spent."</p> - -<p>Motor Matt knelt well forward, just where the V-shaped -waves parted over the sharp nose of the <i>Grampus</i>, -and while he knelt he peered fixedly into the water -ahead.</p> - -<p>"You're such a cautious chap," spoke up Dick, hanging -to one of the flagstaff guys and likewise staring -ahead, "that I've been all ahoo wondering why you -were doing this night cruising. The night's as black -as a pocket, and this coast is about as dangerous as -you can find anywhere, and yet here we are, groping our -way along, never knowing what minute we may bounce -upon a reef or say how do you do to a sharp rock."</p> - -<p>"Remember that Pacific Mail boat we spoke yesterday?" -inquired Matt, over his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"The one that told us they had news, in Santiago, -that a Japanese boat had got away from the Chilian, -Captain Sandoval, below the Strait of Magellan?" responded -Dick.</p> - -<p>"Exactly. When we left English Reach, at the western -end of the strait, we know Captain Sandoval, of -the Chilian warship <i>Salvadore</i>, was pursuing the mysterious -Japanese steamer; and we also know that that -steamer had on board our enemies, the Sons of the Rising -Sun. The mail boat said the news that the steamer -had escaped the <i>Salvadore</i> had been flashed by wireless -from Punta Arenas, and had been repeated by telegraph -to Santiago and Valparaiso."</p> - -<p>"I don'd pelieve dot Chap poat efer got avay from -der <i>Salvatore</i>!" declared Carl.</p> - -<p>"It may be that she did, Carl," went on Matt, "and -we've got to make sure of it just as soon as we possibly -can. That's the reason we're traveling through this -thick fog, and taking our chances on hitting a reef or -sunken rock. We've got to reach Lota and find out -for sure if those Japs are again free to bother us. You -know what it means if the Sons of the Rising Sun got -away from Sandoval. Those misguided Japs have sworn -that the <i>Grampus</i> shall never be turned over to the -United States Government at Mare Island Navy Yard. -They're a desperate and fanatical lot, and we've got -to know just what we're up against, so far as they are -concerned. Lota is on the railroad and telegraph line, -and we'll get news there, if anywhere."</p> - -<p>"As usual," observed Dick, "that head of yours has -been working, old ship, while the rest of us have been -wondering what you were trying to do. I don't think -you'll catch up with that piece of drift."</p> - -<p>"Nor I," Matt answered, getting to his feet and coming -aft. "Whatever that was, I suspect we'll never be -able to discover, so my guess will have to stand. Put -her on the starboard tack, Speake," he added to the man -in the conning tower.</p> - -<p>The submarine once more resumed her course toward -Arauco Bay and Lota.</p> - -<p>"You fellows go below and turn in," Matt went on to -Dick and Carl. "I can con the ship, all right, and there's -no need of the two of you staying awake and helping -me on the lookout."</p> - -<p>"You'd better let Glennie relieve you, mate," suggested -Dick. "You've been on deck duty for six hours."</p> - -<p>"I'm going to stay right here," said Matt, "until we -get safely into Arauco Bay."</p> - -<p>There was no use arguing with Motor Matt when he -made up his mind that duty commanded him to do a -certain thing, and Dick and Carl wished him luck and -went below.</p> - -<p>Ensign Glennie was lying on the locker in the periscope -room.</p> - -<p>"You shifted the course," said he, rising on one elbow -and peering at Dick and Carl as they dropped off the -iron ladder. "What was up?"</p> - -<p>"Somet'ing mit a shiny headt vent past us," replied -Carl, dropping down on a stool and beginning to draw -off his shoes.</p> - -<p>"Something with a shiny head?" queried the nonplused -ensign.</p> - -<p>"Yah, so. It vas a funny pitzness."</p> - -<p>"What was it, Dick?"</p> - -<p>"I'm by," answered Dick, shaking his head. "I've -seen a good many queer things afloat, but that was the -queerest. It was too dark to see much, though. Mayhap -if we'd had a little more light, we could have made a -closer examination and the mystery would have been -explained."</p> - -<p>Thereupon he went into details, telling Glennie all -that he and Carl knew.</p> - -<p>"Can you make anything out of it, Glennie?" Dick -finished.</p> - -<p>"I'm over my head, like the rest of you," answered -the ensign. "Probably Matt hit it off pretty well when -he said it was a bit of water-logged drift, floating between -two waves, with spikes cutting the water and -throwing off gleams of phosphorescence. This part of -the Pacific is full of cross-currents. And it's a mighty -dangerous stretch of water, too, I'm telling you. Matt -is certainly anxious to reach Lota, or he'd never persist -in pushing through waters like these in such a fog."</p> - -<p>"He's worrying again over those Sons of the Rising -Sun."</p> - -<p>Dick pulled off one of his shoes and swung it reflectively -in his hand.</p> - -<p>"I don't think it is possible that that Jap steamer got -away from Sandoval," said Glennie. "The officers on -that mail boat must have got it wrong."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Our old raggie is bound to find out just how much -truth there is in the yarn, anyhow," continued Dick. -"We're what you might call on the last leg of our cruise, -and the little old <i>Grampus</i> has covered the east coast of -two continents and is well up the west coast. We have -dodged trouble in pretty good shape, so far, and Matt -don't intend to let the Sons of the Rising Sun put us -down and out at this late stage of the game."</p> - -<p>"The Japs can't put Motor Matt down and out," -averred Glennie, with suppressed admiration. "He has -met them at every point, and has given them the worst -of it. They'll never be able to destroy the <i>Grampus</i>. -Mark what I say, my lads, Motor Matt is going to -'make good' with ground to spare, and chalk up another -victory for the motor boys."</p> - -<p>Dick and Carl would have cheered this warm sentiment, -but before they had a chance to do so, a wild -yell came from Speake.</p> - -<p>"Tumble up here, you fellows! Quick, now!"</p> - -<p>Speake, as he spoke, crushed himself against the side -of the conning-tower hatch, in order to make room for -those in the periscope room to pass him and reach the -deck.</p> - -<p>Startled by the words and wildly excited manner of -the helmsman, Dick, Carl, and Glennie lost not an instant -in rushing up the ladder and dropping over the -side of the conning tower.</p> - -<p>"Where's Matt?" cried Dick.</p> - -<p>"That's just what I want to know," answered Speake, -his consternation growing and a tremulous awe finding -its way into his voice. "He was on the deck a few -minutes ago, but he isn't here now. The last I saw of -him he went aft, around the conning tower. The next -thing I knew, when I turned and looked for him, he -wasn't aboard."</p> - -<p>All three of the lads were stricken dumb. For a brief -space none of them spoke, but looked toward each other -in the gloom, frantically alarmed and vaguely fearing—they -knew not what.</p> - -<p>"He couldn't have fallen overboard," spoke up Glennie, -first to break the silence that held them as by an -uncanny spell, "and yet it's certain he's not on the boat."</p> - -<p>"Matt!" roared Dick, making a trumpet of his hands -and calling into the blank darkness. "Ahoy, Matt!"</p> - -<p>No answer was returned. All that could be heard -was the hum of the submarine's motor, the swish of the -propeller, and the lap and gurgle of waves along the -rounded side.</p> - -<p>Carl began to whimper.</p> - -<p>"Ach, du lieber! Oof anyt'ing has habbened py dot -bard oof mine, I don'd know vat I shall do, py shinks! -He vas der pest friendt vat I efer hat, und——"</p> - -<p>"Put about, Speake!" cried Dick, now thoroughly -alive to the situation. "If Matt went overboard, then -we're rushing away from him, and he's swimming -somewhere in our wake."</p> - -<p>The shaken helmsman immediately turned the <i>Grampus</i> -in a wide circle and rang for full speed.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">HURLED INTO THE SEA.</p> - - -<p>Matt was very much worried when Dick and Carl, -agreeably to their orders, went below. It was not the -strange visitor that had passed the bows of the <i>Grampus</i> -on its glowing way that rested heavily on his mind, but -the news gathered from the captain of the mail boat -that had been spoken early in the day.</p> - -<p>On leaving the western end of the Strait of Magellan, -the submarine and her crew had, as they supposed, left -behind them for the rest of their cruise their wily enemies, -the Sons of the Rising Sun. They had had trouble -enough on account of the Japanese while coming through -the strait, and Matt thought that he and his friends -were entitled to a respite, so far as the nefarious plots -of the fanatical young Japs were concerned.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> The adventures of the motor boys, in and around Magellan -Strait, were set forth in No. 19 of the <span class="smcap">Motor Stories</span>, entitled, -"Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn."</p></div> - -<p>It was the responsibility for the safety of the <i>Grampus</i> -that rested so heavily on the young motorist's mind. -Weeks before, when the submarine had left Belize, British -Honduras, Captain Nemo, Jr., the owner of the boat, -had placed the craft entirely in Matt's hands.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't trust the <i>Grampus</i> with any one else, -Matt," declared the captain. "But you've got nerve, -your judgment is good, you know the craft from one -end to the other, and whenever anything goes wrong -and you get into a scrape, you've got a knack of always -getting out of it without much damage to yourself. A -hundred thousand dollars is to be paid for the <i>Grampus</i> -when she reaches Mare Island. If the submarine doesn't -reach there in good condition, the money will not be paid. -Sickness will detain me for a while in Belize, and so -that puts this work of taking the boat around the Horn -up to you. Now go ahead!"</p> - -<p>Motor Matt appreciated to the full Captain Nemo, -Jr.'s trust and confidence. He had vowed to himself -over and over again that he would prove to the captain -he was worthy of the trust reposed in him. Matt was -thinking of all this on the deck of the <i>Grampus</i>, after -Dick and Carl had left him; and, in the midst of his -reflection, he fancied he heard a muffled sound from -somewhere in the submarine's wake.</p> - -<p>Instantly alarmed, he passed the conning tower, without -exchanging any words with Speake, and took up a -position not far from the churning propeller. But he -heard nothing further, and could see nothing either to -increase or diminish his fears. He was just turning -about to make his way forward, when a coil struck about -his throat, drawing taut on the instant and preventing -any outcry. At the same instant there came an irresistible -pull backward.</p> - -<p>Matt, astounded by this unexpected attack, reaching -him from some point away from the boat and darting -silently and suddenly out of the thick gloom, flung up -his hands in an attempt to clutch one of the wire guys of -the periscope mast.</p> - -<p>He missed the guy by a fraction of an inch, slipped -downward over the rounded deck and rolled into the -water. He made little noise, so little that Speake could -not hear it above the swirl of waves thrown up by the -rounded plates of the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>Another moment and Matt was in the water and -swimming. The deadly compression at his throat continued, -and he was unable to voice a sound. He could -see the little search light of the submarine moving rapidly -onward into the darkness, and could see the half -of Speake's form, like a blot of shadow, rearing out -of the tower hatch.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> - -<p>All this time Matt felt the pull of the rope about his -neck, drawing him steadily and remorselessly away into -the foggy night. No one spoke behind him, and there -was not the slightest sound to tell him who his captors -were, or where they were, or how they had succeeded -in making him a victim in that mysterious fashion.</p> - -<p>A minute, two minutes, passed. At the end of that -time Matt felt his strength leaving him because of the -strangling grip about his throat. Then, suddenly, the -rearward "pull" relaxed and the constriction at his throat -ceased. With one hand he reached upward and pulled -the strangling coil loose and gulped down a deep draught -of air.</p> - -<p>A moment later he gave vent to a cry, hoping to -attract the attention of Speake. But the <i>Grampus</i> was -too far away. With difficulty Matt freed himself of his -shoes and coat. He had no idea how long he would -have to swim, but he prepared himself to keep afloat as -long as possible. What the end was to be he did not -know, and he had no time to give to that phase of the -question.</p> - -<p>Some mysterious force had hurled him from the deck -of the <i>Grampus</i> into the sea, and perhaps this same force -would continue to take care of him. Turning about in -the water, he lifted himself high with a downward stroke -of his powerful arms, and peered in the direction from -which the attack had come. He could see nothing and -could hear nothing.</p> - -<p>For a moment Motor Matt was tempted to forget his -dire plight in marveling over the mysterious nature of -that attack. The next instant, however, he began asking -himself if it would be possible to reach the Chilian -shore. It was a mile away, at least. To swim such a -distance was no very extraordinary feat, but there were -currents sucking Matt oceanward, and against these it -was powerless for him to struggle.</p> - -<p>Matt could keep afloat, but to what purpose? Would -it be possible for him to keep on the surface until his -friends on the submarine discovered his absence and -put back to his rescue? Even if he could swim for -that length of time, could his friends find him in that -darkness, with the current dragging him farther and -farther from the course over which the <i>Grampus</i> had -recently passed?</p> - -<p>In Motor Matt's place, a good many lads would have -given up the struggle, but Matt was of different calibre. -As long as there was a breath in his body he would -fight, for he knew that while there is life there is always -hope.</p> - -<p>Blindly and doggedly he continued his battle with the -waves, peering into the northeast from time to time, in -the hope of seeing the search light of the <i>Grampus</i>. He -did not see the search light, but he saw something else -lying sluggishly in the water not a great distance from -where he was.</p> - -<p>"A log!" he thought.</p> - -<p>Under the impression that fate had thrown across his -path a bit of drift from the mainland, he swam to the -object and laid hold of it as it heaved and ducked on -the placid waves.</p> - -<p>It was not a log. As he put out one hand it came in -contact with smooth, wet metal. The object was a long -cylinder, blunt at one end and pointed at the other.</p> - -<p>"A torpedo!" ran his thought, as he hung over the -rounded object with one arm and supported himself in -the water. "Who fired the torpedo?" was the question -he asked himself.</p> - -<p>He had leisure now for a little reflection. No strength -was required to keep himself afloat, for the steel cylinder -supported him.</p> - -<p>As he hung there, lifting and falling with the long, -deadly tube, his thoughts harked back to the queer -object he, and Dick, and Carl had seen in the water. -The result of his reflections paralyzed him.</p> - -<p><i>Some mysterious enemy had launched the torpedo at -the Grampus!</i></p> - -<p>Had the infernal machine struck the submarine, the -craft and every one aboard would have been torn to -pieces.</p> - -<p>A slow horror pulsed through Motor Matt's veins.</p> - -<p>The same enemies who had launched the torpedo must -surely have jerked Matt from the deck of the submarine. -But who were they? where were they?</p> - -<p>With difficulty he lifted himself and got astride the -rolling cylinder. From that elevated position he looked -around him into the darkness. Silence reigned in every -direction. There was no sign of the mysterious foes -who had attempted to destroy the <i>Grampus</i> and to make -a prisoner of her commanding officer.</p> - -<p>Presently the young motorist became conscious that -the coil was still about his throat, and that a long object -was trailing downward and hanging with some weight -from his neck.</p> - -<p>It was a rope. He began pulling it in, coiling the wet -length of it in his hand. The rope was all of seventy-five -feet long, he judged, and that distance must have -marked the position of his foes when the noose was -cast. To see even half that distance into the thick -darkness was impossible, but why had Matt not been -able to <i>hear</i> the men who had attempted such dastardly -work?</p> - -<p>Speculations were useless. Matt, however, had secured -a makeshift raft which would keep him afloat until -such time as the <i>Grampus</i>, or some other boat, could -pick him up.</p> - -<p>Hoping that the submarine would come to no harm, -and determined to make the best of his desperate situation, -the king of the motor boys set about making an -examination of the steel tube that supported him.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">SAVED BY A TORPEDO.</p> - - -<p>Matt's first move was to take the noose from about -his throat and pass the rope around and around the -torpedo, tying it fast. The loops of the rope gave him -a handhold which he could not possibly have secured -otherwise on the hard, smooth shell, rendered slippery -by the water with which it was drenched.</p> - -<p>The torpedo, he quickly discovered, was a Whitehead—a -powerful and deadly engine in use by all the navies -of the world.</p> - -<p>It was about seventeen feet long and a foot and a -half in diameter. Torpedoes of this nature are constructed -to run under the surface at any required depth -down to twenty feet. A propeller and compressed air -furnishes the motive power, and as the air becomes exhausted, -the torpedo rises higher and higher. With the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -air shut off and engine stopped, the cylinder rises to -the surface. As that was the case in the present instance, -it seemed certain that the motive power of this -particular torpedo had been nearly exhausted.</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i>, being constructed for work in time of -war, had torpedo tubes and one torpedo aboard. Matt -had studied the mechanism of the Whitehead, and he -was able to proceed intelligently in his present dilemma. -If there was still any air in the big tube, he might use -it to carry him to the north and east, in the direction -taken by the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>The lever, he discovered, which locked the engine was -standing erect, while the "tripper," which worked automatically -the instant the torpedo was discharged and -put it under its own power, was lying flat on the curved -side.</p> - -<p>Before trying to get the compressed air in the shell -to working, he swam to the blunt end of the torpedo and -removed the small propeller that manipulated the firing -pin. By this wise move he rendered harmless the explosive -within the shell.</p> - -<p>Swimming back, he mounted his queer raft by means -of the rope loops, lifted the "tripper," and depressed the -starting lever.</p> - -<p>The twin screws, placed tandem fashion at the stern, -began slowly to revolve. Heading the point of the tube -north by east, he began one of the strangest rides that -had ever fallen to his lot.</p> - -<p>As the air within became more and more depleted, -the steel cylinder rose higher and higher in the water.</p> - -<p>For a lad so deeply in love with motors as was Matt, -the novelty of that ride could not fail to appeal to him. -He was safe, at least for a time, and felt sure that -ultimately he would gain the shore or be picked up by -a coastwise ship. As for the <i>Grampus</i>, there were cool -heads and steady nerves aboard of her, and the submarine's -safety would be looked after. Besides, the -mysterious foes had failed in their night's work, and -there was probably no more danger to be apprehended -from them.</p> - -<p>As Matt held himself astride his queer craft, guiding -it by a pull this way and that, he fell to thinking of the -manner in which he had been hurled into the sea.</p> - -<p>Some boat had discharged the torpedo, and it seemed -certain that those who had tossed the rope over his head -and pulled him from the submarine's deck had been on -the same boat.</p> - -<p>Had it been the intention of Matt's enemies to haul -him aboard their boat, or only to strangle him and keep -him in the water until the <i>Grampus</i> got well away, then -cast him off and let him sink to the bottom?</p> - -<p>Matt's humane instincts rebelled against the latter supposition. -His enemies, he reasoned, had intended hauling -him aboard their boat, but in some manner had lost -hold of the end of the line.</p> - -<p>A Whitehead torpedo costs something like four thousand -dollars, and is altogether too valuable to leave -adrift when it has been fired and misses its target. -Those who had discharged the torpedo would surely -look for it—and, if they found it, they would also find -Matt.</p> - -<p>This caused the young motorist a good deal of trepidation. -He reasoned, however, that on account of the -darkness of the night and the fog, his mysterious foes -would probably remain in the part of the ocean where -the torpedo had been fired and look for it in the daylight. -Between that hour and daylight, Matt was hoping -to be picked up.</p> - -<p>The compressed air in a torpedo will carry it about -nine hundred yards. This torpedo had not gone its full -distance, on account of an automatic misplacement of -the "tripper" and starting lever, but enough of the air -had been used so that Matt's ride was a short one.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes the propellers ceased to revolve, -and Matt and the steel cylinder came to a stop, heaving -up and down on the surface of the water. Yielding to -the pull of the current, the torpedo started erratically -seaward, and another fear was born in Matt's mind.</p> - -<p>The farther seaward he was carried, the more difficult -it would be to fall in with a passing boat, and the -farther off would be his rescue. To carry his grewsome -thoughts still farther, there was a good chance -that he would succumb to thirst and hunger before his -woeful plight was discovered, and——</p> - -<p>But this gloomy train of reflections was interrupted. -In the distance Matt could see a glow of light, shining -hazily through the fog. Was it the search light of the -<i>Grampus</i>, or a gleam from the other boat?</p> - -<p>Divided between hopes and doubts, he waited and -watched. The glow presently resolved itself into a pencil -of light, and he became fairly positive that it was the -searching eye of the submarine.</p> - -<p>"Ahoy!" he shouted.</p> - -<p>Instantly a distant commotion struck on his ears.</p> - -<p>"Ahoy, ahoy!" came an excited answer. "Is that you, -Matt?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Shift your wheel a couple of points to starboard -and you'll be heading straight for me. Come -slow—and don't run me down."</p> - -<p>The gleam of light suddenly shifted its position. Aiming -directly at Matt, it grew brighter and brighter. -Matt was able to make out the dark outlines of the -submarine's low deck and conning tower, and to see -three figures well forward toward the bow, all clinging -to guys and leaning out over the water.</p> - -<p>"Are you swimming, old ship?" came the tense voice -of Dick Ferral.</p> - -<p>"Hardly," Matt answered. "I've been in the water -for upward of an hour—and I couldn't have fought the -current that long if I had been compelled to swim."</p> - -<p>"How you vas keeping off der pottom, Matt?" piped -up the relieved voice of Carl.</p> - -<p>"There's a sort of a raft under me," Matt laughed.</p> - -<p>"A raft? Where the dickens did you get hold of a -raft, Matt?"</p> - -<p>This was Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Not exactly a raft," went on Matt, "but a Whitehead -torpedo. We met each other at just the right -time for me. I'm riding the torpedo, and it's a fine -thing for keeping a fellow afloat."</p> - -<p>Startled expressions came from those on the submarine. -By then the Grampus was so close that her -search light had Matt and the Whitehead in full glare. -The amazement of the boys on the submarine increased.</p> - -<p>"Dot's der plamedest t'ing vat I efer heardt oof!" -gasped Carl. "Modor Matt riding on a dorpeto schust -like it vas a tree, oder somet'ing like dot! Ach, himmelblitzen!"</p> - -<p>Speake guided the <i>Grampus</i> alongside the torpedo.</p> - -<p>"Be careful, Speake!" warned Glennie. "If that infernal -machine bunts into us, we're gone."</p> - -<p>"I'm looking out for that," answered Speake.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You don't need to worry," called Matt reassuringly. -"I wasn't going to take chances with two hundred -pounds of high explosive, and one of the first things I -did was to fix the priming pin so it wouldn't work."</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i>, responding to a signal flashed into the -motor room, came to a halt. Dick threw Matt a rope, -and he began tying it to one of the loops that encircled -the shell of the torpedo.</p> - -<p>"Why are you making fast, matey?" inquired Dick.</p> - -<p>"Because I want to tow this torpedo into Lota," answered -Matt.</p> - -<p>"Oh, bother that! Here we've been all ahoo thinking -you were at the bottom and as good as done for. Now -that we've found you again—and in a most amazing -way, at that—cut loose from that steel tube and come -aboard. What's the use of fussing with it?"</p> - -<p>"I'll explain when I come aboard," Matt went on. -"Make the other end of the line fast, Dick, and give -the cable a scope of fifty feet. I've hooked to her so -that she will follow us stern foremost."</p> - -<p>Glennie helped Dick make the cable fast; then Matt, -drawing in on the line, came alongside the rounded deck -plates, and Carl helped him off the torpedo.</p> - -<p>"Ach, vat a habbiness!" sputtered Carl. "I hat gifen -you oop for deadt, Matt, und vat shouldt I efer have -done mitoudt my bard? How you come to be like dot, -hey?"</p> - -<p>"There's something mighty mysterious about it," said -Matt. "I thought I heard a noise somewhere in the -darkness behind the <i>Grampus</i>, and stepped aft to watch -and listen; then, before I knew what was up, the noose -of a rope fell over my head and tightened about my -throat. I went into the water with hardly a splash, unable -to give a cry for help."</p> - -<p>"I didn't hear a sound!" put in Speake excitedly.</p> - -<p>"It was all done so quickly and silently, I don't see -how you could have known anything about it, Speake," -said Matt. "I was in a bad way when I sighted that -torpedo. I got astride of it, started the propellers, and -rode in the direction the <i>Grampus</i> had taken. When -the compressed air gave out, I was expecting to be -picked up by some other boat—by the boat that had -fired the torpedo at us."</p> - -<p>"At us!" exclaimed Glennie. "Do you mean to say -that torpedo that saved you was launched at the <i>Grampus</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly," returned Matt. "It was the torpedo Dick, -Carl, and I saw, and which I thought might be a floating -log or a piece of wreckage."</p> - -<p>This astounding intelligence almost carried Matt's -chums off their feet.</p> - -<p>"What enemies have we in these waters?" cried the -startled Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Why," answered Matt, "who but the Sons of the -Rising Sun?"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE.</p> - - -<p>"Let's go below, mates," suggested Dick, "and overhaul -all this. There's meat in it for us, and it will stand -us in hand to get at it."</p> - -<p>"I'll not go below this night, Dick," said Matt, "and -we'd better all of us stay on deck and keep our eyes -peeled for Japs. Carl can go and bring me up some -dry clothes, an extra pair of shoes and stockings, and -an extra coat."</p> - -<p>"Dot's me, bard," chirruped Carl, making for the -conning tower.</p> - -<p>"Get the boat on her proper course, Speake," said -Matt; "we must get out of this neighborhood as soon -as we can—and as quick as we can. Watch the torpedo -as we come about, Dick, you and Glennie. See -that the cable doesn't foul the guys or the periscope -mast."</p> - -<p>Speake signaled for a fresh start, and as the submarine -described a circle and pointed the other way, -Dick and Glennie kept the hawser clear. The torpedo -took its scope of cable, and the drag of it was plainly -felt as soon as the submarine began to pull.</p> - -<p>"It's main lucky, mates," remarked Dick, as Carl -regained the deck with Matt's dry clothing, and the -young motorist began to get out of his wet togs, "that -we've such a smooth sea. If the wind was blowing -hard and the water was choppy, Matt would have a -hard time with that torpedo of his."</p> - -<p>"A lucky thing, too," added Glennie, "that there's a -thick fog. If Matt's enemies had seen him, they'd have -finished the work they set out to do with that lariat."</p> - -<p>"On the other hand, Glennie," put in Matt, "we don't -want to forget that it was the fog that enabled them to -come so close. Their boat must have got within seventy-five -feet of the <i>Grampus</i> in order for any one to -drop that noose over my head."</p> - -<p>"I'll be keelhauled if I can understand how such a -trick was done," said Dick. "From my experiences on -the cattle ranges of Texas, I should say that a seventy-five-foot -cast with a riata is a mighty big one, and -liable to be successful about once in a hundred times. -But here's this swab that lassoed Matt, snaring him -the first crack—and throwing from a boat's deck and -across water, at that!"</p> - -<p>"Then, too," proceeded Glennie, "their boat has less -noise to it than any craft I ever heard of. It shoved -along within seventy-five feet of us—and none of us -heard a sound!"</p> - -<p>"I thought I heard a noise, Glennie," returned Matt, -"and that was what took me aft."</p> - -<p>"I can't understand how it was done," muttered the -ensign.</p> - -<p>"Veil, anyvays," struck in Carl, "id vas done, no -madder vedder anypody oondershtands it or nod. Kevit -making some guesses aboudt der vay it vas pulled off -und look der pitzness skevare in der face. It vas der -Chaps—who else vould dry to plow der <i>Grampus</i> oudt -oof water? So vat's to be done aboudt it?"</p> - -<p>"Carl's talking sense, fellows," said Matt. "Those -Japs are against us. We thought we had left them -behind, and that we should be able to reach San Francisco -before they could make us any trouble, but here -they are, going for us harder than ever."</p> - -<p>"They're not using that steamer of theirs, mates," -averred Dick.</p> - -<p>"The steamer might have torpedo tubes," answered -Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Ay, so she might; but she couldn't lie along within -seventy-five feet of us without making noise enough to -wake the dead. The Sons of the Rising Sun have -changed boats—and how have they had time to do that, -and reach this part of the coast almost at the same time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -as ourselves? We've plugged right along ever since leaving -the strait."</p> - -<p>"That gives me an idea," said the ensign, "and you -fellows can take it for what it's worth. Our knowledge -of the Sons of the Rising Sun is a trifle hazy, but we -know them to be a secret organization whose aim is to -help Japan. The organization is not sanctioned by the -Japanese government, for its members commit deeds -which would plunge the nation into war if it sanctioned -them. Now, this secret society is probably quite extensive. -Perhaps we are not dealing with the branch -of it that kept us busy most of the way to the Horn, -but with another outfit of the Sons of the Rising Sun -that has been laying for us here."</p> - -<p>"That's possible," agreed Matt. "The question is, -shall we put into Lota and try to find out something -more regarding our enemies, or keep on to Valparaiso, -as we had originally intended?"</p> - -<p>"I'm for putting in at Lota," said Dick. "We can't -tow that infernal Whitehead all the way to Valparaiso."</p> - -<p>"It will be just as well to stop there, in my opinion," -seconded Glennie. "If we're dealing with another branch -of the Sons of the Rising Sun, perhaps we can get some -information about them in Lota."</p> - -<p>"Meppy," ventured Carl, "ve could lay in a sooply -oof gasoline in Lota, und vouldn't haf to shdop at Valparaiso, -huh? Dot vould safe dime, und I am gedding -hungry for a look at der Unidet Shtates again. Der -more I see of odder gountries, der more vat I like my -own."</p> - -<p>"His own!" laughed Dick, who, now that Motor Matt -had been safely recovered, was feeling in fine fettle. -"You could tell he was a Yank, just by the way he -talks, eh?"</p> - -<p>"I peen an American mit a Dutch agsent," protested -Carl, "und I t'ink so mooch oof der Shdars und Shdripes -as anypody. I vould schust as soon shtep on der Pritish -lion's tail as anyt'ing vat I know."</p> - -<p>"If you step on the British lion's tail, and I find it -out, matey," laughed Dick, "I'll have you hauled up -and fined for cruelty to animals. One of these days -I'm going to write to the kaiser and tell him about -you."</p> - -<p>"Vat I care for der kaiser?" snorted Carl. "He iss -a pooty goot feller, aber he ain'd so big like der Bresident -oof der land oof der free und der home oof Modor -Matt."</p> - -<p>"Fine-o!" chuckled Dick.</p> - -<p>"A dandy sentiment, Carl!" exclaimed Glennie. "What -do you think of that, Matt?"</p> - -<p>"Why," returned Matt, "I think that if the lot of us -don't stop joshing and attend more to watching our -immediate neighborhood that the land of the free and -the home of the brave is liable to be minus one submarine -and a lot of motor boys. That Jap boat is a -particularly noiseless craft; she came close enough to -us to launch a torpedo, and close enough to tangle me -up in a rope and pull me into the ocean. If she did it -once, she can do it again. We've got to keep sharp -eyes forward, aft, and on both sides. Dick, you'll be -the bow lookout, and Glennie can go aft; you watch -the port side, Carl, and I'll watch the starboard. Can -you steer for the rest of the night, Speake?" he added -to the man in the conning tower.</p> - -<p>"I guess I can stand this extra duty if you can, Matt," -replied Speake, "considering what you've been through."</p> - -<p>"A dip in the ocean and a ride on a torpedo doesn't -count," said Matt, dropping his wet clothes down the -hatch; "it's what may happen to us if we don't keep -on our guard that bothers me. This boat is going to be -delivered at Mare Island, Japs or no Japs."</p> - -<p>"Und righdt site oop mit care, you bed you!" cried -Carl, dropping down on the port side of the conning -tower. "I feel so easy in my mindt as oof I vas alretty -pack in der best gountry vat efer vas."</p> - -<p>"Carl is full of patriotism to-night, mates," observed -Dick, from the bow.</p> - -<p>"I vas dickled pecause Matt is alife und kicking. Dot -inshpires me mit batriotic sendiment, und odder feelings -oof choy. Be jeerful, eferypody."</p> - -<p>Weighing the evidence offered by the torpedo attack, -and the snaring and dragging of Matt into the water, -had not resulted in bringing out very much that was -of importance. It served, however, to emphasize the -need of vigilance by developing the resourcefulness and -malevolence of a wily foe.</p> - -<p>At 4 a. m. the submarine was close to the land lying -south of the Bay of Lota, and, as the mist was -still too thick to make out the distance and bearing of -the coast, Matt thought it advisable to stop the motor -and wait for the fog to clear with the sun.</p> - -<p>Advantage was taken of this stop to prepare breakfast. -While all hands were eating, Gaines and Clackett, who -had been at their posts during the exciting occurrences -of the night, were duly informed of all that had taken -place.</p> - -<p>At 6 a. m. the morning was bright enough so that -Matt felt they could proceed with safety.</p> - -<p>The passage into the Bay of Lota, between the island -of Santa Maria and Lavapié Point, is narrow and difficult, -abounding with sunken rocks and other hidden -dangers that have not been surveyed and charted.</p> - -<p>Luck, however, was with the motor boys, and the -passage into the bay was succesfully accomplished. Just -as the sun broke through the mist and brought out the -beauties of the bay, the <i>Grampus</i> nosed her way into it.</p> - -<p>On three sides the bay is surrounded by wooded hills, -which shelter it in every direction except on the north.</p> - -<p>"Dowse me," muttered Dick; "this coast looks like -that of Cornwall and Devonshire, with that red earth, -those granite cliffs, and the trees running down to the -water's edge. What are those chimneys and all that -smoke over there?"</p> - -<p>"Smelting works and potteries," explained Glennie. -"They are owned by a woman, Madam Cousiņo, one -of the richest women in Chili."</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i>, being of light draught, was able to go -close inshore. Anchor was dropped within a couple of -cables' length of the wharf. The "mud hooks" had -hardly taken hold before a man in a tawdry blue uniform -came off from the shore in a boat. He was rowed -by two negroes, and appeared to be very much excited.</p> - -<p>When his boat was laid alongside, the official stood -up, flourished his arms, and spouted a stream of language. -It was Spanish, and came in such a torrent -that Matt, who knew something of the lingo, could -make nothing of it. Glennie was better versed in the -tongue, and listened attentively and with growing concern.</p> - -<p>"Here's a go, Matt!" exclaimed the ensign, as soon as -the official paused to catch his breath. "This man is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> -the captain of the port, and he has placed us all under -arrest."</p> - -<p>"Arrest?" cried Matt incredulously. "What for?"</p> - -<p>"He says we're thieves, and that we have stolen this -submarine boat."</p> - -<p>"Dot's aboudt der lasht t'ing vat I oxpected!" muttered -Carl. "Take der uniform off dot feller, und ve -vill find he iss a Son oof der Rising Sun, I bed you. -Led's go to der pottom oof der pay und infite him to -come down und ged us."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A SURPRISING SITUATION.</p> - - -<p>"Sink me!" growled Dick. "Here's a rum go, if anybody -asks you. It's bobs to sovereigns that those Japs -are mixed up in this."</p> - -<p>"We can very soon convince the captain of the port -that he's made a mistake," said Matt quietly. "Get your -written instructions, Glennie, and we'll go ashore with -him. There's something queer about this, and it may -be a good thing for us to get to the bottom of it."</p> - -<p>"How aboudt Tick und me?" inquired Carl. "Ain'd -ve going along mit you?"</p> - -<p>"You and Dick and the rest of the crew," Matt answered, -"will stay here and take care of the <i>Grampus</i>. -Somebody will have to do that, you know, Carl. It's -fully as important as going ashore and explaining matters -to the officials."</p> - -<p>Glennie told the captain of the port that he and Matt -would go ashore with him and make it plain to everybody -that there was a mistake. The ensign's uniform, -spick and span and mighty fetching, made a wholesome -impression upon the captain of the port.</p> - -<p>While Glennie was getting his papers, the port official -dropped back alongside the torpedo and examined it -with considerable interest. When the ensign reappeared -on the submarine's deck, the boat was brought back and -Matt and Glennie got aboard. In five minutes they had -reached the wharf and clambered ashore.</p> - -<p>The negroes who had rowed the boat dropped in on -each side of the two young Americans, each drawing -an old-fashioned pistol that fired with a percussion cap.</p> - -<p>"They're bound we're not going to run," laughed -Matt.</p> - -<p>"I don't know," returned Glennie, "but I'd rather be -in front of those old relics when they're shot off than -behind them. I guess a fellow would be safer."</p> - -<p>The captain of the port led the way to the Casa de la -Administracion of the Seņora Cousiņo. It was built on -the crest of a low rise, and afforded a fine view of the -bay. A tall, slim man, who looked like a Frenchman, -stood on the steps of the casa surveying the <i>Grampus</i> -through a glass. With an expression of disappointment, -he lowered the glass and turned toward the captain of -the port as he drew near. Then there was French talk -and Spanish talk—the tall, slim man using his native -tongue, which the Chilian evidently understood, and the -Chilian using the Spanish, with which the Frenchman -appeared familiar.</p> - -<p>Glennie gave strict attention to all that was going -on. The finger and whole-arm movements, the hunching -of the shoulders, and the shaking and ducking of -the heads, accompanied the talk as a sort of pantomime. -Matt was highly amused.</p> - -<p>A look of astonishment appeared in Glennie's face as -he listened.</p> - -<p>"By George!" the ensign exclaimed, when the conversation -between the Chilian and the Frenchman had -died down. "We've jumped into a surprising situation -here, Matt, if I've got this thing right."</p> - -<p>"What is it, Glennie?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Well, the Frenchman says that the submarine isn't -the boat he thought it was, and that our arrest has been -a mistake."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad they found that out without putting us to -any trouble. Is there another submarine in these waters? -And has it been stolen?"</p> - -<p>"That's where the surprising part comes in. I'll have -to talk with these fellows, and ask them a few questions, -before I can get the layout clear in my mind."</p> - -<p>French and Spanish had formed a part of Glennie's -education at Annapolis; he reeled off both languages -now, first at one and then at the other of the two men, -asking questions and receiving voluble replies.</p> - -<p>In five minutes he had the situation straightened out -to his satisfaction, and sat down on one of the stone -steps beside Matt.</p> - -<p>"The tall man, Matt," said Glennie, "is Captain Pons, -of Edouard Lavalle et Cie, shipbuilders, of Havre, -France. This firm of Lavalle & Co. are builders of -submarines, and they recently finished such a craft for -the Chilian navy. The boat was brought over on a -tramp freighter, and Captain Pons came along to instruct -the Chilian officers and crew in the manner of -running the submarine, and also to secure a draft for -the purchase price.</p> - -<p>"The submarine was unloaded safely, and was provisioned -by Captain Pons for a run to Santiago, where -she was to be inspected by the secretary of the navy. -Captain Pons was not to get his money from the government -until the submarine reached Santiago. The -Chilian crew was to come over from Coronel yesterday -afternoon, but arrived in the morning, a good twelve -hours ahead of time. Captain Pons rowed out with them -to the submarine, showed the captain of the crew all -over the boat and explained the machinery to him; then, -quite unexpectedly, so far as Captain Pons was concerned, -the crew grabbed the Frenchman, threw him into -the rowboat, closed the hatch of the submarine, and -dropped into the bottom of the bay."</p> - -<p>Matt was listening with intense interest.</p> - -<p>"The crew that Captain Pons took out to the submarine -wasn't the right one?" he observed.</p> - -<p>"No. The real crew arrived in the afternoon, agreeably -to schedule, and found Captain Pons without a -submarine and very much up in the air. If he can't -recover the submarine from the thieves, his firm may -hold him responsible for the loss of the stolen boat."</p> - -<p>"There were torpedoes in the French submarine?"</p> - -<p>Matt began to grow excited as the situation cleared -before him.</p> - -<p>"Two," replied Glennie.</p> - -<p>"And the bogus crew—who were they?"</p> - -<p>"Instead of coming from Coronel, it was discovered -that they came from the south—by railroad from Valdivia, -on the coast. It has also been discovered that -they were Japanese—Japs who had their eyes straightened. -It is supposed that they are from the mysterious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -steamer that escaped from Captain Sandoval, below -English Reach."</p> - -<p>Matt's astonishment almost lifted him off the stone -step on which he was sitting.</p> - -<p>"Our old enemies!" he exclaimed. "The Sons of the -Rising Sun have secured a submarine boat, and that -means that they can follow us wherever we go."</p> - -<p>"Hard luck, Matt, that events should drift into this -tangle! That French submarine had to be here, it seems, -at just the right time to help out the Japs. The young -Samurai must have known about this other craft. After -dodging Captain Sandoval, they managed to reach Valdivia -and came on from there by train. That is how -they were able to get ahead of us."</p> - -<p>"Every mysterious twist is taken out of the situation -now, Glennie," said Matt, almost stunned by the audacity -of the Japs and the marvelous way in which circumstances -had aided them. "They took possesion of the -French submarine and started south to meet the <i>Grampus</i>. -The noiseless way in which they hung upon our flanks -is easy to understand. The torpedo was launched at us -while the French boat was submerged; and when that -rope was hurled at me, the boat was just out of the -water—there were no lights about her, and the search -light of the <i>Grampus</i> enabled those on the French craft -to make that cast with the riata."</p> - -<p>Matt's face went pale.</p> - -<p>"Glennie," he continued, "the hardest job of our lives -is ahead of us! The Japs have a submarine, and there's -not one of them who would not willingly give his life if, -by doing so, he could destroy the <i>Grampus</i>. As long as -our enemies were in a steamboat, and compelled to remain -on the surface, it was easy to keep away from -them; but now, no matter where we go, they can follow -us."</p> - -<p>"I don't know anything about this French boat," returned -Glennie thoughtfully, "but I'll bet something -handsome she's not half so good a craft as the <i>Grampus</i>. -There's a big advantage for us, right at the start. Then, -again, about the only thing we're to fear from the stolen -submarine is the torpedo work. Captain Pons says there -were only two torpedoes in the craft. One of them is -accounted for. They have only one more—and I guess -we can get away from <i>that</i>. Besides all this, don't forget -that the Japs are green hands with the submarine, -and have had no practical experience in running her. -Captain Pons explained to them the theoretical part of -the machinery, but, you take it from me, those wily Orientals -are going to get themselves into trouble."</p> - -<p>"They manœuvred the submarine pretty well last -night," said Matt. "I don't see how they could improve -much on their work. A Jap, Glennie, is a regular genius -in 'catching on' to things. Show him how to do a piece -of work once, and he knows it for all time. They're -clever—as clever as they are wily, and sometimes treacherous."</p> - -<p>At this point, Captain Pons put in a few words.</p> - -<p>"I see ze torpedo is wiz youar boat, monsieur. You -say zat you peek heem out of ze sea, but he is my torpedo, -and he is vorth many sousand francs. I am to -have him, eh?"</p> - -<p>Matt looked at Glennie.</p> - -<p>"We might need that torpedo, Matt," suggested the -ensign, "for the <i>Grampus</i> has only one. If it comes to a -fight with the French boat that extra Whitehead would -come in handy. I think we had better keep it."</p> - -<p>"So do I," agreed Matt. He turned to Captain Pons. -"The torpedo was fired at us, captain," he went on, "and -it was by a happenchance, and at a considerable risk to -myself, that I was able to save it and tow it in."</p> - -<p>"He is mine, by gar!" cried the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>"What good is the torpedo to you without the submarine?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, I can sell heem. I save zat much."</p> - -<p>"Any way you figure it," insisted Matt, "we're entitled -to salvage on the torpedo."</p> - -<p>"Nozzing, not one centime!" screeched Captain Pons, -jumping up and down and flourishing his arms.</p> - -<p>"Suppose I pay you the difference between the salvage -and the cost of the torpedo?" asked Matt, willing to adjust -the matter in any way that would secure peace.</p> - -<p>"Non! I want ze torpedo, and zis talk of ze salvage -is w'at you call boosh; <i>oui</i>, zat is all, nozzing but boosh."</p> - -<p>There seemed no amicable way of settling the dispute. -Matt, feeling that the Whitehead was of prime importance -to the <i>Grampus</i>, was determined to stick to his -contention.</p> - -<p>He and Glennie stood up, and all on the steps of the -casa turned their eyes downward to where the <i>Grampus</i> -lay on the placid waters of the harbor, the long, black -cylinder of the Whitehead some forty or fifty feet back -of the stern.</p> - -<p>While they looked, a most astounding thing happened. -The torpedo seemed suddenly to become imbued with -life. It shivered, jerked sidewise like an animated log, -whirled around frantically, and then, with one end -leaping into the air, it darted downward, out of sight!</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">ANOTHER ATTACK.</p> - - -<p>This weird vanishing on the part of the object in dispute -between Motor Matt and Captain Pons left those -on steps of the Casa gasping. The Frenchman dropped -limply down and hugged his folded arms to his breast; -the Chilian looked wild, and a superstitious fear arose -in the eyes of the two negroes. Glennie grabbed up the -glasses the captain had been using a few minutes before, -clapped them to his eyes, and proceeded to examine -the surface of the bay.</p> - -<p>The strange movements of the torpedo had had something -of an effect upon the <i>Grampus</i>, for she had swung -about on her cable and dipped slightly sternward. She -was lying quietly enough now, however, and Carl, Dick, -Speake, Gaines, and Clackett were swarming over her -deck and evidently wondering what had become of the -Whitehead.</p> - -<p>Matt, with his naked eyes, could see his friends moving -about, although it was impossible for him to discover -exactly what they were doing.</p> - -<p>"They're pulling in the rope that was made fast to -the torpedo," said Glennie. "They've got the end of it in -their hands."</p> - -<p>"Great spark plugs!" murmured Matt dazedly. "That -was a queer performance, I must say. Can you see anything -of the Whitehead, Glennie?"</p> - -<p>"Not a thing. There must have been some compressed -air still left in the cylinder, and in some way it -got to the screws."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p> - -<p>Matt shook his head.</p> - -<p>"That's not it, Glennie. Even if the Whitehead's -screws had begun to work they couldn't have caused the -big tube to dance around in that unheard-of fashion. -I——"</p> - -<p>Matt, with a sudden alarming thought running -through his mind, started down the steps at a run. The -Frenchman shouted something. Taking his cue from -Captain Pons, the Chilian also shouted. Probably it was -a command for Matt to halt, but the young motorist did -not construe it in that way. Pons, himself, had said that -there was no cause for the arrest of Matt and Glennie, -and Motor Matt believed that he was perfectly free to -go wherever he wished. Just then he was tremendously -eager to get aboard the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>One of the old-fashioned pistols went off with a <i>bang</i> -like a small cannon. A lead slug screeched through the -air well over Matt's head.</p> - -<p>"Come back, Matt!" yelled Glennie. "If you don't, -the next bullet may come closer to you."</p> - -<p>Matt faced about indignantly.</p> - -<p>"What are they shooting at me for?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"They don't want you to get away, just yet."</p> - -<p>"But I've got to get away! We must get aboard the -<i>Grampus</i> as quick as the nation will let us. Can't you -understand this business, Glennie? That French submarine -is in the bottom of the bay! The Japs are recovering -that torpedo! You know why they want it, -as well as I do."</p> - -<p>"Jupiter!" exclaimed Glennie, "I hadn't thought of -that. But you'd better come back here, Matt, while we -explain the situation to Captain Pons. It's better to have -him and the captain of the port for friends rather than -enemies."</p> - -<p>"Every minute's delay makes the position of the -<i>Grampus</i> just that much more dangerous. Carl, Dick, -and the rest don't know a thing about this other submarine, -and if the Japs made an attack on our boat, -while she's lying at anchor——"</p> - -<p>"Don't fret about that, Matt," cut in Glennie. "The -Japs will have their hands full saving their torpedo. -They're thinking more about that Whitehead just at -present than of anything else. But, anyhow, we can't -try to dodge the bullets these negroes will send after us -if we make a run of it."</p> - -<p>Matt, fretting over the delay, slowly returned to the -steps. The negro was reloading his pistol, the other was -making ready to use his weapon in case Matt refused to -obey orders, and both the captain of the port and Captain -Pons were looking extremely fierce and determined.</p> - -<p>Both captains were talking to Glennie. The ensign -answered them sharply, and the captains gave responses -equally sharp.</p> - -<p>"What a pair of dunderheads!" growled Glennie to -Matt.</p> - -<p>"How's that?" queried Matt.</p> - -<p>"Captain Pons has developed a very bright idea," was -the ensign's sarcastic response. "He says we caused the -torpedo to act in that unaccountable manner, and that we -did it in order to steal it from him."</p> - -<p>Matt caught his breath.</p> - -<p>"Is Captain Pons in his sober senses?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"All the senses Heaven endowed him with are on -duty."</p> - -<p>"How does he think we could cause the torpedo to -act in that manner?"</p> - -<p>"He lays it to our friends on the <i>Grampus</i>, but is -gloriously indefinite concerning the way they worked the -trick."</p> - -<p>Matt walked up the steps and faced Captain Pons. -"We had nothing to do with the disappearance of the -torpedo!" he cried. "Why, the very idea is preposterous! -How could any of our men cause the Whitehead -to disappear in that fashion?"</p> - -<p>"You want ze torpedo," insisted Captain Pons doggedly. -"You make ze dispute wiz me. Zen, w'en I say -<i>non</i>, ze torpedo belong wiz me, <i>pouf!</i> away he go lak a -streak. You haf stole heem, and you will answer to ze -French government for zat, by gar!"</p> - -<p>"That is foolish talk, Captain Pons, for a man of your -age and experience."</p> - -<p>"Hein! I am not so foolish as w'at you zink."</p> - -<p>"It was the other boat that stole the torpedo—the submarine -the Japs stole from you."</p> - -<p>"Zat could not be ze <i>Pom</i>. Ze Jap zey would not -dar-r-r-e bring ze <i>Pom</i> back in ze bay."</p> - -<p>"You don't know those Japs as well as we do, captain. -They are enemies of ours, and have followed us -clear from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. They want to destroy -the <i>Grampus</i>, to keep her out of the hands of the -United States Navy. If I don't go down there, and -warn my friends and do something to protect our submarine, -this <i>Pom</i> of yours may make an attack."</p> - -<p>"Zis is a friendly port," replied Captain Pons, with a -wave of the hand. "Ze Japs will not dar-r-r-e make -attack in ze friendly port."</p> - -<p>Matt was disgusted. He felt that he had never met a -man so dense as this Captain Pons.</p> - -<p>"The Japs stole your submarine in a friendly port," -he remarked dryly. "I guess that proves that they're -not above committing lawless acts in a Chilian harbor. -You have no right to detain Ensign Glennie and myself. -We are under the protection of the Stars and -Stripes. If you are determined to keep us with you on -this ridiculous charge of stealing the torpedo, then will -you not accompany us to the <i>Grampus</i> while we take -measures for the boat's protection? While there, perhaps -we may be able to convince you how foolish this -charge of yours is."</p> - -<p>"Zat is reasonable talk," admitted Captain Pons -gravely. "I vill spik wiz my good friend, Captain -Arco."</p> - -<p>Matt and Glennie drew apart while the two captains -held a whispered conversation, although a very animated -one.</p> - -<p>"A couple of jumping jacks!" muttered Glennie; "and -blockheads, to boot. I wonder what those French shipbuilders -were thinking of to send a man like Captain -Pons with their submarine."</p> - -<p>"Well, he may know all about the submarine, and be -perfectly trustworthy," answered Matt.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't trust him to drive a pair of mules on a -canal."</p> - -<p>The ensign was completely disgusted.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" he said, a moment later. "The two great minds -have at last come to a decision in this momentous matter."</p> - -<p>Captains Pons and Arco approached the two lads importantly.</p> - -<p>"Ze good captain has agreed to go back wiz you and -me to ze submarine," announced Captain Pons. "If, -w'en we get zere, you will hand ovair ze torpedo, zen we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -not make ze trouble for you any more. <i>Allons!</i> let us -be gone."</p> - -<p>The negroes, following an order from the captain of -the port, dropped in on either side of Matt and Glennie, -their antiquated pistols prominently displayed. Then, -with the two captains leading the way, the American lads -left the Casa de la Administracion.</p> - -<p>"How those Japs managed to get hold of that torpedo -without showing themselves," remarked Glennie, on the -way to the landing, "is a conundrum."</p> - -<p>"They must have come up under the torpedo," answered -Matt, "just close enough to the surface to grapple -a coil of the rope that was around the steel shell."</p> - -<p>"Even on that theory the move is hard to understand. -While the <i>Pom</i> was under water it would not be possible -for any one aboard of her to work at the ropes -around the torpedo."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps the grappling was done by manœuvring the -boat."</p> - -<p>"That might be——"</p> - -<p>Glennie was interrupted. By that time the party had -nearly reached the landing. Before any of them stepped -foot on the wharf, however, there came a loud detonation, -and a geyser-like column of water arose high in the -air. So lofty was the column that some of the spray -from it was hurled across the intervening stretch of the -bay and into the faces of Matt, Glennie, and the rest.</p> - -<p>When the column had sunk downward, those on the -shore could see that the <i>Grampus</i> had disappeared!</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A BAD HALF HOUR.</p> - - -<p>Matt, Glennie, the two captains, and the negroes were -stupefied. They stood as though rooted to the ground -and stared across the water toward the spot where the -<i>Grampus</i> had been anchored.</p> - -<p>"<i>Sacre!</i>" muttered Captain Pons. "Zat was a torpedo, -by gar!"</p> - -<p>"It was fired at the <i>Grampus</i>!" cried Matt, almost beside -himself. "I was afraid an attack would be made—and -the boys didn't know anything about that other -submarine, Glennie. If our boat has been destroyed, -if—if——"</p> - -<p>Matt staggered against the post to which the painter -securing the rowboat was made fast.</p> - -<p>The negroes began talking excitedly between themselves, -and Pons and Arco likewise began to air their -opinions.</p> - -<p>"Don't lose your nerve, Matt," said Glennie. "That -was a torpedo, all right, and it goes without saying that -the Japs discharged it from the <i>Pom</i>, under water. It -hit something, and was discharged, <i>but it didn't hit the -Grampus</i>."</p> - -<p>"No," answered Matt, his moody eyes resting on the -spot where the <i>Grampus</i> had been anchored, "the torpedo -didn't hit the <i>Grampus</i>, for the column of water -spouted up almost a fathom from the place where she -was moored; but the boat may have been destroyed by -the explosion, for all that. When the geyser dropped, -it covered the place where our submarine ought to have -been. But you can see, Glennie, she isn't there."</p> - -<p>Motor Matt had gone through many perils and difficulties -since he and his chums had started for "around -the Horn" with the <i>Grampus</i>, but he had never been so -greatly cast down as he was at that moment. He was -thinking of Carl, of Dick, and of the three brave men, -Speake, Gaines, and Clackett, who had stood shoulder to -shoulder with him through all the dangers that had -met them since leaving British Honduras.</p> - -<p>It was a good thing that Glennie, at that moment, was -so hopeful.</p> - -<p>"We haven't been able to see the <i>Grampus</i> for several -minutes, Matt," he observed. "In coming down the hill -from the casa, the boat was hidden from us."</p> - -<p>"All the same, Glennie, she was in her berth, whether -we saw her or not. If she hadn't been where we left -her, the Japs wouldn't have had any target, and the -torpedo would not have been exploded in that spot. If -it comes to that, the fact that we didn't see her goes to -show that she may have changed her position a little, and -have been right where the torpedo exploded."</p> - -<p>"I don't think that for a minute," averred Glennie -stoutly. "The last we saw of the <i>Grampus</i> all our friends -were on deck. If she had been torpedoed, we'd certainly -see some of the boys in the water. They were under -hatches when that Whitehead went off; and, if they were -under hatches, they may have been safe. I'm inclined to -think they were."</p> - -<p>"If the bottom plates of the submarine were blown -in," proceeded Matt, "she would sink and go down like -so much lead. Let's get into the boat and row out, -Glennie. We can see a good deal more if we're right -over the spot where the <i>Grampus</i> was anchored than we -can from here."</p> - -<p>Matt, suiting his action to the word, dropped hastily -over the edge of the wharf and into the boat. The -wharf was in a bad state of repair. The planks had -been torn from the piles, and a region of semi-darkness -stretched away under the floor.</p> - -<p>As Matt dropped into the boat, his face was turned -landward and his eyes rested for a moment on the gloom -that lay between the outer piles and the shore; but, -during that moment, he glimpsed something that gave -him a start. Unless he was greatly mistaken, he could -make out the dim shape of a human form crouching in -the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Cast off the painter, Glennie, quick!" he called.</p> - -<p>The ensign lifted the loop over the top of the post -and flung it into the boat.</p> - -<p>Grabbing the wharf planks, Matt gave a pull that -sent the boat in between the piles. He could hear shouts -of wild suspicion coming from Captain Pons and Captain -Arco. Unable to figure out what impelled Matt to -vanish under the wharf, they jumped to the conclusion -that he was doing something he ought not to do.</p> - -<p>Paying no attention to the frantic voices, or the frenzied -tramping on the planks overhead, the young motorist -continued to drag the boat onward toward the shore. -Several yards back from the edge of the wharf, the bow -of the boat struck against a timber that had one end -imbedded in the sand, while the other end rose upward, -clear of the water.</p> - -<p>The human form Matt had seen was lying upon the -timber. The man made no move to escape, or to protect -himself, and Matt was not long in discovering that he -was either dead or unconscious.</p> - -<p>For a moment Matt's heart was in his throat. His -fears, even against his better judgment, made him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -apprehensive that this form, lying helplessly on the timber -under the wharf, might be that of one of his friends.</p> - -<p>Close examination, however, proved his fears groundless. -The man was under medium height and had a -tawny skin. He was barefooted, bareheaded, and stripped -to his waist. Rolling him into the boat, Matt drew the -light craft back into the daylight at the edge of the -wharf.</p> - -<p>"What under the canopy are you about, Matt?" called -Glennie, from the edge of the wharf. Then, seeing the -man in the bottom of the boat, he gave vent to an astonished -whistle. "<i>That's</i> what you went under the -wharf for, eh? Where was that fellow?"</p> - -<p>"He was lying on a timber, just out of the water," -answered Matt. "The question is, where did he come -from, and what was he doing there?"</p> - -<p>"He looks as though he was stripped for swimming."</p> - -<p>"And he worked so hard in the water, and in getting -ashore, that he gave out and lost consciousness as soon -as he pulled himself upon that timber. The fact that -he was under the wharf proves that he didn't want anybody -to find him. He's a Jap, Glennie."</p> - -<p>A yell escaped Captain Pons, and he began talking -excitedly and pointing his finger at the Jap.</p> - -<p>"What does Pons say, Glennie?" Matt asked.</p> - -<p>"He says that that fellow was one of the men who -stole the <i>Pom</i>. The captain is very sure he is not -mistaken. There were five in the party."</p> - -<p>"Gif the r-r-rascal here!" cried Captain Pons, stretching -his arms downward, "gif heem to me! By gar, he -is one of ze t'ieves—ve haf captured one of ze t'ieves!"</p> - -<p>Matt lifted the unconscious man, and three pairs of -hands caught him from above and pulled him up on the -wharf. Hardly had the Jap touched the planks than, -with amazing suddenness, he jumped to his feet and -tried to run.</p> - -<p>"He was shamming!" exclaimed Glennie.</p> - -<p>"No," answered Matt, as the two negroes deftly caught -the fleeing Jap and flung him roughly down on his back, -"I'm positive he was not shamming, Glennie. He recovered -while we were lifting him to the wharf and -thought he could make a bolt and get away."</p> - -<p>As the two negroes held the prisoner down on the -planks, Captain Pons stepped to his side, bent over, and -shook a fist in his face.</p> - -<p>What the captain said was in Spanish, which he probably -used for the Jap's benefit, and Matt could not follow -his words further than to be sure that Pons was -threatening and reviling the man for the treacherous part -he and his countrymen had played.</p> - -<p>The prisoner looked up calmly into the Frenchman's -face, seeming to take his capture and his failure to -escape as a matter of course.</p> - -<p>"We get the torpedo," said he, in good English, the -moment Captain Pons ceased talking.</p> - -<p>"How did you get the torpedo?" queried Glennie, pushing -the captain aside and drawing closer to the prisoner.</p> - -<p>"I volunteered," went on the Jap, a note of ringing exultation -in his low voice; "they passed me through the -torpedo tube, and I cut the cable that secured the torpedo -to the other submarine, and made a rope fast from -our boat. It was hard work, all under water. Then I -swim ashore, but I am weak and faint and try to hide. -You have captured me. Do what you will. <i>Banzai</i>, -Nippon!"</p> - -<p>The Chilian could not understand English, and he was -consumed with curiosity. Captain Pons understood, however, -and the calmness of the prisoner, during his brief -recital, filled him with rage. He tried to strike the Jap, -but Glennie interfered.</p> - -<p>"Let him alone, Pons!" cried Glennie. "He thinks he -has done right. Anyhow, he's a prisoner, and a prisoner -should not be mistreated."</p> - -<p>"<i>Diable!</i>" ground out the captain. "He make ze brag -zat he steal ze torpedo! S-scoundr-r-el! He should -be hang', by gar!"</p> - -<p>Glennie turned to Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>"You heard, Matt?" he queried. "The Japs passed -this fellow out through the torpedo tube of the <i>Pom</i> -while the boat was under water. He made a line fast, -cut the cable securing the torpedo to our submarine, and -then swam ashore. A rare piece of work!"</p> - -<p>"Ask him about that torpedo attack on the <i>Grampus</i>," -said Matt. "See if you can find out anything about the -intentions of the other Japs."</p> - -<p>"You are one of the Sons of the Rising Sun?" queried -Glennie, again addressing the prisoner.</p> - -<p>A gleam darted through the Jap's eyes.</p> - -<p>"I say nothing," he answered. "I have told about -the torpedo. But I tell you nothing more. It is all for -Nippon, for my beloved country."</p> - -<p>"That's the way with those fellows," said Matt disappointedly. -"He wouldn't speak another word even if -he was tortured. I'm surprised that he said what he did -about the torpedo. Turn him over to Pons and the -captain of the port, Glennie, and let's row out into the -bay and see if we can learn anything about the fate of -the <i>Grampus</i>."</p> - -<p>Matt's face was haggard with fear and anxiety. He -had had a bad half hour, since the explosion of the -torpedo and the disappearance of the <i>Grampus</i>, and his -face reflected the intensity of his feelings.</p> - -<p>Glennie turned away from the prisoner and stepped to -the edge of the wharf. He paused there for a moment, -rigid as a statue, his eyes wandering over the surface of -the bay.</p> - -<p>Motor Matt, wondering at his manner, likewise directed -his gaze off over the water. As he did so, Glennie -recovered his wits abruptly and gave vent to an exultant -yell.</p> - -<p>"Hurrah!" he roared, jerking off his cap and waving -it. "What's the matter with the motor boys, Matt? -We've had our worry all for nothing!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">CHASING A TORPEDO.</p> - - -<p>Dick and Carl, together with the rest of the crew of -the <i>Grampus</i>, did a lot of guessing after Matt and Glennie -left them with the captain of the port.</p> - -<p>The commotion kicked up by the torpedo put a sudden -and effectual stop to their speculations. Carl, Dick, -and Speake were on deck when the Whitehead began its -peculiar performance, and the jerks administered to the -<i>Grampus</i> by the tow line quickly brought Gaines and -Clackett up through the tower hatch.</p> - -<p>"Ach, du lieber!" cried Carl. "See vonce vat has habbened -mit der dorpeto. A vale has got dangled oop mit -der tow line; oder oof id don'd vas a vale id vas a shark,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> -und a pig feller, I bed you. Vat a funny pitzness! -From der actions, id looks like der dorpeto vas alife."</p> - -<p>"Whale!" scoffed Dick. "Don't you believe that a -whale, or shark, either, has got anything to do with -that."</p> - -<p>"Vat it iss, den?"</p> - -<p>"I give it up. What do you think, Speake?"</p> - -<p>"Ask me something easy," answered Speake. "Mebby -something has got loose inside the torpedo—compressed -air, or something—and that that is what's putting the big -tube through its jig."</p> - -<p>"Led's pull in der line," suggested Carl, "und make der -dorpeto pehave."</p> - -<p>"Not on your life!" cried Dick. "It's full of dynamite, -and I'll never let the <i>Grampus</i> get any closer to that infernal -machine than she is now."</p> - -<p>"Matt vants dot dorpeto or he vouldn't haf taken der -drouple to tow her in."</p> - -<p>"Matt can have it, matey, but I don't intend to board -a Whitehead when it's dancing a hornpipe. If the dynamite -should happen to let go——"</p> - -<p>Dick was interrupted by a chorus of surprised yells -from the rest of his companions.</p> - -<p>The torpedo, kicking one end high in the air, had -taken a "header" toward the bottom of the bay.</p> - -<p>"Dot means goot-by," murmured the amazed Carl. -"Der vale's run off mit it. Bedder dot vale look a leedle -oudt und not knock his tail too hardt against der dorpeto. -Oof he do dot, den, py shinks, he make some -mincemeat out oof himseluf."</p> - -<p>"Great guns!" exclaimed Gaines. "What do you suppose -did that, Dick?"</p> - -<p>"More mysterious things have happened to us since we -left Magellan Strait," ruminated Dick, "than ever came -our way before. Suppose we haul in on the tow line and -have a look at the end of it."</p> - -<p>The line was pulled aboard. There were some forty -feet of it, and the end was sliced off clean.</p> - -<p>"A knife did that!" declared Clackett.</p> - -<p>"Der vale dit id mit his teet'," asserted Carl, who -always hung to one of his own theories like a dog to -a bone.</p> - -<p>"Bosh, Clackett!" scoffed Gaines. "How could a knife -have done that? Who was down there to cut the rope?"</p> - -<p>"It don't make any difference what separated the -rope," put in Speake, "the thing was done, and something -or other is running away with Motor Matt's torpedo. -Matt must have wanted that Whitehead or he -wouldn't have gone to the trouble to tow it in. Are -we going to let it get away from us?"</p> - -<p>"How can we help it?" inquired Clackett.</p> - -<p>"We can follow it," asserted Speake.</p> - -<p>"We haven't any business taking the <i>Grampus</i> from -her anchorage while Matt's ashore," said Gaines.</p> - -<p>"I guess Matt wouldn't mind if we took a dive along -the bottom of the bay to overhaul that runaway torpedo," -remarked Dick.</p> - -<p>"Sure, nod!" chimed in Carl. "Matt vill be as madt -as some vet hens ven ve tell him der dorpeto skyhooted -avay mit itseluf und ve ditn't do nodding to shdop id."</p> - -<p>"We'll chance it, anyway, mates," said Dick. "I'm -always in command whenever our old raggie is off the -boat. Get down to the motor, Gaines. Clackett, get -after the tanks. Come below, the rest of you, and let -the last man down secure the hatch."</p> - -<p>Speake was the last one to drop down the hatch. The -ballast tanks were already filling as he stepped off the -iron ladder upon the floor of the periscope room.</p> - -<p>Dick was at the wheel.</p> - -<p>"Turn on the electric projector, Speake," said Dick. -"I'm going up into the tower and do the steering from -there."</p> - -<p>Dick got just two rounds up the ladder when a muffled -roar enveloped the <i>Grampus</i>, and she was heaved -violently over until the tower was almost on a level with -her keel.</p> - -<p>Carl, who had been inspecting the periscope, was thrown -violently against the rounded wall over the locker. -Speake, just reaching up to turn the electric switch that -sent a current through the wires of the projector, went -head over heels against one of the bulkheads. As for -Dick, he pulled off a remarkable stunt at ground and -lofty tumbling, winding up with his head under the -periscope table and his heels in the air.</p> - -<p>Yells came in muffled volume from below, proving -that Gaines and Clackett were likewise having their -troubles.</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i> righted herself almost as quickly as -she had flopped over. This, taking place before those -aboard had had a chance to adjust themselves, still -further complicated matters.</p> - -<p>When every one was finally right side up, Dick jumped -to the speaking tubes.</p> - -<p>"How are you down there, Gaines?" he called.</p> - -<p>"I turned a handspring over the motor," came back -the voice of Gaines, "but I guess I didn't damage anything."</p> - -<p>"I stood on my head in one of the accumulators," -added Clackett through the tank-room tube. "We turned -turtle there for about half a minute. What caused it, -Dick? I heard an explosion, too."</p> - -<p>"That bally old torpedo must have gone off," answered -Dick. "No use hunting for it now."</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it was that torpedo that exploded," -said Speake. "What could have set it off?"</p> - -<p>"Der vale shlowed oop a leedle," explained Carl, "und -id run indo him. I bed you somet'ing for nodding dere -iss vale all ofer der pay."</p> - -<p>"We're in luck, anyhow," exulted Dick. "This old -flugee is as trim and steady as ever. Now that we're -down near the bottom we'll cruise a little and see what -we can discover. We've got an hour or two, I guess, -before Matt and Glennie get back to the landing and -want to come aboard. Slow speed, Gaines," he called.</p> - -<p>Hurrying up into the conning tower, Dick pressed his -eyes against the forward lunettes. The trail of light, -reaching out through the lunette, illuminated the murky -waters for several yards beyond the point of the submarine's -bow.</p> - -<p>There was a commotion in the depths, and fishes were -darting in all directions.</p> - -<p>Steering from the ladder, Dick headed the <i>Grampus</i> -toward the north. They had not gone far before Dick -saw something which made him rub his eyes.</p> - -<p>"Am I doing a calk," he muttered, "or are these -lamps of mine making a monkey's fist of their work? -Strike me lucky! Carl! Look into the periscope!"</p> - -<p>A vague shape was passing through the gleam of the -search light. It looked like a huge cigar, its pointed end -tilted slightly upward. At the rear of the object there -was a flurry of water.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Id's a vale!" boomed Carl, whose mind seemed to -be running on whales that day.</p> - -<p>"It's another submarine," gasped Speake, "that's what -it is. I wonder if Matt didn't know there was another -submarine in these waters?"</p> - -<p>"Watch!" cried Dick excitedly. "What's that behind -the thing?"</p> - -<p>The other boat was moving in a course that angled -slightly with the direction the <i>Grampus</i> was following. -Because of this the second craft was some time in -passing through the glow of the search light.</p> - -<p>As Dick called out, those at the periscope table saw -the Whitehead torpedo glide into the gleam from the -electric projector. A rope held the forward end of the -torpedo to the stern of the other submarine, the buoyancy -of the steel cylinder causing its rear part to stand almost -straight up in the water.</p> - -<p>It was an odd procession the boat and the torpedo -made as they defiled through the pencil of light.</p> - -<p>"Dot's der feller vat shtole Matt's dorpeto!" cried -Carl. "Run against der rope, Tick, und preak der dorpeto -loose."</p> - -<p>"Not much, I won't, matey," breathed Dick. "We're -not going to take any chances with <i>that</i> Whitehead."</p> - -<p>"It certainly wasn't that torpedo that went off, a little -while ago, Dick," observed Speake.</p> - -<p>"Right-o," Dick answered, startled by the thought this -remark of Speake's had aroused. "It was a torpedo, -though, and that other craft must have launched it at -us."</p> - -<p>"Ach, himmelblitzen!" gasped Carl. "For vy should -dot odder poat shoot some dorpetos ad us, hey?"</p> - -<p>"Give it up, Carl, unless there are some of those Sons -of the Rising Sun aboard."</p> - -<p>Dick slid down the ladder in a hurry.</p> - -<p>"Empty the tanks, Clackett!" he sang out. "We've -got to hustle out of this," he added to Carl and Speake, -"before they shoot another Whitehead at us. Keelhaul -me, but this will be news for Matt. We've got to tell -him about it as soon as ever we can get the <i>Grampus</i> -back to her old berth."</p> - -<p>Two minutes later the submarine lifted her turtle-like -back out of the waves. Dick headed her south, and Carl -and Speake pushed open the hatch and went out on the -wet plates. Dick ascended the ladder to steer from the -hatch. Hardly had he got head and shoulders into the -outside air when a shout from Carl and Speake drew -his eyes toward the wharf.</p> - -<p>Matt and Glennie, and a few more the boys did not -know, were on the landing. Glennie was yelling and -waving his cap.</p> - -<p>"Vat's der madder mit him, I vonder?" queried Carl. -"He vouldn't be doing dot oof he knowed aboudt dot -odder poat und der dorpeto."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">NORTHWARD BOUND.</p> - - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i> had no more than dropped anchor in her -old berth than Matt, Glennie, Captain Pons, the captain -of the port, and the negroes were alongside in the boat.</p> - -<p>"Great spark plugs," cried Matt, "but you fellows -gave me a scare."</p> - -<p>"Vell, bard," answered Carl, "ve vas a leedle schared -ourselufs."</p> - -<p>"Here's another scare for you, matey," called Dick. -"The Sons of the Rising Sun have a submarine of their -own, and are after us. They were here, off Lota, and -just went north with that torpedo in tow."</p> - -<p>"Jupiter!" exclaimed Glennie. "How did you fellows -know that?"</p> - -<p>"You act as though it wasn't any news to you."</p> - -<p>"It isn't, but we thought you fellows were not informed -and would fall a victim to the <i>Pom</i>."</p> - -<p>"<i>Pom?</i>" echoed Dick.</p> - -<p>"That's the name of the other submarine," went on -Matt. "She's a French craft and was brought here by -this man, Captain Pons, to be turned over to the Chilian -government. Five Japs worked a trick and succeeded -in getting hold of her."</p> - -<p>"Why, how——"</p> - -<p>"We'll tell you all about it later, Dick. Where were -you when that torpedo went off?"</p> - -<p>"Just diving to the bottom to go hunting for the other -torpedo. That Whitehead they fired never touched us."</p> - -<p>"It must have touched something," put in Speake, "or -the firing pin wouldn't have got in its work."</p> - -<p>"It hit a harbor buoy," said Matt. "At least, the -captain of the port says there was a buoy at this point. -As it isn't here now, it must have been demolished. It's -a lucky thing for all of us that the buoy was between the -<i>Grampus</i> and the Whitehead. Glennie and I will go back -to the shore, Dick, and get a barrel of gasoline. You -get the hose rigged and have everything ready to discharge -the gasoline in short order. We're northward -bound, and are going to get away from these waters -just as quick as the nation will let us."</p> - -<p>There was something of a disappointment in this for -the men on the submarine. They had hoped for a -chance to stretch their legs ashore, but they appreciated -the necessity of getting the <i>Grampus</i> out of harm's way -as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>"Won't the <i>Pom</i> lay for us as we pull out of the -bay, Matt?" asked Dick.</p> - -<p>"She can't lay for us. You see, she had only two torpedoes. -One of those was destroyed in the attack made -on the <i>Grampus</i> in the bay; the other one the <i>Pom</i> is -dragging off to some place where she can get it in shape -for work. We need not fear any attack from the Sons of -the Rising Sun until the other Whitehead is ready for -use. If we act quickly, we can get well away from the -<i>Pom</i> before she becomes dangerous."</p> - -<p>"<i>Diable!</i>" rasped out Captain Pons. "Is it ze American -vay to r-run from ze enemy? Pur-r-r-soo and capture, -zat is ze sing. I will go wiz you, <i>oui</i>, I, myself, -Captain Pons. You will help me get back ze <i>Pom</i>. -Eh?"</p> - -<p>"We're not here to take any risks with the <i>Grampus</i>, -captain," said Matt. "Responsibility for the safety of -the boat rests on my shoulders, and you'll have to -get some Chilian war ship to help you."</p> - -<p>"Zat is not right!" cried the captain. "One mariner -is in ze duty bound to help anozzer mariner in ze distress. -Me, I call on you. You refuse, zen zat is mos' -contemptible."</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry you look at it in that way, captain," replied -Matt; "but it's just possible I know my own business -better than you do."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> - -<p>Captain Pons had a little fit all by himself, and while -he had it he was saying unpleasant things.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with the frog eater?" cried Dick. -"Throw him overboard!"</p> - -<p>Matt signed for the captain of the port to have the -negro oarsmen get the boat back to the landing. The -captain at once gave the order and the boat danced -away in the direction of the wharf.</p> - -<p>Captain Pons was still calling down anathemas on the -heads of all Americans who refused to help a Frenchman -in "ze distress."</p> - -<p>"By gar," he cried, "I vill vire my government how -you haf treat' me! I vill use ze cable, and let ze president -of my country know it all. It is mos' contemptible!"</p> - -<p>"Captain," said Matt, "we are not allowed to take any -strangers aboard the <i>Grampus</i>. Our submarine has appliances -which put her so far ahead of every other boat -in her class that we are all under seal of secrecy and -are bound by a pledge to keep strangers away. So, you -see, it would be impossible for you to take a cruise in -the <i>Grampus</i>."</p> - -<p>Captain Pons glared.</p> - -<p>"It is mos' contemptible!" was all he could say.</p> - -<p>Matt and Glennie, without delaying further, pushed -into the town. Matt had little difficulty in finding the -gasoline he wanted. He had to go to two or three -places before he found fuel that answered the severe -tests he put it to, but finally he got what he desired and -had it hauled to the landing.</p> - -<p>The captain of the port was not in evidence, but his -two negroes were waiting at the boat.</p> - -<p>Matt had come down to the wharf in the wagon that -brought the gasoline, and Glennie had been left to follow -on foot. The ensign put in an appearance just as the -barrel had been transferred to the boat. Matt was surprised -to see him carrying a rifle.</p> - -<p>The only firearms aboard the <i>Grampus</i> consisted of a -six-shooter which had accompanied the ensign when he -first assumed his duties on the submarine.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do with that, Glennie?" -laughed Matt. "Shoot Japs?"</p> - -<p>"Well, no, not exactly," answered Glennie, "There -are a good many ways in which a weapon of this sort -might come in handy, besides using it for shooting Japs. -It's an American gun, Matt—a Marlin. It looked sort -of homelike, so I just took it in, along with a box of -cartridges."</p> - -<p>If Matt hated one thing more than another, it was a -gun. He had seen firearms used so recklessly while he -was in the Southwest that he had acquired a strong -prejudice against them. Notwithstanding this fact, he -was a crack shot, and had more than once carried off -the prize in a shooting contest.</p> - -<p>"All right, Glennie," said he, although a trifle reluctantly, -"bring it along."</p> - -<p>"You don't like guns, Matt," observed the ensign as -he lowered himself into the boat and dropped down on -one of the thwarts.</p> - -<p>"Or knives, either," added Matt, "when they are -used to get the better of another fellow. A pair of fists -make pretty good weapons."</p> - -<p>"Fists are all right," laughed Glennie, "so long as -the other chap uses them; but when you find an enemy -standing off forty or fifty feet and looking at you over -the sights of a gun—well, that's the time another gun -would be mighty valuable."</p> - -<p>By the time the small boat fell in alongside the <i>Grampus</i>, -Dick, Carl, and the rest had the hose ready and it -took only a few moments to rig the pump. Presently the -gasoline was flowing down the tower hatch and into the -reservoir below.</p> - -<p>Dick, keeping one eye on the negroes while they bent -over the pump handles, leaned against the conning tower -and heaved a long breath.</p> - -<p>"I'm hoping, old ship," said he to Matt, "that we'll be -able to leave the Japs behind, this time, for good and -all. Those on the <i>Pom</i> must have seen us while we had -their craft under our search light, and I guessed good -and hard why they didn't turn and send another torpedo -at us. I didn't know, you see, that they only had two -Whiteheads to their blessed name. We could have pulled -their fangs if we had opened up that torpedo and took -out the dynamite."</p> - -<p>"I intended," answered Matt, "to take the torpedo -aboard through one of our tubes as soon as we reached -this harbor, but the captain of the port came down on us -before I had the chance."</p> - -<p>"How did you find out about that submarine, and the -Japs being in charge of her?"</p> - -<p>Matt straightened out this point to his chum's satisfaction. -That part of Matt's recital which had to do -with the Jap who had been captured under the wharf -was particularly interesting to Dick.</p> - -<p>"Those fellows don't care a rap for their own lives," -muttered Dick, "and that's what makes 'em such nasty -fighters. When that fellow got out through the <i>Pom's</i> -torpedo tube, he must have come up directly under the -Whitehead. By hugging the torpedo close, he could have -got his head out of water without any of us on the -<i>Grampus</i> seeing him. But he took long chances, just -the same, and there are only four Japs left to navigate -the other craft. The work probably calls for all hands, -and there's bound to be a time when the <i>Pom</i> can't run -for lack of hands to navigate her. The Japs are only -human, and they'll have to have a spell of rest like every -one else."</p> - -<p>"We've got a good chance to show them our heels," -said Matt, "and it's our duty to make the most of it."</p> - -<p>"I'm a Fiji, though," said Dick, "if I don't hate to -run away from those Sons of the Rising Sun. It looks -as though the United States and Great Britain had -struck their colors to the yellow rascals."</p> - -<p>"I feel the same way, Dick, but this submarine is worth -a hundred thousand dollars, and we're only her trustees. -It's our duty not to take any chances with her."</p> - -<p>"Right-o, matey. I understand that just as well as -you do. Captain Nemo, Jr., ought to give you a good -slice of that hundred thousand when you tie up the -<i>Grampus</i> at the navy-yard wharf."</p> - -<p>"I'm not looking for that, Dick," returned Motor Matt -earnestly. "It's the idea of <i>making good</i> that appeals to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -me beyond anything and everything else. It isn't so -much the money that comes to us for what we do, but -the way we toe the scratch that counts."</p> - -<p>An hour later all preliminaries were finished and the -<i>Grampus</i> was off up the bay, tanks emptied and steel -hull high in the water, her motors humming and setting -a record pace.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A HALT FOR REPAIRS.</p> - - -<p>Late in the afternoon of the day they left Lota Bay -the <i>Grampus</i> spoke the British ship <i>Sovereign</i>, bound -from Santiago to Liverpool. By means of a megaphone, -Matt had a brief talk with the captain of the sailing -vessel.</p> - -<p>"What craft is that?" inquired the British captain, after -answering Matt's hail with information concerning his -own vessel.</p> - -<p>"The submarine <i>Grampus</i>," answered Matt, "six -weeks out from Belize, British Honduras, and bound for -San Francisco."</p> - -<p>"My word!" came from the other megaphone. "Sure -about that?"</p> - -<p>Matt was "stumped." It was certainly an odd question -to ask.</p> - -<p>"Of course I'm sure of it. Why?"</p> - -<p>"Well, we passed another submarine, two hours ago, -and she was towing a torpedo. Said she had discharged -it at a target and was going to beach it somewhere, and -get it in shape for further use. But the bally joke of -it is that the captain of that other submarine said that <i>his</i> -boat was the United States submarine <i>Grampus</i>. It's -a main queer go if there are two submarines of that -name both belonging to the United States Government."</p> - -<p>"Well, what do you think of that?" muttered Glennie, -leaning out of the hatch. "The nerve of it!"</p> - -<p>"That other boat was the <i>Pom</i>," called back Matt, -"sent over to Chili by a firm of French shipbuilders. She -was stolen from the harbor of Lota by a handful of -Japs."</p> - -<p>"Fancy that! Those Japs are——"</p> - -<p>The rest of it Matt could not hear. The two boats -had merely spoken each other in passing and were -quickly out of reach of each other's megaphones.</p> - -<p>"Those Sons of the Rising Sun are stealing our thunder," -remarked Glennie.</p> - -<p>"I suppose," returned Matt, "that it's a heap safer -for the Japs to call their boat the <i>Grampus</i> than the <i>Pom</i>. -If they happened to speak a vessel that knew of the -stealing of the <i>Pom</i> results might prove disastrous if -they told the truth."</p> - -<p>Matt descended to the periscope room to give the news -to Carl and Dick.</p> - -<p>"Dot's der vorst yet!" grunted Carl. "Der itee oof -dem Chaps calling deir old frog-eader poat der <i>Grampus</i>! -I don'd like dot. Id vas some insulds."</p> - -<p>"I guess we can stand it, Carl," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"Did Pons tell you anything about that French submarine, -matey?" inquired Dick.</p> - -<p>"A little, but not as much as I would have liked to -learn. The <i>Pom</i>, I infer, is smaller than the <i>Grampus</i>, -and is propelled by electricity when submerged and by -gasoline on the surface. She's only able to stay under -water an hour. Captain Nemo, Jr., could teach those -French builders a trick or two with his patent submerged -exhausts."</p> - -<p>"How's her diving? Can't she remain submerged -longer than an hour with her ballast tanks full and her -electric motor quiet?"</p> - -<p>"No. Her rudders keep her below the surface, and -the diving rudders won't work unless her motor's -going."</p> - -<p>"She don'd amoundt to mooch, oof dot's der case," -commented Carl. "Der <i>Grampus</i> has got der <i>Pom</i> -shkinned bot' vays for Suntay. I bed you somet'ing for -nodding der <i>Pom</i> couldn't have come aroundt der bottom -end oof Sout' America like vat ve dit. <i>Pom!</i> She vas -vat der French fellers call a <i>pomme de terre</i>, by vich, -ven I so expression meinseluf, I mean a botato. -Whoosh!" and the Dutch boy gave a grunt of disgust.</p> - -<p>The night fell clear and bright. It was Matt's intention -to continue running during the night, but submerged -so that only the periscope ball was awash.</p> - -<p>When the time came to fill the ballast tanks, however, -an unexpected difficulty presented itself—a difficulty -which had almost brought overwhelming disaster -once before, when the <i>Grampus</i> had just emerged from -Magellan Strait: the Kingston valves by mean of which -the tanks were operated failed to work.</p> - -<p>This was no particular fault of the valves, but of some -damage that had been done to them, and which caused -them to go wrong occasionally—and usually at the most -inopportune times.</p> - -<p>Matt had made up his mind that new valves would -have to be put in, but that was a job which would necessarily -have to wait until the submarine reached the end of -her long journey.</p> - -<p>Repairing the valves would take several hours, and -Matt decided to stay on the surface and put in a little -bay on Quiriquina Island.</p> - -<p>It was not necessary to reach the island before morning -and when Dick relieved Gaines at the motor, a call -for half speed went through the speaking tube to the -motor room.</p> - -<p>The young motorist studied his charts, then, with the -surroundings of the islands clearly in mind, took the -steering wheel himself and laid his course by compass.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was about five o'clock in the morning when the -<i>Grampus</i> rounded a bluff headland and took a due east -course across Tona Bay. Quiriquina Island loomed up -clear and distinct against the gray dawn hovering in the -eastern skies.</p> - -<p>The cove which Matt selected as a berth for the submarine -while repairs were being made had a sloping -beach of white sand. It was virtually a bay within a bay, -and the waters were as calm as those of an inland lake.</p> - -<p>As soon as the anchors were down, all hands came on -deck to get a whiff of the morning air.</p> - -<p>"We'd better have breakfast before we tackle the -valves, hadn't we, Matt?" inquired Speake. "I know -I can work better on a full stomach, and I suppose the -rest of you can."</p> - -<p>"Good idea, Speake," returned Matt. "I had thought -about that, but supposed you would like to loaf a little -and not pen yourself up in the torpedo room with an -electric stove."</p> - -<p>"Those confounded valves bother me," grumbled -Speake, "and I couldn't loaf and enjoy myself if I had -to think about them."</p> - -<p>"They bother me, too," added Glennie, "and I believe -I'll go below and look them over."</p> - -<p>"I'll go with you," said Clackett. "We can make a -preliminary survey and then get busy right after breakfast. -Plenty of chance to loaf during my watch below."</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you fellows so industrious," laughed Matt. -"Perhaps, if you are real smart, you can get those valves -fixed by breakfast time, and the rest of us won't have to -tinker with them."</p> - -<p>"You'll be needed, Matt, when it comes to the fixing," -answered Glennie, as he climbed into the conning -tower.</p> - -<p>Clackett followed him.</p> - -<p>"I guess I'll go down, too," yawned Gaines, "and -catch forty winks on top of the periscope-room locker. -This morning air is fine, but I'm satisfied to take my -share through the open hatch."</p> - -<p>He followed Clackett into the tower. Dick, descending -to the edge of the rounded deck, peered into the clear -depths of the water below.</p> - -<p>"I can see our cable, mates," said he, "and our anchor -with one fluke in the sand. Come on, Carl. Let's take -a swim before breakfast."</p> - -<p>"Nod me, Tick," answered Carl. "I feel like loafing, -und shvimming iss too mooch like vork."</p> - -<p>"How about you, Matt?"</p> - -<p>"I feel as Carl does," said Matt. "Take your swim -if you want to, Dick, and Carl and I will be the anchor -watch."</p> - -<p>Dick was out of his clothes in a jiffy. "So long," -he called, as he took a "header" from the bow of the -boat.</p> - -<p>He was perfectly at home in the water, and when Matt -saw him swimming out toward a headland that walled in -the cove on the south, he thought little of it. When he -saw that Dick was intending to swim around the point, -however, he stood up and called out a warning. But -Dick only laughed and kept on until he was out of sight.</p> - -<p>"He von't go so far dot he can't ged pack again," -remarked Carl. "He iss like a fish, Tick iss, und he -feels pedder in der vater as oudt oof id."</p> - -<p>Carl, for some days, had been wearing an outfit of -sailor togs which he had found in the slop chest of the -submarine. He was trying to be as nautical as possible, -so that he could "shiver his timbers" and "dash his deadeyes" -with the best of them when the <i>Grampus</i> reached -San Francisco.</p> - -<p>"I can valk like a sailor," remarked Carl, getting up -from his seat by the tower, "und aboudt all I lack now iss -to be aple to hitch oop my drousers like vat a sailor -does. How iss der vay oof it, Matt?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind that part of it, Carl," laughed Matt. -"You'll be enough of a sailor at the end of this cruise, -even if you don't know how to hitch up your trousers. -Besides," and Matt squinted at him critically, "I doubt -if you could ever do the trick."</p> - -<p>"For vy nod?"</p> - -<p>"Why, the trousers are too tight a fit around the -waist."</p> - -<p>"Yah, so, aber dey're so pig a fit oop und down dot I -valk on der pottoms, und id iss eider hitch dem oop oder -cut dem off. Now, vatch. Meppy id goes like dis."</p> - -<p>Carl jumped into the air, grapped the band of the -trousers with one hand in front and the other behind, -and kicked out his legs. When he came down, his feet -were so far apart that they slipped on the rounded -plates, and he went down and rolled over and over. -Matt grabbed him just in the nick of time to keep him -out of the water.</p> - -<p>"Look out," warned Matt, "or you'll take a swim -whether you want to or not."</p> - -<p>"I guess dot I leaf der hitching pitzness oudt," said -the chagrined Carl, "aber id vas so bicturesque dot I vish -I could manach id. Now, ven I——"</p> - -<p>Carl was interrupted by a shout, wafted toward them -from across the cove. He and Matt started up and saw -Dick swimming in their direction with all his might.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, Dick?" called Matt.</p> - -<p>"Sharks!" came back the breathless answer.</p> - -<p>Matt was no more than a second making up his mind -what he should do. To help Dick by bringing the -<i>Grampus</i> closer to him was out of the question—disaster -might overtake the young sailor before the anchor could -be lifted from the bottom.</p> - -<p>"Ach, himmelblitzen!" murmured Carl fearfully. "Vat -ve going to do, Matt?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Below with you, quick!" flung back the king of the -motor boys. "Glennie's rifle is in the periscope room. Get -that and a coil of rope and hustle back here."</p> - -<p>Carl, shaking with excitement, hurried to carry out -the order. As he vanished into the tower, Matt went forward -toward the bow of the boat, keeping his keen eyes -on Dick.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">DICK MAKES A DISCOVERY.</p> - - -<p>The ability of the king of the motor boys to "keep -his head" in trying situations had more than once turned -the tide for himself and his chums. Matt could become -as excited as anybody, but excitement never interfered -with the steadiness of his nerves or with his ability to -think quickly and resourcefully in time of danger.</p> - -<p>Far beyond Dick Matt could see a black, triangular -fin slitting the water, tacking this way and that, but -coming closer and closer to the young sailor.</p> - -<p>Dick was swimming rapidly, but the shark, of course, -was cutting through the water at a much faster gait. -Had the shark laid a straight course for its intended victim, -the latter would long since have been overtaken.</p> - -<p>With a keen eye Motor Matt made a quick estimate -of the distance separating Dick and the shark from the -boat. He concluded that Dick could not by any possibility -reach the <i>Grampus</i> before the shark would be upon -him, but the sea scavenger would be close enough for a -good shot.</p> - -<p>Carl, in a veritable tremor of excitement, rolled over -the top of the conning tower with the rifle in one hand -and a coil of rope in the other.</p> - -<p>"Don'd led dot shark ged avay mit Tick," he pleaded, -handing the rifle to Matt. "Pud a pullet righdt indo dot -shark, Matt, mitoudt vaiting any longer as bossiple."</p> - -<p>"I've got to wait until I can get a good shot, Carl," -answered Matt, "and that time will come when the -shark goes over on its back."</p> - -<p>"Ven id does dot," quavered Carl, "id iss retty to bite. -Oof you make a miss, Matt, id iss all ofer mit Tick."</p> - -<p>"I'll not make a miss. Get a clamp on your nerves and -be ready to throw the rope as soon as Dick comes near -enough."</p> - -<p>"My teet' chatter a leedle," whimpered Carl, "aber my -nerfs iss all righdt. Don'd you be afraidt pecause I am, -Tick," he cried. "Schvim like der Olt Poy vas afder -you!"</p> - -<p>Dick had need of all his breath and could not waste -any in useless words. He was coming through the -water at a fierce clip, his arms working like piston rods -in a fine, steady, overhand stroke. He could see Matt -on the deck with the rifle ready, and he knew that whatever -the king of the motor boys could do would be done.</p> - -<p>"Ach, shood, shood!" implored Carl, watching the -black fin zigzagging nearer and nearer. "Don'd vait, -Matt!"</p> - -<p>But Matt paid no attention to Carl. He knew what -kind of a target he wanted, and that the shark would give -it to him if he waited.</p> - -<p>When Dick was about a dozen feet from the boat, the -right moment came. With a flip of its tail the shark -leaped partly out of the water and turned on its back, -its great jaws opening.</p> - -<p>Matt had braced himself firmly and lifted the Marlin -repeater to his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Fire avay, kevick!" clamored Carl, and just then Matt -pulled the trigger.</p> - -<p>It was a bull's-eye hit. Straight to its mark leaped -the murderous bit of lead, and the shark, stunned by the -impact of the bullet, snapped its jaws harmlessly together -and sank downward in the reddening water.</p> - -<p>"You're all right, Dick!" cried Matt. "Toss the rope, -Carl."</p> - -<p>Carl threw the line and Dick laid hold of it. The report -of the rifle brought Gaines from the periscope room, -Glennie and Clackett from the tank room, and Speake -from the torpedo room in short order. All of them were -on the deck just as Matt and Carl assisted Dick out of -the water.</p> - -<p>"What's the rumpus?" inquired Gaines.</p> - -<p>Matt pointed to the shark, which was floating, belly -up, on the water.</p> - -<p>"Your rifle did it, Glennie," said Matt. "If it hadn't -been for that, nothing could have saved Dick. I didn't -think there was a shark within miles of us when Dick -went into the water."</p> - -<p>Dick was nearly fagged. The tremendous exertion he -had put forth had tried him severely.</p> - -<p>"It was foolish of me to go around that point," said -Dick, leaning back against the conning tower, "but I'm -glad I did."</p> - -<p>"Dot's funny," returned Carl. "Glad you vent aroundt -der point und shdirred oop dot shark! How you make -dot oudt?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I made a discovery," went on Dick. "If I -hadn't made that discovery, like enough I'd have kept -on swimming and have got so far away the shark would -surely have nipped me before I could have got back -close enough for Matt to shoot."</p> - -<p>"What was the discovery?" asked Glennie.</p> - -<p>"There's another cove around the point, a good deal -like this one. The <i>Pom</i> is there, close inshore, and——"</p> - -<p>"Der Chaps!" breathed Carl, thunderstruck.</p> - -<p>"The <i>Pom</i>!" exclaimed Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Here's a piece of luck!" ground out Gaines. "Who'd -have thought we'd moor ship alongside the same island -picked out by the Japs! There seems to be a fatality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -about our dealings with these Sons of the Rising Sun. -Even after we dodge them we have the knack of dropping -right into their hands again."</p> - -<p>"Mebby," suggested Speake, "they saw us and followed -us to the island."</p> - -<p>"Hardly that, mate," spoke up Dick. "They've beached -that torpedo, and all four of the Japs are ashore, tinkering -with it."</p> - -<p>Matt was puzzled to know what to do. If the Japs -had not heard the rifle shot, it would be possible for the -<i>Grampus</i> to haul in her anchor and slip away, unnoticed, -providing the tank valves were repaired and she could -leave the bay under water. But this manœuvre would -leave a threatening danger behind, and Matt and his -friend would never feel safe from an unexpected attack.</p> - -<p>In that critical moment, Motor Matt would have given -a deal if he could have known all about the <i>Pom</i> and her -capabilities. For a few moments he stood on the deck, -turning the situation over and over in his mind, his eyes -on the point around which lay the hostile submarine.</p> - -<p>"How far is the <i>Pom</i> anchored off the shore, Dick?" -he asked.</p> - -<p>"Not more than half a cable's length."</p> - -<p>"Do you think the Japs saw you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm sure they didn't—they were too busy with that -torpedo. But they may have heard me yell, or the report -of that gun may have reached them. They have good -ears, those fellows."</p> - -<p>"Get into your clothes, Dick," said Matt, having at -last made up his mind as to what he should do. "After -that, take the rifle and sit here on the deck. Watch that -point of land. If the Japs fix that torpedo so they are -able to use it, they will have to come around the point -in order to launch it at us. Finish getting the breakfast, -Speake. Gaines will pass it around as soon as you have -it ready. Clackett and I will go below and see what we -can do with those valves. Don't bother us with any -breakfast until we have them once more in working order."</p> - -<p>"What are Carl and I to do, Matt?" inquired Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Stay up here with Dick, and keep your eyes peeled."</p> - -<p>Matt, Clackett, and Speake went below. Matt and -Clackett were an hour at the valves before they were -finally made dependable. All the while they were at -work a deep silence reigned throughout the boat. Every -one realized the necessity of keeping quiet so as not to -arouse the Japs.</p> - -<p>Matt, after swallowing a cup of coffee, came out on -deck and began taking off his clothes.</p> - -<p>"What's the game, matey?" asked Dick. "You're not -going into the water and give the sharks a chance at -you, are you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going ashore," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't do that, Matt," counseled Glennie. "Why -is it necessary? If the valves are in shape, we can pull -out of here and make our way north under water. The -Japs will never be the wiser."</p> - -<p>"I'm tired of bothering with these Sons of the Rising -Sun," Matt answered. "We never know what they're -going to do, or when they're going to do it. I thought -we had dropped them for good, down below English -Reach, but they were clever enough to get away from -Sandoval and play that trick in Lota. If possible, let's -put them out of the running, now, for keeps."</p> - -<p>"How will you do it?" questioned Gaines.</p> - -<p>"I'm not just sure of that, and won't be until I do a -little reconnoitring ashore. I've a scheme in mind, but -I want to be positive it will work before we try it. Go -down to the engine room, Gaines, and, Clackett, you -take your usual place in the tank room. Heave up the -anchor, Speake. Glennie, you get into the conning tower. -If the current sets inshore and causes the <i>Grampus</i> to -drift that way when the anchor is up, have the motor -run just enough to hold the boat where she is. Dick, -you hang on to the rifle. When you go down, Gaines, -pass up the strongest cable we have, so that Carl can -bend it on to the mooring ring at the stern. Understand?"</p> - -<p>"I guess we all understand what we're to do," replied -Glennie, "but I'll be hanged if I know why we're to -do it."</p> - -<p>"You'll know—perhaps sooner than you imagine."</p> - -<p>Matt, stripped to his trousers, stepped to the landward -side of the boat.</p> - -<p>"Sharks always go in pairs, mate," cautioned Dick.</p> - -<p>"If you see one take after me, Dick," returned Matt, -"treat it the same as I did the one that took after you."</p> - -<p>With hardly a splash Matt dropped into the water and -swam toward the beach.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A WARY FOE.</p> - - -<p>Matt reached the beach without mishap. Beyond the -white stretch of sand grew a chaparral of bushes and -low trees, covering the slope which ended at a ridge -forming the backbone of the point to the southward.</p> - -<p>The young motorist took his way in this direction, -halting at the edge of the brush for a moment to turn -and give a reassuring wave to his comrades on the -<i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>Carl was just securing the end of a rope to the iron -ring at the stern of the boat, Glennie was half inside -the conning tower, and Dick had the rifle across his -knees. All three answered Matt's parting salute, and he -faced about and hurried into the chaparral.</p> - -<p>Matt's course carried him up the side of the ridge. -Once at the crest he would be able to look down on the -Japs and take note of their operations. He would thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> -be able to determine whether the bold scheme which he -had at the back of his brain would be feasible or not.</p> - -<p>The crest of the ridge was not more than fifty feet -above sea level, and the king of the motor boys was -not long in reaching it. There, screened by a thicket -of bushes, he was able to look down on the other cove, -and make a leisurely examination of the <i>Pom</i> and the -Japs.</p> - -<p>The <i>Pom</i>, as Dick had said, was lying within a short -distance of the shore. She was an odd-looking craft, -being of a much smaller diameter than the <i>Grampus</i>, and -having a flat deck built over the rounded plates of her -hull. The conning tower was only about half the height -and diameter of that of the <i>Grampus</i>, and seemed to have -a solid top without any hatch opening. The hatch was -forward, on the flat deck, and the cover was pushed -back.</p> - -<p>From the submarine, Matt's eyes wandered to the -shelving beach.</p> - -<p>The torpedo was there, rolled up beyond the reach -of the lapping waves, and two of the Japs were busy -about the conical end of the tube. Matt chuckled as he -thought of how he had tampered with the firing pin. -Before they could make the pin serviceable, the Japs -would have to rig another of the little propellers; and, -while their ingenuity was no doubt equal to the job, yet -it would take time to finish it.</p> - -<p>The two men who were at work were clad only in -their trousers, and had clearly reached the shore as -Matt had done, by swimming. They went about their -work steadily and with an application which indicated -that they had little attention for anything else.</p> - -<p>From their manner, it seemed a fair inference that the -rifle shot, or Dick's yell, from the other side of the -point, had failed to reach them.</p> - -<p>But where were the other two Japs? Had they returned -to the <i>Pom</i>?</p> - -<p>It might be that the two on the beach were in need -of more tools and had sent the others out to the boat after -them.</p> - -<p>Matt, thinking of his plans, measured the distance -from the end of the point to the <i>Pom</i>.</p> - -<p>"The <i>Grampus</i> can do it!" he muttered, with an undernote -of exultation throbbing in his voice. "A quick -dash, and then a hustle seaward—and the trick is done. -But those other two Japs—I wish they would leave the -boat and come ashore. They form the danger point -in the carrying out of the scheme."</p> - -<p>There was something else Matt noticed as he peered -out from behind his thicket, and that was that two rifles -lay on the sand within easy reach of the Jap mechanics.</p> - -<p>"Those guns are another danger point," he said to -himself. "The <i>Pom</i>, however, will be between the <i>Grampus</i> -and the beach, and will act as a sort of barricade. -Anyhow, nothing venture, nothing win."</p> - -<p>For five minutes longer Matt waited, watching for -the other two Japs to reappear through the <i>Pom's</i> hatch. -But they did not come, and he felt that he could wait -no longer.</p> - -<p>Arising from his crouching position, he turned to retrace -his course down the hill. He had not taken a -dozen steps, however, when, dodging around a clump of -bushes, he came face to face with the two missing Japs!</p> - -<p>From the actions of the two men, it was plain that -they were as much surprised as was Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>The cause of this unexpected meeting flashed through -Matt's brain like lightning.</p> - -<p>The rifle shot had been heard, and these two Japs -had been told to cross the ridge and investigate. Matt -had gained the shore before the Japs had cleared the -bushes and were able to see him. As they descended -the slope, he was going up, and fortune had decreed that -they give each other a wide berth. But fortune had -taken another tack, for she was now bringing Matt and -the Japs altogether too close to each other for comfort.</p> - -<p>These Japs, like the two at work on the torpedo, were -stripped of all unnecessary clothing; and, fortunately for -the young motorist, they carried no weapons.</p> - -<p>For an instant Matt and the two yellow men stared at -each other; then the Japs gave vent to a yell, and prepared -to keep Matt from continuing on down the hill.</p> - -<p>Matt, remembering the two rifles he had seen on the -beach, had no intention of waiting for the other two -Japs to reach the scene. He saw the men before him -preparing to lay him by the heels in the most approved -ju-jutsu style, but that did not keep him back.</p> - -<p>He leaped forward, apparently aiming to pass directly -between the two men. They jumped to get in his way, -whereupon he dodged to the right.</p> - -<p>But, if he was quick, so were the Japs. No sooner -had he changed his course than they also had faced the -new direction.</p> - -<p>As Matt went flying down the hill, one of them made -a dive for him. The king of the motor boys struck out -with his right fist—and he had a "right" about which -Carl Pretzel was wont to sing praises.</p> - -<p>The fist accomplished its work, so far as that one -Jap was concerned. A sharp breath was jolted from the -yellow man and the hands he had put out dropped -limply, the while his whole body slumped backward.</p> - -<p>But something happened to Matt, just what he had -not the least idea. All he knew was that he was lifted -high and sent crashing headfirst into a thicket of bushes.</p> - -<p>The second Jap had put into practice one of the wrestling -tricks he had learned in Nippon.</p> - -<p>Matt, however, was not sorry he had been thrown -in that unceremonious fashion, for, just as he dropped -into the bushes, the sodden <i>whang</i> of a rifle spoke from -the crest of the ridge and a bullet flew whining over the -very spot where he had been running.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> - -<p>The other two Japs had lost little time in coming to -the aid of their comrades.</p> - -<p>Matt was up almost as soon as he was down. His -superb physical training rendered him proof against any -such fall as that he had just received.</p> - -<p>Both Japs were reaching for him as he ducked clear of -the bushes, but he slipped out from under their gripping -fingers and flashed down the slope like a streak, screening -his flight with every particle of tangled undergrowth -that got in his way.</p> - -<p>The rifles behind him continued to cough and splutter. -The unarmed Japs, however, were between Matt -and the marksmen, and the care the latter had to use -sent their bullets wide.</p> - -<p>The Japs were no match for Matt when it came to -sprinting. Matt had learned the game from a half-breed -friend, the best "miler" in Arizona, and he now showed -the Japs how an American boy can run when he has his -heart in it.</p> - -<p>Before the yellow men had cleared the fringe of bushes -at the edge of the beach, Motor Matt was in the water; -and when the Japs emerged, Dick plowed up the ground -at their feet with bullets from the Marlin, and drove -them back.</p> - -<p>Matt could not have swum faster if there had been a -whole school of sharks after him, but before he got to -the <i>Grampus</i> lead from the shore was pounding a merry -tattoo against the submarine's steel plates. Dick, exposing -himself recklessly, was answering with the Marlin. -Neither side was damaging the other, but the firing -spurred Matt to superhuman exertions.</p> - -<p>When the young motorist reached the boat, Carl -ducked out from behind the conning tower and gave him -a hand up the slope of the deck.</p> - -<p>"Now's the time," panted Matt, falling at full length -across the curved plates. "Start her—full speed."</p> - -<p>"Where are we to go?" demanded Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Around the point and take the <i>Pom</i> in tow," Matt -answered. "All four of the Japs are ashore, in this cove. -Before they can cross the ridge and interfere with us, -we ought to be able to pick up the other submarine and -make off with her. Look alive, now! We can't turn -the trick if you don't hustle."</p> - -<p>The daring nature of Matt's scheme dawned on the -lads with something like a shock. And it appealed to -them, too! It was just such a scheme as they might have -expected Motor Matt to set going.</p> - -<p>"Hoop-a-la!" jubilated Carl, as Glennie punched the -motor-room jingler. "Vat do you t'ink oof dot? Modor -Matt goes ashore mit himseluf und coaxes der Chaps to -shace him mit rifles, schust to ged dem oudt oof der vay -so ve can shteal pack der <i>Pom</i>. Vat a feller he iss!"</p> - -<p>"You're giving me altogether too much credit, Carl," -expostulated Matt. "I ran onto those Japs by accident, -and would have gone a good ways to keep clear of them."</p> - -<p>"Vell, vat's der odds aboudt der tifference? Der -modor poys iss on dop und——"</p> - -<p>A bullet from the shore slapped against the side of the -conning tower and whistled off into space, passing so -close to Carl's head in its flight that he stopped his glorying -and fell flat on the deck.</p> - -<p>"They'll not stay long on the beach there when they -see where we're going," remarked Matt grimly.</p> - -<p>"They've stopped their firing now, old ship," cried -Dick, "and are rushing back into the bushes as fast as -they can scramble."</p> - -<p>"It has probably dawned upon them that we're planning -to run off with the <i>Pom</i>," said Matt. "Quick work, -now, and we'll win the day, and cut these Sons of the -Rising Sun out of our future calculations."</p> - -<p>The propeller was churning the waters like mad, and -Glennie was laying a safe course to round the point and -bring the <i>Grampus</i> close to the <i>Pom</i>.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">PLUCK THAT WINS.</p> - - -<p>By the time that the <i>Grampus</i> got around the point -and was plunging onward, with "a bone in her teeth," -straight for the <i>Pom</i>, Matt had recovered his breath and -was ready to play his part in the rest of the work.</p> - -<p>"Make a circle around the stern of the <i>Pom</i>, Glennie," -said Matt, peering shoreward to see if there were any -signs of the Japs coming down the south side of the -ridge. "That will give Dick a chance to jump to the -deck of the other craft."</p> - -<p>"I'll do it, Matt," replied Glennie.</p> - -<p>"Give me the rifle, Dick," went on Matt, "and you -lay hold of the end of the rope Carl has secured to the -ring. As soon as you get on the other boat, make the -rope fast."</p> - -<p>"Ay, ay, matey!" cried Dick, elation ringing in his -voice and his eyes glimmering with excitement. "We'll -make a go of this, now that you have planned the scheme -and done the heft of the work in getting it started."</p> - -<p>"There may still be a whole lot of trouble and hard -work between us and success. Let's not be too confident. -Ah," and Matt pointed toward the side of the -ridge, "there come the Japs. They're running even -faster than they did when they were after me. We're -going to have a tight squeak of it, Glennie, to double the -stern of the <i>Pom</i>, get Dick aboard and pull away with -our tow before the Japs get into the water."</p> - -<p>"It's their guns I'm thinking of," said Glennie. "If -they happen to pick me out of the conning tower, or to -knock Dick off the deck of the <i>Pom</i>, the fat would all -be in the fire."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They'll not do either of those things, matey," averred -Dick confidently. "It's our innings, now, and we're -bound to score."</p> - -<p>The <i>Grampus</i> raced on, and down the slope rushed -the Japs in a frantic endeavor to reach the water and -gain the <i>Pom</i> before the venturesome motor boys could -carry out their plans.</p> - -<p>No shots were fired by the Japs. This seemed -strange, since a well-placed bullet would have meant so -much to them.</p> - -<p>"What's the reason they're not tuning up, matey?" -asked Dick.</p> - -<p>"Dey hafen't got der time for dot," chuckled Carl. -"Dey're in too mooch oof of a hurry, py shinks."</p> - -<p>"They could put a couple of bullets where they would -play hob with us," went on Dick, "and they must know -it."</p> - -<p>"They do know it," said Matt. "There are four of -the Japs, and only two guns. I rather surmise that they -have used up all the ammunition in the magazines of the -rifles, and that their reserve supply is on the <i>Pom</i>."</p> - -<p>Just at that moment Glennie swerved the <i>Grampus</i> to -pass between the stern of the <i>Pom</i> and the shore.</p> - -<p>"Ready, Dick!" warned Matt.</p> - -<p>"Right-o," answered Dick, seizing one end of the -cable and balancing himself on the port side of the -<i>Grampus</i>. "Swing her as close as you can, Glennie," -he added to the ensign.</p> - -<p>Supporting himself by clinging to a wire guy with -one hand, Dick waited. Glennie signaled the engine -room for slower speed, and the <i>Grampus</i> rounded neatly -and pushed her nose past the tower of the other boat.</p> - -<p>"There you are, Dick!" cried Matt.</p> - -<p>The next instant Dick had leaped across the intervening -stretch of water and had landed on the flat deck -of the <i>Pom</i>.</p> - -<p>Before his feet had struck the deck, however, Matt -saw a Jap's head and shoulders push upward through -the <i>Pom's</i> hatch. If there had been time to feel anything -so useless as surprise, Matt would certainly have -been taken all aback.</p> - -<p>Captain Pons had said that only five Japs had comprised -the crew which had palmed themselves off as -Chilians. One of these five had been left in Lota, a -prisoner. According to Matt's reckoning, that left only -four of the yellow men in charge of the <i>Pom</i>. Where, -then, did this extra Jap come in?</p> - -<p>Matt did not pause to let this drift through his mind. -Making a short run across the <i>Grampus</i>, he flung himself -after Dick, reaching the flat deck of the other submarine -and only saving himself a fall over the opposite -side of the craft by dropping to his knees.</p> - -<p>Hardly had he landed when a pair of heavy feet -clanged down behind him and a form collided roughly -with his back. Once more Matt came within a hair's -breadth of dropping off the port side of the <i>Pom</i>.</p> - -<p>"Py shinks," puffed a choppy voice, "you don'd vas -going to leaf me pehindt! Dere iss more Chaps on dis -poat as we knowed aboudt, und——"</p> - -<p>Carl's sentence was never finished. The Jap Matt had -seen in the open hatch had gained the deck and had -rushed at Carl like a whirlwind. Another showed himself, -following close upon the heels of the first.</p> - -<p>"Make the rope fast, Dick!" roared Matt. "Carl and -I will look after these fellows."</p> - -<p>Dick went down on his knees and began securing the -rope. It was necessary to make it fast before the slack -was all taken up, otherwise the tow line would have been -jerked out of Dick's hands and the work would have -had to be done all over again.</p> - -<p>Matt caught the second Jap about the waist as he -crawled through the hatch. There was a brief struggle, -and it ended by Matt heaving the Jap over the side and -into the water. The other Jap had performed a like -service for Carl, and the Dutch boy, blowing like a porpoise, -was floating around in the bay, trying to get hold -of something and pull himself back on the deck.</p> - -<p>The Jap started at once for Matt. Before he reached -him, Dick, who had made fast the line, rushed him from -the rear and literally bore him off the boat. He dropped -into the water alongside his comrade.</p> - -<p>"Help Carl aboard, Dick!" called Matt.</p> - -<p>Dick bent over and gave Carl a hand. Just at that -moment the boat leaped forward under the sudden pull -of the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>But here, just as victory was all but ranged on the -side of the motor boys, the unexpected happened.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Glennie was to blame. It would have been -better if he had slowed the <i>Grampus</i> down almost to a -stop and then picked up the strain on the tow line with -a steady pull.</p> - -<p>It was useless, however, to find fault with anybody. -The thing happened, and that was all there was to it.</p> - -<p>The tow line snapped. One end of it jerked back and -caught Matt a tremendous blow on the temple, and he -dropped as though from the impact of a heavy fist.</p> - -<p>A howl of consternation broke from Carl.</p> - -<p>"Id's all oop mit us!" he shouted. "Der rope iss -pusted in der mittle, Matt is down, und der Chaps iss all -aroundt us!"</p> - -<p>Carl's quick eyes had sized up the situation correctly. -The four Japs who had crossed the ridge from the other -cove had reached the water and were swimming to the -<i>Pom</i>. The two who had been forced overboard by Matt -and his chums were paddling about and making frantic -efforts to regain the deck.</p> - -<p>Dick had not much time to think of what they should -do. With Matt down, could he and Carl successfully -beat off the six yellow men?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> - -<p>Dick flung a despairing glance after the <i>Grampus</i>. -Glennie, wild with anxiety over the outcome of what -seemed a certain <i>fiasco</i>, was ringing all kinds of signals -in the motor room, and, for once in his life, seemed -completely "rattled" and at a loss as to what move he -should make.</p> - -<p>At that moment an idea darted into Dick's brain.</p> - -<p>"Keep away, Glennie!" Dick yelled, waving his hands. -"Sheer off to a good distance, and wait! Carl," and he -whirled on the Dutch boy with fierce determination, -"we'll take Matt below. We can close ourselves inside -the steel shell and the Japs won't be able to get at us."</p> - -<p>"Meppy dere's more Chaps in der poat!" demurred -Carl.</p> - -<p>"No!" thundered Dick. "Do you suppose they'd stay -below while this scrimmage was going on over their -heads? Down the hatch with you, and take Matt as I -lower him!"</p> - -<p>Carl saw that there was nothing else for it, and made -haste to carry out his orders. The floor was less than -five feet under the deck, and Carl was able to stand -erect and take Matt in his arms as Dick let him down. -The Japs were gaining the deck from all sides as Dick -followed, and the hatch cover was banged shut and made -fast just in the nick of time.</p> - -<p>"Ach, du lieber!" muttered Carl, listening to the patter -of bare feet on the plates overhead. "Vat a fix iss dis. -Der Chaps haf got us, und dey ain'd got us; und ve haf -got dem in der same vay. Ve can't ged oudt, und dey -can't ged in. Vat's der answer?"</p> - -<p>"A little light, first," said Dick coolly. "Don't let the -Japs worry you—there's a stout steel armor between us -and them. It's as black as a pocket in here, now that -the hatch is closed. Have you got a match?"</p> - -<p>It took Carl several moments to dig a match out of his -blouse. He had one, just one, and it was a wonder he -had even that. No one had any use for matches aboard -the <i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>Carl drew the match along the steel floor. As the -flickering gleam grew stronger, he and Dick took in the -dimensions of that part of their prison.</p> - -<p>The floor apparently divided the interior of the steel -hull in half, the rounded plates of the hull meeting it on -both sides. A bulkhead cut off the view aft.</p> - -<p>"You rub Matt's forehead and hands and see if you -can't fetch him to," said Dick. "I'm going aft to see -what's on the other side of that bulkhead."</p> - -<p>"Der match iss gone!" muttered Carl, dropping the -charred stick.</p> - -<p>"I've located the bulkhead door, so it doesn't much -matter," answered Dick.</p> - -<p>The opening of the door brought in a little daylight. -The door led out under the conning tower, and the light -came through the tower lunettes.</p> - -<p>Dick, straightening up, shoved his head and shoulders -into the tower. On all sides Jap eyes were glaring in -at him.</p> - -<p>"Ugh!" he muttered, and dropped down again.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A LITTLE WORK ON THE INSIDE.</p> - - -<p>When Matt drifted back to consciousness, his head lay -on Carl's knee. Carl and Dick had dragged him out under -the conning tower, where the light was better.</p> - -<p>"Where are we?" were Matt's first words.</p> - -<p>"In the <i>Pom</i>, matey," was Dick's grim response.</p> - -<p>"Ve can't ged oudt, eider, Matt," croaked Carl gloomily, -"und der Chaps can't ged in. Vich vould you radder -be, der Chaps or us?"</p> - -<p>Matt sat up, rubbing his head.</p> - -<p>"I remember now," he murmured. "The tow line -broke, and the <i>Pom</i> end of it sprang back and hit me -on the forehead. You brought me below?"</p> - -<p>"I couldn't think of anything else to do, matey," said -Dick. "We were surrounded by six Japs, and I thought -it better to take our chances inside. We got below and -closed the hatch just in time. Listen! You can hear the -Japs walking around on deck. If you get up in the tower -you can see them looking in at the lunettes! But it's -not pleasant. The straightened eyes of those swabs are -pretty savage. I wouldn't give tuppence for our chances -if they could get at us. And they may find out a way -to come in here. If you can think of anything to do that -will help us out of this hole, Matt, please be in a hurry -about it."</p> - -<p>"Yah," put in Carl, "don'd vaste any time."</p> - -<p>"Where's the <i>Grampus</i>?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>His head bothered him, but there was no time to think -of physical troubles of that sort.</p> - -<p>"I told Glennie to keep her away. There wasn't anything -he could do by running close, anyhow. The Japs -would have boarded the <i>Grampus</i>, if he had come too -close, and there would be only four on our boat to stand -off the six Japs."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well," remarked Matt, looking around, "this -might be worse."</p> - -<p>"How?" moaned Carl. "I don'd see dot."</p> - -<p>Matt's interest in the <i>Pom</i>, now that he was able to -give the boat a personal examination, bade fair to eclipse -his concern for the dangers by which he was surrounded. -Here was a brand-new piece of mechanism, a boat -crammed with French machinery that would well repay -a close study.</p> - -<p>A rigid box under the conning tower, enabled a man -to lift the upper half of his body into the cupola and -get his eyes opposite the lunettes. As the man stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -there, his right hand fell naturally on a steering wheel -and his left on push buttons which must communicate -with the engine room.</p> - -<p>"This is a whole lot different from the interior of the -<i>Grampus</i>," muttered Matt.</p> - -<p>"Id is so shmall as a rat drap," shuddered Carl. "I -feel like I vas shut oop in a cage."</p> - -<p>Matt, pushing backward from the turret, fell off a -ledge into a sort of well. As he sat up and groped -about with his hands, he touched a switch. Pulling the -switch, an incandescent lamp flared out overhead.</p> - -<p>"That's better," said he. "Now we can look around -without so much trouble."</p> - -<p>Here, aft from the conning tower, machinery was -packed away closely.</p> - -<p>Up against the roof, on the port side, was a little -engine, operated by compressed air, by which the submarine -was steered. Matt discovered that by observing -the wires that ran to the engine from the steering wheel.</p> - -<p>On the starboard side, likewise against the roof, was -another engine, with disks at each end as large as dinner -plates.</p> - -<p>"H'm," mused Matt, trying to rub the ache out of his -head so his brain would be clearer, "those disks are diaphragms, -and must be connected, in some way, with the -water pressure. I have it!" and a triumphant look -crossed his face, "this is the diving engine, and that -wheel"—he touched the wheel as he spoke—"controls -it."</p> - -<p>At one side was a cubic steel box.</p> - -<p>"Air compressor," said Matt, touching the box.</p> - -<p>On the floor, just where Matt had dropped into the -well, were two levers. Matt lifted one of them. Instantly -there came a gurgle and splash of water, directly -under Carl and Dick.</p> - -<p>"Avast, matey!" cried Dick. "I wouldn't fool with -those things until you know more about them."</p> - -<p>Muffled cries came from the Japs outside.</p> - -<p>"They hear what's going on," laughed Matt, "and -they don't like it. We're filling the submerging tanks, -Dick," he explained.</p> - -<p>"Then why don't we sink?"</p> - -<p>"It takes the engine to help us sink—the diving engine -and the motor."</p> - -<p>Farther back beyond the well was the engine room.</p> - -<p>"Here's where I'm at home," said Matt, creeping into -the engine room and turning on another incandescent -light.</p> - -<p>In one side were switchboards for the dynamotors, -and near them were spiral resistance coils curving along -the roof. Over on the other side was a trolley controller, -which Matt knew must be used for speeding the vessel -under water.</p> - -<p>"Give the wheel of that diving engine a turn to the -right, Dick," called Matt.</p> - -<p>Dick obeyed the order. Matt turned the switch of the -controller and then instantly there was a low, electrical -hum and the <i>Pom</i> started toward the bottom.</p> - -<p>"Get on the box under the conning tower, Dick," said -Matt, "and do the steering."</p> - -<p>"How'll I steer? There's no periscope."</p> - -<p>"Steer by compass—there's one right in front of you -as you stand in the tower."</p> - -<p>"But what'll I do for light? We're under water and -no daylight comes in at the lunettes."</p> - -<p>Matt touched a switch, and electric light flooded the -tower.</p> - -<p>"I don't like this tinkering, I'm a Fiji if I do," muttered -Dick, as he crawled up into the tower.</p> - -<p>"We've got rid of the Japs by the tinkering, Dick," -said Matt. "They're swimming ashore by now."</p> - -<p>"What I'm afraid of is," went on Dick, "you'll get us -on the bottom and not be able to take us to the surface -again."</p> - -<p>"Don't let that worry you. If we want to go to the -surface, all we have to do is to twist the diving rudders -and empty the tanks."</p> - -<p>"What's the course, matey?" asked Dick.</p> - -<p>"West by north until we clear the point, then north."</p> - -<p>"How am I to know when we clear the point?"</p> - -<p>"Why, we'll go to the surface and take a look. Glennie -will probably be glad to have a sight of us before -long."</p> - -<p>"I'll bet he's worrying his head off! The quicker we -can go up, Matt, the better."</p> - -<p>"All right. Carl!"</p> - -<p>"On der chump!" answered the Dutch boy.</p> - -<p>"Give the wheel of the diving engine a turn to the -left—to the <i>left</i>, mind."</p> - -<p>"Dere she goes."</p> - -<p>Instantly there was a perceptible movement upward.</p> - -<p>"Now," went on Matt, "lift that other lever on the -floor near you—the one I didn't lift, if you can remember."</p> - -<p>Carl lifted the lever, and, by chance, the right one. A -hiss of compressed air was heard, followed by a splash -of water being forced from the ballast tanks. The <i>Pom</i> -jumped for the surface like a streak.</p> - -<p>"Daylight at the lunettes!" shouted Dick, overjoyed -to make sure that Matt really knew what he was about. -"All you've got to do to know all about a piece of machinery, -Matt," he added, "is just to look at it."</p> - -<p>"And use my head," laughed Matt.</p> - -<p>"Py shinks," boomed Carl, "you can do more mit a -cracked head dan any odder feller can do mit vone dot's -all ridght. Yah, so helup me. You know more aboudt -machinery in a year as anypody else does in a minid."</p> - -<p>"See anything of the Japs, Dick?" inquired Matt, stopping -the electric motor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Not a sign!" exulted Dick. "But there's the old -<i>Grampus</i>, with Speake on deck and Glennie half out of -the tower. Their eyes are this way, and you'd think, -from their faces, they're looking at a ghost."</p> - -<p>"Dey can't oondershtand how ve got oudt oof dot -schrape," said Carl. "Ve hat some pooty pad brospects, -for a vile, you bed you."</p> - -<p>"Holy smoke!" exclaimed Dick, almost falling off the -box he was standing on.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?"</p> - -<p>"Why, there's our old friend, the cruiser <i>Salvadore</i>, -with—with—— 'Pon my soul, Matt, I'm a Fiji if that -Captain Pons isn't on the bridge with Captain Sandoval!"</p> - -<p>This was amazing news.</p> - -<p>"The war ship must have just got here, then," said -Matt.</p> - -<p>"But how did she know where we were?"</p> - -<p>"Probably she spoke the <i>Sovereign</i>," Matt answered. -"That would have given Sandoval a pretty good clue."</p> - -<p>"Oh, strike me lucky! The <i>Salvadore</i> is turning -broadside on, and some of her crew are manning the -small guns—the rapid-fire guns. They're going to blow -us out of water, Matt!"</p> - -<p>"Hardly that, Dick," said Matt easily. "Sandoval -isn't going to destroy this submarine. Pons wouldn't let -him, even if he had such a notion. If anything happened -to the boat, Pons wouldn't be able to deliver her to the -Chilian government."</p> - -<p>"They're mighty warlike, anyway," went on Dick. -"And there's Glennie, on the <i>Grampus</i>, trying his best to -attract the attention of Sandoval."</p> - -<p>"Sandoval and Pons think the <i>Pom</i> is full of Japs," -laughed Matt. "We'd better go up and clear the fog out -of their brains. It will be a pleasure to meet Captain -Sandoval again. He's a good friend of ours, you know."</p> - -<p>"Meppy dot vas a lucky t'ing," vouchsafed Carl, "seeing -as how Pons iss madt pecause ve vouldn't go afder -der <i>Pom</i> mit der <i>Grampus</i>."</p> - -<p>"That's just what we did, though, although we didn't -intend making any such move. We shall now have the -pleasure of turning the <i>Pom</i> over to Captain Pons."</p> - -<p>Making their way through the bulkhead door, Matt, -Dick, and Carl gained the hatch, threw it open, and -crawled out on the submarine's deck.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A STAR PERFORMANCE.</p> - - -<p>The <i>Pom</i> was lying between the <i>Grampus</i> and the <i>Salvadore</i>. -When Matt, Dick, and Carl showed themselves -there were loud cheers from Glennie and Speake. Pons, -on the bridge of the war ship, could be seen jumping -up and down like a pea on a hot griddle, waving his -hands and yelling. The war ship was too far away for -the boys to hear what Pons said.</p> - -<p>"I'd about given you fellows up!" exclaimed Glennie. -"When that confounded tow line parted, my hopes parted -with it. We saw you sink and throw the Japs into the -water, and we were sure you'd gone down to stay."</p> - -<p>"The Japs got ashore, did they?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Every last one of them."</p> - -<p>"Well, Glennie, come along here and take us off. I -want to go to the war ship and make a report to Captain -Sandoval."</p> - -<p>Glennie brought the <i>Grampus</i> close to the French boat, -and the three boys transferred themselves to their own -craft.</p> - -<p>"I vouldn't trade vone oof der <i>Grampuses</i> for a tozen -of der <i>Poms</i>," asserted Carl, as they were borne away -in the direction of the <i>Salvadore</i>.</p> - -<p>"I don't know how seven Japs ever stowed themselves -away inside the <i>Pom</i>," muttered Dick. "They must have -been packed in there like sardines."</p> - -<p>"They managed to do a pretty fair amount of work, -too," said Matt. "Not the least of it was lassoing me -and pulling me into the water."</p> - -<p>As the <i>Grampus</i> approached the war ship, Captain -Sandoval leaned from the bridge with his megaphone.</p> - -<p>"Motor Matt, king of the motor boys!" he shouted. -"Ah, ha, <i>amigo</i>, you are as full of surprises as the egg -is of meat."</p> - -<p>Captain Pons failed to join Captain Sandoval in his -amiable sentiment. Pons shook his fist.</p> - -<p>"R-r-rascal!" he shouted. "He is mos' contemptible!"</p> - -<p>"Throw over your sea ladder, captain," called Matt; -"I want to come aboard and talk with you."</p> - -<p>"<i>Gracias!</i>" cried Sandoval. "I am delighted, <i>amigo</i>."</p> - -<p>A few minutes later Matt was in the captain's cabin. -He had been there once before, but not under circumstances -that were very pleasant. On the previous occasion, -Captain Sandoval had been hostile and full of unjust -suspicions. Now he was more than friendly, and it -was Captain Pons who was hostile.</p> - -<p>"You heard how those rascally Japs gave me the slip, -<i>amigo</i>?" asked Sandoval. "Ah, ah, what a wretched -piece of business! It was in a fog, and one could not -see his hand in front of his face. Thus they escaped. -<i>Ay de mi</i>, it was a blow! I came north looking for the -rascals, and I reached Lota last night and found Pons. -He told me of the troubles he has been having with the -Japs, and since it was my duty to aid him in recovering -the <i>Pom</i>, why, I took him aboard and we started north. -The British vessel Sovereign gave us a tip, and we followed -it to this bay. First, we saw the <i>Grampus</i>; then, -all so suddenly, up out of the ocean came the <i>Pom</i>! -I trained my guns on her to fire in case the Japs proved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -unreasonable. Presently, behold, the hatch of the <i>Pom</i> -opens and you appear. Wonderful! I can hardly believe -my eyes because of the so great surprise!"</p> - -<p>"Ah, my captain," broke in Pons, "zis Matt is ze r-ruf-fian, -ze villain. He say he no haf ze time to bozzer wiz -my little boat, zat he not go hunt for her; now, by gar, -we see heem on her deck. He play ze trick wiz me. He -do w'at he say he not do. He try steal ze boat, <i>oui</i>, -zat is w'at he do. I demand of heem ze satisfaction!"</p> - -<p>The captain's eyes became very fierce and he threw -back his shoulders and slapped his chest.</p> - -<p>"Ah, my captain," said Sandoval, "don't make a mistake. -I know Motor Matt, and he is a gentleman. I -have given him my hand, my captain, and Captain Sandoval -never gives his hand to a scoundrel."</p> - -<p>Captain Pons arose with much dignity and bowed to -Captain Sandoval.</p> - -<p>"<i>Merci, monsieur!</i>" he murmured. "Nevair vill I say -ze derogatory word to youar honor, but ze actions of zis -Motor Matt, w'at you call, is mos' contemptible. Let -heem spik, let heem explain if he can."</p> - -<p>"<i>Amigo</i>," said Captain Sandoval, "you will explain, for -my sake, to my honorable friend, Captain Pons?"</p> - -<p>"That's what I came here to do," answered Matt. "I -and my friends have saved the <i>Pom</i> for Captain Pons, -and this is the reward he gives us."</p> - -<p>Captain Pons got up and bowed again to Captain -Sandoval. Not to be outdone in courtesy, Captain Sandoval -arose and bowed to Captain Pons.</p> - -<p>"If I do heem ze wrong," said Captain Pons gravely, -"zen I make ze <i>amende</i>. Until he explains, I have ze -right to call him mos' contemptible."</p> - -<p>"You have the right," agreed Captain Sandoval.</p> - -<p>Then they bowed again and sat down.</p> - -<p>All this was highly edifying to Matt, but it did not -get him very far along with his explanation.</p> - -<p>When he got started, however, he held the floor in -spite of disturbing symptoms on the part of Pons to get -up and bow. He carried the explanation through to its -conclusion, and not failing to put due stress on the dangers -he and his friends had undergone in their attempt to -get the better of the Sons of the Rising Sun.</p> - -<p>The two captains were deeply impressed. For some -moments after Matt had finished they sat speechless in -their chairs; then, as one man they arose. Together they -bowed to Matt.</p> - -<p>"<i>Ay de mi</i>," breathed Captain Sandoval, "did you ever -hear of anything so wonderful?"</p> - -<p>"Mos' r-r-remarkable!" exclaimed Captain Pons.</p> - -<p>Then they bent to each other. After that Captain -Sandoval sat down, but Captain Pons stepped over to -Matt and embraced him; then, before Matt could defend -himself, Captain Pons kissed him on the cheek.</p> - -<p>"<i>Mon ami!</i>" said he; "my friend, I mak' ze apologee. -I ask zat you forgeeve ze talk about you as ze mos' contemptible. -It is I, me, zat is mos' contemptible——"</p> - -<p>"No, no, my captain," protested Captain Sandoval, -putting up his hand, "you shall not so greatly injure -yourself."</p> - -<p>"I r-r-repeat," thundered Captain Pons, thumping his -chest fiercely, "I made ze mistake, and I, myself, am mos' -contemptible."</p> - -<p>Captain Sandoval sighed and looked depressed.</p> - -<p>"Zis brav' young man," proceeded Captain Pons, "save -ze <i>Pom</i> for me. I sank heem, as one gentleman sank -anozzer. Zere, ze debt is cancel. All zat remain is for -me to hol' him in mos' tender memory."</p> - -<p>"The six Japanese are on the island, Captain Sandoval," -said Matt, who was beginning to get a little bit -tired of Pons and his mushy nonsense. "Will you send -a party ashore to capture them?"</p> - -<p>"At once," was the answer.</p> - -<p>"And, by the way, Captain Pons," went on Matt, -"didn't you say there were only five Japs in the crew -that stole the <i>Pom</i>."</p> - -<p>"Fife, <i>oui</i>. I count zem and I know."</p> - -<p>"Well, that one we captured under the wharf, at Lota, -comes out of the five, and would leave four."</p> - -<p>"<i>Oui</i>, wan from fife is four."</p> - -<p>"Then, captain, how do you account for the fact that -there were six on the <i>Pom</i> when she reached this bay?"</p> - -<p>"Do you say I spik untruths?" flared the captain, -displaying a tendency to renew his quarrel with Matt.</p> - -<p>"Not at all, not for the world," answered Matt, with -an inward laugh, "but I am puzzled. One from five, -in this case, seems to have left six."</p> - -<p>"I know nozzing, sare," said Captain Pons. "If zere -was seex w'en zere should only haf been fife, zat is zeir -business."</p> - -<p>"Then we'll let it stand that way," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"I am mos' agreeable," returned Captain Pons. "Presently, -my captain," he went on, to Sandoval, "I go -aboard ze <i>Pom</i> wiz ze crew you gif me, an' we take ze -boat to Valparaiso. Is it not so?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, my captain," replied Sandoval. "I will lend you -the crew and will convoy you to Valparaiso."</p> - -<p>"You are mos' kind."</p> - -<p>This was enough for Matt. He excused himself, shook -hands with Sandoval, and hurried away.</p> - -<p>As soon as he was safely in the periscope room of the -<i>Grampus</i>, he threw himself down on the locker and -laughed until he was sore.</p> - -<p>"Get me the rest of my clothes, somebody," said he, -"and then start the <i>Grampus</i> northward again."</p> - -<p>"Where's our next port of call, old ship?" queried -Dick, while Matt was getting into the garments he had -taken off just before swimming ashore in the cove.</p> - -<p>"Callao," answered Matt. "Then Panama, Acapulco, -San Diego—and Frisco."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Dot lisdens like home!" rumbled Carl.</p> - -<p>"In two weeks," cried Glennie, "we'll be at Mare Island, -and the cruise will be finished. It's all plain sailing -from this on. The Sons of the Rising Sun will have -all they can do to take care of themselves, let alone try -to make any more trouble for us."</p> - -<p>"We're done with them, and there are no ifs or ands -about it this time," said Matt. "I'll admit, when I -learned they had made off with that French submarine, -that I thought they were equipped to accomplish something -against us; but we cleared that difficulty in one-two -order when we got started."</p> - -<p>"It might have been a lot worse, mates," observed -Dick, "and there were several times when I thought we -were done, done as brown as a kippered herring; but we -pulled through—mainly because Matt had his shoulder -to the wheel and gave us the right sort of a boost over -the hard places."</p> - -<p>"As much credit should fall to the rest of you as to -me," spoke up Matt. "Take the wheel, Glennie. Full -speed ahead, Gaines," he added, through the motor-room -tube.</p> - -<p>The cylinders never hummed a cheerier tune than -they did when they started the <i>Grampus</i> once more on -her journey northward, and no boat, surface or submarine, -ever carried a happier crew.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">CONCLUSION.</p> - - -<p>As day followed day and week followed week, bringing -no sign of any further trouble with the Sons of the -Rising Sun, Motor Matt and his friends realized that, -beyond all doubt, they had worsted their wily foes, and -perhaps had taught them a lesson which they could ponder -wisely.</p> - -<p>At Panama, which was almost the same as United -States soil, the boys took shore leave, turn and turn -about. From this place Matt sent a cablegram to Captain -Nemo, Jr., at Belize.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"On the last leg of our journey. All well and -<i>Grampus</i> as fit as a fiddle. Telegraph me at Acapulco."</p></blockquote> - -<p>"Too bad that old canal wasn't finished," observed -Dick, as the <i>Grampus</i> left Panama, "at the time we left -Belize. We could have come through it, if it had been, -and saved a month's time and all that mix-up with the -Japs."</p> - -<p>"That wasn't the point, Dick," spoke up Glennie. -"This trip has been in the nature of a try-out for the -<i>Grampus</i>. The government wanted to see what she could -do—and I guess the government will know when my log -is read at headquarters."</p> - -<p>"You're giving us a good report, Glennie?" laughed -Dick.</p> - -<p>"As good as I can make it."</p> - -<p>"Then that means a sale of the boat, without a doubt."</p> - -<p>"I understood that my report was to be final. I've -had the cruise of my life with you motor boys, and I -almost hate to reach San Francisco, because we'll have -to separate there."</p> - -<p>"You're an A One comrade, Glennie," said Matt heartily, -"and you need never look for a pal while this outfit -of motor boys is around."</p> - -<p>"My sentiments to a t, y, ty," averred Dick.</p> - -<p>"Und mine, too, py shinks!" cried Carl.</p> - -<p>Glennie was deeply touched. At the beginning of the -cruise there had been some hard feelings between him -and Dick and Carl, but as they had come to know each -other better the unpleasantness had worn away.</p> - -<p>All four of the lads were now loyal friends, having -undergone perils and dangers shoulder to shoulder, and -so each had tried the other's and had not found them -wanting.</p> - -<p>At Acapulco Matt was confidently expecting to receive -a message from Captain Nemo, Jr. In this, however, he -was disappointed. There was no message for him. Matt -could not understand the reason and was prone to think -dire things.</p> - -<p>"Captain Nemo, Jr., would surely have answered that -message I sent him from Panama," said Matt, "providing -he had received it."</p> - -<p>"Sure he would," agreed Glennie; "and the fact that -you did not get an answer is proof that the captain did -not receive your message."</p> - -<p>"Aber vy ditn't he receif id?" asked Carl.</p> - -<p>"That's the point that alarms me, friends," went on -Matt gloomily. "You know we left the captain sick at -Belize; too ill, in fact, to come with us on the <i>Grampus</i>. -We haven't heard a word from him since the cruise -began, and it may be that his sickness terminated -fatally."</p> - -<p>This thought cast a depression over the motor boys. -Captain Nemo, Jr., was a good friend of theirs, and all -of them liked him. The <i>Grampus</i> was the triumph of -the captain's career, and if he was to be stricken down -just as the boat, in charge of the motor boys, was to -pass successfully through the Golden Gate, the elation -Matt and his friends would otherwise feel must give -way to dejection and sorrow.</p> - -<p>The victory of this successful cruise was entirely -theirs, but the loss of Captain Nemo, Jr., would rob the -victory of all pleasure for them.</p> - -<p>But the gloom that accompanied the submarine from -Acapulco northward was lost in rejoicing at San Diego; -for no sooner had the <i>Grampus</i> anchored in the bay off -the latter place than no less a person than Captain Nemo, -Jr., himself, rowed out and came aboard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> - -<p>The captain was well and hearty, and his delight in -welcoming the boys was boundless.</p> - -<p>He looked over the boat and complimented all hands -on her efficiency after such a long cruise—the longest -and hardest any submarine had ever made; and in the -periscope room, until long into the night, the captain sat -wide-eyed and absorbed, listening to the adventures of -those whom he had commissioned to take the <i>Grampus</i> -from Belize to Mare Island.</p> - -<p>When all had had their say, and the recital was done, -there followed a period of silence. The captain was the -first to speak.</p> - -<p>"A hundred thousand dollars, my lads, is a great deal -of money; but if I had been able to look ahead and -learn what dangers were to beset you on your long journey, -I would not have allowed you to start for a million. -I had some inkling of this Japanese business, for I was -offered two hundred thousand for the <i>Grampus</i> by the -Japanese government. I chose to deal with the navy department -of my own country, even at a direct pecuniary -loss to myself. My refusal to sell to the Japs brought -a threatening letter from the Sons of the Rising Sun, -but I treated it with contempt. I should have taken you -into my confidence regarding this Japanese matter before -you left Belize, but I thought it of no moment and hesitated -to alarm you by even mentioning it."</p> - -<p>"It's all but over now, captain," laughed Matt lightly, -"and I think we are all of us better for the experience. -I know I wouldn't sell the benefit that has accrued to -me from this cruise for a lot of money."</p> - -<p>"Nor I," said Dick.</p> - -<p>"Me, neider," chirped Carl.</p> - -<p>"Let me go on record, too," put in Glennie.</p> - -<p>"I'm glad you all feel in that way about it," said -the captain.</p> - -<p>"By the way," asked Matt, "why didn't you answer -the cablegram I sent you from Panama, captain?"</p> - -<p>"Principally because I never received it," was the smiling -response. "Where did you address the message, -Matt?"</p> - -<p>"To you, at Belize."</p> - -<p>"Why, I left Belize a week after you did! It was -my intention all along to leave Central America, work up -into the States, and then meet you here and take the last -lap of the cruise with you."</p> - -<p>"It was a mighty big relief to see you come aboard at -this port," said Matt. "I hadn't the least idea what was -the matter."</p> - -<p>"You had a guess that I had taken the One-way Trail, -hadn't you, Matt?" jested the captain.</p> - -<p>"I didn't know but that might have happened."</p> - -<p>"In that event," said the captain, "I had already made -a will whereby you boys were to receive the whole -amount to be paid by the government. So, you see, my -being alive has cost you a pretty pile."</p> - -<p>"The money doesn't count, captain," declared Matt -stoutly.</p> - -<p>"No? Well, money usually counts in this world, Matt—in -fact, it cuts a pretty wide swath in every direction."</p> - -<p>"It is secondary, captain, to the idea of 'making good.' -When we left Belize I vowed that we'd make good and -prove that your confidence in us wasn't misplaced. -We've all had that in mind before anything and everything -else."</p> - -<p>"It's a good trait in you," replied the captain, "and in -any young man, to love a piece of work for itself, and, -money apart, centre every hope on making a success of -it. That's the spirit that brings its reward, not only in -money, but in self-approval, which is something money -can't buy. Every one who went around South America -on the <i>Grampus</i> will find, I think, that I know how to be -grateful; this, while of secondary importance to the consciousness -of duty well performed, will be a substantial -acknowledgment of the debt I hold myself under to all -of you.</p> - -<p>"In San Francisco the <i>Grampus</i> will be sold. The -motor boys will go one way, Captain Nemo, Jr., another -way, and Speake, Gaines, and Clackett still another. But -I hope that this will not be the last of our associations, -but that we shall sometime come together again and -renew our friendships, which have been so firmly woven -together by this cruise of the <i>Grampus</i>, and the persistent -and successful effort of the king of the motor boys to -<i>make good</i>."</p> - -<p>With the hearty echoes this sentiment received still -lingering in our ears, the hour seems propitious for taking -leave of Matt and the motor boys, while they are at -the threshold of another of their many victories.</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - - - -<p class="center medium">THE NEXT NUMBER (21) WILL CONTAIN</p> - -<p class="center huge">Motor Matt's Launch;</p> - -<p class="center medium">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">A FRIEND IN NEED.</p> -<hr class="r5" /> -<blockquote> - -<p>New Friends and New Fortunes—The Raffle—Ping-pong -Objects—Another Rescue—An Odd -Tangle—The Rich Man's Son—A Plan that -Failed—A Chase Across the Bay—The Lion's -Mouth—The Mouth Closes—Surprising Events—McGlory's -Run of Luck—Waiting and Worrying—Ping -Stars Himself—A New Twist, by -George—Another Twist, by Matt and McGlory.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> - - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">NEW YORK, July 10, 1909.</p> - - -<p class="center"><b>TERMS TO MOTOR STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS.</b></p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center"><b>Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.</b></p> - -<table summary="Terms"> -<tr><td>3 months</td><td class="tdr">65c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>4 months</td><td class="tdr">85c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>6 months</td><td class="tdr">$1.25</td></tr> -<tr><td>One year</td><td class="tdr">2.50</td></tr> -<tr><td>2 copies one year</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -<tr><td>1 copy two years</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><b>How to Send Money</b>—By post-office or express money-order, -registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent -by currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter.</p> - -<p><b>Receipts</b>—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper -change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly -credited, and should let us know at once.</p> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr><td> -<span class="smcap">Ormond G. Smith</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">George C. Smith</span>, -</td> -<td style="font-size: 200%">}</td><td style="padding-right: 1em;"><i>Proprietors</i>.</td> -<td class="tdc"> -<b>STREET & SMITH, Publishers,<br /> -79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</b> -</td></tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="THE_SPIDER_WATER" id="THE_SPIDER_WATER">THE SPIDER WATER.</a></h2> - - -<p class="chaptitle">II.</p> - -<p>On the 30th there was trouble beyond Wild Hat, and all -our extra men, put out there under Healey, were fighting to -Hold the Rat Valley levels where they hug the river on the -west slope. It wasn't really Healey's track. Bucks sent him -over there just as the emperor sent Ney, wherever he needed -his right arm. Sunday, while Healey was at Wild Hat, rain -began falling. Sunday it rained; Monday all through the -mountains it rained; Tuesday it was raining from Omaha -to Eagle Pass, with the thermometer climbing for breath -and the barometer flat as an adder—and the Spider woke. -Woke with the April water and the June water and the storm -water all at once.</p> - -<p>Trackwalkers Tuesday night flagged Number One, and reported -the Spider wild, with heavy sheet ice running. A wire -from Bucks brought Healey out of the west and into the -east, and brought him to reckon for the last time with his -ancient enemy.</p> - -<p>He was against it Wednesday with dynamite. All the day, -all the night, all the next day the sullen roar of the giant -powder shook the forming jam above the bridge, and after -two days Healey wired, "Ice out," and set back without a -minute's sleep for home. Saturday night he slept and Sunday -all day and Sunday night. Monday about noon Bucks -sent up to ask, but Healey still slept. They asked back by -the lad whether they should wake him. Bucks sent word, -"No."</p> - -<p>It was late Tuesday morning when the tall roadmaster -came down, and he was fresh as sunshine. All day he sat -with Bucks and the dispatchers watching the line. The -Spider raced mad, and the watchers sent in panic messages, -but Healey put them in his pipe. "That bridge will go -when the mountains go," was all he said.</p> - -<p>Nine o'clock that night every star was blinking when -Healey looked in for the trackwalkers' reports and the railroad -weather bulletins. Bucks, Callahan, and Peeto sat -about Martin Duffy, the dispatcher, who in his shirt sleeves -threw the stuff off the sounder as it trickled in dot and dash, -dot and dash over the wires.</p> - -<p>The west wire was good; east everything below Peace -River was down. We had to get the eastern reports around -by Omaha and the south—a good thousand miles of a loop—but -bad news travels even around a Robin Hood loop.</p> - -<p>And first came Wild Hat from the west with a stationary -river and the Loup Creek falling—clear—good night. And -Ed Peeto struck the table heavily and swore it was well in -the west. Then from the east came Prairie Portage, all the -way round, with a northwest rain, a rising river, and anchor -ice running, pounding the piers bad—track in fair shape, and—and——</p> - -<p>The wire went wrong. As Duffy knit his eyes and tugged -and cussed a little, the wind outside took up the message and -whirled a bucket of rain against the windows. But the wires -wouldn't right, and stuff that no man could get tumbled -in like a dictionary upside down. And Bucks and Callahan -and Healey and Peeto smoked, silent, and heard the deepening -drum of the rain on the roof.</p> - -<p>Then Duffy wrestled mightily yet once more.</p> - -<p>"Keep still," he exclaimed, leaning heavily on the key. -"Here's something—from the Spider."</p> - -<p>He snatched a pen and ran it across a clip; Bucks leaning -over read aloud from his shoulder:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="right"> -"Omaha.</p> -<p> -"<span class="smcap">J. F. Bucks</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>"Trainmen from No. 75 stalled west of Rapid City—track -afloat in Simpson's Cut—report Spider bridge out—send——"</p></blockquote> - -<p>And the current broke.</p> - -<p>Callahan's hand closed rigidly over the hot bowl of his -pipe; Peeto sat speechless; Bucks read again at the broken -message, but Healey sprang like a man wounded and snatched -the clip from his hand.</p> - -<p>He stared at the running words till they burned his eyes, -and then, with an oath, frightful as the thunder that shook -the mountains, he dashed the clip to the floor. His eyes -snapped greenish, and he cursed Omaha, cursed its messages, -and everything that came out of it. Slow at first, then -fast and faster, until all the sting that poisoned his heart -in his unjust discharge poured from his lips. It flooded the -room like a spilling stream, and none put a word against it, -for they knew he stood a wronged man. Out it came—all -the rage, all the heart-burning, all the bitterness—and he -dropped into a chair and covered his face with his hands. -Only the sounder clicking iron jargon and the thunder shaking -the wickiup like a reed filled the ears of the men about -him. They watched him slowly knot his fingers and loosen -them, and saw his face rise dry and hard and old out of his -hands.</p> - -<p>"Get up an engine!"</p> - -<p>"Not—you're not going down there to-night?" stammered -Bucks.</p> - -<p>"Yes. Now. Right off. Peeto, get out your men!"</p> - -<p>The foreman jumped for the door. Little Duffy, snatching -the train sheet, began clearing track for a bridge special. -In twenty minutes twenty men were running as many ways -through the storm, and a live engine boomed under the -wickiup window.</p> - -<p>"I want you to be careful, Phil," Bucks spoke anxiously -as he looked with Healey out into the storm. "It's a bad -night." Healey made no answer.</p> - -<p>The lightning shot the yards in a blaze and a crash split -the gorge. "A wicked night," muttered Bucks.</p> - -<p>Evans, conductor of the special, ran in.</p> - -<p>"Here's your orders," said Duffy. "You've got forty miles -an hour."</p> - -<p>"Don't stretch it," warned Bucks. "Good-by, Phil," he -added to Healey, "I'll see you in the morning."</p> - -<p>"In the morning," echoed Healey. "Good-by."</p> - -<p>The switch engine had puffed up with a caboose; ahead of -it Peeto had coupled in the pile driver. At the last minute -Callahan concluded to go, and with the bridge gang tumbling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -into the caboose, the assistant superintendent, Ed Peeto, and -Healey climbed into the engine, and they pulled out, five in -the cab, for the Spider Water.</p> - -<p>Healey, moody at first, began joking and laughing the -minute they got away. He sat behind Denis Mullenix, the -engineer, and poked his ribs and taunted him with his heavy -heels. At last he covered Denis' big hands on the throttle -with his own bigger fingers, good-naturedly coaxed them -loose, and pushing him away got the reins and the whip into -his own keeping. He drew the bar out a notch and settled -himself for the run across the flat country.</p> - -<p>As they sped from the shelter of the hills, the storm shook -them with a freshening fury, and drove the flanges into the -south rail with a grinding screech. The rain fell in a sheet, -and the right-of-way ran a river. The wind, whipping the -water off the ballast, dashed it like hail against the cab glass; -the segment of desert caught in the yellow of the headlight -rippled and danced and swam in the storm water, and -Healey pulled again at the straining throttle and latched it -wider.</p> - -<p>Notch after notch he drew; heedless of lurch and jump; -heedless of bed or curve; heedless of track or storm; and -with every spur at her cylinders the engine shook like a -frantic horse. Men and monster alike lost thought of caution -and drunk a frenzy in the whirl that Healey opened across -the swimming plain.</p> - -<p>The Peace River hills loomed suddenly in front like moving -pictures; before they could think it the desert was behind.</p> - -<p>"Phil, man, you must steady up!" yelled Callahan, getting -his mouth to Healey's ear. The roadmaster nodded and -checked a notch, but the fire was in his blood, and he slewed -into the hills with a speed unslackened. The wind blew them, -and the track pulled them, and a frenzied man sat at the -throttle.</p> - -<p>Just where the line crosses the Peace River the track -bends sharply through the Needles to take the bridge. The -curve is a ten degree. As they struck it, the headlight shot -far out upon the river—and they in the cab knew they sat -dead men. Instead of lighting the box of the truss, the lamp -lit a black and snaky flood with yellow foam sweeping over -the abutment, for the Peace had licked up Agnew's thirty-foot -piles—and his bridge was not.</p> - -<p>There were two things to do; Healey knew them both, -and both meant death to the cab, but the caboose sheltered -twenty of Healey's faithful men. He instantly threw the -air, and with a scream from the tires, the special, shaking in -the brake shoes, swung the curve. Again the roadmaster -checked heavily, and the pile driver, taking the elevation -like a hurdle, bolted into the Needles, dragging the caboose -after it. But engine and tender and five in the cab plunged -head on into the river.</p> - -<p>Not a man in the caboose was killed. They scrambled out -of the splinters and on their feet, men and ready to do. One -voice came through the storm from the river, and they -answered its calling. It was Callahan, but Durden, Mullenix, -Peeto, and Healey never called again.</p> - -<p>At daybreak, wreckers of the West End, swarming from -mountain and plain, were heading for the Peace, and the -McCloud gang—up—crossed the Spider on Healey's bridge—on -the bridge the coward trainmen had reported out, -quaking as they did in the storm at the Spider foaming over -its approaches. But Healey's bridge stood—stands to-day.</p> - -<p>Yet three days the Spider raged, and knew then its master, -while he, three whole days, sat at the bottom of the -Peace, clutching the engine levers, in the ruins of Agnew's -mistake.</p> - -<p>And when the divers got them up, Callahan and Bucks -tore big Peeto's arms from his master's body and shut his -staring eye and laid him at his master's side. And only the -Spider, ravening at Healey's caissons, raged. But Healey -slept.</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="GOOD" id="GOOD">GOOD WORDS FOR THE 'GATOR.</a></h2> - -<p>Twenty years ago a visitor to that part of the South -below North Carolina could see alligators in almost every -stream and bayou, but now one may frequently spend months -traveling through this region and not see a single alligator -except those in captivity. The killing of the creatures for -sport or for their hides has been the main cause of their -great decrease in numbers. In addition thousands of the -young have been killed or shipped away, while enormous -numbers of the eggs have been gathered and sold as curios.</p> - -<p>It was not until about 1855 that the demand for alligator -leather became of importance. The market was not long -continued. In 1869 fashion again called for the leather for -manufacturing into fancy slippers, traveling bags, belts, card -cases, music rolls, etc. The demand has continued to the -present and many thousands of the animals have been -killed, while the preparation of the skins has given employment -to hundreds of people.</p> - -<p>The output of the tanneries of this country approximates -275,000 skins annually, worth about $425,000, part of which -come from Mexico and Central America. It is estimated -that about 3,800,000 alligators were killed in Florida alone -between 1880 and 1909, nearly 20,000 being killed in 1908.</p> - -<p>The earliest settlers in the Southern States found alligators, -or, as they were then called, crocodiles, exceedingly -abundant in almost all streams, especially in Florida and -Louisiana. Many marvelous tales are found in the early -chronicles of the ravages of these monsters. They were -said to eat dogs and pigs, and to consider the negro an especially -succulent tidbit, while it was considered dangerous to -go into streams where they were known to exist. When such -a stream had to be crossed hours were spent sometimes in -beating it to frighten off the alligators.</p> - -<p>The researches of scientists have shown that there is -very slight foundation for such stories, and it is probable -that the greater number of pigs lost by the planters could -have been traced to other enemies, particularly the two-footed -kind, while runaway slaves would naturally encourage -the belief that alligators had dined off them.</p> - -<p>The greater part of the supply of alligator leather now -comes from Florida, and owing to excessive hunting the industry -is profitable only in the central part of the peninsula, -in what is called the Lake Okeechobee region and in the -Everglades. Here the principal hunters are Seminole Indians, -who have their homes on hummocks far back in the -Everglades and come to the settlements only when in need -of articles which they cannot produce themselves.</p> - -<p>The alligator is most active at night, and his days are -usually spent lying on some low bank or log overhanging the -water, where it can enjoy the warmth of the sun and be able -to retreat to its native element at the first sign of danger. -While on land alligators are very clumsy, in the water they -are exceedingly active, and, being strong swimmers, are able -to catch the larger fish with but slight trouble. For animals -like the muskrat and otter swimming across lagoons they -are always on the watch.</p> - -<p>On seizing its prey the alligator sinks with it to the -bottom and there remains until all struggling has ceased; it -is then able with less effort to tear it into pieces. While thus -submerged a peculiar collar at the base of the tongue prevents -the water from passing into its lungs.</p> - -<p>While the alligator is said to make very effective use of its -tail in warfare, the widely disseminated story that it uses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -its tail to sweep animals off the banks into its jaws appears -to have but slight foundation in fact.</p> - -<p>In April or May the mother alligator seeks a sheltered -spot on a bank and there builds a small mound with a hole -in the middle. The foundation of this mound is of mud -and grass, and on these she lays some eggs. She then covers -the eggs with another stratum of grass and mud, upon which -she deposits some more eggs. Thus she proceeds until she -has laid from twenty-five to sixty eggs. The eggs are -hatched out by the sun.</p> - -<p>As soon as they have chipped the shell the baby alligators -are led to the water by the mother, who provides them with -food, which she disgorges. Papa Alligator has to be carefully -watched at this time, for he highly esteems a dinner of -young saurians, and is not particular whether they are his -own or his neighbor's children. When by strategy or downright -fighting the mother has got her family safely into their -natural element it is not long before the young scatter, each -to begin life on his own hook. At this period they form a -favorite food for turtles and the larger fishes.</p> - -<p>When fully grown the alligator is about sixteen feet in -length. In the adult stage it is greenish-black above, having -lost the yellowish color bands that belong to its earlier years. -Hunters say that alligators grow very slowly, attaining the -first year a length of about one foot. When two feet in -length they are said to be from ten to fifteen years old, -while those twelve feet long are supposed to be seventy-five -or more. Their normal life is estimated at from one hundred -to one hundred and fifty years.</p> - -<p>Alligator hunting originally began as sport. Then some -one tanned the skin and found that it could be put to commercial -use. Carried on as it must be, at night, the hunt is -picturesque.</p> - -<p>In many places the hunters fasten bicycle lamps on their -caps, and when the animal is attracted by the light pick it -off by hitting it in the eye with a rifle ball. Torches are -often used. Sometimes the hunter lures the alligator to -the surface of the water by "telephoning to the 'gator," as it -is called.</p> - -<p>An alligator is always attracted by the peculiar grunt -which the young alligators make, for there is no sort of -food they love better than newly hatched 'gator. The hunter -takes a long, slender pole and lets one end of it down very -quietly into the water. The other end he places between -his teeth and imitates the grunt of the baby 'gators. The -old fellows easily hear the call and come up to feast on -babies they think are there.</p> - -<p>In catching them alive hunters frequently lasso them while -asleep on the bank or on a log. When asleep in their holes -in the mud they are occasionally drawn out by means of an -iron hook. These holes are easily found. Sometimes the -grass is set afire and the animals lassoed as they seek the -water.</p> - -<p>After the alligator is caught the hunter in sport sometimes -mounts it, using the reptile's fore feet and legs as reins. -It is needless to say that it is only by the exercise of considerable -skill that the hunter keeps his seat through the -struggles of the reptile, and if care is not used the fun may -develop into tragedy.</p> - -<p>Alligators three feet and more in length are generally -killed at once and the hide removed. All of the hide except -the ridge of the back, which is very bony, is used. The hide -is salted, and is then in condition for sale to the buyers, who -are usually storekeepers, who furnish provisions and ammunition -in exchange.</p> - -<p>The hides range in value to the hunter from 20 cents for -a three-foot hide to $1.25 for a hide seven feet or more in -length. The five and six-foot hides are the most desirable, -as the larger hides have a hard piece of bone in the square -checks on the hide, and it is impossible to sew through this. -Nearly all of the tanning is done at Newark, N. J.</p> - -<p>Young alligators are often brought in, and are worth -about 8 cents apiece. The eggs are also gathered, and sell -for 2-1/2 cents each. They are mainly sold to curio dealers, -who either hatch them out or blow them and sell the shells. -Most of the small alligators are stuffed and sold as curios to -tourists, who pay from 50 cents to $2 apiece for them.</p> - -<p>Many of them used to be shipped North alive by tourists -as presents. Owing to ignorance as to how the animal -should be cared for many of these soon died.</p> - -<p>If properly cared for, the young alligator will thrive even -in unnatural circumstances. Its main requirement is sufficient -heat. Its diet should consist of bits of fresh meat, -insects and worms. They often show great fondness for the -ordinary earthworms, and will frequently refuse all food -but these. The larger specimens in captivity are fed about -three times a week on fresh meat or small live animals, and -they require little attention other than this.</p> - -<p>Alligators' teeth, which are secured by burying the head -until they have rotted out, are of fine ivory and valued for -carving into ornaments. They are worth to the hunter about -$2 a pound—from fifty to seventy-five teeth. The dealers -will not buy very many of them, as there is but a limited -demand. At one time the paws were saved and mounted as -curios, but it is impossible to do anything with them now.</p> - -<p>Both flesh and eggs are eaten by a few persons, but it -requires a very hardy stomach to stand the disagreeable, -musky odor. There is nothing better, hunters declare, than -the tip of the tail of an alligator which has reached, say, -the pullet period. It is creamy in color, tasting a little like -frogs' legs, but with a more pronounced gamy flavor, juicy—altogether -tempting. The dish is a great favorite with the -crackers of Florida.</p> - -<p>Alligator tails are best at the time of the ricebird season. -The big alligators float in the water with only their eyes -showing. When an alligator gets near a flock of these fat, -juicy little birds it dives to the bottom. Its long, wide -snout scoops up some of the loam, and it floats to the surface -again with just the rich soil showing.</p> - -<p>The birds think it is an island. They alight upon it. -When the whole family is there the big beast turns suddenly. -Just as the birds scramble off the alligator opens its mouth -once. They are gone.</p> - -<p>The birds are neat little feeders, and the alligator is an -epicure at this time of the year. The ricebird diet makes -the tip of its tail tender and sweet.</p> - -<p>In St. Augustine is an alligator farm, one of two in the -United States, the other being at the Hot Springs in -Arkansas. Here the alligators are kept in confinement until -large enough for market.</p> - -<p>It will probably be news to many that Florida has a representative -of the crocodile family. This animal was first -supposed to be confined to the West Indies and South -America, but it has been occasionally captured on the -peninsula of Florida. It is easily distinguishable from the -alligator by its narrow snout. For many years scientists -were skeptical of reports from Florida of the appearance of -this animal in that State, but the capture of several fine -specimens in recent years has settled all doubt.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VENOMOUS" id="VENOMOUS">VENOMOUS FISH.</a></h2> - -<p>It is curious that while so much has been written in our -language on snake bites there has been comparatively little -placed on record concerning the stings of fishes.</p> - -<p>Snake bites are rare in this country, but fish stings are -very common, especially among fishermen and fishmongers. -The fishes that most often sting are the great and little -weevers. A prick on the hand or foot from a weever -causes much swelling and inflammation.</p> - -<p>If the arm is affected the inflammation may spread to the -shoulder, the swelling of the whole limb being enormous. -The pain is agonizing, the patient often falling into a state -of collapse or becoming delirious. Usually the inflammation -subsides in about three days, followed by desquamation.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2 class="huge bb"> -<a href="images/i1large.jpg"><img src="images/i1.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -<a name="LATEST_ISSUES" id="LATEST_ISSUES">LATEST ISSUES</a> -<a href="images/i2large.jpg"><img src="images/i2.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -</h2> - - -<h3>MOTOR STORIES</h3> - -<p>The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it is. See for yourself. <b>High art -colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>6—Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On The High Gear.</p> - -<p>7—Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto.</p> - -<p>8—Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds Forward.</p> - -<p>9—Motor Matt's Air-Ship; or, The Rival Inventors.</p> - -<p>10—Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon House Plot.</p> - -<p>11—Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen -Brady.</p> - -<p>12—Motor Matt's Peril; or, Castaway in the Bahamas.</p> - -<p>13—Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the Iron Chest.</p> - -<p>14—Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>15—Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise of the -<i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters.</p> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos.</p> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor -Boys.</p></blockquote> - - -<h3>TIP TOP WEEKLY</h3> - -<p>The most popular publication for boys. The adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell can be had only in -this weekly. <b>High art colored covers. Thirty-two pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>681—Frank Merriwell's Patience; or, The Making of a Pitcher.</p> - -<p>682—Frank Merriwell's Pupil; or, The Boy with the Wizard -Wing.</p> - -<p>683—Frank Merriwell's Fighters; or, The Decisive Battle with -Blackstone.</p> - -<p>684—Dick Merriwell at the "Meet"; or, Honors Worth Winning.</p> - -<p>685—Dick Merriwell's Protest; or, The Man Who Would Not -Play Clean.</p> - -<p>686—Dick Merriwell In The Marathon; or, The Sensation of the -Great Run.</p> - -<p>687—Dick Merriwell's Colors; or, All For the Blue.</p> - -<p>688—Dick Merriwell, Driver; or, The Race for the Daremore -Cup.</p> - -<p>689—Dick Merriwell on the Deep; or, The Cruise of the <i>Yale</i>.</p> - -<p>690—Dick Merriwell in the North Woods; or, The Timber -Thieves of the Floodwood.</p> - -<p>691—Dick Merriwell's Dandies; or, A Surprise for the Cowboy -Nine.</p> - -<p>692—Dick Merriwell's "Skyscooter"; or, Professor Pagan and -the "Princess."</p> - -<p>693—Dick Merriwell in the Elk Mountains; or, The Search for -"Dead Injun" Mine.</p></blockquote> - - -<h3>NICK CARTER WEEKLY</h3> - -<p>The best detective stories on earth. Nick Carter's exploits are read the world over. <b>High art colored -covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>642—The Detective's Disappearance; or, Nick Carter is Saved -by Adelina.</p> - -<p>643—The Midnight Marauders; or, Nick Carter's Telephone -Mystery.</p> - -<p>644—The Child of the Jungle; or, Nick Carter's Ingenious Ruse.</p> - -<p>645—Nick Carter's Satanic Enemy; or, The Case of an Easy -Mark.</p> - -<p>646—Three Times Stolen; or, Nick Carter's Strange Clue.</p> - -<p>647—The Great Diamond Syndicate; or, Nick Carter's Cleverest -Foes.</p> - -<p>648—The House of the Yellow Door; or, Nick Carter in the Old -French Quarter.</p> - -<p>649—The Triangle Clue; or, Nick Carter's Greenwich Village -Case.</p> - -<p>650—The Hollingsworth Puzzle; or, Nick Carter Three Times -Baffled.</p> - -<p>651—The Affair of the Missing Bonds; or, Nick Carter in the -Harness.</p> - -<p>652—The Green Box Clue; or, Nick Carter's Good Friend.</p> - -<p>653—The Taxicab Mystery; or, Nick Carter Closes a Deal.</p> - -<p>654—The Mystery of a Hotel Room; or, Nick Carter's Best -Work.</p> - -<p>655—Tragedy of the Well; or, Nick Carter Under Suspicion.</p></blockquote> - - - - -<p class="center"><i>For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt of price, -5 cents per copy, in money or postage stamps, by</i></p> - -<p class="center large">STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><b class="medium">IF YOU WANT ANY BACK NUMBERS</b> of our Weeklies and cannot procure them from your newsdealer, they can be -obtained from this office direct. Fill out the following Order Blank and send it to -us with the price of the Weeklies you want and we will send them to you by return mail. <b>POSTAGE STAMPS TAKEN THE SAME AS MONEY.</b></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<table summary="form" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> - -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdr sig">________________________ <i>190</i></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6"><i>STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</i><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find</i> ___________________________ <i>cents for which send me</i>:</span> -</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td><b>TIP TOP WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BUFFALO BILL STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>NICK CARTER WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>DIAMOND DICK WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>MOTOR STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdc"> -<i>Name</i> ________________ <i>Street</i> ________________ <i>City</i> ________________ <i>State</i> ________________<br /> -</td></tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="A_GREAT_SUCCESS" id="A_GREAT_SUCCESS">A GREAT SUCCESS!!</a></h2> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center huge u">MOTOR STORIES</p> - - -<p>Every boy who reads one of the splendid adventures of Motor -Matt, which are making their appearance in this weekly, is at once -surprised and delighted. Surprised at the generous quantity of -reading matter that we are giving for five cents; delighted with the -fascinating interest of the stories, second only to those published -in the Tip Top Weekly.</p> - -<p>Matt has positive mechanical genius, and while his adventures -are unusual, they are, however, drawn so true to life that the reader can -clearly see how it is possible for the ordinary boy to experience them.</p> - - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center"><b><i>HERE ARE THE TITLES NOW READY AND THOSE TO BE PUBLISHED</i>:</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>1—Motor Matt; or, The King of the Wheel.</p> - -<p>2—Motor Matt's Daring; or, True to His Friends.</p> - -<p>3—Motor Matt's Century Run; or, The Governor's -Courier.</p> - -<p>4—Motor Matt's Race; or, The Last Flight of the -"Comet."</p> - -<p>5—Motor Matt's Mystery; or, Foiling a Secret -Plot.</p> - -<p>6—Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On the High Gear.</p> - -<p>7—Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto.</p> - -<p>8—Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds -Forward.</p> - -<p>9—Motor Matt's Air Ship; or, The Rival Inventors.</p> - -<p>10—Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon -House Plot.</p> - -<p>11—Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange -Case of Helen Brady.</p> - -<p>12—Motor Matt's Peril; or, Cast Away in the -Bahamas.</p> - -<p>13—Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the -Iron Chest.</p> - -<p>14—Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the -"Hawk."</p> - -<p>15—Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise -of the "Grampus."</p> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in -Strange Waters.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on June 14th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don -Carlos.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on June 21st.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on June 28th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on July 5th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory -for the Motor Boys.</p></blockquote> - - -<p class="large center">PRICE, FIVE CENTS</p> - -<p class="center">At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt of the price.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table summary="scaffold" style="width: 50%;"> -<tr class="medium"><td style="width: 33%">STREET & SMITH,</td><td class="tdc"><i>Publishers</i>,</td><td class="tdr" style="width: 33%">NEW YORK</td></tr> -</table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber's Notes:</a></h2> - - -<p>Images may be clicked to view larger versions.</p> - -<p>Added table of contents.</p> - -<p>Page 5, corrected typo "odder" in "oder somet'ing like dot!"</p> - -<p>Page 7, added tilde to "Madam Cousiņo" for consistency.</p> - -<p>Page 9, corrected typo <i>Gampus</i> in "started south to meet the <i>Grampus</i>." Retained unusual spelling of "possesion" on the assumption that it is intentional.</p> - -<p>Page 12, corrected typo "Wihtehead" ("Whitehead began its peculiar performance").</p> - -<p>Page 14, corrected typo "Glennine" ("'Jupiter!' exclaimed Glennie.").</p> - -<p>Page 22, corrected typo "baot" ("bore him off the boat"). Removed unnecessary quote after "six yellow men?" at end of page. -</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt Makes Good, by Stanley R. 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