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diff --git a/old/50975-8.txt b/old/50975-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3f61fcb..0000000 --- a/old/50975-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4871 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt's Prize, 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's Prize - or, The Pluck That Wins - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: January 20, 2016 [EBook #50975] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT'S PRIZE *** - - - - -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. 23 - JULY 31, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - - MOTOR MATT'S - PRIZE - - OR THE PLUCK - THAT WINS - - _BY THE AUTHOR - OF "MOTOR MATT"_ - - [Illustration: _Unaware of his narrow escape - the king of the motor boys - flung the Sprite onward - to victory._] - - 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, _79-80 Seventh Avenue, -New York, N. Y._ - - No. 23. NEW YORK, July 31, 1909. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - -MOTOR MATT'S PRIZE - -OR, - -The Pluck that Wins. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. A CLASH IN BLACK AND YELLOW. - CHAPTER II. PICKEREL PETE'S REVENGE. - CHAPTER III. A "DARK HORSE." - CHAPTER IV. PLANS. - CHAPTER V. AN ORDER TO QUIT. - CHAPTER VI. FACING THE MUSIC. - CHAPTER VII. GATHERING CLOUDS. - CHAPTER VIII. THE PLOTTERS. - CHAPTER IX. FIREBUGS AT WORK. - CHAPTER X. SAVING THE "SPRITE." - CHAPTER XI. OUT OF A BLAZING FURNACE. - CHAPTER XII. WHAT ABOUT THE RACE? - CHAPTER XIII. MART RAWLINS WEAKENS. - CHAPTER XIV. THE RACE--THE START. - CHAPTER XV. THE FINISH. - CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION. - TRICKED BY TWO. - HOMES ON THE RIO GRANDE. - PIGEONS AS PHOTOGRAPHERS. - - - - -CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. - - - =Matt King=, otherwise Motor Matt. - - =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and - character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side. A - good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive. - - =Ping Pong=, a Chinese boy who insists on working for Motor Matt, and - who contrives to make himself valuable, perhaps invaluable. - - =George Lorry=, who, befriended by Motor Matt at a critical time in - his career, proves a credit to himself and to his friends. - - =Mr. Lorry=, George's father; a man who knows how to be generous. - - =Ethel Lorry=, George Lorry's sister; an admirer of Motor Matt. - - =Pickerel Pete=, whose elemental mind evolves a grievance against - Motor Matt and is further worked upon by an unscrupulous enemy of - Lorry and Matt. The result is almost a tragedy. - - =Ollie Merton=, a rich man's son with many failings, but rather - deeper than he appears. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A CLASH IN BLACK AND YELLOW. - - -"Woosh!" - -"Fo' de lan' sakes!" - -Then followed a bump, a clatter of displaced stones, and sounds of -a fall. When quiet once more ensued, two surprised youngsters were -on hands and knees, peering at each other like a couple of hostile -bantams. Between them lay a string of perch, and off to one side a -hickory fishpole, and an old tomato can with a choice assortment of -angleworms squirming out of it. - -One of the lads was a fifteen-year-old Chinese, in fluttering blouse, -wide trousers, wooden sandals and straw hat; the other was a diminutive -moke, black as the ace of spades, barefooted, and wearing a "hickory" -shirt and ragged trousers. - -The bank of Fourth Lake, where they had come together so unexpectedly, -was an admirable place for such collisions. In this place the bank was -some thirty feet high, steep and rocky. A narrow path, thickly bordered -with bushes, angled from top to bottom. At the foot of the path was a -boathouse. - -Now, if a Chinese boy, in a good deal of a hurry, went slipping -and sliding downward from the top of the path, it will be readily -understood that he could not put on the brakes in time to avoid an -obstruction appearing suddenly in front of him as he scrambled around a -bushy angle. - -And if that obstruction happened to be a diminutive darky, sitting -squarely in the path, sunning himself and half asleep, too drowsy to -take notice of sounds above and behind him, it will also be understood -that a collision was certain. - -It happened. The Chinese took a header over the darky, and when each -flopped to his hands and knees, they were looking into each other's -eyes with growing animosity. - -"By golly!" flared the negro, "is dem glass eyes en yo' haid? Ef dey -ain't, why doan' yu use dem?" - -"Why blackee boy makee sit in China boy's load?" gurgled the other. - -"Yo' own dishyer lake?" taunted the little moke; "yo' gotter mo'galidge -on dishyer bank? Go on wif yo' highfalutin' talk! Ah'll sot wherebber -Ah wants, en ef yo' comes erlong en goes tuh shovin', by golly, yo'll -fin' Ah kin do some shovin' mahse'f." - -"My gottee light comee down bank," asserted the Chinese boy, picking -himself up. "My makee go allee same boathouse; you makee stay in load, -you gettee shove. My plenty same choo-choo tlain, you makee sleep on -tlack. Savvy? You makee some mo' shove, my makee some mo' shove, too." - -The Chinese boy stood his ground. The black-skinned youngster sat up -and pulled his string of fish closer. - -"Ah nebber did lak Chinks," he grunted. - -"My no likee blackee boy, all same," averred the Celestial. - -"Ah reckons Ah kin lick yu' wif one han' tied behin' mah back. Go -'long, yaller trash! Ah's er hurriclone en a cynader, all rolled intuh -one, when Ah gits sta'ted. Look out fo' a big blow en a Chink wreck, -dat's all." - -"Woosh! Blackee boy makee plenty blow. Me allee same cannon. My makee -go bang, you makee go top-side. No likee your piecee pidgin." - -Then a comical thing happened, and if any third person with a humorous -vein in his make-up had been around, the proceeding would have been -highly enjoyed. - -Both youngsters glared at each other. Each had his fists doubled, -and each fiddled back and forth across the steep path. The black boy -sniffed contemptuously. The Chinese lad was a good imitator, and he -also sniffed--even more contemptuously. - -"By golly," fumed the little moke, "Ah dunno whut's er holdin' me back. -Ef any one else had done tuh me whut yo' done, Ah'd hab tromped all -ober him befo' now. Ah's gwine tuh dat boathouse mah'se'f. Git outen de -way an' le'me pass, er Ah'll butt yo' wif mah haid!" - -"My makee go to boathouse, too." - -A little curiosity suddenly crept into the black boy's hostile brain. - -"Whut bizness yo' got at dat boathouse, huh?" he demanded. - -"Gottee plenty pidgin. My workee fo' Motol Matt." - -"Yo' workin' fo' Motor Matt?" grunted the other. "By golly, he's mah -boss." - -"Him China boy's boss." - -"Naw, he ain't. Yo's talkin' froo yo' hat. Doan' yo' go er prowlin' -erroun' dat 'ar boathouse. Ah ain't a-lettin' nobody git dat job away -f'om me." - -"Motol Matt my boss, allee same," insisted the Chinese boy. - -"When you all git hiahed by Motor Matt?" demanded the darky. - -"Long time, allee same Flisco." - -"Den dat let's yo' out, yaller mug. Motor Matt done hiahed me fo' days -ergo, at two dollahs er day. Skun out. Doan' yo' try cuttin' me loose -from dat 'ar job." - -The darky took a step downward, but the Celestial planted himself -firmly and put up his fists. Once more there was a hitch in -proceedings, but the affair was growing more ominous. - -"Ah shuah hates tuh mangle yo' up," breathed the darky, "but de -'sponsibility fo' what's done gwine tuh happen b'longs on yo' had en -not on mine." - -The Chinese lifted his yellow hands and crossed two fingers in front of -his face, then, in a particularly irritating manner, he snorted at the -black boy through his fingers. - -That was about as much as flesh and blood could stand. The colored lad -was so full of talk that it just gurgled in his throat. - -"Dat's de mos' insulatin' thing what ebber happened tuh me!" he finally -managed to gasp. "By golly, Ah doan' take dat f'om nobody. Dat snortin' -talk Ah won't stan', dat's all." - -"Blackee boy makee heap talk," taunted the Chinese; "him 'flaid makee -hit with hands." - -"'Fraid?" cried the darky. "Say, you, Pickerel Pete ain't afraid ob all -de Chinks dat eber walked de erf. Chinks--waugh! Ah eat's 'em." - -"Mebby you tly eatee Ping Pong?" invited the Celestial. - -Pickerel Pete, watching his antagonist warily, stooped to pick up a -small pebble. Very carefully he laid the pebble on his shoulder. - -"Knock dat off," he gritted, his hand closing on the string that held -the perch. "Yo' all ain't got de nerve. Yo's got gas enough fo' er -b'loon dissension, but dat's all dere is to yu. Knock de stone offen -mah shoulder! Go on, now, you yaller trash." - -Ping leaned over and brushed the pebble away. That settled it. There -was no retreat for either of the two after that. - -Pete gave a whoop and struck at Ping with the string of perch. The -string broke, and Ping got a perch down the loose collar of his kimono, -while another slapped him across the eyes. For an instant the air was -full of fish, and under cover of the finny cloud the enraged Chinese -rushed at his enemy and gave him a push. - -Pete sat down with a good deal of force, and, as it happened, he sat -down on his fishhook. A fishhook was never known to lie any way but -point up and ready for business, so Pete got up about as quick as he -sat down. The next moment he rushed at Ping, trailing the line and the -fishpole after him. - -This time the two boys clinched, and the noise they made as they rolled -about among the perch and pummeled each other caused a commotion at the -boathouse. Motor Matt and George Lorry rushed out of the building and -looked up the path. - -"Great spark-plugs!" exclaimed Matt. "There's a fight going on up -there, George." - -"It looks that way, that's a fact," answered Lorry. "Let's go up and -put a stop to it." - -Matt was already bounding up the path. Before he had ascended more than -fifteen feet he was met by two rolling, plunging, tumbling forms coming -down. A tremendous clatter of sliding stones accompanied the descent, -and a towed fishpole whacked and slammed in the rear. - -Bracing himself, Matt succeeded in laying hold of the two closely -grappled forms, and in bringing them to a stop; then, when he -recognized who the fighters were, his astonishment held him speechless. - -"Pickerel Pete!" exclaimed George Lorry. - -"And Ping Pong," added Matt, as soon as he had recovered a little from -his amazement. "The sight of Ping pretty near gives me a short circuit." - -"My gottee job," whooped the breathless Ping; "Pickelel Pete no gottee!" - -"Hit's my job, en Ah ain't er quittin' fo' no yaller feller like you!" - -Thwack, thwack! - -"Here, now," cried Matt, "this won't do. Stop it, you fellows!" - -Pickerel Pete had a firm grip on Ping's pigtail--which is about the -worst hold you can get on a Chinaman. Ping had one hand and arm around -Pete's black neck, and the other hand was twisted in the fishline. - -Every time Pete would pull the queue a sharp wail would go up from -Ping, and every time the fishline was jerked Pete would howl and squirm. - -"You boys ought to be ashamed of yourselves," said Matt, masking his -desire to laugh with all the severity he could muster. - -Lorry was leaning against a tree, his head bowed and his whole form in -a quiver. - -"Leavee go China boy's pigtail!" chirped Ping. - -"Stop yo' pullin' on dat 'ar fishline!" howled Pete. - -"Let go, both of you!" ordered Matt; then forcibly he pulled the two -lads apart. "Here, Lorry," he called, "you hang onto Ping and I'll take -care of Pete." - -The youngsters were a disordered pair when separated and held at a -distance from each other. - -"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Matt. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -PICKEREL PETE'S REVENGE. - - -For several moments neither Pete nor Ping was able to reply to Matt's -question. The darky was busy getting the fishhook out of his trousers, -and the Chinese was hopping up and down on one foot, shaking the perch -out of his flapping garments. Both the fish and the fishhook were -extricated at about the same time. - -"Say, boss," cried Pete, "yo' all ain't done passed me up fo' dat -yaller trash, has yu? Ah's workin' fo' yu yit, ain't Ah? Dat 'ar -slant-eye hefun was er sayin' dat he had de job, but Ah 'lows yo' -wouldn't go en cut me offen yo' pay-roll fo' de likes ob him." - -"My workee fo' Motol Matt," clamored Ping, "allee time. Blackee boy no -workee. Me one piecee fine China boy. Lickee blackee boy allee same Sam -Hill." - -"Yo' nebber!" whooped Pete. "Ah kin git yo' on de mat wif mah eyes -shut, en----" - -"Stand right where you are, Pete!" cut in Matt sternly. "I'll not have -any more rowdying. You and Ping ought to be ashamed of yourselves." - -"You ketchee boat my sendee by expless, Motol Matt?" inquired Ping. - -Matt had "caught" the boat, all right. Ping, without any instructions, -had sent the eighteen-foot _Sprite_, with engine installed and various -accessories in the lockers, from San Francisco to Madison, Wisconsin, -by express, charges collect. - -At first the king of the motor boys had been considerably "put out" by -this unauthorized move of Ping's, but later he had been glad that the -_Sprite_ had come into his hands. - -"Yes, Ping," said Matt, "I received the boat, and we have now got her -in the boathouse down there, making some changes in her to fit her for -the motor-boat race next week. Where have you been, Ping?" - -"Makee come flom Flisco," answered the Chinese, hunting up his sandals -and his hat. "My workee fo' you, so my come findee boss." - -"The boat got here quite a while ago. How long have you been in the -town?" - -"Ketchee town yessulday. Makee ask chop-chop where my findee Motol -Matt. Thisee molnin' 'Melican man say, so my come. Blackee boy allee -same stone in China boy's load; China boy no see um, takee tumble; -blackee boy velly mad, makee fight. Woosh!" - -Pete, with snapping eyes, had been standing back listening to this -talk. Now he thought it about time that he put in his own oar. - -"Ah's brack, boss," said he to Matt, "but Ah ain't yaller. Cho'ly yo' -ain't goin' tuh frow me down fo' dat 'ar no-'count hefun, is yo'? Ah's -workin' fo' you fo' two dollahs er day. Ain't dat right?" - -"Peter," said Matt, "you're not to be depended on. I hired you for two -dollars a day to pilot me around the lakes, and I paid you for a day -in advance. You went with me through the canal to Fourth Lake, and -then up the Catfish to Whisky Creek. I left you to watch the boat, and -you deserted, and I haven't seen you since until this minute. Now you -bob up, just as though nothing had happened, and want to keep right on -working for me. I don't think I need you any longer, Pete. You didn't -work for me more than three hours, but you got paid for a full day, so -you ought to be satisfied." - -Ping puffed himself up delightedly. Pickerel Pete, on the other hand, -seemed struck "all of a heap." - -"Yo' doan' mean dat, does yo', boss?" he pleaded. "Ah's er good li'l -moke, en Ah got testimendations f'om de gobernor ob de State. Yo' ain't -gwineter turn down dem testimendations, is yo'?" - -"I can't depend on you, Pete," said Matt. "I don't need a boy any more, -anyhow; but I'm under obligations to Ping, so I'll have to take him on." - -"Den Ah's kicked out?" shouted Pete. - -"No, you're not kicked out. I don't need you, that's all." - -"We had er contrack, en yo's done busted hit!" flared Pete savagely. - -Matt could not restrain a laugh at the little darky's rage. - -"You got the best of our contract, Pete," said Matt. "You owe me about -a dollar and a half, but I'm willing to call it square." - -"Ah owes yo' more'n dat," fumed Pete. "Yo's done kicked me out, en Ah -ain't er gwine tur fo'git. Hit's dat yaller trash dat's 'sponsible"--he -shook his black fist at Ping--"but Ah's gwine tuh play eben wif yo' all -fo' whut yo's done. Jess watch mah smoke!" - -"You little rascal!" spoke up Lorry; "what do you mean by talking that -way? Get out of here!" - -"Ah's gotter right tuh stay anywhere Ah please erround dishyer lake," -cried Pete. "Yo' kain't drive me off, nuther. Yah! Dat ole boat you's -fixin' up fo' de race ain't worf nuffin'. Ollie Merton he's gotter boat -dat is er boat, en he's gwinter beat yo' outen yo' boots, dat's whut -he is. Ah wouldn't 'sociate wif no sich fellers as you, en Ah wouldn't -work fo' Motor Matt ef he paid me a millyun dollahs er day! Jess yo' -watch mah smoke--Ah'll git eben, yassuh!" - -With that the angry little rascal turned and ran up the path. But he -did not run far. As soon as a bend in the crooked course had hidden him -from the eyes of Matt and Lorry, he plunged off along the side of the -bank, hiding himself in the undergrowth, and working his way slowly -down toward the boathouse. - -As soon as Pete had vanished, Lorry turned to Matt with a laugh. - -"There's another enemy for us to deal with, Matt," said he. - -"If he was bigger," returned Matt, "he might prove dangerous; but -Pete's too small to count." - -"Blackee boy no good," put in the smirking Ping. "My knockee blame head -off!" - -"Don't be so savage, Ping," said Matt humorously. - -"So this is the chap that sent the _Sprite_ to Madison by express, eh?" -inquired Lorry, grinning as he gave the Celestial an up-and-down look. - -"He's the fellow. Why did you drop out so suddenly in San Francisco, -Ping?" and Matt turned to the Chinese. - -"My waitee fo' you by Tiburon landing, you savvy?" said Ping. "Bumby, -my see launly boss come down landing likee house afire. Woosh! No -likee launly boss. My say 'goo'-by' and lun away. One, two, tlee -day, my makee hunt fo' Motol Matt. Him gone. P'licee man say he gone -Ma'son, Wiscon', so my gettee 'Melican man boxee boat, shippee Ma'son. -You ketchee awri'. Velly fine. Now my workee fo' you. Hi-lee-lee, -hi-lo-lo----" - -Ping was happy. He had found Matt, and he was back on the job again. -Not only that, but the "blackee boy" was cut out for good. - -"Do you remember the three men who made us so much trouble in San -Francisco, Ping?" asked Matt. - -"Allee same. Red-whiskels 'Melican----" - -"That's the fellow who's called Big John." - -"Sure; him Big John, awri', and big lascal, too. Woosh! My lecollect -Kinky and Loss. All thlee makee Matt heap tlouble." - -"Big John, Kinky, and Ross, those are the men. Have you seen anything -of them, Ping, since you left Frisco?" - -"No see um, Motol Matt. My punchee head, me see um. Where Joe McGloly, -huh? Him big high boy, Joe." - -"McGlory's off around Picnic Point on a motor cycle, trying to find -out how fast the boat is that the _Sprite_ has got to beat. As the -_Wyandotte_ races through the lake, Joe was to race along the road -on the lake shore, just keeping abreast of the boat. Then Joe's -speedometer will tell him how fast the boat is going." - -"No savvy," murmured Ping, shaking his head. - -"Your talk is too deep for him, Matt," laughed Lorry. "Well, let's get -back to the boathouse. You were just going to explain the changes you -were making in the _Sprite_ in order to make her fast enough to beat -the _Wyandotte_." - -"When Joe gets back," said Matt, "we'll know just how fast the -_Wyandotte_ can go, and just how fast the _Sprite_ will have to travel." - -"Merton may try to fool us, Matt. If he knows Joe is timing him, he'll -not let the _Wyandotte_ put in her best licks." - -"I told Joe to be careful and not let any one on the _Wyandotte_ see -him. We've got to be just as careful. I'd hate to have Merton know what -we were doing to the _Sprite_." - -"Sure," nodded Lorry, "it won't do to have our hand tipped at this -stage of the game." - -Matt and Lorry started back toward the boathouse, Ping following -them and looking back up the path on the chance of catching sight of -Pickerel Pete. - -"All the changes I'm making in the _Sprite_," continued Matt, "are -drawn on that roll of papers I left on the work-bench. We'll go -over those diagrams, one at a time, George, and I think I can make -everything clear to you." - -"Whatever you say, Matt, goes," returned Lorry. "You've got a head on -you for such things. I know a good motor launch when I see it, and I -can drive such a boat as well as anybody, but I'm no mechanic. All I -want," and Lorry's eyes flashed and his words became sharp, "is to get -a boat that will beat Merton's. You know how much that means to me." - -"I do," said Matt, "and we're going to make a fast boat out of the -_Sprite_. We'll give Ollie Merton a run for that prize, and no two ways -about it. When Joe gets back, if he has had any kind of luck, we'll -know just what we're up against." - -The boathouse was large and roomy, and the doors were open, front -and rear. Matt had transformed part of the interior into a workshop, -and there was a bench, with a machinist's vise, under an open window -at the side of the building. Tools and parts of the boat's machinery -were scattered about, apparently in great disorder, but really with a -methodical carelessness that left them handily in the spot where they -would next be needed. - -As the boys entered the boathouse, Matt started directly for the bench -to get the roll of drawings. They were not where he had left them, and -he turned blankly to Lorry. - -"Did you do anything with that bundle of diagrams, George?" he asked. - -"Never touched 'em, Matt," replied Lorry, with some excitement, "but I -saw where you laid them--and it was right there." - -Lorry dropped a hand on the work-bench, close to the open window. - -"They've been stolen!" exclaimed Matt aghast. "They were taken while we -were up the bank! Who could have done it?" - -"Who but Merton and some of those rascally friends of his?" queried -Lorry, his eyes flashing. - -Matt ran to the other end of the boathouse and stepped out upon the -small platform above the water, but, strain his eyes as he would, he -could see nothing of any boat on that part of the lake. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A "DARK HORSE." - - -Ollie Merton was the only son of a millionaire lumberman. The -millionaire and his wife were making an extensive tour of Europe, and -while they were away the son was in complete charge of the big Madison -mansion, with a large fund in the bank subject to his personal check. - -Never before had such a chance to "spread himself" came young Merton's -way, and he was making the most of it. - -The lad was commodore of the Winnequa Yacht Club, which had its -headquarters near Winnequa, on Third Lake. Another institution, known -as the Yahara Motor Boat Club, had its boathouse on Fourth Lake; and -between the Winnequas and the Yaharas there was the most intense -rivalry. - -Twice, in two years hand running, the Winnequas had contested against -the Yaharas for power-boat honors. By winning the first race the -Winnequas had secured a trophy known as the "De Lancey Cup," and by -winning the second race they still retained possession of the cup. -By winning a third time the cup would pass to them in perpetuity. The -Yaharas, feeling that their very existence as a club was at stake, -were bitterly determined to snatch the prize from their rivals. A vast -amount of feeling was wrapped up in the approaching contest. - -George Lorry was vice commodore of the Yahara Club. In a secret -session, months before, the Yaharas had commissioned Lorry to carry -the honors of the club and secure a boat which would outrun any the -Winnequas might put in the field. - -Lorry, no less than Merton, was the son of a rich man. Without -consulting his father, Lorry ordered a five thousand-dollar hydroplane, -and, at the last moment, parental authority stepped in and denied the -young man such an extravagance. - -George Lorry at this time had rather more pride and conceit than were -good for him. His father's action, in the matter of the hydroplane, -stung him to the quick. He felt that he had been humiliated, and that -his comrades, the Yaharas, were giving him the cold shoulder on account -of his failure to "make good" with a winning boat. - -George had been wrong in this, but, nevertheless, he resigned from -the boat club and went to the other extreme of making a friend and -associate of Ollie Merton. - -Merton, recognizing in Lorry the only source of danger to the prestige -of the Winnequas, had advised George to do certain things with the -object of clearing a rival from the field during the forthcoming race. - -That Merton had advised unscrupulous acts, and that Lorry had tried to -carry them out, matters little. Motor Matt met Lorry at just the right -time to keep him from doing something which he would have regretted to -the end of his days. - -Very recently Lorry had discovered the false friendship of Merton, and, -coming to see the folly of what he had done in a misguided moment, had -gone back to the Yaharas and requested a renewal of the commission to -furnish a boat for the coming race that would regain the De Lancey cup -for his club. Lorry had been received by his former comrades with open -arms, and they had immediately acceded to his request. - -From this it will be understood how great a stake George Lorry had -in the third contest with the Winnequas. Apart from the intense club -spirit which prompted a winning boat at any cost, there was a personal -side to the issue which meant everything to Lorry. - -Merton's specious counsel, given for the purpose of getting Lorry out -of the race, had almost brought Lorry to ruin. Now, to best Merton -in the contest had come to be regarded by Lorry as almost a personal -justification. - -To Motor Matt young Lorry had turned, and the king of the motor boys -had promised a boat that would regain the lost prize for the Yaharas. - -Matt felt that the _Sprite_, with certain changes, could beat anything -on the lakes. Lorry shared his confidence, and Matt was working night -and day to get the swift little eighteen-foot launch in shape for -"warming up" on the water before the regatta. - -The theft of the drawings was the first backset Matt and Lorry had -received. Well aware of Merton's questionable character, it was easy -for the lads to believe that he had slipped into the boathouse while -they were up the bank and had taken the plans; or he need only have -come to the window and reach in in order to help himself to them. - -Lorry was terribly cut up. - -"Merton has got the better of us," he muttered disconsolately. "He'll -know just what we're going to do with the _Sprite_ now, and will make -changes in the _Wyandotte_, or else arrange for another boat to stack -up against us. It's too late for us to order another boat, and we'll -have to go on with the _Sprite_ and look at Merton's heels over the -finish line. Oh, thunder! I wish this Chink and that Pickerel Pete were -in the bottom of the lake!" - -Noticing the scowl Lorry gave him, Ping slunk away from his vicinity, -and came closer to where Matt was walking thoughtfully back and forth -across the floor of the boathouse. - -"Don't lose your nerve, Lorry," counseled Matt, coming to a halt and -leaning against the work-bench. "No fellow ever won a fight unless he -went into it with confidence." - -"It's all well enough to talk of confidence," grumbled Lorry, "but this -is enough to undermine all the hopes we ever had." - -"Looked at in one way, yes. Those were my working drawings. They -contained all the measurements of the _Sprite's_ hull, my plans for -changing the gasoline tanks from the bow aft where they would not -bring the boat down so much by the head, also my arrangement for a new -reversing-gear, the dimensions of the motor, and the size and pitch of -our new propeller." - -Lorry groaned. - -"Why, confound it!" he cried, "Merton will be able to figure out just -what the _Sprite's_ speed should be--and he can plan accordingly for -another boat. There's a way of getting those plans away from him, by -Jupiter!" He started angrily to his feet. - -"How?" asked Matt quietly. - -"The police," returned Lorry. - -"No, not the police! We don't know that Merton has the plans; it's a -pretty safe guess, all right, but we don't absolutely know. When you -call in the law to help you, George, you've got to be pretty sure of -your ground." - -Lorry dropped back in his chair dejectedly, and Matt resumed his -thoughtful pace back and forth across the room. - -"I've thought for the last two days," Matt went on finally, "that -Merton was rather free in showing off the _Wyandotte_. He has her over -here in Fourth Lake when she belongs in Third, and he's trying her out -on the other side of Picnic Point, almost under our noses. I'm not sure -but that Merton wants us to see his boat's performances." - -"Then he's not running the _Wyandotte_ at her racing speed, Matt," -averred Lorry. "He's only pretending to, hoping that we'll watch her -work and get fooled." - -"He'll not fool us much. The _Wyandotte_ is a thirty-seven-footer, -five-foot beam, semi-speed model. She has a two-cylinder, twenty-horse, -two-cycle engine, five-and-three-quarter-inch bore by five-inch stroke. -The propeller has elliptical blades, and is nineteen inches in diameter -by twenty-eight-inch pitch----" - -Lorry looked up in startled wonder. Motor Matt had reeled off his -figures off-hand as readily as though reading them from a written -memorandum. - -"Where, in the name of glory, did you find out all that?" gasped Lorry. - -Matt smiled. - -"Why," said he, "I got them in a perfectly legitimate manner from the -builder of the boat, who lives in Bay City. The name of the builder -was easily learned, and a letter did the rest. The _Wyandotte_ can log -fourteen or fifteen miles--no trouble to find that out with pencil and -paper, since we have all those dimensions. Now, the _Sprite_, as she -was, could do her mile in four-twelve--possibly in four--and Merton -knows it. Why, then, is he showing off a boat that is not much better -than the _Sprite_ has been all along? Take it from me, Lorry," and Matt -spoke with supreme conviction, "the _Wyandotte_ is not the boat the -Winnequas will have in the race. _There's another one_, and I've felt -morally sure of it all along." - -"You're a wonder!" muttered Lorry. "Why, you never told me you'd -written to Bay City about the _Wyandotte_." - -"I intended to tell you at the proper time." - -"Well, if Merton is going to spring a surprise boat on us the day of -the race, that makes it so much the worse." - -"I have other plans for changing the _Sprite_, but I have been holding -them back until I could make sure Merton was holding another speed -boat in reserve. Those plans weren't in that roll that was stolen, -George; as a matter of fact, they're not down on paper at all. From the -drawings and memoranda Merton has secured he can figure the improved -_Sprite's_ speed at a little less than sixteen miles an hour. Let him -figure that way. The other plans I have will enable her to do twenty." - -Lorry bounded off his chair. - -"Twenty?" he cried. "Matt, you're crazy!" - -Before Matt could answer, Joe McGlory staggered into the boathouse, -dragging a motor cycle after him. Both he and the wheel were splashed -with mud, and bore other evidences of wear and tear, but the cowboy's -eyes were bulging with excitement. - -"You've been gone two hours longer than I thought you'd be, Joe," said -Matt, studying his chum with considerable curiosity. "What's happened?" - -"That's it!" exploded McGlory, breathlessly, leaning the motor cycle -against the bench. "Speak to me about that! Sufferin' thunderbolts! but -I've made a whale of a discovery." - -"What is it?" demanded George, wildly impatient. - -"Why," cried McGlory, "Merton's got another boat, and she's certainly -a blue streak, if I know the brand. The fat's in the fire, pards. If -the poor old _Sprite_ gets into a race with this new boat of Merton's, -she'll be in the 'also ran' column." - -Lorry collapsed. - -"A dark horse!" exclaimed Matt. "I'd have bet a farm Merton was -planning to spring something like that. Buck up, Lorry! Perhaps this -isn't so bad, after all. Tell us about it, Joe." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -PLANS. - - -"When I got over the point, pards," said Joe, dropping into a chair and -fanning himself with his hat, "the _Wyandotte_ was just comin' down -the lake to pull off her usual race with herself. I hauled up in the -road, with the bushes between me and the water, ready to jump into the -saddle the minute the boat came opposite. I was keeping shady, you can -bet your moccasins on that, and it was some sort of a jolt when I saw -a galoot perched on a stone. He looked like a hobo, and the way he -grinned got on my nerves. - -"'I'm funny, all right,' I says to him, 'but where I come from a feller -gets shot if he looks that way at some one else.' - -"'I ain't laffin' at you,' says the tramp, 'but at the joke them other -mugs is playin' on you an' your push.' - -"'Where does the joke come in?' I inquires. - -"'Why,' he comes back, 'that other club is foolin' you with a boat -here on Fourth Lake when the real boat is over on Third. If what I'm -a-sayin' is worth a dollar to you, just remember and cough up.' - -"Well, say, that hobo wasn't a holy minute grabbin' my attention. I -fell off the chug wheel right there and proceeded to palaver. It turned -out that Merton's gard'ner was sick for a few days, and that the tramp -mowed the lawn and did a few other things around the place. There was -an open window, Ollie and some of his pards were on the other side -of it, and the noise of the lawnmower didn't prevent the tramp from -hearing what was said. You can bet your last dollar it was hot news he -got hold of. - -"Merton and the Winnequas were plannin' to fool us with the _Wyandotte_ -on Fourth Lake while they were warming up the real boat on Third. The -hobo said I could wait there at the Point till the _Wyandotte_ came -closer, and that I'd see Merton wasn't aboard; then he allowed that if -I'd sizzle over to the gun club on Third Lake I'd see the real prize -winner doing stunts that would curl my hair. - -"The tramp was off for Waunakee, and had just dropped down on a stone -to rest. My coming along was a happenchance, as he hadn't intended to -peddle the news he'd got hold of, but he recognized me as being a pard -of Motor Matt's, and a dollar looked pretty big to him. - -"I waited till the _Wyandotte_ was close, and then I saw that Merton -wasn't aboard. Would I swallow the hobo's yarn or not? I decided that I -would, so I threw him a dollar and burned the air in the direction of -the gun club and Third Lake. - -"Well, t'other boat was there, sliding around like a streak of greased -lightning. Half the time I couldn't see her for the foam she kicked up. -I managed to pick up the label on her bow as she was making a turn, -and it's the _Dart_. But go--speak to me about that! Say, she gets -to a place pretty near before she starts. Merton was aboard, and so -was that red-headed pard of his, Halloran. Halloran was working the -machinery. I watched my chance and kept abreast of the _Dart_ for a -mile. Twenty-one miles is what the speedometer registered, although the -count may be shy a little one way or the other. I was too excited to -be entirely accurate. Our hands are in the air, pards, and no mistake. -The _Sprite_'ll look like a turtle wallowin' along in the wake of a -swordfish." - -Matt and Lorry had listened to this recital with varying feelings. Matt -was deeply interested, but Lorry was visibly cast down. - -"How big is the _Dart_, Joe?" inquired Matt. - -"Twenty-five or thirty feet, Matt." - -"You must be a little wrong in your estimate of the _Dart's_ speed. It -doesn't seem possible that she could turn a mile in less than three -minutes." - -"Well, look!" exclaimed McGlory, catching his first glimpse of Ping. -"If there ain't little Washee-washee Slant-eyes I'm a Chink myself. -When and how did he flash out in these parts?" - -Matt, by way of relieving the tension aroused by McGlory's exciting -news, told of the scuffle in the path leading up the bank, and then -allowed the Celestial to finish with an account of the way he had come -from Frisco. - -"Let's get back to the boats," put in Lorry impatiently, when Ping had -got through with his pidgin English. "Hadn't I better withdraw the -_Sprite_, Matt, and let some other fellow meet Merton?" - -Matt stared. - -"I didn't believe you were that sort of a fellow, Lorry," he returned, -"and I don't think so yet." - -"But if the _Sprite_ hasn't any chance----" - -"She has a chance, and a good one, after I get her ready. There'll have -to be more extensive changes, that's all." - -"What other changes are you thinking about?" - -"Ping," said Matt, turning to the Chinese, "you go outside the -boathouse and see that no one hangs around it while we're talking." - -"Can do," chirped Ping, and shuffled out. - -Matt pulled up a chair close to Lorry's and motioned for McGlory to -join the inner circle. Then Matt explained about the loss of the roll -of drawings. - -The cowboy was mad clear through in half a second. - -"It was Merton, all right," he scowled, "and you can bet a ten-dollar -note against a last year's bird's nest on that. By this time he'll know -what the improved _Sprite_ can do, and he'll also know that the _Dart_ -can run circles around her. We're Jonahed, for fair." - -"No, we're not," said Matt. "As long as I thought we had only the -_Wyandotte_ to beat, I was only planning to make the _Sprite_ fast -enough for that purpose. But I can make the _Sprite_ the fastest thing -on the lakes--it'll take a hustle, though, and I'll have to have a -machinist helper." - -"I don't care how many men you have to have, Matt, nor how many extra -supplies," returned Lorry, beginning to gather a little confidence from -the quiet, determined air of the king of the motor boys. "Go ahead, and -call on me for what money you need." - -"Over at the machine shop, where I've been getting some work done," -proceeded Matt, "they have a double-opposed, four-cycle automobile -engine, capable of developing from eighteen to twenty horse-power at -eighteen hundred revolutions per minute. The cylinders are five by -five. That's a pretty stiff engine for the _Sprite_, but the hull -could be strengthened, and we could put it in and get about ninety or -ninety-five per cent. of the horse-power by gearing down three to one. -After the gears wear a little, the percentage of horse-power might drop -to eighty. This motor will drive a three-bladed propeller twenty-six -inches diameter, thirty-two inches pitch. If the vibration don't shake -me out of the boat at eighteen hundred revolutions per minute, the -speed we'll get will be astonishing." - -"Whoop!" exulted McGlory. "I don't know what it all means, but it -listens good. I reckon there's a kick or two in the old _Sprite_ yet." - -"You can't run a boat engine like you run an automobile motor, Matt," -said Lorry. - -"Of course not. A steady load and steady plugging in the water is a -whole lot different from the give-and-take a motor gets in an auto; -but we can keep up the eighteen hundred revolutions for ten minutes, -anyhow--and the race only covers five miles. I'm fixing the _Sprite_ -to win the race, that's all." - -"By George!" exclaimed Lorry, "it takes you to make a fellow feel good, -Matt! You know what you're doing, every time and all the time. Go ahead -with the work, and bank on me to hold you up with both hands." - -"Me, too, pard!" added McGlory. - -"What we're doing," said Matt, "we want to keep strictly to ourselves. -Merton has our drawings, and probably thinks he knows just what we're -about. Let him think so. If he springs a 'dark horse' on us, we'll get -even by springing one on him." - -"But can you get the _Sprite_ ready in time?" asked Lorry anxiously. - -"Sure I can! I'll have to begin at once, though, and some of us will -have to stay in this boathouse night and day to make sure that none of -the Winnequas come prowling around. If you'll stay here with McGlory, -George, I'll borrow your motor cycle to go over to the machine shop and -dicker for that second-hand engine." - -"Go on," said Lorry. "While you're there you might get a man to help -you." - -Matt got up and pulled the motor cycle away from the bench. - -"I'll be back in an hour, fellows," said he. - -Leaving the boathouse, he dragged the wheel to the top of the steep -bank, then, getting into the saddle, he gave the pedals a turn and was -off like a shot along the wooded road that led past the insane asylum -and by the Waunakee Road and Sherman Avenue into town. - -If Motor Matt loved one thing more than another, it was a good, clean -fight for supremacy, such as the one that now confronted him and his -friends. There was a zest in such a struggle, and the pleasure of -winning out against odds, in a good cause, was its own reward. - -As he whizzed along the wooded road, mechanically steering the wheel -while his mind busied itself with other things, he was confronted -suddenly by a rail held breast-high across his course. It was -impossible to turn out at that point, and Matt had to shut off the -power and jam down hard on the brake. - -He caught a glimpse of a silent form at each end of the rail, and then, -as he halted, of half a dozen other forms rushing out at him from the -bushes on each side of the road. - -In another moment he was caught and dragged from the motor cycle. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -AN ORDER TO QUIT. - - -This unexpected attack, coming so suddenly, had taken Matt at a -disadvantage. He fought as well as he could, in the circumstances, but -there were too many against him. - -There were eight of his foes, all told, and Matt was carried into the -timber at one side of the road and dropped unceremoniously in a small -cleared space. Bounding to his feet, he stood staring about him. - -His eight enemies had formed a narrow circle, hemming him in. They -were all young fellows, well dressed, and carried themselves with an -air of firmness and determination. The face of each was covered with a -handkerchief, which left only the eyes visible. - -"What are you trying to do?" demanded Matt angrily. - -"Don't lose your temper, Motor Matt," answered one of the eight, in a -voice that was plainly disguised. "We're not going to hurt you--now. Do -what we want you to and we'll remain good friends. All we've stopped -you for is to have a little talk." - -"Did you have to head me off with a rail in order to have a little -talk?" asked Matt sarcastically. - -"We wanted to make sure of you for about five minutes, and this was the -only way we could think of. We were going over to your boathouse, but -saw you coming down the hill from the point, and thought we'd better -lay for you." - -"Well," said Matt, "here I am. Hurry up with your talk. I'm in a rush, -and don't want to stop here long." - -"We want to ask you a question: You're a professional motorist, aren't -you?" - -"I've driven a racing automobile, if that's what you mean." - -"They say you know gasoline motors forward, backward, and sideways." - -"I've studied them, and I've worked in a shop where they were made." - -"Then I guess we've got you dead to rights. Do you want to make a -hundred dollars?" - -"That depends on how I'm to make it," answered the king of the motor -boys, immediately suspicious. - -"You won't have much to do. We'll give you the money now if you promise -to leave town to-night, and not come back to this section for a month." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Matt, a light suddenly dawning upon him. "You're -representative members of the Winnequa Club, I take it, and you want to -keep me from running Lorry's boat in that race." - -"We don't care how you take it," was the sharp retort. "The question -is, will you accept that hundred and get out?" - -"Certainly not," said Matt promptly. - -There was a silence. One lad was doing all the talking, the others -remaining silent and watchful. - -"Will you leave for two hundred?" went on the spokesman. - -"No," was Matt's indignant response, "nor for two thousand! What do you -fellows take me for? I'm George Lorry's friend, and I'm going to see -him through this racing contest." - -"I don't think you will," was the significant answer. "You probably -have an idea you will, but you'll change your mind before you're many -days older." - -"I understand," observed Matt quietly, "that your club is composed of -pretty decent fellows. I'm pretty sure the rest of the members don't -know what you eight are doing." - -"That's nothing to you. You're a professional racer." - -"There's nothing in the rules governing the race that bars out a -professional driver," said Matt. - -"That may be, but it's hardly fair to stack up a professional driver -against an amateur." - -"Halloran is not an amateur," returned Matt. "He has handled motor -boats for two years. I happen to know this. If Halloran is going to -drive Merton's boat, I don't think you fellows can complain if I drive -Lorry's." - -Matt's knowledge regarding Halloran must have staggered the eight -masked youths. Silence reigned again for a space, one set of eyes -encountering another and the glance traveling around the circle. - -The king of the motor boys was studying those around him. One of the -eight he believed to be Ollie Merton, although of that he could not be -sure. Merton must have made good time from Third Lake, if he had left -the _Dart_, crossed the city, and come around Fourth Lake to that point. - -"We're not here to discuss Halloran," went on the young fellow who was -doing the talking for the rest of his party. "We don't want you backing -up young Lorry. There are going to be some bets made on that race, and -we want Merton's boat to have a cinch. If what we've heard of you is -true, you're deep, and when you go into a thing you go in to win. If -you won't take a couple of hundred and leave town, how much will you -ask to throw the race?" - -Matt stiffened, and his eyes flashed dangerously. Once before, in the -course of his career, an insult of that sort had been offered him. That -was in Arizona, and a gambler had approached him and offered him money -to "throw" a bicycle race on which the gambler and his friends had been -doing some heavy betting. - -Matt had principles, hard and fast principles which he knew to be right -and on which he would not turn his back. He had never seen any good -come of betting, and he was against it. - -"I guess," said he sharply, "that if you know me better you wouldn't -make such a proposition. I'm a friend of Lorry's, and I'm going to -stand by him. Not only that, but if you fellows have been foolish -enough to bet on Merton's boat, I'll do my best to see that you lose -your money. I guess that finishes our talk. Break away and let me go -on." - -"Don't be in a rush," growled the spokesman. "If you won't take our -money and leave town, and if you won't throw the race for a share of -the proceeds, then we'll hand you an order which you'll do well to -obey. It's an order to quit. Understand? You're an outsider and we -don't want you around here." - -"So is Halloran an outsider," said Matt caustically. "He comes from -Milwaukee." - -"We're talking about you, now, and not about Halloran. Lorry has got to -stand on his own pins. He's got money enough to see him through this -race without any of your help." - -"You're a one-sided lot, you fellows," went on Matt. "All you say about -Lorry applies equally well to Merton. Why don't Merton 'stand on his -own pins,' as you call it? And why do you ask more of Lorry than you do -of Merton?" - -"That's our business," snapped the other. - -Matt laughed. - -"The trouble with you fellows," said he, "is that you're scared. You -think the _Wyandotte_ has got a little more than she can take care of -in the _Sprite_. What kind of sportsmen are you, anyhow, when you try -to load your dice before you go into this game?" - -Matt's mention of the _Wyandotte_ was made with the deliberate -intention of hoodwinking the eight. By speaking as he did the masked -youths would infer that Matt and Lorry knew nothing, as yet, about the -_Dart_. - -That Matt's remark had gone home was evident from the quick looks that -passed around the circle over the tops of the handkerchiefs. - -"We've got you down pretty fine, Motor Matt," pursued the spokesman, -who could not bring himself to give up the attempt to influence Matt. -"If it hadn't been for you, George Lorry would be in San Francisco -now. You brought him back here, and you advised him to get back into -the Yahara Club and go on with the programme the Yaharas had laid down -for him. That was all your doing, and you know it." - -"I'm glad to think," said Matt, with spirit, "that I had something to -do with that. But you're mistaken if you think I had _everything_ to do -with it." - -"I suppose this McGlory helped a little." - -"He did; but the biggest help came from Lorry himself. Lorry has the -right kind of stuff in him, and he'll show you, before long, that he's -worth a dozen Mertons." - -This goaded one of the others into speech--and it was the one whom Matt -suspected of being Ollie Merton. - -"Oh, splash! Lorry's a sissy and he always was." - -It was Merton's voice, Matt felt sure of that. But the king of the -motor boys wanted to make assurance doubly sure. - -"_Now_ are you done?" he asked. - -"You refuse to meet us half way in an amicable arrangement?" - -"Your amicable arrangement," said Matt ironically, "is an insult to a -fellow who tries to be square. I'll have nothing to do with it, and -that's the last word." - -"We're going to have the last word, my gay motorist, and from now on -up to the hour of the race you and Lorry are going to have your hands -full of trouble. The _Sprite_ will never enter the contest, and you'll -save yourself something, Motor Matt, if you obey our orders to quit. -There----" - -Motor Matt, watching his opportunity, had made a sudden leap forward. -It was toward the side of the circle opposite the place where the chap -whom he believed to be Merton was standing. - -Instantly the eight made a concerted move in that direction, leaving a -gap in the cordon behind Matt. Like lightning, the king of the motor -boys whirled about and darted through the gap. - -As he raced past the fellow he supposed to be Merton he snatched the -handkerchief from his face. The evidence, then, was plain enough. - -"Merton!" shouted Matt as he bounded toward the road. - -An angry yell went up behind him, followed by a crashing among the -bushes as the eight began pursuit. But Matt had the lead, and he was -fortunate enough to find the motor cycle leaning against the tree near -the place where it had been halted. - -To mount, start the gasoline, switch on the spark and pedal off took -but a few seconds. By the time Merton and his companions reached the -road Matt was sliding around a wooded bend like a shot from a gun. - -Around the turn Matt was compelled to sheer off to avoid a big touring -car which, deserted and at a standstill, filled the road. - -He noted, as he passed, that it was the Merton touring car. Matt had -seen the car before, and in circumstances almost as dramatic. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -FACING THE MUSIC. - - -The automobile repair shop which Matt had started for was in Sherman -Avenue, not far from the park that skirted the shore of Fourth Lake. -He did not make for the shop at once, however, but kept out of sight -until Ollie Merton had passed with the big, seven-passenger car loaded -to the limit. As soon as the car had vanished Matt went into the shop. - -He was not long in transacting his business there. Before beginning he -placed the proprietor under seal of secrecy. The second-hand motor was -secured at a bargain, Matt paying spot cash for it. The engine was to -be loaded aboard a launch and taken across the lake, in the afternoon, -to the boathouse by Picnic Point. - -With the engine was to come a young machinist, a son of the proprietor -of the shop, who was to be well paid for his services, and who promised -to use his hands and eyes and not his tongue. - -Matt's final request was that the engine, when carried down to the -landing and while aboard the launch, should be covered with canvas. -This was to prevent curious eyes from securing information which might -be carried to some of the Winnequas, and so to Merton. - -From the machine shop Matt rushed on into town for the purpose of -sending a message. The telegram was to a supply house in Milwaukee and -requested immediate shipment of a new propeller. The sudden change in -plans for the _Sprite_ made quick work necessary. - -It was long after noon when Matt got back to the boathouse, where Lorry -and McGlory were impatiently awaiting him. - -"You were longer than we thought you'd be," remarked Lorry, a look of -relief crossing his face as Matt trundled the motor cycle through the -open door. - -"Did you get what you wanted, pard?" inquired McGlory. - -"Yes," laughed Matt, leaning the wheel against the wall, "and a little -more than I was expecting. I was stopped by Merton and seven of his -friends, just this side of the asylum and----" - -"By Merton!" cried Lorry. - -"Sufferin' brain-twisters!" exclaimed the cowboy. "How could that be? -Why, pard, I left Merton on Third Lake, in the _Dart_." - -"Merton must have come ashore, Joe, pretty soon after you left. He -picked up seven of his friends somewhere and started around Fourth -Lake to have a talk with me at the boathouse. They saw me coming down -the hill from the point, stopped the automobile around a bend, tied -handkerchiefs over their faces and stopped me with a fence rail. Before -I fairly realized what was going on, the eight of them had me off the -wheel and into the timber." - -"What an outrage!" growled Lorry. "You're getting more than your share -of rough work, Matt, seems to me. What did those fellows want?" - -Matt pulled out a lunch box of generous size, opened it on the -workbench and invited his two companions to help themselves. - -"I went into town to send a telegram for a new propeller," he observed, -"but I didn't even take time to stop at a restaurant for a meal." - -"No matter what happens," said Lorry admiringly, "you never forget -anything. But go on and tell us what Merton and those other chaps -stopped you for." - -"They were trying to run in a rhinecaboo of some sort. I'll be bound," -averred McGlory. - -"The plain truth of the matter is, fellows," declared Matt, "Merton and -his crowd are scared. They offered me two hundred dollars to leave -town at once and never come back." - -"Tell me about that!" chuckled the cowboy. "Scared? You bet they are! -Motor Matt has put a crimp in the confidence they had about the outcome -of the race." - -"And that leads me to believe," went on Matt, "that, in spite of the -fact that Merton has that roll of drawings and knows what we were doing -to the _Sprite_, he's still afraid of us. The _Dart_ can't be such a -phenomenally fast boat as you imagined, Joe. If it was, why should -Merton fear the _Sprite_? He's judging her, you understand, according -to our first plans for changing her. He doesn't know a thing about the -automobile engine and the other propeller we're going to install." - -"Listen, once," said McGlory; "it's not the plans that's making Merton -sidestep, but Motor Matt. He and his bunch will feel a heap easier if -they can know the king of the motor boys is cut out of Lorry's herd." - -"Another thing," continued Matt. "Merton and his friends are doing some -betting on the race." - -"I've heard about that," put in Lorry. "Merton is plunging with his -father's bankroll, and going the limit. His friends are in the pool -with him, and they're offering all sorts of fancy odds." - -"If I could rake together a stake," said McGlory, "I'd take a little of -that Winnequa money myself." - -"No, you wouldn't, Joe," returned Matt. "I'm out with a club for that -sort of thing. Good, clean sport is all right, but when you tangle it -up with a lot of bookmakers it goes to the dogs." - -"Mebby you're right, pard," grinned Joe, "but any kind of a chance, -with money in sight, is excitin'." - -"Merton and the rest wanted me, if I wouldn't agree to pull out, to -throw the race." - -"The scoundrels!" cried Lorry. - -"They didn't know our pard very well, George," observed the cowboy. -"What did they say when you turned 'em down, Matt?" - -"Ordered me to quit. Said if I didn't the lot of us, over here, would -have to face all kinds of music." - -"I always did like music," said the cowboy. "Right this minute I'm -feelin' like a brass band and I've got to toot." - -McGlory's "toot" was more like a steam calliope than a brass band, and -it was so hilarious that Ping, who was still acting as outside guard, -pushed his yellow face in at the window over the workbench. - -"Who makee low?" he inquired. - -"There's no row, you heathen," answered the cowboy, tossing him a -sandwich. "There, take that and stop your face. I'm jubilatin', that's -all." - -Ping disappeared with a grin and the sandwich. - -"What are you jubilating about, Joe?" inquired Lorry. - -"Don't you savvy, George? Why, Motor Matt's on his mettle! All that -talk that Merton and his pards gave him just cinched him up for the -'go' of his life. You'll see things at that race. As for facing the -music--there's nothing to it. Why, the _Sprite's_ as good as passed the -stake boat and over the finish line right now." - -There was little doubt but that McGlory's jovial mood and confident -forecast of coming events heartened Lorry wonderfully. - -Matt went more into the details of his experience with Merton and his -friends. - -"That's a nice way for the commodore of a rival boat club to act," -remarked Lorry sarcastically. - -"How did Merton ever get to be commodore?" said McGlory. "That's what -sticks in my crop." - -"Money," was Lorry's brief but significant response. - -"Money cuts a pretty wide swath, and that's a fact. That work of -Merton's and his friends, though, was a pretty raw blazer. Wonder what -Merton's thinking of himself, now that Matt's found out he was in the -gang?" - -"It won't bother him much," said Lorry. "Between you and me and the -gatepost, I'll bet Merton has been flying too high. When his father -gets back from Europe and finds out what's been going on, there'll be -doings. Like enough, Merton is plunging on the boat race in the hope of -getting back some of the money he has squandered. That would ease the -tension somewhat when he makes an accounting to his father." - -"Too bad if he's got himself into money difficulties," observed Matt. - -"A little money has made many a good fellow go wrong, Matt," returned -Lorry, with a flush. - -George was talking from experience, and it was an experience which he -would never forget. - -"There's nothing to do, I reckon," said McGlory, changing the subject, -"but to plug right along and hustle the changes in the _Sprite_." - -"That's all, Joe," responded Matt. "We'll have to do some quick work, -and do it well. The engine will be delivered this afternoon, and a -young fellow is coming along with it to help me. We'll have to do more -or less traveling between here and the machine shop, and I suppose it -would be well if we had a boat. Going around the lake takes too long." - -"I'll get a motor boat for you, Matt," said Lorry. "I'll bring her over -before night." - -"Bring a supply of gasoline and oil, too, Lorry." - -"It will all come with the boat. If you can think of anything else -you want, just let me know. Some one ought to stay here all the time, -don't you think? The _Sprite_ ought to be watched every minute, night -and day. It was no empty threat Merton made when he said he'd make us -trouble." - -"He and his friends," said Matt gravely, "will do what they can to -bother us. But I don't think they'll dare go too far. Joe and I and -Ping will stay at the boathouse all the time. That will make quite a -respectable force. Then, too, the machinist will be with us during the -day. Whenever I have to cross the lake to the shop, he and Joe can look -after things here." - -"I want to do my share, you know," protested Lorry; "I can't let you -fellows do it all." - -"You'll have plenty to do, George," laughed Matt. "There's a telephone -at the asylum, and we can always get word to you if it's necessary. As -for----" - -Matt was interrupted by a shrill yell. It came from outside the -boathouse and had plainly been raised by Ping. On the instant, all -three of the boys jumped for the door. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -GATHERING CLOUDS. - - -Much to the relief of Matt, McGlory and Lorry, the Chinese boy had not -encountered intruders. His trouble was of quite another sort. - -In order to watch all sides of the boathouse, he had been tramping -around three of its walls, from the waterfront on one side to the -waterfront on the other. The day was hot and the exertion tiring. Ping, -after some reflection, conceived the brilliant idea of climbing to the -roof and watching from the ridgepole. - -An elevated position of that kind would enable him to rest and keep -eyes on the vicinity in every direction. - -Some empty boxes, piled one on the other, lifted him high enough to -reach the eaves. Kicking off his sandals, he took the slope of the roof -in his stocking feet and was soon by the flagstaff that arose from one -end of the peak on the waterside of the building. - -A timber, equipped with rope and tackle, projected outward from the -peak. For no particular reason, other than to test his agility, Ping -lowered himself astride the projecting timber and hitched outward to -the end. - -Here a sudden gust of wind struck him. Lifting both hands to save his -hat, he lost his balance and rolled sidewise off the timber. But he -did not fall. His trousers caught in the stout iron hook by which the -pulley was suspended; and, when Matt, McGlory and Lorry finally located -him, he was sprawling in midair, badly scared, but as yet unhurt. - -"Motol Matt," howled the youngster, "savee Ping! No lettee fall! Woosh!" - -"Sufferin' heathens!" gasped McGlory. "How in the name of Bob did the -Chink ever get in that fix?" - -That was no time to guess about the cause. If Ping's clothing was to -give way he would suffer a bad fall on the planks of the boathouse -pier. Pulling the tackle rope from the cleat to which it was fastened, -Matt climbed hand over hand to the projecting timber. - -"Catch hold of my shoulders, Ping," he ordered. - -Ping's arms went around him in a life-and-death grip. Then, supporting -himself with one hand, Matt detached the Chinaman from the hook with -the other and both slid to the pier in safety. - -"You gave us a scare, Ping," said Matt. "We didn't know but you had -found some one sneaking around the boathouse. How did you get in that -fix?" - -Ping explained, and the boys had a good laugh. Shortly afterward Lorry -dragged his motor cycle to the top of the bank and chugged away home. - -It was about two o'clock when Newt Higgins, the young machinist, -arrived with the new motor. His father had brought him across. The -engine was unloaded by means of the block and tackle and carried inside. - -While Higgins was taking the old motor out of the _Sprite_, Matt -connected up the new one with gasoline tank and battery and got it to -going. It ran perfectly. - -From that time on there were several days of feverish activity in -the boathouse. The hull of the _Sprite_ had to be strengthened. The -original motor had been installed on short bearers, which, according to -Matt's view, was entirely wrong. The motor bed, he held, must be rigid -and the vibration distributed over as great an area as possible. - -A heavy bed was put down, and on this two girders were laid, shaped -up to take the rake of the motor and tapering off at the ends. These -girders extended as far forward and aft as the curve of the hull would -allow. - -Lining up the shaft was an operation which Matt attended to himself. -This job gave some trouble, but was finally finished to his -satisfaction. - -The new engine was set farther aft than the old one had been. This -enabled Matt to bring the gasoline tanks farther aft, as well. The -hood had to be made longer, and a stout bulkhead was built between the -engine space and the cockpit. - -All controls were to be on the bulkhead. The electric outfit was placed -close to the motor, where it would be protected from wet and dampness -by the hood. In addition to this, the eight cells of the battery were -inclosed in a box and filled around with paraffine. - -The hull had already been covered with canvas, given two coats of lead -and oil and rubbed down. The last thing would be a coat of spar varnish. - -Saturday night Matt dismissed the machinist. - -"I wish I knew as much about motors as you do," the machinist had said -as he pocketed his pay. "You're Class A, Motor Matt, and you've given -Lorry a boat that'll win. I'm goin' to see that race. The Yahara boys -are on our lake, you know, and this part o' town is with 'em to a man. -It's surprisin' how this section of town is set on havin' the Yahara -club get back the cup." - -"We're going to do our best, Newt," Matt had answered, "and you'll see -a pretty race, no matter how it comes out." - -"You bet you!" averred Newt. "Good-by and good luck, Matt. I'd be -tickled if we could work together all the time." - -During the work McGlory had made himself generally useful. He could run -the small launch which Lorry had brought to the boathouse for Matt's -use, and whenever there were any errands across the lake not requiring -Matt's attention at the machine shop McGlory attended to them. - -Ping proved to be a good cook, and prepared the meals on a gasoline -stove. When he was not busy in the culinary department he was guarding -the boathouse against prowlers. - -The boathouse was nicely situated for the work Matt and his friends -were doing. There were no other boathouses for half a mile or more -on either side of it, and the steep banks by which it was surrounded -on every side but toward the water gave it an isolation which had -commended it to Matt and Lorry. - -It had not been used for some time when Lorry had leased it from the -owner, but was in a very good state of repair for all that. - -It contained a well which opened directly into a protected cove. An -incline fitted with rollers made it easy to launch a boat or to haul -it out upon the floor. The water door came down to the lake level, and -both door and well were wide enough to admit a craft of eight-feet beam. - -During all these days of work Ping had not detected a single person -skulking around in the boathouse's vicinity. Matt worked until late -every night, and there was always some one on guard on the outside from -sunset till sunrise. Generally it was McGlory, but occasionally Lorry -would come over and insist that the cowboy should sleep while he did -the sentry duty. - -It was nine o'clock Saturday night when Matt finished with the varnish -coat and, dropping his brush, stood back to look at the trim, shadowy -lines of the boat. - -"She's a beauty, Matt, and no mistake," called some one from the door. - -"Hello, George!" answered Matt, turning to place the lamp on the -workbench and scrubbing his hands with a bunch of waste. "She'll do, I -think. Anyhow, the _Dart_ won't run any rings around us." - -"You must be about fagged," said Lorry as Matt dropped down on his cot -by the wall. "You've worked like a galley slave, and if we win the -prize it will be all owing to you." - -"I'm tired, and that's a fact," Matt answered, "but I've got some good -feelings in me, as my old Dutch pard used to say. If a fellow's mind is -easy it doesn't matter so much about his body." - -"I came over to see if you'd heard anything from our friends the enemy -yet," said Lorry. - -"They haven't peeped," Matt laughed. "I guess they've decided to let us -alone." - -"Don't you think that for a minute," returned Lorry earnestly. "Merton -and his pals have been lying low, but the clouds have been gathering. -The storm will break before Tuesday, and I'm wondering and worrying as -to how it is going to hit us." - -"We'll weather it," said Matt lightly, "no matter what shape it takes. -It's a cinch that Merton hasn't been able to find out a thing about -what we've been doing. That roll of drawings is all he has to base an -opinion on, and the _Sprite_ is as different from those plans as you -can well imagine. We've fooled Merton to the queen's taste." - -"And probably he thinks he has fooled us," smiled Lorry. - -"Have you been able to discover anything about the _Dart_?" - -"Not a thing. The Winnequas are guarding her as though she was a lump -of gold. But there are hair-raising tales, all over town, of the -tremendous speed a new boat on Third Lake is showing." - -"The _Wyandotte_ hasn't been kicking up the water around the point for -a couple of days now." - -"I guess Merton thinks we're so busy here we won't pay any attention to -her. Ever since he stopped sending the _Wyandotte_ to Fourth Lake he -has been speeding the _Dart_ in the evening on Third." - -"Well, Merton's consistent, anyhow, no matter what else you can say -about him." - -"I've got orders from dad and sis to take you over to Yankee Hill to -spend to-night and Sunday," said Lorry, after a slight pause. "Will you -go?" - -"Sorry, old chap, but I can't," Matt answered regretfully. "I'm going -to be Johnny-on-the-spot right here in this boathouse till the _Sprite_ -leaves to enter the race. I'm not taking any chances with her." - -"But can't McGlory and Ping look after the boat?" - -"They can, yes, and there isn't anybody I'd trust quicker than I would -McGlory; but, if anything should happen to the _Sprite_ between now and -Tuesday, I want to be the one who's to blame." - -"I guess I know how you stack up," observed Lorry, with a touch of -genuine feeling. "You're doing a whole lot for me, Matt, and my folks -know it and appreciate it just as much as I do. I hope I can pay you -back some time." - -"Nonsense, George!" deprecated Matt. "Do you think there isn't any -fun in this thing for me? I've enjoyed myself every minute I've been -tinkering with the _Sprite_, and the best part of it all will come when -I show the _Dart_ the way across the finish line next Tuesday." - -Half an hour later Lorry got into his hired launch and started for -home. All was quiet and peaceable in the boathouse, but, even then, a -storm of trouble was preparing to break--a storm that was to try the -three friends to the uttermost and to come within a hair's breadth of -ruining their prospects in the power-boat contest. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE PLOTTERS. - - -Merton and his seven companions were a disgruntled lot when they -returned to Madison after forcing an interview with Motor Matt, having -their propositions rejected and then watching him get away after -unmasking the "commodore." - -Merton drove the touring car straight for home, turned it over to the -gardener--who was also something of a chauffeur--and then ushered his -friends into his father's study, in the house. - -The butler and the _chef_ had been left to look after Merton's -comfort. Merton immediately sent the butler to the ice box for several -bottles of beer, and the lads proceeded to drown their disgust and -disappointment in drink. - -The idea that any human emotion can be blotted out with an intoxicating -beverage is a fallacy. The mind can be drugged, for a time, but when -it regains its normal state all its impressions are revived even more -harrowingly than they were before. - -As soon as the glasses had been emptied Merton produced several -packages of cigarettes, and the air grew thick with the odor of burning -"doctored" tobacco. - -"What're we going to do with Motor Matt?" demanded Jimmie Hess. "Take -it from me, you fellows, something has got to be done with him or the -cup goes back to the Yaharas. He's a chap that does things, all right." - -"And game as a hornet," struck in Andy Meigs. "Wish we could find out -what he's doing to the _Sprite_." - -"That's what's worryin' me," said Perry Jenkins. "If he can coax twenty -miles an hour out of the _Sprite_ he's got the cup nailed down." - -"He don't know anything about the _Dart_," spoke up Rush Partington. -"As long as he thinks he's only got the _Wyandotte_ to beat, I guess we -can hold him." - -"Hold nothing!" growled Martin Rawlins. "You don't understand how much -that chap knows. Where did he grab all that about Halloran? He gets to -the bottom of things, he does, and it's a fool notion to try and pull -the wool over his eyes by sending the _Wyandotte_ over to Fourth Lake -every day. If I----" - -"Mr. Ollie," announced the butler, looking in at the door, "there's a -little negro boy downstairs and he says he won't leave till he sees -you." - -"Kick him off the front steps, Peters," scowled Merton. - -Peters would probably have carried out his orders had not the little -negro quietly followed him up the stairs. As the butler turned away, -the darky pushed past him and jumped into the study. - -"Pickerel Pete!" went up a chorus of voices. - -The colored boy was one of the town "characters," and was known by -sight to everybody. - -"Come here, you!" cried the exasperated Peters, pushing into the room -and reaching for Pete's collar. - -"Drag him out," ordered Merton. "I haven't got any time to bother with -him." - -"You all better bothah wif me," cried Pete, squirming in the butler's -grip. "Ah kin tell yo' about dat Motor Matt, en Ah got some papahs dat -yo'd lak tuh have----" - -"Come along, now, and stop your howlin'," grunted the butler, making -for the door. - -A clamor arose from those in the room. - -"Wait, Peters!" - -"Hear what he's got to say about Motor Matt!" - -"Maybe he can give us a pointer that will be useful. Let's talk with -him, Ollie." - -"Leave him here, Peters," said Merton. - -The butler let go his hold on Pickerel Pete and went out of the study, -shaking his head in disapproval of Mr. Ollie's orders. - -"Now, then, you little rascal," went on Merton sternly, as soon as the -door had closed behind the butler, "if you're trying to fool us you'll -get a thrashing." - -"En ef Ah ain't tryin' tuh fool yu," returned Pete, "is Ah gwine tuh -git two dollahs?" - -"You say," asked Merton cautiously, "that you've got a roll of papers?" - -"Dat's whut Ah has, boss. Ah stole dem f'om de boathouse ovah by the -p'int where Motor Matt is workin' on de _Sprite_." - -"Why did you steal them?" - -"Tuh git even wif Motor Matt, dat's why," snorted Pete, glaring. "He -done hiahed me fo' two dollahs er day, en den he turned me down fo' er -no-count yaller Chink. When er man gits tuh be 'leben yeahs old, lak -me, he ain't goin' tuh stand fo' dat sort o' work, no, suh. Ah jess -sneaked up on de boathouse en Ah swiped de papahs." - -It was plain to Merton that Pickerel Pete believed he had a grievance -against Motor Matt. This might make him valuable. - -"Let's see the papers, Pete," said Merton. "If they're worth anything -to me I'll pay you for them." - -"Dar dey is, boss," and Pete triumphantly drew the roll from the breast -of his ragged "hickory" shirt. - -Merton grabbed the roll eagerly, slipped off the rubber band and began -examining every sheet. While his friends breathlessly watched, Merton -jammed the papers into his pocket, sprang to his feet and paced back -and forth across the room. - -"What is it, Ollie?" - -"Found out anything important?" - -"Do those papers really belong to Motor Matt?" - -"Tell us about it, can't you?" - -"Shut up a minute," growled Merton. "I'm framing up a plan." - -For a little while longer Merton continued to pace the floor; then, at -last, he halted in front of Pete. - -"There's five dollars for you, Pete," said Merton, taking a banknote -from his pocket and handing it to the boy. - -"Oh, by golly!" sputtered the overwhelmed Pete, grabbing at the bill -as a drowning man grabs at a straw. "Ah's rich, dat's whut Ah is. Say, -boss, is all dis heah money fo' me? Ah ain't got no change." - -"It's all yours, Pete," went on Merton; "what's more, if you'll come -here and see me Sunday afternoon at four o'clock, I'll give you a -chance to earn another five-dollar bill. Will you be here?" - -"Will er duck swim, boss?" fluttered Pete, kissing the crumpled -banknote and tucking it carefully away in a trousers pocket. "Sunday -aftehnoon at fo' erclock. Ah'll be heah fo' suah, boss." - -"Then get out." - -Pickerel Pete effaced himself--one hand in his trousers pocket to make -sure the banknote was still there, and that he was not dreaming. - -"Now, then, Ollie," said Martin Rawlins, "tell us what your game is." - -"Yes, confound it," grumbled Meigs. "We're all on tenterhooks." - -"These papers, fellows," answered Merton, drawing the crumpled sheets -from his pocket, "contain Motor Matt's plans for changing the _Sprite_. -Looking over them hastily, I gather the idea that he's making the -_Sprite_ just fast enough to beat the _Wyandotte_." - -A snicker went up from the others. - -"We've got him fooled, all right," was the general comment. - -"Don't be too sure you've got that Motor Matt fooled," counseled -Rawlins. "Maybe he put that roll where the negro could get it, and -expected he _would_ get it. This king of the motor boys is deep--don't -let that get past your guard for a minute. I've put all the money I -could rake and scrape into the betting pool, and I don't want to lose -it by any snap judgments." - -That was the way with the rest of them. They had all clubbed their -funds together and the result was a big purse for betting purposes. - -"I guess it means as much to the rest of us as it does to you, Martin, -to have the _Dart_ win," said Merton dryly. "Motor Matt's deep, as -you say, but don't make the mistake of crediting him with too much -knowledge. He's only human, like the rest of us. From the way matters -look now, we've got him and Lorry beaten, hands down. Motor Matt isn't -sharp enough to steer those papers into my hands by way of Pete. -Now, in all this betting of ours, the money is being placed with the -understanding that if there is _no race_ we take the cash; in other -words, if the Yaharas back down and fail to send a boat to the starting -line, we take the money." - -"They won't back down," said Jimmie Hess. "Great Scott, Ollie, you -don't think for a second that Lorry will back down, do you?" - -"He may have to," was Merton's vague reply. "Anyhow, if you fellows -make any bets outside of the pool, just make 'em in that way--that the -stakes are yours if the Yaharas back down and there's no race." - -"What's back of that, Ollie?" said Perry Jenkins. "You've got something -up your sleeve, I know blamed well." - -"And it's going to stay up my sleeve, so far as you fellows are -concerned," returned Merton. "If I evolve a plan, I don't believe in -advertising it. This Motor Matt _may_ have steered those papers into -our hands, and he _may_ be deep enough to make the _Sprite_ a better -boat than the _Dart_ while not knowing anything about the _Dart_, but -I don't think so. However, I intend to be on the safe side. It means a -whole lot to me to win--personally, and apart from my desire to see the -Winnequas keep the De Lancey cup. Just how much it means"--and Merton -winced--"you fellows are not going to know, any more than you're going -to know what I've got at the back of my head for Sunday night. Put your -trust in the commodore--that's all you've got to do. Open up some of -that beer, Perry. I'm as dry as gunpowder's great-grandfather." - -The glasses were filled again. - -"To our success in the race," said Merton, lifting his glass and -sweeping his keen eyes over the faces of his friends; "may the _Dart_ -win, by fair means"--he paused--"or otherwise." - -Four or five peered at Merton distrustfully over their glasses; but, in -the end, they drank the toast. - -The success of the _Dart_ meant dollars and cents to them; and money, -for those eight plotters, stood for more than club honors and the De -Lancey cup. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FIREBUGS AT WORK. - - -Sunday was a beautiful and a quiet day at the boathouse by the Point. -Mendota, otherwise "Fourth," Lake was never fairer. Across the ripples, -glimmering in the sun, the city of Madison lifted itself out of a mass -of green foliage like a piece of fairyland. - -The lake was alive with motor boats, sailboats and rowboats. Matt and -McGlory, sitting in the shade on the little pier in front of their -temporary home, idled and dreamed away the afternoon until, about -four o'clock, a snappy little launch, equipped with canopy and wicker -chairs, untangled itself from the maze of boats out in the lake and -pushed toward the cove. - -"Visitors!" exclaimed Matt, jumping out of his chair. - -"Speak to me about that!" grumbled McGlory. "Now we've got to get into -our collars and coats and spruce up. Oh, hang it! I like a boiled shirt -about as well as I like the measles." - -Mr. Lorry, his daughter, Ethel Lorry, and George were occupying the -wicker chairs under the canopy, while Gus, the Lorry chauffeur, was at -the bulkhead controls. - -George waved his hand. Matt returned the salutation and darted -incontinently into the boathouse to fix himself up. Ethel Lorry was a -fine girl and a great admirer of the king of the motor boys, and Matt -felt it a duty to look his best. - -By the time the boat drew up in front of the boathouse Matt and -McGlory, in full regalia, were out to welcome their guests. - -Lorry, senior, and his daughter were firm friends of Motor Matt. They -realized fully how much the young motorist had done for George. - -"A surprise party, Matt!" cried George. "I'll bet you weren't expecting -the Lorrys, eh?" - -"Always glad to receive callers," smiled Matt, grabbing the rope Gus -threw to him and making it fast to a post. - -"We've got to see the _Sprite_, Matt," said Ethel. "All our hopes are -wrapped up in the _Sprite_, you know." - -"And in Motor Matt," chuckled the millionaire, beside her. - -A vivid flush suffused Ethel's cheeks, though just why her emotions -should express themselves was something of a mystery. - -The party debarked and was conducted into the boathouse. Matt opened -the doors at the other end of the building and admitted a good light -for inspecting the boat. - -All three of the boys were intensely proud of the _Sprite_. In her -fresh coat of varnish she looked as spick and span as a new dollar. - -McGlory was a nephew of Mr. Lorry's, and, while he was explaining -things at one end of the boat to "Uncle Dan," Matt was performing the -same service for Ethel at the other end of the craft. - -When Mr. Lorry and Ethel had expressed their admiration for the -_Sprite_, and their confidence in her ability to "lift" the cup, -chairs were carried out on the pier. McGlory went across the lake for -ice cream, and the party visited gayly until sunset. When the launch -departed, George remained behind, having expressed his intention of -staying with his friends at the boathouse that night. - -Ping was engaged in clearing up the dishes--part of the camp -equipment--on which the ice cream had been served, and McGlory was -making the doors at the other end of the boathouse secure. Dusk was -falling gently, and overhead the stars were beginning to glimmer in -a cloudless sky, soft as velvet. It was a time for optimism, and a -lulling sense of security had taken possession of all the boys. - -"The clouds don't seem to be gathering very much, after all, George," -remarked Matt. - -"I must have been mistaken about Merton," returned George. "That roll -of drawings, I suppose, has convinced him that the changes we were -making in the _Sprite_ were not of enough account to worry him." - -McGlory came from the boathouse in time to hear the words. - -"We've got Merton fooled," he chuckled, dropping down in a chair, "and -I ain't sure but that it's the best thing that ever happened to us, the -theft of those drawings." - -"That's the way it may turn out, Joe," agreed Matt. "Still, even if -Merton knew exactly what we had done to the _Sprite_ I don't see how he -could help matters any. The _Dart_, from what I can hear, is supposed -to be by long odds the fastest boat on the lakes. How could he improve -on her, even if Merton knew the _Sprite_ was a dangerous rival?" - -"Merton wouldn't try to improve on the _Dart_," returned Lorry. "What -he'd do would be to make an attempt to make the _Sprite_ less speedy -than she is." - -"I'd like to catch him at that!" exclaimed McGlory. "That tinhorn would -have to hip lock with me some if he ever tried to tamper with the -_Sprite_ while Joe McGlory was around." - -"He'd make sure there wasn't anybody around, George," said Lorry, -"before he tried any of his underhand games. I've been thinking over -the loss of those drawings, Matt," he went on, after a pause, "and -it strikes me that they weren't stolen by Merton, after all, but by -Pickerel Pete." - -"What!" cried the cowboy, "that sawed-off moke?" - -"I've thought a little on that line myself," observed Matt. "Pete was -mad, when he left us up there in the path, and he could have circled -around through the bushes and reached the boathouse before we got down -to it with Ping." - -"That's it!" assented George. "He hadn't any idea what sort of papers -were in the roll, but they were handy to him as he looked through -the window, and so he gathered them in. Of course, Pete knew that -the papers would be valuable to Merton, if to anybody. It's a dead -open-and-shut that he carried them at once to the commodore." - -"Which may account for the commodore layin' back on his oars and not -botherin' us any while we've been jugglin' with the _Sprite_," deduced -McGlory. "We're all to the good, pards, and your Uncle Joe is as happy -over the outlook as a Piute squaw with a string of glass beads. I'm -feelin' like a brass band again, and----" - -"Don't toot, Joe, for Heaven's sake," implored George. "You've got -about as much music in you as a bluejay." - -"Some fellows," returned McGlory gloomily, "don't know music when they -hear it. It takes a cultivated ear to appreciate me when I warble." - -"I don't know about that," laughed George, "but I do know that it takes -some one with a club to stop you after the warbling begins. When are -you going to 'warm up' the _Sprite_, Matt?" he asked, turning to the -king of the motor boys. "Every ship has got to 'find herself,' you -know. We've Kipling's word for that." - -"Then," smiled Matt, "the _Sprite_ is going to begin finding herself in -the gray dawn of to-morrow morning. Glad you made up your mind to stay -with us to-night, Lorry. I was going to suggest it, if you hadn't. I -want you and Joe to hold a stop-watch on the boat." - -"I wish we had one of those patent logs," muttered Lorry. "They go on -the bulkhead, and work hydrostatically--no trailing lines behind." - -"Too expensive, George," said Matt. "Besides, we didn't have time to -bother installing one." - -"You're the most economical chap I ever heard of, Matt," said Lorry -jestingly, "especially when you're using another fellow's money." - -"Sufferin' bankrolls!" mourned McGlory, "I wish some one would be kind -enough to ask me to spend his money." - -"Dad told me, when we began fixing up the _Sprite_," went on Lorry, -"that he wanted me to be sure and let Motor Matt have free play, no -matter what it cost. That's the way the governor feels. There has been -a big change in him, Matt, and you're the cause of it." - -"That's all the more reason, George," answered Matt, "why I should not -abuse his confidence." - -"I guess dad knows that, and that it has a lot to do with the way you -stack up in his estimation. He'd trust you with a million." - -"I'm glad he feels that way. There isn't any sign of a storm, Joe," -Matt added to the cowboy, "but we must keep up our guard duty just the -same." - -"Keno! We're not going to let Merton and his outfit catch us napping, -if that's their plan. I'll stand guard to-night." - -"I'll divide the duty with you, Joe," put in Lorry. "I'll take the -first watch, and will call you at midnight." - -"That hits me plumb. I can snooze in good shape for half the night. -We'll let Matt put in full time--he needs it." - -"Matt ought not to do a thing between now and Tuesday but rest," -asserted George. "He's got to be fit as a fiddle for that race." - -"I'm generally in shape for whatever comes my way," laughed Matt, -getting up and yawning. "Right now's when I'm going to turn in, and you -can bank on it that I'll sleep like Rip Van Winkle up in the Catskills. -You'll see something surprising in the morning, fellows! If the -_Sprite_, after she gets warmed up, can't do her mile in better than -three minutes, I'm no prophet." - -"If she does that," jubilated McGlory, "we're apt to have the _Dart_ -lashed to the mast." - -"Good night," said Matt. - -The parting word was returned, and the king of the motor boys followed -the wall of the dark boathouse past the well and on by the workbench to -his cot. - -Inside of two minutes he had turned in, and inside of three he was in -dreamless slumber. - -How long Matt slept he did not know, but it must have been well beyond -midnight when he was awakened. He was half stifled, and he sat up in -his cot struggling for breath. - -A yellowish gloom was all around him, and a vague snap and crackle came -to his ears. - -Suddenly, like a blow in the face, the realization came that the -smothering fog was _smoke_, and that the flickering yellow that played -through it was _flame_. - -"Fire!" he yelled, springing from the cot. "Lorry! McGlory! Where are -you?" - -Matt's only answer was the whirring rush of the fire and the weird -snapping as the flames licked at the wood. For a moment the heat and -the smoke almost overcame him, and he reeled backward against the wall. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SAVING THE "SPRITE." - - -After a moment of inaction, Matt realized something else besides the -fact that there was a fire. Ping and either McGlory or Lorry should be -in the boathouse with him; also either McGlory or Lorry ought to be on -guard outside. - -Why had no answer been returned to his startled shout? What had -happened to the guard outside, and what had happened to those inside -the boathouse? - -In that terrifying moment, when so many dangers threatened him and his -friends, Motor Matt had no time to think of the _Sprite_. First he must -get fresh air, and then he must find out about his friends. - -The landward end of the boathouse seemed to be completely wrapped in -flames. A breeze had come up during the night, and it was driving the -fire onward toward the waterfront of the building. - -Drawing upon all his reserve strength, Matt staggered to the window -over the workbench. Picking up a wrench, he smashed the glass, and -a draft of cool night air rushed in. For a moment he hung over the -workbench filling his lungs with the clear air; and then, at the top of -his voice, he repeated his call for McGlory and George. - -Still there was no response. Bewildered by his failure to hear an -answering shout from his friends, and dazed by the suddenness of the -catastrophe which threatened the boathouse, Matt whirled away from the -window and groped through the blinding smoke toward the other cot. - -Some one was lying on the cot, breathing heavily. It was impossible to -tell whether it was Lorry or the cowboy, but, whichever it was, the -form was unconscious from the effects of the foul air. - -Making his way to the door, Matt unfastened it and flung it open. The -breeze which swept through the building caused the roar of the fire to -increase, giving an added impetus to the flames. - -Darting back to the cot, Matt picked up the form and staggered with it -out into the night, falling heavily when a few yards from the blazing -building. - -In the glare that lighted up the vicinity of the boathouse Matt -discovered that it was Lorry whom he had carried to safety. Lorry! That -meant that it was after midnight, and that McGlory had been outside of -the boathouse, on guard. - -The fire was not accidental--it could not have been accidental. -Firebugs must have been at work. What had become of McGlory that he had -not interfered? - -It was impossible that the cowboy was in the burning building. Ping, -however, should be there. The Chinese usually bunked under the -workbench. - -Whirling away, Matt started again for the burning building; but, before -he reached the door, Ping, coughing and spluttering, his arms filled -with clothes, reeled out and fell in a sprawling heap on the ground. - -Rushing up to him, and thankful to find that he was safe, Matt grabbed -him by the shoulders and drew him farther from the boathouse. - -"Where's McGlory?" shouted Matt. - -It was necessary for him to talk at the top of his voice in order to -make himself heard above the roar of the wind and the flames. - -"No savvy," panted Ping, lifting himself to his knees, his -terror-stricken face showing weirdly in the glare. "My no makee yell -when you makee yell," he added, digging his knuckles into his smarting -eyes. "My heap full smoke. My blingee clothes----" - -"Never mind the clothes," cut in Matt, wildly alarmed on McGlory's -account. "You---- Here, stop that, Ping! Where you going?" - -The Chinese had abruptly gained his feet and plunged toward the open -door. At that moment, the door looked like the opening into a raging -furnace. - -"My savee _Splite_!" blubbered Ping. "No lettee _Splite_ go top-side! -Woosh!" - -The yellow boy was as fond of the boat as were Matt, McGlory and Lorry. -He had watched her rebuilding, in his curious, heathen way, and every -step toward completion lifted his pride and admiration higher and -higher. - -Matt had grabbed Ping and was holding him back. His mind, dealing with -McGlory, worked quickly. - -The cowboy, he reasoned, had been on guard outside. Those who had fired -the boathouse must have had to take care of McGlory before they could -carry out their nefarious plans. This being true, it could not be -possible that the cowboy was in any danger from the fire. It was the -_Sprite_, therefore, that should now claim Matt's attention. McGlory -could be looked for afterwards. - -"We'll save her together, Ping," cried Matt, "but we can't go into the -boathouse that way. We'd be overcome before we got anywhere near the -well. We must get into the building by the other end." - -The _Sprite_ was in imminent danger, there could not be the least doubt -about that. After Mr. Lorry and Ethel had left for home, during the -afternoon, the boat had been placed upright on the rollers leading to -the incline of the well. - -This, bringing her nearer the landward end of the boathouse made the -boat's danger greater than if she had been left on the skids which had -supported her while the work inside her hulk was going on. - -Not only that, but, preparatory to the morning's trial, her tanks had -been filled with gasoline. If the flames should reach the tanks---- - -"We'll have to hurry!" yelled Matt. - -Picking up a coat from the heap of clothing on the ground, Matt ran -to the edge of the lake and plunged the coat into the water; the next -moment he had darted back to the open window, hoping to reach in and -get an ax or hammer from the workbench for use in battering down the -water-door. This door was secured on the inside, and would have to be -broken if entrance was effected from the pier. - -Ping, frantically eager to help, but hardly knowing what to do, rushed -around after Matt, copying every move he made. - -When Matt picked up a coat and submerged it in the lake, Ping followed -suit; and when Matt, with the dripping garment in his hand, rushed for -the broken window, the Chinese boy was close behind. - -As ill-luck would have it, there was nothing in the shape of an ax or -hammer lying on the bench within reach of Matt's groping fingers. - -The window was perhaps a dozen feet along the wall from the landward -end of the building. The fire, apparently, had been started at the -extreme end, and, although the flames were driving fiercely through the -building, the blaze was not so formidable near the window as it was by -the door. - -Matt changed his plans about entering the boathouse by the water door. -He would make an essay through the window, push the _Sprite_ along the -rollers and down into the well, unlock the water door from the inside, -and then, under her own power, take her out into the cove. - -Not a second was to be lost if this plan was to be carried to a -successful conclusion. There was danger, plenty of it, in making the -attempt to save the _Sprite_. - -Blazing timbers were already falling from the roof of the doomed -building, and if one of those dropped on the barrel containing the -gasoline supply, an explosion would result and the flaming oil would be -hurled everywhere. - -But the king of the motor boys did not hesitate. Hurriedly throwing the -coat over his head and shoulders, he climbed through the window and -rolled off the bench to the smoking floor of the boathouse. - -To see anything between the confining walls was now impossible. The -smoke was thick, and the glare that shot through it rendered it opaque -and blinding. - -Matt, however, knew every foot of the building's interior as he knew -his two hands. Holding the coat closely around his head to protect -his face, he hurried through the blistering fog and finally stumbled -against the _Sprite_. - -Laying hold of the boat, he pushed with all his strength. In spite of -his fiercest efforts, she stuck and hung to the rollers. It was not a -time to hunt for what was wrong, but to force the _Sprite_ into the -well at any cost. - -While Matt tugged and strained, the end of the building fell outward -with a crash, and a flurry of sparks and firebrands leaping skyward. -This released a section of the roof, which dropped inward. - -One blazing beam landed on Matt's right arm, pinning it against the -rubstreak. A sickening pain rushed through his whole body, and when he -had hurled the timber away with his left hand, the injured arm dropped -numb and helpless at his side. - -"Matt! Motol Matt!" - -The shrill, frightened cry came from Ping. He had followed through -the window and had been feeling his way about the interior of the -boathouse. The crash of the wall and the roof had frightened him, and -he would have bolted had not the knowledge that Matt was somewhere in -that blazing inferno chained him to the place. - -"Here, Ping!" cried Matt, hoarsely. "Lay hold of the boat and help me -get her into the water. Lively, now--for your life!" - -Their united strength, even through Matt had only his left hand, was -sufficient. The _Sprite_ started slowly over the rollers, reached the -head of the incline, and her own impetus carried her downward. Matt and -Ping sprang into her blindly as she leaped away. - -Across the well ran the _Sprite_, her nose striking the water door and -causing her to recoil backward until her stern brushed the incline. - -Matt, dizzy and weak, pawed and floundered toward the bulkhead. - -Overhead the roof was all in flames. Any moment it might fall bodily, -sinking the _Sprite_ and those aboard her under the water of the -well--holding them like rats in a blazing trap. - -Matt's eyes were of no use to him. They were smarting from the smoke -and heat. But he did not need his eyes. He knew the place of every -lever on the bulkhead. - -A pull started the gasoline, another started the oil, and another -switched on the spark. A third lever was connected with the starting -device. Two pulls at this and the boat took the push of the propeller. - -_Boom!_ - -The fire had found the gasoline supply, and shafts of lighter fire shot -through the yellower blaze of burning wood. - -There was no time to unlock the water door. Already the fire-eaten -wreck was swaying. - -The _Sprite_, urged by the automobile engine, must ram the door and -break it down. - -Grabbing his companion, Matt dragged him down under the protection of -the bulkhead, while the _Sprite_ flung herself toward the door, toward -the cove--and toward safety. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -OUT OF A BLAZING FURNACE. - - -The cool night air quickly wrought its work, so far as George was -concerned. Sitting up on the ground, confused and unable to understand -what had happened, he stared at the conflagration at the edge of the -cove. - -Rubbing his eyes and muttering to himself, he stared again. He -remembered calling McGlory, and dropping down into the bunk after -McGlory had got out of it. After that he knew nothing until he sat up -there on the ground, with the fire dancing in front of his eyes. - -The fog was slower getting out of his brain than out of his lungs. -Rising to his feet, he started for the path leading up the bank, -animated by the hazy idea that he ought to get word to the fire -department. - -He stumbled over something. Being none too steady, he fell headlong, -only to lift himself again as the object over which he had fallen gave -vent to a rumbling, inarticulate sound. - -"Is that you, Matt?" he asked. - -The answer was a desperate gurgle. - -By that time Lorry had, in a great measure, recovered the use of his -wits. Creeping to the side of the person who was trying so hard to -speak, he saw by the glare of the fire that it was McGlory. - -"Great Scott!" he murmured, his hands passing over the form. "It's -cousin Joe, and he's tied and gagged!" - -Lorry was only a moment in freeing the cowboy's jaws of the twisted -handkerchief. - -"Tell me about this!" fumed McGlory. "I thought I'd never be found. -What are you kneeling there for, George, gawping like you were locoed? -Get these ropes off me, and see how quick you can do it. Don't you -know that Matt's in that boathouse, and that he and Ping are trying to -save the _Sprite_? We've got to lend a hand. Sufferin' blockheads, but -you're slow! Cut the ropes with a knife if you can't untie 'em." - -"I'm in my underclothes," answered George. "I don't know where my knife -is." - -"I've got a knife in my pocket. Take it out, but hustle, for Heaven's -sake, _hustle_!" - -George was shaking like a man with a chill. The terrors of the moment -were dawning upon his bewildered mind. His hands trembled while groping -through McGlory's pockets, and they trembled worse when he opened the -knife and tried to use it. - -"Who--who set the fire?" he mumbled. - -"Do you think I'm a mind reader?" stormed McGlory. "I was to blame, for -I was on guard and ought to have seen those negroes before they downed -me and trussed me up in this fashion. If anything happens to Matt, I'll -be to blame for it, and if the _Sprite_ is burned I'll be to blame for -that, too. Oh, I've got a lot to think of, I have!" - -The cowboy's self-reproach was keen. - -"Did some one steal up on you, Joe?" asked Lorry. - -"What do you take me for, George? Do you think I laid down and put my -hands behind me so the blacks could tie 'em? They got me, right there -at the corner of the boathouse, just as I was coming around. A blow -dazed me, and before I could let out a yip, they had ropes on my wrists -and ankles and that thing between my jaws. I heard Matt calling, and, -sufferin' jailbirds! here I lay without bein' able to say a word. Oh, -_can't_ you cut those ropes? Take a brace--your nerves are in rags." - -George managed finally to saw the blade through one coil of the cord -that secured McGlory's hands. With a swift tug from the shoulders the -cowboy released himself, then caught the knife from his cousin's hand -and slashed it through the ropes at his feet. - -The next instant he was up and bounding toward the boathouse. - -"Where are you going?" shouted George. - -McGlory, rendered desperate by the knowledge that Matt was in the -boathouse facing death in a fierce effort to save the _Sprite_, was -heading straight for the door of the building. - -The door was merely a riffle in a wall of flame. Before McGlory could -reach it, the whole end of the boathouse crashed outward. - -He sprang backward, just in time to avoid the blazing timbers, and -turned to Lorry with a groan. - -"We can't help him!" he cried hoarsely. "Motor Matt's done for, the -_Sprite's_ done for--everybody's done for, George. And it was all on my -account." - -Here it was that Lorry came to the front with a little common sense. - -"You were not to blame, Joe," he asserted. "You were set on by some -negroes, and you could no more help what happened than Matt or I. Pull -yourself together and don't be a fool. Motor Matt knows what he's -about. If he's in that boathouse he'll get out of it again. Anyhow, we -can't help him from this side. We'll go around by the pier and get the -launch. If we can get the launch through the water door, maybe we can -hitch on to the _Sprite_ and tow her out." - -This talk had a salutary effect on McGlory. - -"The _Sprite_ isn't in the water," he answered. "How could we tow her -out?" - -"Matt will get her in the water," said Lorry confidently. "What do you -suppose he's doing in there if he isn't getting the _Sprite_ into the -well? We left her on rollers at the top of the incline, and Matt could -launch her alone without any trouble. Let's get the launch and be ready -to help." - -The launch referred to by Lorry was the one he had hired and brought -across the lake for Matt's use during the work on the _Sprite_. The -boat was kept at one end of the pier. While the _Sprite_ was on the -skids, the other boat was housed in the well at night, but this night -she had been left outside so as not to interfere with the launching of -the _Sprite_ in the early morning. - -Hoping against hope that they could yet do something that would help -Motor Matt, the two boys ran alongside the boathouse, jumped to the -pier and unfastened the painter of the launch. Just as they tumbled -into it and McGlory was turning the flywheel, a loud explosion came -from inside the boathouse. A cloud of firebrands and sparks geysered up -from the roof. - -"What was that?" gasped Lorry. - -"The gasoline," answered McGlory, dropping down on the thwartships seat -in front of the motor. "I don't know what we can do now, George." - -"We'll get into the boathouse," flung back Lorry. "If----" - -Lorry was interrupted by another crash. Under the startled eyes of -the two in the launch, the water door was ripped and splintered, and -through the ragged gap as out of a blazing furnace sped the _Sprite_. - -For a moment she reeled as though undecided which way to turn; then, -suddenly, she shot off into the lake. Neither Lorry nor McGlory could -see any one aboard her. - -"Where's Matt?" cried the cowboy. - -The echoes of his voice were taken up by another crash, and the -remaining walls of the boathouse flattened themselves with a great -hissing as the burning timbers dropped into the well, and off the pier -into the lake. - -"If he was in there," added the cowboy huskily, pointing to the wrecked -building, "then there's----" - -"He wasn't in there," cut in Lorry. "He couldn't have been. Do you -suppose the _Sprite_ started herself?" - -While speaking, Lorry was "turning over" the engine. The motor took up -its cycle, and Lorry steered into the lake after the _Sprite_. - -The _Sprite_ was darting this way and that at terrific speed, following -a course so erratic that it would be easily inferred there was no -guiding hand on the steering wheel. - -Away the boat would rush, directly into the gloom that hovered over the -lake; then, before she could vanish, she would describe a hair-raising -turn and jump to starboard or port. - -"But where's Matt if he is in the boat?" demanded McGlory. - -"On the bottom, perhaps," replied Lorry. "He started her, and that's -all he was able to do. We've got to lay the _Sprite_ aboard, somehow." - -"That's easier said than done," said McGlory. "She's jumping around -like a pea on a hot griddle, and is just as likely to slam into us and -cut us down as to do anything else. Sufferin' sidewinders, look at -that!" - -The _Sprite_ had made a complete turn and was now headed shoreward and -streaking straight towards the boys. - -"Here's our chance!" said Lorry. "If the _Sprite_ hangs on as she's -coming she'll pass close to us. Will you jump aboard her, Joe, or shall -I?" - -"I'll do it," answered the cowboy. "Can't you turn the launch and -follow the _Sprite_, side by side with her? She'll travel faster than -we will, but it'll make it easier to jump without going into the lake." - -This manoeuvre was carried out, and Lorry, who could handle a boat -tolerably well for an amateur, brought the launch about and picked up -the _Sprite_ as she dashed onward. - -McGlory cleared a foot of water at a flying leap and dropped into the -_Sprite's_ cockpit. In a few minutes he had checked the boat's aimless -racing and had brought her to a halt. - -"Is Matt there?" queried Lorry anxiously, working the launch close to -the _Sprite_. - -"He's here," answered McGlory, "but he's unconscious. Ping's here, too, -and his wits are wool-gathering, same as Matt's. They're both alive, -though, and I reckon they'll be all right with a little care." - -"Follow me across the lake," said Lorry. "We'll go to the clubhouse. -The quicker we can get a doctor, the better." - -The first gray of dawn was just glimmering along the eastern edge of -the sky as the two boats stood away for Madison. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -WHAT ABOUT THE RACE? - - -Matt opened his eyes in surroundings that were not familiar to him. The -room was big and lofty, and the bed he was lying in was a huge affair -of brass and had a mosquito canopy. He tried to lift his right arm. -The movement was attended with so much pain that he gave it up. He saw -that the arm was swathed in bandages. - -A sound of whispering came to him from the bedside. Turning his head on -the pillow, he saw two figures that had escaped him up to that moment. -One was Lorry and the other was McGlory. - -"The doctor says he'll have to stay in bed for a week," Lorry was -saying. - -"Sufferin' speed boats!" muttered McGlory. "Let's kiss our chances -good-by. It's glory enough, anyhow, just to know Matt got clear of the -burnin' boathouse with his life." - -"Don't be in a rush about bidding good-by to our chances," said Matt. - -McGlory jumped around in his chair, and Lorry started up and hurried to -the bedside with a glowing face. - -"Jupiter, but it's good to hear your voice again, Matt," said Lorry. - -"We were expectin' you to wake up any minute, pard," added McGlory. -"How're you feeling?" - -"A one, except for my arm. What's the matter with it?" - -"A sprain and a bad burn," replied Lorry. - -"I remember, now," muttered Matt. "A blazing timber fell from the roof -and pinned my arm against the gunwale of the _Sprite_. It isn't a -fracture?" - -"Nary, pard," said McGlory. "You were in a heap of luck to get out of -that blaze as well as you did." - -"I guess that's right. Where am I?" - -"In the Lorry home on Fourth Lake Ridge," smiled George. "We took you -across the lake to the Yahara Club, and when I called up dad on the -phone, and told him what had happened, he insisted on sending the -carriage after you. The doctor was here when we arrived. He has patched -you up so you'll be as good as new in a week." - -"Is Ping all right?" - -McGlory chuckled. - -"You can't kill a Chink, pard," he answered. "Ping was unconscious, -same as you, when we picked up the _Sprite_, but he drifted back to -earth while we were crossing the lake." - -"And the _Sprite_--did she suffer any damage?" - -"She's blistered here and there, but otherwise she's just as good as -she was when you hit her the last tap." - -"What about the race?" - -A glum expression settled over the faces of George and Joe. - -"Well," said George, "this is Monday morning, and the race is to-morrow -afternoon. The doctor says you ought to keep quiet for a week. Of -course, the race can't be postponed, and if the _Sprite_ doesn't come -to the line to-morrow, why, the Winnequas keep the cup. Also, Merton -and his clique keep the money they wagered. That has been their game -all along, and every bet they made was with the understanding that if -the Yahara Club failed to furnish a starter in the race the Winnequa -fellows were to pull down all the stakes." - -A glimmer came into Matt's gray eyes. - -"It looks to me," he remarked, "as though Merton and his friends had a -feeling all along that something was going to happen to the _Sprite_." - -McGlory scowled, and Lorry looked grave. - -"Have you heard anything about who started that fire?" went on Matt. - -"The latest comes from Merton indirectly," said Lorry. "We hear that -he's spreading a report that we were careless with matches, and that we -kept our gasoline in the boathouse." - -"Sufferin' boomerangs!" snapped McGlory. "I reckon, if we figure it -down to a fine point, people will find that Merton was careless in -hiring niggers to do his crooked work." - -"Negroes?" echoed Matt. "That reminds me, Joe, that I couldn't find you -when I woke up and found the boathouse in flames. Where were you?" - -"Speak to me about that!" gurgled McGlory. "Why, pard, I was lashed -hand and foot and smothered with a gag. I could hear you callin', but -it wasn't possible for me to answer you. That was torture, and don't -you forget it. What's more, I could hear you and Ping talking, and by -turning my head I could see you getting into the boathouse through the -window. It was only when George, half-dazed, stumbled over me, that I -was able to let any one know where I was. George got the ropes off me, -and I'd have gone into the boathouse after you, only the front of it -tumbled and blocked the attempt. Then we went around and got in the -launch, thinking we'd get in by the water door and give the _Sprite_ a -lift into the cove. Before we could do that the buildin' began to cave -in, and the gasoline to let go, and then the _Sprite_ came smashing -through the door and began dancing a hornpipe out in the lake. Lorry -and I manoeuvred around until we managed to catch her, and then we -brought you across to the clubhouse. That's where the _Sprite_ is now, -and she'll be well taken care of by the Yahara boys." - -"But the negroes!" exclaimed Matt. "You haven't told me anything about -them." - -"Keno!" grinned McGlory. "I told the last end of my yarn. I reckon the -first end was left out because it don't reflect any credit on your -Uncle Joe. Lorry called me at midnight to go on guard duty. I slid -out, and hadn't been watching the boathouse more than three hours when -a couple of black villains nailed me as I was going around a corner. -I was dazed with an upper-cut, and before I could get into shape to -do any fighting, they had me on the mat. Then I had to lay there and -listen to 'em setting fire to the boathouse, with you, and Lorry, and -Ping inside, never dreaming of what was going on. I reckon I'm a back -number, pard. It was my fault." - -"You can't shoulder the responsibility, Joe," answered Matt. "You -couldn't help being knocked down, and tied, and gagged." - -"Nary, I couldn't," was McGlory's gloomy rejoinder; "but I might have -stepped high, wide, and handsome when I went around that corner. If -I'd had as much sense as the law allows I'd have seen that black fist -before it landed, either ducked or side-stepped, and then let off a -yell. All you fellows inside needed was the right sort of a yell. But -I didn't give it. When it came to a showdown, pard, I couldn't deliver -the goods." - -"I still maintain that you have no cause to blame yourself," persisted -Matt. "If George or I had been in your place, Joe, the same thing would -have happened." - -McGlory bent his head reflectively. - -"It's mighty good of you, pard, to put it that way," said he finally. - -"Would you know those negroes again if you were to see them?" asked -Matt. - -McGlory shook his head. - -"It was plumb dark there in the shadow of the boathouse," he answered. -"I could just make out that they were negroes, and that's all. I -reckon, though, that Ollie Merton could tell us who those fellows -were--if he would." - -"I'd be a little careful, Joe," cautioned Matt, "about involving Merton -in that fire. If it could be proved against him it would be a mighty -serious business--just as serious as for the fellows who set the fire." - -"Well, pard, why was Merton and his friends making their bets in that -queer way? In case there isn't any race because of the failure of the -Yahara Club to produce a starter, the Winnequas take the stakes. That -looks as though Merton and his pals knew what was going to happen. If -the _Sprite_ was burned, there'd be no boat for the Yaharas to produce." - -"Joe's right," declared Lorry. - -"Well, keep your suspicions to yourselves," said Matt. "In a case of -this kind it's positive proof that's needed, not bare suspicion. Wasn't -the fire seen from the city? Didn't any one go across the lake to help -fight it?" - -"We met a couple of boats going over as we were coming across with you -and Ping," replied Lorry. "By that time, though, the boathouse was no -more than a heap of embers. It went quick after it got started. But -what about the race to-morrow? That's the point that's bothering me. I -could take the _Sprite_ over the course, and so could Joe, at a pinch, -but we wouldn't get the speed out of her that you would." - -"I'll drive her myself," said Matt. - -"Speak to me about that!" gasped McGlory. "Why, pard, you've only got -one hand--and that's the left." - -"A man who's any good at automobile driving has a pretty good left -hand. In an automobile race, Joe, the driver's left hand has to do a -big share of the work. The racer steers with the left hand, holding -the right hand free for the emergency brake. The left hand has to be -trained to take full charge at all corners, and in a thousand and one -other places as the need arises. I can do the racing well enough." - -"But the doctor says----" began Lorry. - -"I know what I can do better than the doctor, George," laughed Matt. -"I'll be in that race every minute--watch me." - -Both Lorry and McGlory studied Matt's face carefully. - -"Pluck, that's what it is," muttered McGlory. "It's the sort of pluck -that wins. But I don't know whether the doctor will let you----" - -Just at that moment a servant stepped into the room. - -"What is it, James?" asked Lorry. - -"Mr. Martin Rawlins to see Mr. King," was the answer. - -Lorry looked bewildered. - -"Mart Rawlins!" he exclaimed. "Why, he's one of the Winnequa fellows, -and a crony of Merton's!" - -"He's here to pump Matt," growled McGlory, "or else to find out what -his chances are for being in that race to-morrow. Sufferin' tinhorns, -what a nerve!" - -"Have him come up, Lorry," said Matt. "It won't do any harm to talk -with him. If he's here to pump me, he's welcome to try." - -Lorry nodded to the servant, and a few moments later Mart Rawlins -entered the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -MART RAWLINS WEAKENS. - - -"Hello, Lorry!" said Rawlins, hesitating, just over the threshold, as -though a little undecided as to how he would be received. - -"Hello, Rawlins!" answered Lorry coldly. "You want to see Motor Matt?" - -"That's why I came. I hope he isn't hurt very much?" - -"There he is," said Lorry, pushing a chair up to the bed; "you can ask -him about that for yourself." - -McGlory, feeling sure that Merton was guiltily concerned in the fire, -was far from amiably disposed toward such a close friend of Merton's as -Rawlins. As Rawlins advanced to the bed the cowboy got up, turned his -back, and looked out of a window. - -"I'm sorry you had such a rough time of it, Motor Matt," said Rawlins, -visibly embarrassed. - -"I was in luck to get out of the scrape as well as I did," returned -Matt. "You're a friend of Merton's?" - -"I was. Early this morning we had a quarrel, so we're not quite so -friendly. Have you any idea what caused the fire?" - -"Yes," said Matt bluntly; "firebugs." - -"You're positive of that?" - -"My friend McGlory, there, was watching outside the boathouse. He was -set upon by two negroes, knocked down, tied hand and foot, gagged and -dragged off where he would not be in the way. Then the two scoundrels -set fire to the building while Lorry, the Chinese boy, and I were sound -asleep inside." - -Something like trepidation crossed Mart Rawlins' face. - -"McGlory is sure that the men were negroes who assaulted him?" queried -Rawlins in a shaking voice. - -"He's positive." - -"Then," breathed Rawlins, as though to himself, "there's no doubt about -it." - -"No doubt about what?" demanded McGlory sharply, whirling away from the -window. - -"Why," was the answer, "that there was a conspiracy to destroy the -boathouse and the _Sprite_, and that Ollie Merton was back of it." - -Rawlins had paled, and he was nervous, but he spoke deliberately. - -Matt, Lorry, and McGlory were surprised at the trend Rawlins' talk was -taking. They were still a little bit suspicious of him, especially -McGlory. - -"What makes you think that?" asked Matt, eying his caller keenly. - -"Did you lose a roll of drawings a few days ago?" - -"Yes." - -"And did you have a disagreement with the little negro called Pickerel -Pete?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, Pete stole those drawings and took them to Merton. It was just -after"--Rawlins flushed--"just after you were stopped in the woods -by Merton and the rest of us, and ordered to quit helping Lorry. We -had got back to Merton's house, and Pete came there with the roll of -papers. Merton bought them from Pete, gave Pete five dollars, and asked -him to come to see him Sunday afternoon at four o'clock--yesterday -afternoon. Merton said he had a plan he was going to carry out that -would make success sure for the Winnequa boat in the race. He wouldn't -tell us what the plan was, but when I heard that the boathouse had been -burned I went over to Merton's and had a talk with him. It wasn't a -pleasant talk, and there was a coldness between Merton and me when I -left." - -"You think, then," said Matt, "that Merton hired Pete to get those -negroes to set fire to the boathouse?" - -"That's the way it looks to me. As a member of the Winnequa club, and -a representative member, I won't stand for any such work. It's--it's -unsportsman-like, to say the least." - -"It's worse than that, Mart," frowned Lorry. - -"It was unsportsman-like to stop Matt, drag him off into the woods, and -try to bribe him to leave town, or to 'throw' the race, wasn't it?" -cried McGlory scornfully. - -Rawlins stirred uncomfortably. - -"Certainly it was," he admitted. - -"And yet you helped Merton in that!" - -"Merton fooled me. He said Motor Matt was an unscrupulous adventurer, -and a professional motorist, and that the good of the sport made it -necessary for us to get him out of that race. He didn't say he was -going to bribe him to 'throw' the race. I didn't know that offer -was going to be made, and I think there were some others who didn't -know it. If we could have hired Motor Matt to leave town, I'd have -been willing. I've got up all the money I can spare on the race, and -naturally I want our boat to win--but I won't stand for any unfair -practices. Nor will the Winnequa Club, as a whole. We're game to let -our boat face the start on its own merits. If we can't win by fair -means, I want to lose my money." - -Rawlins got up. - -"That's all I came here for--to find out how you are, Motor Matt, and -to let you know how I stand, and how the rest of the club stands. I -have come out flat-footed, and for the good of motor boating in this -section I hope you will not press this matter to its conclusion. We all -know what that conclusion would mean. It would go hard with Merton, -and there would be a scandal. In order to avoid the scandal, it may be -necessary to spare Merton." - -"Sufferin' hoodlums!" cried McGlory. "That's a nice way to tune up. -Here's Merton, pulling off a raw deal, and coming within one of killing -my two pards, say nothing of the way I was treated, and now you want -him spared for the sake of avoiding a scandal!" - -A silence followed this outburst. - -When Rawlins continued, he turned and addressed himself to Matt. - -"I think I know your calibre pretty well, Motor Matt," said he. "The -way you turned down that bribe in the woods and declared that you'd -stand by Lorry at all costs, showed us all you were the right sort. -Of course, I can't presume to influence you; but, if you won't spare -Merton on account of the scandal and the good of the sport, or on his -own account, then think of his father and mother. They'll get back from -abroad to-morrow morning in time for the race. That's all. I'd like to -shake hands with you, if you don't mind." - -Rawlins stepped closer to the bed. - -"You'll have to take my left hand," laughed Matt. "The right's -temporarily out of business. You're the clear quill, Rawlins," he -added, as they shook hands, "and I'll take no steps against Merton, -providing he acts on the square from now on. You can tell your club -members that." - -"Thank you. I half expected you'd say that." - -"Will Merton be allowed to race the boat in the contest?" inquired -Lorry. - -"We can't very well avoid it. It's his boat, and it's the only entry -on our side. He'll have to race her, with Halloran. The club will -make that concession. After that--well, Merton will cease to act as -commodore, and will no longer be a member of the club. Good-by, Motor -Matt, and may the best boat win, no matter who's at the motor!" - -As Rawlins went out, Ethel Lorry and her father stepped into the room. -They had heard the loud voices, and inferring that Matt was able to -receive company, had come upstairs. - -"You'd hardly think there was a sick person up here," said Mr. Lorry, -"from the talk that's been going on. How are you, my lad?" and he -stepped toward Matt. - -"Doing finely," said Matt. - -"I'm glad," said Ethel, drawing close to the bed and slipping her arm -through her father's. - -"He's going to race the _Sprite_ to-morrow, Uncle Dan," chirped McGlory. - -"No!" exclaimed the astounded Mr. Lorry. - -"Fact. You can't down him. He's in that race with only one hand--and -the left, at that." - -"It will be the death of you!" cried Ethel. "You mustn't think of it." - -"You know, my boy," added Mr. Lorry gravely, "it won't do to take -chances." - -"I know that, sir," returned Matt, "but I'm as well as ever, barring my -arm. I can't lie here and let the _Sprite_ get beaten for lack of a man -at the motor who understands her. I'd be in a bad way, for sure, if I -had to do that." - -"I think he's a bit flighty," grinned McGlory. "I reckon I can prove -that by telling you what just happened." - -"What happened?" and Mr. Lorry turned to face McGlory. - -The cowboy repeated all that Rawlins had said, winding up with the -promise Matt had made to spare Merton. - -A soft light crept into Ethel's eyes. - -"What else could you expect from Motor Matt?" she asked. - -"I shall have to shake hands with you myself, Matt," said Mr. Lorry, -taking Matt's left hand and pressing it cordially. "That was fine of -you, but, as Ethel says, no more than we ought to expect. I hope you'll -be able to drive the _Sprite_ to victory, but you'll have to have less -talk in the room and more rest if you're going to be able to take your -place in the boat to-morrow. Come on, Ethel." - -Mr. Lorry and his daughter left the room and Lorry and McGlory resumed -their chairs, but gave over their conversation. - -An hour later Matt called for something to eat, and a substantial meal -was served to him, piping hot. - -The doctor came while he was eating. - -"Well," laughed the doctor, "I guess you'll do. Don't eat too much, -that's all." - -"He's got to corral enough ginger to get into that race to-morrow -afternoon, doc," sang out the cowboy. - -"He don't intend to try that, does he?" asked the doctor aghast. - -"I've got to, doctor," said Matt. - -"It may be," remarked the doctor, "that action is the sort of tonic -you need. But, whatever you do, don't attempt to use that arm. That'll -be about all. If you do get into the race, though, be sure and win. -You see," he added whimsically, "I live on the Fourth Lake side of the -town." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE RACE--THE START. - - -The Winnequa-Yahara race was open to all boats of the respective clubs -under forty feet, each boat with a beam one-fifth the water-line -length. It was to be a five-mile contest, each end of the course marked -by a stake boat anchored at each end of Fourth Lake. The stake boat, -with the judges, was to be moored off Maple Bluff. From this boat the -racers would start, round the other stake boat, and finish at the -starting point. - -Furthermore, although the race was open to all members of the two -respective clubs with boats under the extreme length, there was a -mutual agreement, from the beginning, that one member of each club -should be commissioned to provide the boat to be entered in the -contest. Inasmuch as a speed boat costs money, it was natural that the -sons of rich men should be told off to carry the honors. - -Mr. Merton and Mr. Lorry were both millionaires. They were known to be -indulgent fathers, and it had not been foreseen that Mr. Lorry would -rebel, at first, against George's extravagance. - -But George had gone too far. Mr. Lorry, even at that, might have paid -for George's $5,000 hydroplane had he understood that his son was -bearing the Yahara honors on his own shoulders and had been lured into -extravagance by a misguided notion of his responsibility. - -However, this initial misunderstanding, with all its disastrous -entanglements, was a thing of the past. Both Mr. Lorry and George had -buried it deep, and were meeting each other in a closer relationship -than they had ever known before. - -The struggle for the De Lancey cup had become, to Madison, what the -fight for the America Cup had become to the United States. Only, in -the case of the De Lancey cup, the city was divided against itself. - -The entire population had ranged itself on one side or the other. - -The gun that started the race was to be fired at 2 o'clock, but early -in the forenoon launches began passing through the chain of lakes, and -through the canal and locks that led to the scene of the contest. - -The distance had already been measured and the stake boats placed. -All along the course buoys marked the boundaries. Later there were to -be police boats, darting here and there to see that the boundary line -was respected and the course kept clear. Through this lane of water, -hemmed in by craft of every description, the two boats were to speed to -victory or defeat. - -Observers, however, did not confine themselves to the boats. The -cottages on Maple Bluff, and the surrounding heights, offered splendid -vantage ground for sightseers. Early in the forenoon automobiles -began moving out toward Maple Bluff, loaded with passengers. And each -automobile carried a hamper with lunch for those who traveled with it. -Most of the citizens made of the event a picnic affair. - -The asylum grounds also held their quota of sightseers with opera -glasses or more powerful binoculars; and Governor's Island, and the -shore all the way around to Picnic Point. - -The day was perfect. Fortunately for the many craft assembled, the wind -was light, and what little there was was not from the west. Fourth Lake -was to be as calm as a pond. - -Steadily, up to 1 o'clock, the throng of sightseers afloat and ashore -was added to. - -The sixty-five-foot motor yacht, serving as stake boat at the starting -and finishing point, was boarded by Mr. Lorry and Ethel. The judges -were from both clubs, and so the boat was given over to the use of a -limited number of Winnequas and Yaharas and their partisans. - -As Mr. Lorry and Ethel came over the side of the yacht they were -greeted by a tall, gray-haired man and a stout, middle-aged lady. - -"Why, Merton!" exclaimed Mr. Lorry. "You had to get back in time for -the race, eh? Madam," and he doffed his hat to the lady at Merton's -side, "I trust I find you well?" - -"Very well, thank you, Mr. Lorry," replied Mrs. Merton. "How are you, -my dear?" and the lady turned and gave her hand to Ethel. - -"There's where they start and finish, Lorry," said Mr. Merton, pointing -to the port side of the boat. "Bring up chairs and we'll preëmpt our -places now." - -When the four were all comfortably seated, a certain embarrassment born -of the fact that each man was there to watch the performance of his -son's boat crept into their talk. - -"Will George be in his boat?" inquired Mr. Merton, taking a glance -around at the gay bunting with which the assembled craft were dressed. - -"No," said Mr. Lorry. - -"Ollie will be in _his_ launch," and there was ever so small a taunt in -the words. - -"Ollie's boat is bigger than George's, Merton," answered the other -mildly. "George's driver figured that an extra hundred-and-forty pounds -had better stay out of the _Sprite_." - -"Who drives for George?" - -"Motor Matt." - -Mr. Merton was startled. - -"Why," said he, "I thought he was hurt in that boathouse fire and -couldn't be out of bed?" - -"He's hurt, and only one-handed, but he's too plucky to stay out of the -race." - -"Probably," said Mr. Merton coolly, "the pay he receives is quite an -item. I understand Motor Matt is poor, and out for all the money he can -get." - -"You have been wrongly informed, Merton. Not a word as to what he shall -receive has passed between George and Motor Matt. The boys are friends." - -"I'd be a little careful, if I were you, how I allowed my son to pick -up with a needy adventurer." - -"Motor Matt is neither needy nor an adventurer," said Mr. Lorry warmly. -"I'm proud to have George on intimate terms with him." - -"Oh, well," laughed Mr. Merton; "have a cigar." - -Ethel was having a conversation along similar lines with Mrs. Merton, -and she was as staunchly upholding Motor Matt as was her father. So -earnestly did the girl speak that the elder lady drew back and eyed her -through a lorgnette. - -"Careful, my dear," said she. - -Ethel knew what she meant, and flushed with temper. But both Ethel and -her father, deep down in their hearts, pitied Mr. and Mrs. Merton. If -they had known of the unscrupulous attack their son had caused to be -made on Motor Matt, they would perhaps have spoken differently--or not -at all. - -Fortunately, it may be, for the four comprising the little party, a -band on a near-by cruising boat began to play. - -Then, a moment later, a din of cheers rolled over the lake. - -"There's Ollie!" cried Mrs. Merton, starting up excitedly to flutter -her handkerchief. - -Yes, the _Dart_ was coming down the open lane, having entered the -course from the boathouse, where she had been lying ever since early -morning. She was a 25-foot boat, with trim racing lines, and she shot -through the water in a way that left no doubt of her speed. - -"How's that?" cried Mr. Merton, nudging Mr. Lorry with his elbow. -"Nearly everybody was expecting the _Wyandotte_, and just look what -we're springing on you!" - -"She looks pretty good," acknowledged Mr. Lorry. - -"Well, I should say so!" - -"But not good enough," went on Mr. Lorry. - -"Have you got five thousand that thinks the same way?" - -"No, Merton. I quit betting a good many years ago." - -The _Dart_ raced up and down the course, showing what she could do in -short stretches, but not going over the line for a record. Halloran, -the red-haired driver of the _Dart_, and Ollie Merton were fine-looking -young fellows in their white yachting caps, white flannel shirts, and -white duck trousers. - -From time to time Mr. Lorry consulted his watch, checking off the -quarter hours impatiently and wondering why Motor Matt and the _Sprite_ -did not put in an appearance. Could it be possible that Matt had not -been able to leave the house on Yankee Hill, after all? If he was able -to be out, then why didn't he come along and give the _Sprite_ a little -warming up? - -The boat had not had an actual try-out since the changes had been made -in her. - -Mr. Lorry did not realize that it was too late, then, for a try-out; -nor did he know that Matt was saving himself for the contest, and not -intending to reach the course much before the time arrived for the -starting gun to be fired. - -Five minutes before two a little saluting gun barked sharply from the -forward deck of the stake boat. - -"I guess your boat isn't coming, Lorry," said Mr. Merton. "There's only -five minutes left for----" - -The words were taken out of his mouth by a roaring cheer from down the -line of boats. The cheer was caught up and repeated from boat to boat -until the whole surface of the lake seemed to echo back the frantic -yells. - -Mr. Lorry leaped to his feet and waved his hat, while Ethel sprang up -in her chair and excitedly shook her veil. - -For the _Sprite_ was coming! - -Motor Matt, a little pale and carrying his right arm in a sling, came -jogging down the wide lane toward the stake boat. There was a resolute -light in his keen, gray eyes, and his trained left hand performed its -many duties unerringly. - -The danger from which Matt had plucked the _Sprite_ at the burning -boathouse was known far and wide, and it was his gameness in entering -the race handicapped as he was that called forth the tremendous ovation. - -Dexterously he passed the stake boat and brought the _Sprite_ slowly -around for the start. - -The _Sprite_ was charred and blistered, and, as McGlory had humorously -put it, the "skin was barked all off her nose," because of her -collision with the water door; but there she was, fit and ready for -the race of her life. - -She did not compare favorably with the handsome _Dart_; but then, -beauty is only skin deep. It's what's inside of a boat, as well as of a -man, that counts. - -Slowly the boats manoeuvred, waiting for the gun. The silence was -intense, breathless. Then---- - -Bang! - -The little saluting gun puffed out its vapory breath. Matt could be -seen leaning against the wheel, holding it firm with his body while his -left hand played over the levers. - -It was a pretty start. Both the _Sprite_ and the _Dart_ passed the -stake boat neck and neck. - -"They're off," muttered Lorry, with a wheeze, drawing a handkerchief -over his forehead. - -It is nothing to his discredit that his hand shook a little. - -"Oh, dad," whispered Ethel, clasping her father's arm, "didn't he look -fine and--and determined? I know he'll win, I just _know_ it." - -"Say, Lorry," asked Mr. Merton, "who's that youngster over there on -that launch--the one that's making such a fool of himself." - -"That?" asked Mr. Lorry, squinting in the direction indicated. "Oh, -that's my nephew, McGlory. But don't blame him for acting the fool--I -feel a little inclined that way myself." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE FINISH. - - -The doctor's guess was a good one. The excitement of that race was -exactly what Motor Matt needed. It was a tonic, and from the moment -he had entered the _Sprite_ in the Yahara Club boathouse, he was the -Mile-a-Minute Matt of motor cycle and automobile days. His nerves were -like steel wires, his brain was steady, and his eye keen and true. - -There was a good deal of vibration--much more, in fact, than Matt had -really thought there would be. The more power used up in vibration, the -less power delivered at the wheel. But what would the vibration have -been if he had not exercised so much care in preparing the engine's bed? - -Perfectly oblivious of the spectators, and with eyes only for his -course, Matt saw nothing and no one apart from the boundary buoys, -until he turned the _Sprite_ for the start. Then, while waiting for the -starting gun, he caught a glimpse of the taunting face of Ollie Merton. - -"Fooled you, eh?" called Merton. "You'll do sixteen miles, at your -best, and we'll go over twenty." - -Motor Matt did not reply. If Merton had only known what was under the -hood of the _Sprite_, his gibe would never have been uttered. - -As they passed the stake boat side by side, Merton and Halloran began -to suspect something. The _Sprite_ hung to them too persistently for a -sixteen-mile-an-hour boat. - -"He's got something in that boat of his," breathed Halloran, "that we -don't know anything about." - -"Confound him!" snorted Merton, enraged at the very suspicion. "If he -fools us with any of his low-down tricks, I'll fix him before he leaves -that made-over catamaran of his." - -"You'll treat him white, Merton, win or lose," scowled Halloran. - -"Then you see to it that you win!" said Merton. - -Along the double line of boats rushed the racers. The waves tossed up -from the bows rose high, creamed into froth, and the spray drifted and -eddied around Matt, Halloran, and Merton. At the edge of the lane, the -craft of the sightseers rocked with the heave the flying boats kicked -up. - -Halfway between the stake boats the _Dart_ began to draw ahead. A shout -of exultation went up from Merton. - -"Good boy, Halloran! In another minute we'll show him our heels." - -But what Matt lost on the outward stretch of the course he more than -made up at the turn around the stake boat. The shorter length of the -_Sprite_ enabled her to be brought around with more facility, and she -came to on the inner side and was reaching for the home-stretch when -the _Dart_ got pointed for the straight-away. - -The hum of the engine was like a crooning song of victory in Matt's -ears. He _knew_ he was going to win; he felt it in his bones. - -Halloran's juggling with gasoline and spark brought the _Dart_ slowly -alongside and gave her the lead by half a length. - -But still Matt did not waver. He could juggle a little with the -make-and-break ignition and the fuel supply himself. His brain was full -of calculations. He knew where he was at every minute of the race, and -he knew just when to begin making the throbbing motor spin the wheel at -its maximum. - -The rack of the hull was tremendous. It seemed to grow instead of to -lessen. - -Would the hull stand the strain with the engine urging the wheel at its -best? - -It _must_ stand the strain! The crisis was at hand and there was -nothing else for it. - -Hugging the steering wheel with his body, Matt's left hand toyed with -switch and lever. The yacht at the finish line was in plain view. - -Matt did not see the waving hats or fluttering handkerchiefs, nor did -he hear the bedlam of yells that went up on every side. All he saw was -the _Dart_, his eye marking the gain of the _Sprite_. - -It was already apparent to Ollie Merton and Halloran that the race -was lost--_unless something unexpected happened to Motor Matt or the -Sprite_. - -Halloran was getting the last particle of speed out of the _Dart's_ -engine, and steadily, relentlessly, the _Sprite_ was creeping ahead. - -Deep down in Merton's soul a desperate purpose was fighting with his -better nature. Suddenly the evil got the upper hand. Merton waited, his -sinister face full of relentless determination. - -"When the _Sprite_ takes the lead," he said to himself, "something is -going to happen." - -In one minute more Matt forged ahead. The finish line was close now, -and Merton was already stung with the bitterness of defeat. - -His hand reached inside his sweater. When it was withdrawn, a revolver -came with it. - -Why Merton had brought that revolver with him, he alone could tell. It -may have been for some such purpose as this. - -Matt's back was toward Merton, and Matt's eyes were peering steadily -ahead. - -If that left hand could be touched--just scratched--the king of the -motor boys would be powerless to manage the _Sprite_. - -Many of the spectators saw the leveling of the weapon. Cries of -"Coward!" and "Shame!" and "Stop him!" went up from a hundred throats. - -Mr. Merton, watching breathlessly, saw the glimmering revolver, and -something very like a sob rushed through his lips as he bowed his head. -What those who saw felt for his son, _he_ felt for him--and for himself. - -Before Merton could press the trigger, Halloran turned partly around. - -"You're mad!" shouted Halloran, gripping Merton's wrist with a deft -hand and shoving the point of the revolver high in the air. - -Unaware of his narrow escape, the king of the motor boys flung the -_Sprite_ onward to victory. - -A good half-length ahead of the _Dart_, Matt and his boat crossed the -finish line--regaining the De Lancey cup for the Yahara Club, winning -the race for George Lorry and gaining untold honors for himself. - -The lake went wild; and the enthusiasm spilled over its edges and ran -riot along the shores. Steam launches tooted their sirens, and motor -boats emptied their compressed air tanks through their toy whistles; -the band played, but there was so much other noise that it was not -heard. The Yaharas and their partisans went wild. - -Somewhere in that jumble of humanity was Newt Higgins, adding his -joyful clamor to the roar of delight; and somewhere, also, was the -doctor, letting off the steam of his pent-up excitement. - -But there was one man on the stake boat whose heart was heavy, who had -no word for any one but his wife. To her he offered his arm. - -"Come," said he, in a stifled voice, "this is no place for us. Let us -go." - -Matt, as soon as he had checked the speed of the _Sprite_ and pointed -her the other way, jogged back along the line of boats and picked Lorry -and McGlory off one of the launches. - -Lorry was radiant. - -"You've done it, old boy!" he cried. "By Jupiter! you've done it. You -sit down and take it easy--I'll look after the _Sprite_!" - -"Speak to me about this!" whooped McGlory, throwing his arms around -Matt in a bear's hug. "Oh, recite this to me, in years to come, and the -blood will bound through my veins with all the--er--the---- Hang it, -pard, you know what I mean! I've gone off the jump entirely. Hooray for -Motor Matt!" - -As Lorry laid the _Sprite_ alongside the stake boat, somebody tossed -her a line. - -"Come aboard, all of you," called a voice. - -It was Spicer, commodore of the Yahara Club. - -While Matt, Lorry, and McGlory were going up one side of the yacht, Mr. -and Mrs. Merton were descending the other, getting into the boat that -was to take them ashore to their waiting automobile. - -Mr. Lorry, red as a beet, his collar wilted, his high hat on the back -of his head, and his necktie around under his ear, met the victors, -giving one hand to Matt and the other to George. - -"Jove!" he said huskily, "I've yelled myself hoarse. Oh, but it was -fine!" - -Ethel threw her arms around Matt's neck and gave him a hearty kiss. - -"Nice way to treat a one-armed fellow that can't defend himself," -whooped McGlory; "and sick, at that. He ought to be in bed, this -minute--the doctor said so!" - -"I--I thought it was George," faltered Ethel. - -"Oh, bang!" howled McGlory. "It's a wonder you didn't think it was me." - -The vice commodore of the Winnequa Club came forward, carrying the -silver cup in both hands. He looked sad enough, but he was game. - -In a neat little speech, during which he emphasized the sportsman-like -conduct which should prevail at all such events as the one that had -just passed, he tendered the cup to Lorry. Lorry, blushing with -pleasure, in turn tendered it to the commodore of the Yahara Club. - -One of the judges, coming forward with an oblong slip of paper in his -hands, waved it to command silence. When a measure of quiet prevailed, -he eased himself of a few pertinent remarks. - -"Gentlemen, there was another supplementary prize offered in this -contest. Unlike the De Lancey cup, which may be fought for again next -year, this additional prize inheres to the victor for so long as he -can keep it by him. It is not for the owner of the boat, but to the -gallant youth who presided at the steering wheel and bore the brunt of -the battle. Had the _Dart_ won, this extra prize would have gone to -Halloran, just as surely as it now goes to Motor Matt. It consists of a -check for two thousand dollars, place for the name blank, and signed by -Mr. Daniel Lorry. There you are, son," and the judge pushed the check -into the hand of the astounded Matt. - -"Great spark-plugs!" exclaimed Matt. "I--I---- Well, I hardly know -what to say. I was in the game for the love of it, and--and I was not -expecting this!" - -"That was dad's idea," said Ethel happily. - -"Bully for the governor!" cried George, grabbing his father's hand. -"Why, I didn't know anything about this, myself." - -"It was a 'dark horse,'" chuckled Mr. Lorry. "Come on, now, and let's -go home and get out of this hubbub. Matt, you and McGlory will come -with us. We're going to have a spread." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -CONCLUSION. - - -All that happened, after Matt received that check for $2,000, was -a good deal like a dream to him. He remembered descending into the -_Sprite_ for a return to the clubhouse, and finding Ping Pong in the -boat. - -Where Ping Pong had come from no one seemed to know. Not much attention -had been paid to him after Matt boarded the _Sprite_ and started for -the stake boat. Yet there the little Chinaman was, kneeling at the -bulkhead of the boat, fondling the steering wheel, patting the levers, -laying his yellow cheek against the gunwale, and all the while crooning -a lot of heathen gibberish. - -"What's the blooming idiot trying to do?" McGlory shouted. - -It seemed impossible for the cowboy to do anything but yell. His -exultation suggested noise, and he talked at the top of his lungs. - -"Don't you understand, Joe?" said Lorry. "He's trying to thank the -_Sprite_ for winning the race." - -"Sufferin' Hottentots! Why don't he thank the king of the motor boys?" - -The next moment Ping was alongside of Matt, sitting in the bottom of -the boat and looking up at him with soulful admiration. - -"Him allee same my boss," pattered Ping, catching his breath. "He -one-piecee scoot." - -"Oh, tell me about that!" guffawed McGlory. "One-piecee scoot! Say, -Ping's not so far wide of his trail, after all." - -The next thing Matt remembered was standing in the clubhouse, in the -locker room, receiving the vociferous congratulations of the Yaharas. -Before he realized what was going on, he and Lorry had been picked up -on the members' shoulders. - -"Three times three and a tiger for Motor Matt and Lorry!" went up a -shout. - -Well, the Yaharas didn't exactly raise the roof, but they came pretty -near it. Matt was voted an honorary member of the club on the spot, and -given free and perpetual use of all the clubhouse privileges. - -"There isn't any one going around handing me ninety-nine-year leases -on a bunch of boats and a lot of bathing suits," caroled McGlory. "But -then, I don't count. I'm only carrying the banner in this procession. -Matt's the big high boy; but he's my pard, don't forget that." - -McGlory's wail caused the Yaharas to vote him an honorary membership; -and then, in order not to slight anybody, or make a misdeal while -felicitations were being handed around, Ping was likewise voted in. - -After that there was a ride to Yankee Hill in the Lorry motor car, with -Gus at the steering wheel; then a spread, the like of which Motor Matt -had never sat down to before. A good deal was eaten, and a great many -things were said, but Matt was still in a daze. - -Every time he made a move he seemed to feel the vibration of the -twenty-horse-power motor sending queer little shivers through his body. - -What was the matter with him? he asked himself. Could it be possible -that he was going to be on the sick list? - -He remembered crawling into the same big brass bed with the -mosquito-bar canopy, and then he dropped off into dreamless sleep. - -When he came to himself he was pleased to find that his brain was -clear, and that he could move around without feeling the vibrations of -the motor. - -His health was first class, after all, and he never had felt brighter -in his life. - -While he was dressing, McGlory and Lorry came into the room. - -"What you going to do with that check, pard?" asked McGlory. - -"I'm going to cash it, divide the money into three piles, give one pile -to you, one to Ping, and keep the other for myself," said Matt. - -"Don't be foolish, Matt," implored the cowboy. "A third of two thousand -is more'n six hundred and fifty dollars. What do you suppose would -happen to me if all that wealth was shoved into my face?" - -"Give it up," laughed Matt; "but I'm going to find out." - -"And Ping! Say, the Chink will be crazy." - -"I can't help that, Joe. He's entitled to the money. I wonder if you -fellows realize that we've never yet paid Ping for the _Sprite_? Here's -where he gets what's coming to him. He's full of grit, that Ping. You -ought to have seen how he helped me at the burning boathouse." - -"What are you going to do with Ping, Matt?" queried Lorry. - -"I haven't given that a thought," said Matt, a little blankly. - -"Well," suggested McGlory, "you'd better hurry up and think it -over. He's walking around the servants' quarters lording it like a -mandarin. He says he's working for Motor Matt, and that you're the -High Mucky-muck of everything between Waunakee and the Forbidden City. -Better find something for him to do." - -"We'll talk that over later," said Matt. "What about Ollie Merton?" - -"You can hear all sorts of things, Matt," answered Lorry. "They say he -had a violent scene with his father, that he has squandered fifteen -thousand dollars while his parents were in Europe, and that he is to -be sent to a military school where there are men who will know how to -handle him." - -There was a silence between the boys for a moment, broken, at last, by -Matt. - -"That's pretty tough!" - -"Tough?" echoed McGlory. "If Merton had what's coming to him he'd be in -the reform school. Don't waste any sympathy on him." - -"Why," spoke up George, with feeling, "he's just the fellow that needs -sympathy. It's too bad he hasn't a Motor Matt to stand by him and help -him over the rough places he has made for himself." - -George Lorry was speaking from the heart. He knew what he was talking -about, for he had "been through the mill" himself. - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (24) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt On the Wing; - -OR, - -Fighting for Fame and Fortune - - Wanted: A Man of Nerve--Foiling a Scoundrel--Matt Makes an - Investment--Matt Explains to McGlory--Ping and the Bear--A New - Venture--A Partner in Villainy--Matt Shifts His Plans--Dodging - Trouble--Blanked--Siwash Shows His Teeth; and His Heels--"Uncle Sam" - Takes Hold--On the Wing--Dastardly Work--The Government Trial--Fame; - and a Little Fortune. - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, July 31, 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. - - - - -TRICKED BY TWO. - - -"This is a public path," said Guy Hereford quietly. - -"Ay, but you can't use it," returned the man he faced, with an ugly -glint in his eyes. - -"All the same, I'm going to," said Guy coolly. "I'll trouble you to -move out of my way, Mr. Harvey Blissett." - -For a moment the two faced one another on the narrow sandy road between -the bare, barbed-wire fences over which hung the fragrantly blooming -orange branches. Both were mounted, Hereford on a well-groomed Florida -pony, Blissett on a big, rough Montana, an ugly beast with a nose like -a camel and a savage eye. - -"I'll give you one more chance," growled Blissett. "Turn and make -tracks." - -"This is my road," said Hereford, as serenely as ever. - -"Then 'twill be your road to kingdom come," roared Blissett, and -flashed his pistol from his hip pocket. - -But Hereford's steady eyes had never wavered. He was no tenderfoot. -With the bully's movement he ducked, and at the same moment drove spurs -into his pony's flanks. - -As Blissett's bullet whistled harmlessly into the opposite trees the -chest of Hereford's pony met the shoulder of the Montana with a shock -that staggered it, and before Blissett could pull trigger a second time -the loaded end of the other's quirt crashed across his head. - -Blissett dropped like a shot rabbit. At the same time the Montana gave -a vicious squeal, lashed out violently, and bolted. - -Hereford was off his pony in a moment, and, with an exclamation of -horror ran to Blissett and stooped over him. But a single glance was -enough. One of the Montana's heels had caught the unfortunate man -exactly on the same spot where Hereford's blow had fallen and crushed -his skull like an eggshell. - -He was dead as a log. - -"This is a rough deal!" said Hereford slowly, as he rose to his feet. -"Wonder what I'd better do." - -The trouble was that every one for miles round knew the bad blood which -existed between the young orange grower and his neighbor. - -Blissett was a cattleman who had bitterly resented the fencing of the -land which Hereford had bought. He had deliberately cut the wires and -let his scrub cattle in among the young trees, doing endless damage. -Hereford had retaliated by pounding the whole bunch so that Blissett -had to pay heavily to regain them. - -Then Blissett had brought a law suit to force Hereford to give a public -road through his place. He had won his suit, but done more than he -intended, for the authorities extended the road through Blissett's own -land and forced him to fence it. - -It was on this extension of the road that the tragedy had taken place. - -"If I go to the sheriff there's sure to be trouble," said Hereford -aloud. "Ten to one they'll bring it in manslaughter." - -"Murder, more likely," came a voice from behind, and Hereford, starting -round, found himself face to face with his cousin, Oliver Deacon, who, -hoe in hand, had just come through the fence from among the orange -trees. - -"Why murder?" asked Hereford sharply. - -The other, a sallow-faced man some years older than Hereford, gave a -disagreeable chuckle. "My dear Guy, every one knows the terms you and -Blissett were on. There'll be a jury of crackers, all pals of the late -unlamented, and they'll be only too glad to have a chance of taking it -out of a man they think an aristocrat." - -"What's the good of talking rot?" exclaimed Hereford impatiently. "If -you were working in the grove I suppose you saw the whole thing?" - -"Yes, I saw it," replied Deacon slowly. - -"That's all right then. You know he brought it on himself." - -There was a very peculiar look in Deacon's close-set eyes as he glanced -at his cousin. - -"I saw you hit Blissett over the head with the lead end of your quirt," -he said in the same measured tones. - -"What in thunder do you mean, Oliver? Didn't you see his pony kick him -on the head?" - -"I'm not so sure about that," was Deacon's reply. - -Guy Hereford stared at his cousin in blank amazement. - -"Will you kindly tell me what you do mean?" he asked icily. - -"Yes, I'll tell you," said Deacon harshly. "Look here, Guy, I'm full up -with playing bottle washer, and it seems to me this gives me just the -chance I've been looking for. Need I explain?" - -"I think you'd better," said Guy Hereford grimly. - -"All right. I'll give you straight goods. I want to be paid, and well -paid, for my evidence. Here are you with a place of your own and a good -allowance from your father, you've a decent house and a first-class -pony. And as for me, I haven't a red cent, and am forced to do grove -work like an infernal nigger. As I said before, I'm sick of it, and -it's going to stop right here." - -Hereford looked his cousin up and down. Then he said, "I knew you'd -sunk pretty low, Oliver, but I didn't quite realize the depths you've -dropped to. Whose fault is it you are hard up? Your own. You had more -than I ever had, and chucked it all away. People were decent to you -down here until you were caught cheating at poker. And now you want to -force me to pay you hush money under threats of false evidence. May I -ask how much you consider your evidence worth?" - -Guy's tone of icy contempt brought a dull red flush to the other's -sallow cheeks. But he answered brazenly, "I'll take a thousand dollars." - -Guy laughed. - -"I wouldn't give you a thousand cents." - -"Then you'll hang," retorted Oliver viciously. - -"Well, that won't do you any good." - -"Oh, won't it? Plainly, you don't know much about Florida law, my good -Guy. I'm your cousin. Don't forget that. And by the law of this State -I'm your next heir. See? When you've left this vale of tears I come in -for the whole outfit--your grove and everything. Now, perhaps, you'll -sing another song." - -Guy's face went white. Not with fear, but anger. And his gray eyes -blazed with a sudden fury that made the other step hastily backward. - -"You mean, skulking hound!" he cried. "You're worse--a thousand times -worse--than that fellow who lies dead there. Get out of my sight before -I kill you." - -Oliver's eyes had the look of a vicious cur. "All right," he snarled. -"You'll change your tune before I'm done with you. If you don't fork up -the cash by this time to-morrow I'll go and give the sheriff a full and -particular account of how you murdered Harvey Blissett." - - * * * * * - -"What's de matter, boss. Warn't dat supper cooked to suit you?" - -"Supper was first-rate, Rufe. Only I've got no appetite," replied Guy. - -"You done seem plumb disgruntled 'bout something ebber since you come -in dis evening," said Rufus, Guy's faithful negro retainer. - -Guy looked at the man's sympathetic face. He felt a longing to talk -over the black business with somebody, and Rufe, he knew, would never -repeat a word to any one else. - -"Heard about Harvey Blissett?" he asked. - -"No, sah. What he been doing?" - -"He won't do anything more, Rufe. He's dead." - -"You doan' mean tell me dat man dead?" - -"It's quite true." - -"How dat come about?" inquired Rufus, his eyes fairly goggling with -eager interest. - -Guy explained how Blissett had come by his end. - -"Well, boss, I doan' see nuffin to worry about. 'Twaren't your fault as -dat Montanny animile kick him on de head. An' anyways, we's mighty well -rid ob him. Dat's my 'pinion." - -"But suppose I'm accused of killing him, Rufe?" - -"Dere ain't nobody as would believe dat, sah," stoutly declared Rufus. - -"But if some one who hated me had seen it and gave evidence against me?" - -Rufus started. - -"I bet five dollar dat's dat low-down white man, Mistah Deacon!" he -exclaimed. - -"You're perfectly right, Rufus. That's who it is." - -"And he see you, and sw'ar dat it wasn't de hawse, but your quirt done -it?" - -"That's about the size of it." - -"Hab you done told de sheriff, sah?" - -"Yes, I did that at once. Rode straight into Pine Lake." - -"And what he say?" - -"Told me I must come into the inquest the day after to-morrow." - -"Den seem to me, sah, you done took de wind out of dat Deacon's sail. -He ain't seen de sheriff befoah you." - -"That's all right, Rufe, as far as it goes. Trouble is that he'll be in -at the inquest to-morrow and he'll swear that it was my quirt did the -trick. That is, unless I give him a thousand dollars to keep his mouth -shut." - -The negro's face changed suddenly from its usual smiling expression. -"Den I tell you what, Massa Guy," he exclaimed with sudden ferocity. -"You gib me your gun, an' I sw'ar dat man nebber go to dat inquest -to-morrow." - -Guy knew well that Rufe meant what he said. He was touched. "You're a -good chap, Rufe, but I'm afraid your plan is hardly workable. You see -you'd be hung, too." - -"Not dis nigger! I nebber be found out!" cried Rufe. - -"Still we won't try it," said Guy in his quiet way. - -Rufe stood silent for some moments. Then he turned to go back to the -kitchen. - -His silence was ominous. - -"Mind, Rufe," said Guy sharply. "No violence. You're not to lay a hand -on my cousin." - -"All right, sah," said Rufe reluctantly. "I try t'ink ob some odder -plan." - -The time dragged by slowly. Guy tried to write letters, but found he -could not settle to anything. The fact was that he was desperately -anxious. - -He knew Deacon's callous, revengeful nature, and was perfectly certain -that he would carry out his threat if the money to bribe him was not -forthcoming. It was all true what his cousin had said. A jury of cattle -owners, "crackers," as they are called in Florida, would certainly find -him guilty on his cousin's evidence, and even if he escaped hanging his -fate would be the awful one of twenty years' penitentiary. - -For a moment he weakened and thought of paying the price. But to do so -meant selling his place. He could not otherwise raise the money. Sell -the place on which he had spent four years of steady, hard work! No, by -Jove; anything rather than that. And even if he did so, what guarantee -had he that this would be the full extent of his cousin's demands? - -Absolutely none. No, he laid himself open to be blackmailed for the -rest of his life. He hardened his heart, and resolved that, come what -would, he would stick it out and let the beggar do his worst. - -Presently he got up and went out of his tiny living room onto the -veranda. The house was only a little bit of a two-roomed shack with a -penthouse veranda in front. He had built it when he first came, and had -been intending for some time past to put up a bigger place. Now that -dream was over. - -Sick at heart, Guy flung himself into a long cane chair, and presently, -worn out by worry, fell asleep. - -He was wakened by the pad pad of a trotting horse, and looking up -sharply saw in the faint light of a late-risen moon a figure mounted -on one horse and leading another passing rapidly along the sandy track -outside his boundary fence. - -The something familiar about the figure of the man struck him like a -blow. - -"By thunder, it's Deacon! What mischief is the skunk up to?" he -muttered. And on the impulse of the moment he sprang from the veranda, -and, slipping round the dark end of the house, made for the stable. - -In a minute he had saddle and bridle on Dandy, and, leading the animal -out through the bars at the far end of the grove, was riding cautiously -on his cousin's track. - -At first he made sure Deacon was going to Pine Lake. To his great -surprise the man presently turned off the main road and took a cut -across a creek ford, and round the end of a long cypress swamp. - -"Must be going to Orange Port," he muttered. "There's something very -odd about this. And what in thunder is he doing with that second horse?" - -They came to a bit of open savanna dotted with great islands of live -oak. The moon was higher now, and the grassy plain was bathed in soft, -silver light. As Deacon passed out of the deep shadow of the pine -forest Guy gave a gasp. - -The horse that Deacon was leading was Blissett's Montana pony. - -Guy actually chuckled. - -"I'll bet a farm he's picked it up and means to sell it in Orange -Port," he said to himself. "Well, it mayn't save me, but at any rate -I'll be able to make things hot for him." - -It was sixteen miles to Orange Port. Deacon, with Guy still at his -heels, reached the place about six in the morning, and took the animal -straight to a small livery stable, the owner of which was Sebastian -Gomez, a mulatto of anything but good repute. - -Guy dogged him cautiously, and when he had left the stable and ridden -off, went in himself, put Dandy up, and had him fed. - -Then he went to work cautiously, and by dint of a tip to one of the -colored men about the place, found that his precious cousin had indeed -sold the Montana to the owner of the stable, and had got fifty dollars -for the animal. - -"Not such a bad night's work," said Guy to himself as, after breakfast -and a bath, he rode home again. He reached his place about nine to find -Rufus much disturbed at his long absence. Merely telling the negro that -he had been away on business, he lay down and had a much-needed sleep. - -At four he woke and rode off to Pine Lake. He meant to find a lawyer to -whom he could intrust his case on the following day, but to his deep -disappointment Vanbuten, a clever young Bostonian and a great pal of -his, was away at Ormond for a week's sea bathing. There was nothing for -it but to send him an urgent telegram, begging him to return at once, -and then ride home through the warm tropic starlight. - -"Wonder if I shall ever ride back to the dear little old shop again," -thought Guy sadly, as he opened the gate and led his pony in and up the -neat path through the palmetto scrub. He loved every inch of his place, -as a man can only love a property which by the sweat of his own brow he -has carved out of the primeval forest. - -Arrived at the house, he stabled Dandy and fed him, a job which he -never trusted to any one else, not even the faithful Rufe. - -As he entered the house he could hear Rufe busy with pots and pans in -the kitchen. "He'll miss me, if no one else does," muttered Guy; and, -feeling desperately depressed, he went into his bedroom to change his -boots and coat. Hereford, being a Boston-bred man, was one of those -who, even when baching it alone in the wilds, still try to keep up -something of their old home customs. - -He struck a match and lighted the lamp, then, as the glow fell upon his -cot, he started back with a cry of horror. - - -TO BE CONCLUDED. - - - - -HOMES ON THE RIO GRANDE. - - -The Mexican Indian huts in the villages and upon the ranches of the -lower Rio Grande border region of Texas have a style of architecture -and construction that is distinctly their own. This type of primitive -buildings is rapidly passing out of existence. Modern structures are -taking their places. At many places on the border families of Mexicans -have abandoned their jacals and moved into more pretentious homes. - -One thing that recommended the old style of residence to the poorer -Mexicans was its cheapness of construction. No money outlay is -necessary in erecting the picturesque structures, neither is a -knowledge of carpentry needed. A double row of upright poles firmly set -or driven into the ground forms the framework for the walls. Between -these two rows of poles are placed other poles or sticks of shorter -length, forming a thick and compact wall. At each of the four corners -of the building posts are set, reaching to a height of about eight -feet. Roughly hewn stringers are laid from one post to another and to -these stringers are tied the other poles that form the framework of the -walls. The strong fibre from the maguey plant or strips of buckskin -are used to tie the poles into position. The rafters are tied to the -ridgepole and stringers in the same manner. At one end of the building -is built the opening through which the smoke of the inside fire may -ascend. Stoves are unknown among these Mexicans and the cooking is all -done upon the ground. - -When the rafters are in position the thatched roof is put on. Palm -leaves form the most satisfactory roof, both as to durability and -effectiveness in shedding the rain, but owing to the scarcity of this -material on the Texas side of the international boundary stream, -grasses and the leaves of plants are used for the purpose. The roofing -material is tied to the rafters in layers. Some of the Mexican house -builders exercise great ingenuity in putting on the thatched roofs. - -The only opening in most of these Mexican jacals is the door which -extends from the ground to the roof. The floor is the bare earth. The -ventilation is obtained through the crude chimney opening. The door -itself is seldom closed. The Mexican Indian is usually a man of large -family. A one-room house accommodates all. Perhaps several dogs and -a pig or two may share the comforts of the room with them on cool or -disagreeable nights. - - - - -PIGEONS AS PHOTOGRAPHERS. - - -Many wonderful feats have been credited to the instinct of the homing -or carrier pigeon, but "the limit," to quote the phrase of the moment, -seems to have been reached by Herr Neubronner, a Kronberg chemist, who -has actually trained pigeons to take photographs. For some time Herr -Neubronner has been utilizing pigeons, not only for the transmission -of messages to doctors in the neighborhood, but also to carry small -quantities of medicine. The latter are inclosed in glove fingers slung -about the birds' wings. The method has proved entirely successful, -experiments showing that the pigeon can carry a properly distributed -load of 2-1/2 ounces a distance of 100 miles. - -Toward the end of last year one of the birds lost its way and did not -arrive at its cote until after the expiration of four weeks. There -was, of course, no means of ascertaining where and how the bird had -got lost. It then occurred to Herr Neubronner that a pigeon, equipped -with a self-acting camera, would bring in a photographic record of -its journey. He thereupon constructed a camera, weighing less than -3 ounces, which he fixed to the bird's breast by an elastic strap, -leaving the wings completely free. The process of snapshotting is, -of course, automatic. At regular intervals the machine operates by a -clockwork arrangement, and registers pictures of the various places -covered by the bird in its flight. - -The German government has taken a keen interest in Herr Neubronner's -notion of utilizing pigeons as photographers, and there certainly seem -great possibilities in the idea. The carrier-pigeon photographer would -prove extremely valuable for obtaining information in times of war of -the country, position, and strength of the enemy. - -The carrier pigeon flies at a height of between 150 feet and 300 feet, -safe from small shot and very difficult to hit with bullets. Pigeons -might be released from air ships at any height within the enemy's -lines, and they would carry home with them pictures of great value. The -carrier pigeon is peculiarly well suited to service of this character, -because when set free in a strange place it commences its flight by -describing a spiral curve, in the course of which several pictures -could be taken from various points of view. - -Then, when the pigeon has determined the position of its goal, it flies -thither in a straight line at a uniform speed of about 40 miles an -hour. As the moment of exposure can be regulated with a fair amount of -precision, the object which it is desired to photograph can generally -be caught. - -In besieged fortresses information concerning the besiegers can be -obtained by tumbler pigeons, which, when released at their home, fly in -circles for a time and then return to their cotes. - - - - -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.= - - 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. - - 21--Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need. - - 22--Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right. - - 23--Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins. - - 24--Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune. - - -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.= - - 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. - - 694--Dick Merriwell in Utah; or, The Road to "Promised Land." - - 695--Dick Merriwell's Bluff; or, The Boy Who Ran Away. - - 696--Dick Merriwell in the Saddle; or, The Bunch from the Bar-Z. - - 697--Dick Merriwell's Ranch Friends; or, Sport on the Range. - - -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.= - - 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--The Tragedy of the Well; or, Nick Carter Under Suspicion. - - 656--The Black Hand; or, Chick Carter's Well-laid Plot. - - 657--The Black Hand Nemesis; or, Chick Carter and the Mysterious - Woman. - - 658--A Masterly Trick; or, Chick and the Beautiful Italian. - - 659--A Dangerous Man; or, Nick Carter and the Famous Castor Case. - - -_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. - - 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. - -To be Published on July 12th. - - 21--Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need. - -To be Published on July 19th. - - 22--Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right. - -To be Published on July 26th. - - 23--Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins. - -To be Published on August 2nd. - - 24--Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune. - - -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. - -Retained some inconsistent hyphenation ("work-bench" vs. "workbench") -from the original. - -For this text edition, oe ligatures have been replaced with the letters -"oe." - -Bold text is represented with =equal signs=, italics with _underscores_. - -Page 2, changed "inisted" to "insisted" after "Motol Matt my boss, alle -same," and "cred" to "cried" after "Here, now." - -Page 3, changed "out" to "ought" in "You and Ping ought to be ashamed." - -Page 4, changed "instiution" to "institution" ("Another institution, -known as..."). - -Page 9, changed "sprit" to "spirit" ("said Matt, with spirit"). - -Page 10, corrected "stakeboak" to "stake boat" ("As good as passed the -stake boat"). - -Page 12, changed "wth" to "with" ("forcing an interview with"). - -Page 19, corrected "Larry" to "Lorry" ("While speaking, Lorry..."). - -Page 23, added missing close quote after "prove that by telling you -what just happened." - -Page 27, corrected "red as a beat" to "red as a beet." - -Page 28, corrected "Villiany" to "Villainy" in "next number" table of -contents. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Prize, by Stanley R. 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