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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..42cfd68 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51127 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51127) diff --git a/old/51127-8.txt b/old/51127-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0aaf7dd..0000000 --- a/old/51127-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5001 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt on the Wing, 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 on the Wing - or, Flying for Fame and Fortune - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: February 5, 2016 [EBook #51127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT ON THE WING *** - - - - -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. 24 - AUG. 7, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - - MOTOR MATT - ON THE WING - - OR FLYING FOR - FAME AND FORTUNE - - _BY THE AUTHOR - OF "MOTOR MATT"_ - - [Illustration: _Quick as a flash, Motor Matt - caught the lieutenant's arm - just in time to keep him - from falling._] - - _STREET & SMITH._ - _PUBLISHERS._ - _NEW YORK._ - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -_Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Copyright, 1909, by_ -STREET & SMITH, _79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y._ - - No. 24. NEW YORK, August 7, 1909. Price Five Cents. - - - - -Motor Matt On the Wing - -OR, - -FLYING FOR FAME AND FORTUNE. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. WANTED: A MAN OF NERVE. - CHAPTER II. FOILING A SCOUNDREL. - CHAPTER III. MATT MAKES AN INVESTMENT. - CHAPTER IV. MATT EXPLAINS TO M'GLORY. - CHAPTER V. PING AND THE BEAR. - CHAPTER VI. A NEW VENTURE. - CHAPTER VII. A PARTNER IN VILLAINY. - CHAPTER VIII. MATT SHIFTS HIS PLANS. - CHAPTER IX. DODGING TROUBLE. - CHAPTER X. BLANKED. - CHAPTER XI. SIWASH SHOWS HIS TEETH--AND HIS HEELS. - CHAPTER XII. "UNCLE SAM" TAKES HOLD. - CHAPTER XIII. ON THE WING. - CHAPTER XIV. DASTARDLY WORK. - CHAPTER XV. THE GOVERNMENT TRIAL. - CHAPTER XVI. FAME--AND A LITTLE FORTUNE. - TRICKED BY TWO. - IDAHO TO FEED ELKS. - NOISY AVIANS. - FISH THAT CANNOT SWIM. - - - - -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. - - =Mrs. Traquair=, wife of the inventor, Harry Traquair, who lost his - life by a fall from an aëroplane of his own invention. - - =Amos Murgatroyd=, a mortgage shark who gets the Traquairs in his - clutches and becomes a bitter enemy of Motor Matt. - - =Siwash Charley=, a ruffian who becomes the tool of Murgatroyd in his - desperate attempts to keep Matt from flying the Traquair aëroplane in - the government trials. - - =Lieutenant Cameron=, an officer in the Signal Corps, U. S. A., who - proves to be the cousin of an old friend of Matt, and who nearly - loses his life when the aëroplane is tested. - - =Mr. Black=, a friendly real estate man of Jamestown, N. D., who owns - an automobile which proves of good service to the king of the motor - boys. - - =Sergeant O'Hara=, a good soldier, but who indulges in a game of - cards at an inopportune moment. - - =Benner=, post trader at Fort Totten, a bluff person who falls into a - trap laid by Siwash Charley. - - =Jake=, a teamster for Benner, who uses a blacksnake whip in a novel, - but effective way. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -WANTED: A MAN OF NERVE. - - -"Mr. Amos Murgatroyd?" - -"My name." - -Amos Murgatroyd whirled around in his office chair and measured his -caller with a pair of little, gimlet eyes. The caller, at the same -time, was measuring Murgatroyd. - -The young man who had entered the musty office of the loan broker and -was now undergoing his scrutiny, stood straight as a plumb line, his -shoulders squared, his lithe, well-set-up form "at attention." He wore -a cap, and his clothes were of dark blue and of a semi-military cut. - -He was prepossessing in appearance, which, most decidedly, the loan -broker was not. - -Murgatroyd's face was too lean and hard, his eyes too sharp and shifty, -to give one a very exalted idea of his character. - -The caller drew a folded newspaper from the breast pocket of his coat -and laid it on the broker's desk. - -"Are you the man who put that 'ad' in the paper?" inquired the youth. - -Murgatroyd picked a pair of nose glasses off his vest, carefully -adjusted them, and lifted the paper. The following marked paragraph -riveted his attention: - - Wanted: A man of nerve, one who has had some experience with flying - machines and can handle a gasoline motor. To such a person a chance - is offered to fly for fame and fortune in a new aëroplane. Sand and - sagacity absolutely essential. Call on or address, A. Murgatroyd, - Brown Block, Jamestown, North Dakota. - -The broker dropped the paper, leaned back in his chair, and swept the -glasses off his nose. Tapping the glasses against the knuckles of his -left hand, he continued to regard the youth. - -"Well?" he growled. "It's my 'ad.' What of it?" - -"I've come several hundred miles to answer it in person." - -"You? Why, I advertised for a man, not a boy." - -"What difference does that make, so long as I can do the work?" - -Amos Murgatroyd had no answer for this, and his remarks took another -tack. - -"Had any experience with aëroplanes?" - -"No, but I have had a good deal to do with dirigible balloons. -If you're hunting for a man who is experienced with aëroplanes, -Mr. Murgatroyd, I guess you'll have to hunt for a long time. -Heavier-than-air machines are only just beginning to come to the front, -and the supply of experienced drivers is limited. It was the chance to -familiarize myself with flying of that kind that brought me here." - -Murgatroyd continued to tap reflectively with his glasses. - -"Do you know that the man who invented the aëroplane fell with one of -the machines and was killed?" he inquired. - -"I heard that there had been an accident here, recently," was the -answer. - -"That was ten days ago, over in the park. The aëroplane turned turtle, -dropped fifty feet, and Traquair was badly smashed. He lived about -fifteen minutes and wasn't able to speak a word. The machine may -be wrong in principle, I don't know that, but I've got to get some -reliable person, who's not too much afraid of risking his neck, to -learn the machine and then give an exhibition for the government, up at -Fort Totten. The trial is set for two weeks from to-day. There's not -much time, you see, to learn the ropes." - -"I believe I could learn the ropes," said the other confidently. "I -seem to have a knack for picking up such things." - -"If anything happens to you, your relatives may come at me for damages." - -"So far as I know, Mr. Murgatroyd, I haven't any relatives." - -The beady, gimlet eyes gleamed with undisguised satisfaction. - -"You will have to sign a paper," went on Murgatroyd, "releasing me -from all responsibility, financial or otherwise, in case any accident -happens." - -"I'm willing," was the cool response. "It can't be that you have very -much confidence in your aëroplane, Mr. Murgatroyd." - -"Solid ground is good enough for me. If man was intended to fly -he would have been born with wings. That's where I stand in this -aëronautical game. Besides, Traquair invented the machine--I didn't; -and the fact that Traquair was killed by his own invention doesn't give -me superlative confidence in it." - -The youth wondered why Murgatroyd was taking such an interest in a -machine that did not command his confidence. The next moment the broker -explained this point. - -"Traquair owed me money, and the machine was the only thing belonging -to him that I could get hold of. If the test at Fort Totten is -satisfactory, the war department will buy the aëroplane at a good -figure. This is the only way I can get back the loan, you see?" - -"What are you willing to pay for the work you want done?" - -The youth's tone was chilling and business-like. He was anything but -favorably impressed with Murgatroyd. - -"I won't pay a red cent," declared the broker. "I'll furnish the -aëroplane, and you can use it for practice. If you please the war -department, and they pay fifteen thousand for the machine, we'll split -the amount even. That's fair enough. I won't be throwing good money -after bad, and success or failure is put up to you." - -"Is the machine you have the one that killed Traquair?" - -Murgatroyd gave a choppy laugh. - -"I should say not! There was nothing but kindling wood left of that -machine. Traquair was intending to fly for the government, and he had a -machine constructed especially for the purpose. It's in storage at Fort -Totten now. The machine he was using here was the first one he built. -By the way, young man, what's your name?" - -"King, Matt King." - -Murgatroyd gave a grunt of surprise, jammed his glasses on his nose, -and stared at his caller with renewed interest; then, suddenly, he -pressed a push button at the side of his desk. - -A clerk appeared, a wizened, dried-up little man, who came in with a -cringing air. - -"Yes, Mr. Murgatroyd?" - -"File 'K,' Prebbles. And dust it off. Why don't you go around this -place with a duster, once in a while? The older you get, Prebbles, the -less you seem to know." - -The clerk winced. With a deferential bow, he turned and slunk out of -the room. He returned in a few minutes, a duster in one hand and a -battered letter file in the other. Murgatroyd took the file on his desk -and sent Prebbles away with a curt gesture. - -After a brief search through the file, the broker developed a number of -newspaper clippings. - -"That your picture?" he asked, holding up a clipping with an -electrotype reproduction of the king of the motor boys at the top of it. - -"It's supposed to be," smiled Matt, wondering why this close-fisted -broker had gone to so much trouble to collect the clippings. - -"You had a flying machine called the _Hawk_, quite a while ago, didn't -you?" pursued Murgatroyd, studying the clippings. - -"It was a dirigible balloon," explained Matt. "Correctly speaking, a -flying machine is not a motor suspended from a gas bag." - -"Quite right. I got these clippings from a clipping bureau in the East, -and ever since I found this aëroplane on my hands I've been trying to -locate you. Finally I had to give up, and then it was that I put that -'ad' in the paper. And now, here you come answering the 'ad'! Looks -like fate had something to do with this, eh?" - -"Just a coincidence," answered Matt, "and not such a remarkable -coincidence, either. If you knew me better, Mr. Murgatroyd, you'd -understand how anxious I am to become familiar with every sort of -machine propelled by a gasoline motor. It's the coming power"--Matt's -gray eyes brightened enthusiastically--"and as motors are improved, and -their weight reduced in direct ratio with the increase in the horse -power, the explosive engine will be used in ways as yet----" - -"That's all right," cut in Murgatroyd, who was coldly commercial and -as far removed from anything like enthusiasm as night is from day. "A -gasoline engine is a noisy, dirty machine and smells to high heaven. -But that's neither here nor there. Will you take hold of this aëroplane -matter, learn how to run the Traquair invention, and then test it out -at Fort Totten, two weeks from to-day?" - -"I'll think it over," said Motor Matt. - -He would not have taken a minute to consider the matter if he had been -more favorably impressed with Murgatroyd. - -"I can't wait very long for you to make up your mind," went on the -broker, visibly disappointed. "There's only two weeks between now and -the Fort Totten trials." - -"I'll give you an answer by to-morrow morning," and Matt turned toward -the door. - -"Fame and fortune are in your grasp," urged Murgatroyd. "Don't let 'em -slide through your fingers." - -Without answering, but nodding a good day to the broker, Matt stepped -into the outer room. - -As he passed through this other office, he saw Prebbles on a high -stool, humped over a ledger. The clerk's eye shade and little bald -head, and his thin, crooked body, gave him the grotesque appearance of -a frog, roosting on a stone, and getting ready to jump. - -Matt passed on into the hall. Before he could descend the stairs he -heard a hissing sound behind him. Turning, he saw the clerk standing in -the open door, touching his lips with a finger in token of silence. - -Matt paused with his hand on the stair rail, and the clerk came gliding -toward him. - -"Don't have anythin' to do with him," said Prebbles, in a tremulous -whisper; "he's a robber." - -"Who's a robber?" returned Matt. - -"Murgatroyd. He's a skinflint and hasn't any more heart than a stone. -He's a robber, I tell you; and, anyhow, if you try to run that machine -you'll get killed. Traquair got killed, and he invented it, and knew -more about it than you can ever learn. If----" - -A buzzer began to sound its call in the outer office. Prebbles whirled -and shuffled away. Pausing at the door, he turned to repeat, in a stage -whisper: - -"Leave him alone, I tell you. He's a robber, and you'll get killed." - -Then Prebbles vanished, and Matt went thoughtfully down the stairs. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -FOILING A SCOUNDREL. - - -Near Jamestown the "Jim" River forms a loop, encircling a generous -stretch of timber. Wherever there is timber, in any prairie country, -there is an invitation for men to make a park; so the ground -encompassed by this loop of the river was beautified and obtained the -name of "City Park." - -After leaving the broker's office, Matt started for the park. In the -outskirts of town he met a youngster walking in the direction of the -river, with a fishpole over his shoulder. - -"Hello," said Matt. - -"Hello yourself," answered the boy. - -"Do you know where Mr. Traquair lost his life in that flying machine?" - -"I guess yuh don't live in Jimtown, do yuh?" returned the boy. -"Everybody around here knows where _that_ happened." - -"No," said Matt, "I only reached Jamestown last night." - -"Well, the' was a hull crowd o' us seen Traquair when his flyin' -machine flopped over. He come down like a piece o' lead, all mixed up -with ropes, an' canvas, an' things. Gee, but that was a smash. I was -one o' the kids that went to tell Mrs. Traquair. She was allers afeared -Traquair 'u'd git a drop, so she never went to see him do his flyin', -an' she never let any o' the kids go, nuther. I wisht I hadn't gone. -Say, I dream about that there accident 'most ev'ry night, an' it skeers -me stiff." - -"I'll give you half a dollar," went on Matt, "if you'll take me to the -scene of the accident. Will you?" - -"You've bought somethin', mister," grinned the boy. "I was goin' -fishin', but I'd pass up a circus if some un offered me half a dollar." - -They pushed on toward the park. - -"Fellers that try to fly ain't got as much sense as the law allows, I -guess," remarked the boy. "Ever'body said Traquair 'u'd break his neck, -an' that's what happened." - -"What kind of a machine did he have?" queried Matt. - -"Doggone if I know. It had wings, an' machinery, an' a thing that -whirled behind, an' three bicycle wheels, an' rudders, an' I dunno -what-all." - -"What were the bicycle wheels for?" asked Matt, interested. - -"Traquair had to take a runnin' start afore he got wind enough under -his wings to lift him. When the wheels begun to leave ground, he turned -the power onto the whirlin' thing behind, an' that made him scoot up -into the air; then, somehow, he folded the bicycle wheels up under the -machine." - -"Did Traquair ever do much flying?" - -"Did he? Well, I guess! The day before he got killed he was in the air -as much as two hours, twistin' an' turnin' an' floppin' ev'ry which -way, jest like a big chicken hawk. The' wasn't much wind, that time, -an' people say that's how he was able to keep right side up. The day he -dropped, the wind was purty middlin' strong from the west." - -"How did the accident happen?" - -"That's more'n anybody knows. Traquair was skimmin' over the tops o' -the trees, an' a big crowd was down on the ground lookin' at him; then, -all to oncet the' was a snap, like somethin' had busted. The wind -grabbed holt o' them canvas wings an' slammed it plumb over, the hull -bizness droppin' so quick we hadn't much more'n time to git out o' the -way." - -By this time Matt and the boy had reached a cleared space among the -trees. In the middle of it was a level, grassless stretch, almost as -hard as a board floor. - -"There, mister," said the boy, pointing, "is where Traquair used to -start. He'd git his bicycle wheels to whirlin' at one end o' that -tennis ground, an' when he reached t'other end o' it he was in the air. -He was comin' back to the startin' place when he dropped. Here's the -place." - -The boy stepped off to the left and pointed to a spot where the earth -was grewsomely gouged and torn. - -"Traquair was crazy," observed the boy, as Matt stepped toward the -bruised turf, and stood there reflectively. "Ev'rybody says his flyin' -machine was a fool killer." - -"Traquair was a great man, my lad," answered Matt, "and a martyr to -science. He gave up his life trying to help the human race conquer the -air. Don't call him crazy." - -"Gee, mister," scoffed the boy, "he'd better have helped his folks -'stead o' givin' so much time to the human race. Mrs. Traquair had to -take in washin' to keep the fambly in grub." - -Matt kicked up a twisted bolt. - -"That's a momentum," said the boy. - -"I guess you mean memento," laughed Matt, tossing the bolt away. - -"Mebby it's that where you come from," persisted the boy doggedly, "but -it's momentum out here in Dakoty. Things is diff'rent in the Northwest -to what they is in the East." - -"Where does Mrs. Traquair live?" asked Matt. - -"What hotel yuh stoppin' to, mister?" - -"Gladstone House." - -"Then you can pass Mrs. Traquair's shack right on the way back to the -hotel," and the boy proceeded to give Matt minute instructions as to -the way he should go in order to reach the house. - -Matt flipped a silver coin to the youngster, and turned and started -back toward the town. The boy pushed the coin into his pocket and went -whistling in the direction of the river. - -Several things were drawing Motor Matt in the direction of the Traquair -home. Mainly, he distrusted Murgatroyd, and thought that perhaps Mrs. -Traquair might be able to tell him something about the man. Then, too, -Matt was anxious to learn what he could about the Traquair aëroplane, -and felt sure there were papers containing drawings or descriptions at -the house which would give a tolerably clear idea of the machine. - -The Traquair home was in a squalid neighborhood. Most of the houses -were tumbledown structures with windows ornamented with old garments -wherever a pane of glass happened to be missing. But, despite its -unpainted walls and sagging roof, the Traquair house had about it an -air of neatness that distinguished it from its neighbors. There was no -rubbish in the front yard, and two pieces of broken sewer pipe, set on -end near the gate, had been filled with earth and were blooming with -flowers. - -In the rear were two long lines of drying clothes. A pang of pity went -to Matt's heart. No matter how heavily the hand of grief had fallen on -Mrs. Traquair, she could not neglect the toil necessary to supply the -needs of herself and of her fatherless children. - -Three youngsters--a boy and two girls, the boy being the oldest and -not over six--stood in a frightened huddle on the front walk, near the -gate. The smaller of the two girls was crying. - -"What's the matter?" asked Matt, halting beside the forlorn little -group. - -"We're 'fraid to go in the house," answered the boy, looking up at Matt. - -"Do you live there?" - -"Yes'r, but we're 'fraid. He's in there with mom, an' he's talkin' like -he was mad." - -"Who are you?" - -"Teddy Traquair. I'm six, an' sis, here, is risin' five. Mary Jane's -only three." - -"Who's talking with your mother, Ted?" - -"Murg. I hate him, he's so mean to mom. He was mean to pap, too. But -pap's dead--he got kilt when the flyin' machine dropped." - -There was a pathetic side to this for a lad with a heart as soft as -Matt's, but just then he had no time for that phase of the matter. -The windows of the front room of the house were open, and covered -with mosquito net. Voices could be heard coming from the front room--a -woman's voice, tearful and full of entreaty, and a man's sharp, -clean-cut, and almost brutal. - -Quietly Matt passed through the gate and took up his post near one of -the windows. - -"You sign this paper," Murgatroyd was saying, "and I'll give you a -receipt for two years' interest. What more do you expect?" - -"I can't sign away all my rights to my husband's invention, Mr. -Murgatroyd!" a woman's voice answered. "The interest for two years -is only three hundred dollars, and that machine he sent to Fort -Totten cost nearly a thousand dollars to build. It isn't right, Mr. -Murgatroyd, for you to take the machine the government is thinking of -buying, and all my interest in poor Harry's invention, for just three -hundred dollars." - -"Oh, you know a heap about business, you do, don't you?" snarled -Murgatroyd. "What good's the flying machine, anyway? It killed your -husband, and it's likely to kill anybody else that tries to run it. -By taking over the invention, I feel as though I was loading up with -a white elephant, but I've got a chance to get a young fellow to try -and fly in that aëroplane at Fort Totten. I'll have to pay him a lot -of money to do it, and before I make an arrangement with him I've got -to have your name down in black and white to this paper. Do you think -for a minute I'm going to spend my good money, paying this young fellow -two or three thousand dollars to risk his neck in that machine, when -I haven't got any writing from you to protect me? Sign this paper. If -you don't, I'll come here and take everything you've got in the house -to pay that hundred and fifty, interest. Don't whine around about it, -because it won't do any good. If you want to keep a roof over your -head, you do what I say--and do it quick." - -It would be impossible to describe the harsh brutality of the loan -broker's words. The ruffianly bullyragging was apparent to Matt, even -though he could not see what was taking place in the room, and his -blood began to boil. - -"I can't do what you ask, Mr. Murgatroyd," said the woman brokenly. -"When the two years had passed, you'd have the homestead, and the -invention, and everything I've got. My duty to my children----" - -A savage exclamation came to Matt's ears, followed by a cry from the -woman and the clatter of an overturned chair. Prebbles had said that -Murgatroyd was a robber. Matt, of course, could not understand all the -ins and outs of the present situation, but he understood enough to know -that the broker was seeking to browbeat a defenseless woman, and to -intimidate her into signing away rights which meant much to her and her -children. - -Without a moment's hesitation, the king of the motor boys leaped -through the window--with more or less damage to the mosquito netting. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -MATT MAKES AN INVESTMENT. - - -Murgatroyd, his face distorted with anger and his little eyes snapping -viciously, was clutching a slender, middle-aged woman by the arm. He -had leaped at her, in a burst of rage, overturning the chair, which -happened to stand in his way. - -Matt's unceremonious entrance into the room startled Murgatroyd. -Releasing his grasp of Mrs. Traquair's arm, he fell back a step, -staring at Matt as though at a ghost. - -Mrs. Traquair was so desperate and frightened that she was not nearly -so startled by the lad's spring through the window as was Murgatroyd. -From Matt's manner she was not long in realizing that fate had sent her -a champion at just the moment when she needed one most. Instinctively, -she drew toward the youth, half fearful and half appealing. - -"Ah, King!" exclaimed Murgatroyd, struggling to get the whip hand of -himself. "Rather a peculiar way you have of coming into a house," he -added, with some sarcasm. - -"It looked as though I was needed," returned Matt grimly. - -"You'd better look again. You're not needed. This is a little money -transaction between Mrs. Traquair and myself. Isn't that so, Mrs. -Traquair?" he queried, turning to the woman. - -"Y-e-s," answered Mrs. Traquair, her voice so low it was almost a -whisper. - -"Don't butt in here, King," scowled Murgatroyd. "You hear what the lady -says. This is none of your business." - -"That's where I differ from you," said Matt sturdily. "If I'm not -mistaken, you were using me as a club to drive Mrs. Traquair into -signing that paper," and he nodded toward a document that was lying on -the table near pen and ink. - -"Don't make any misstatements, sir," blustered the broker. - -"And don't you," cautioned Matt. "I overheard you tell Mrs. Traquair -that you would have to pay a thousand or two in order to get me to risk -my life flying that aëroplane. As a matter of fact, Mr. Murgatroyd, you -did not offer to pay me a cent. I was to exhibit the machine, then, if -the government bought it for fifteen thousand dollars, I was to have -half." - -The red ran into Murgatroyd's face. - -"How do you know that I was referring to you?" he demanded. - -"I know it, and that's enough." Matt picked the paper from the table. -"I'll just look over this and see----" - -"Give that to me!" cried Murgatroyd, stepping toward Matt and making a -grab at the document. - -Matt jumped back quickly and thrust the paper behind him. - -"Mrs. Traquair," said he to the woman, "I want to be a friend of yours. -May I read this?" - -"So--so far as I am concerned," the woman whispered, with a frightened -look at the broker. - -"By thunder," exploded Murgatroyd, "I'll not stand for this! Give that -up, King, or I'll have the law on you." - -"The law won't touch me," said Matt. "This paper was prepared by you -for Mrs. Traquair to sign; as a friend of Mrs. Traquair's I have the -right to look the trap over before you spring it." - -"Well, of all the impudence---- Say, I wouldn't let you fly that -aëroplane for me if it never got a try-out at Fort Totten. I'll be even -with you for this, my lad! I'll--I'll----" - -Murgatroyd choked up with wrath and could not finish. Meanwhile, Matt -had glanced at the paper. One glance was sufficient. - -"This, Mrs. Traquair," said he, "is a document conveying all your -right, title, and interest in your late husband's aëronautical -inventions, and in the aëroplane now in the post trader's store at Fort -Totten, to Amos Murgatroyd. And the consideration is three hundred -dollars. You will not sign it, of course?" - -"But what am I to do?" faltered the woman hopelessly. - -"Whatever you do, Mrs. Traquair, you must not sign away your interest -in what may perhaps prove valuable property, for such a small sum." - -Then Matt, with steady hands, ripped the document into ribbons. - -If Murgatroyd had been angry before, he was fairly beside himself now. - -"You--you young scoundrel," he cried, shaking his fist, "I'll teach you -to meddle in my business affairs. This isn't the last of this, not by a -long chalk. I'll have this woman and her brats out in the street before -night. I'll----" - -"You'll keep a respectful tongue between your teeth, that's what you'll -do," and Motor Matt stepped resolutely toward the broker. - -There was something in the lad's bearing that caused Murgatroyd to grab -his hat and retreat precipitately to the door. - -"You'll hear from me, the pair of you," he snarled, "before you're many -hours older." - -Then the door slammed. Through the open window, edged with its torn -streamers of mosquito net, Matt could see the broker hustling through -the gate. A choking sob struck on the lad's ears, and he whirled to -find Mrs. Traquair in a chair, her face in her hands. - -There were ample evidences of poverty in the bare little front room, -and the appearance of the woman herself testified eloquently of a -fierce effort to keep the wolf from the door by grinding toil. Matt's -heart was full of sympathy for her in her trouble. - -"Don't take it so hard, Mrs. Traquair," said Matt, stepping to her -side. "There may be a way out of this." - -She lifted her head. - -"No, there is no way out," she answered, in a stifled voice, "you don't -know Mr. Murgatroyd! You don't know what it means to owe him money and -not be able to pay him even the interest." - -"How much do you owe him?" - -"Just a thousand dollars." - -"But he said the interest due, if I recall his words, was one hundred -and fifty dollars." - -"That's right--fifteen per cent." - -"Fifteen per cent? Great spark-plugs! Why, that's usury." - -"Not out here. Harry borrowed the money on our homestead, up in Wells -County. He needed it to build his aëroplane, and he needed a lot more -that he raised by selling his live stock and farming tools and some of -the furniture. He thought he'd get everything back when he showed what -the aëroplane could do, and sold it to the government. But--but the -very machine that was to make our fortune has taken his life, and--and -what am I to do?" - -Mrs. Traquair's face went down into her reddened, toil-worn hands again. - -"There may be a way out of this, Mrs. Traquair," said Matt. "It's -clear, I think, that Murgatroyd is a thief and a scoundrel. If he -didn't believe there was merit in your husband's invention he wouldn't -be trying to get hold of it. Have you any drawings, or papers from the -patent office, that I can look at to get an idea of what the aëroplane -is like?" - -"There is a model----" - -"Good! A model will do better than anything else." - -Mrs. Traquair went into another room and brought out an old "telescope" -grip. Unbuckling the straps with fingers that still trembled, -she lifted out of the grip and held up for Matt's inspection the -beautifully constructed model of an aëroplane. - -Matt sat down in a chair and took the model on his knees. For all -of ten minutes he studied the small machine, his eyes glowing with -amazement and delight. - -"I haven't had much experience with aëroplanes," said Matt finally, -lifting his eyes to Mrs. Traquair's, "but I've put in a good deal of -time studying them. I came to Jamestown in the hope that I could make -a deal with Murgatroyd and get a little practical work with a real -flying machine. When I first met Murgatroyd I didn't understand the -circumstance so well as I do now; and after overhearing what I did -while standing outside that window, and after inspecting this model, -I am more anxious than ever to make an acquaintance with the larger -machine at Fort Totten. You haven't signed any papers giving Murgatroyd -a hold on that machine, have you, Mrs. Traquair?" - -"I haven't put my name to anything," declared the woman. "Harry had -arranged for the government test, and had sent the machine to Fort -Totten before the--the accident. After that, Mr. Murgatroyd came here -and said he would have to take the aëroplane, and get some one to fly -it, unless I could pay him the interest money. What could I do?" The -poor woman made a pathetic gesture with her hands. "There were the -funeral expenses to pay, and I could not even think of paying the -interest. Mr. Murgatroyd said that he would try and find some one who -was fool enough to risk his neck in the aëroplane, and that if he could -find such a person he would talk with me again. That was the reason he -came here this morning." - -Matt placed the model on the table, and walked thoughtfully up and down -the room. - -"There are two or three ideas embodied in this aëroplane, Mrs. -Traquair," said he, halting in front of the woman, "that seem to me to -be of immense value. Do you know whether Mr. Traquair protected the -ideas with patents?" - -"Harry said that all his inventions were securely protected. I can find -the papers if you----" - -"Your word is enough, for the present. A friend of mine came to -Jamestown with me, and we have a little money which we would like to -invest. Now, I will make this proposition: If you will give me an order -on the post trader at Fort Totten for the aëroplane, I will go to the -fort at once and familiarize myself with the machine; then, when the -time for the government test arrives, I'll put the aëroplane through -its paces. If the try-out is a success, then I and my friend are to -have half of the fifteen thousand dollars to be paid for the machine. -I will stand my own expenses, and, in addition, will give you five -hundred dollars. You can take some of this money and pay Murgatroyd -his interest; then, if the trial at Totten is a success, you will -have plenty to take up the mortgage. Understand, I am not buying an -interest in the invention--that, I firmly believe, is worth more than -I could pay--but I am buying a half interest in what the government is -to hand over, providing the government officials are pleased with the -performance of the aëroplane." - -Mrs. Traquair was so overwhelmed she could hardly speak. - -"I don't want to rob you," she protested; "I don't want to rob anybody, -or----" - -Matt interrupted her with a laugh. - -"I'm willing to take a chance, Mrs. Traquair," said he. "If you will -come to the Gladstone House at three o'clock this afternoon, we'll have -a lawyer draw up the papers, and I'll give you your money. Can I take -that model with me to the hotel? I'm a stranger to you, so I'll leave -twenty dollars in place of the model." - -"Who'll I ask for when I come to the hotel?" inquired Mrs. Traquair. - -This unexpected stroke of fortune seemed to have dazed her. She had -heard Murgatroyd call Matt by name, but she did not appear to remember. - -"Matt King," the young motorist answered. - -A cry of astonishment fell from Mrs. Traquair's lips. - -"I've heard my husband speak of you dozens of times!" she exclaimed. -"A friend of his, in Chicago, sent him a newspaper clipping about you. -Motor Matt is what you were called in the newspaper article, and you -had a flying machine----" - -"A dirigible balloon, Mrs. Traquair," interrupted Matt. "May I take the -model?" - -"Yes, yes," answered the woman eagerly, "do whatever you please--I am -sure Harry would have it so if he could be here and speak for himself. -Heaven is kind to raise me up a friend like you, at such a time." - -Hope glowed in Mrs. Traquair's face--for the first time, it may be, -since her husband's death--and Matt was happy, for it was a pleasure to -know that he was doing some good in the world while helping himself. - -A few minutes later, with the telescope grip in his hand, he left the -house and made his way swiftly in the direction of the hotel. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -MATT EXPLAINS TO M'GLORY. - - -Joe McGlory sat in front of the Gladstone House wondering what had -become of his pard. Matt had been gone from the hotel for three hours, -and when he left he thought he would be back in an hour. Just as -McGlory had made up his mind to go bushwhacking around the town, in the -hope of picking up his pard's trail, the king of the motor boys turned -the corner, carrying a telescope satchel, and walking rapidly. - -"Thought you were lost, strayed, or stolen, Matt," sang out McGlory. -"What have you got there?" he added, his eyes on the grip. - -"A flying machine," laughed Matt. - -"Speak to me about that!" gasped the cowboy. "Has it come to this, -pard, that every man can tote a flying machine in his grip, then -unpack, and hit a trail through the clouds whenever he takes the -blessed notion? Go on!" - -"It's only a model," went on Matt. "Come up to our room, and I'll tell -you about it." - -"Let's sit in at grub pile first. The dinner gong was pounded half an -hour ago, and I'm as hungry as a buck Injun on a diet of cottonwood -bark." - -Matt took the satchel into the dining room with him, and kept it -between his feet all the while he was eating. - -"You act like that thing was full of gold bricks," remarked McGlory, as -he and Matt climbed the stairs to their room as soon as the meal was -done. - -"Not gold bricks," said Matt. "There's the biggest little thing in this -grip, Joe, you ever saw in your life." - -"Have you hired out to that Murgatroyd person as the human sky-rocket?" -inquired McGlory, as he unlocked and opened the door of the room. - -"I'm going to try out an aëroplane, up at Fort Totten, but not for -Murgatroyd. A lot of things came up this morning, and that's what took -me so long. The only way for you to get the whole business straight is -for me to begin at the beginning. Now sit down, take it easy, and I'll -tell you what I've found out, and what I've done." - -The cowboy was anxious to see what was in the satchel, but Matt made no -move to gratify his curiosity, just then; instead, he launched into his -experiences at Murgatroyd's office, at City Park, and, lastly, at Mrs. -Traquair's. When he was through, McGlory rubbed his eyes, stared, then -rubbed his eyes and stared again. - -"What's the matter with you?" inquired Matt. - -"Dreamin'," answered the cowboy. "You're going to take a little fly for -fame and fortune, and I'm in on the deal to the tune of two hundred and -fifty cold plunks. It's all right, pard. I'd buy an interest in the -North Pole if you thought there was any profit in icicles; but tell me: -Will it be pleasant for your Uncle Joe to stand on the ground and watch -you taking flyers in a thing that killed one fellow, and is hungry to -wipe out another? Remember, I'm putting up two-fifty for the privilege. -It's all very fine to help out a poor widow in distress, and to backcap -a loan shark like Murgatroyd--that reads like a book, and I'm plumb -tickled to help--but, son, there's your neck to think about." - -"I'm not going to take any foolish chances, Joe," said Matt earnestly. -"I'm hungry to run an aëroplane with a gas engine--and this aëroplane -is the goods, don't forget that." - -"Um-m! Suppose you let me look at the goods?" - -Matt unbuckled the straps, and lifted the model of the aëroplane out of -its case. - -"Oh, tell me about that!" jeered the cowboy. "Two strips of cloth, one -above the other, with an engine between 'em and a propeller behind! -Fine! You'd look pretty a mile high in that thing!" - -"This," said Matt, taking the model on his knee, "is the fruit of -several hundred years of thought and study." - -"Sufferin' buzzards! If I couldn't think up an arrangement like that in -two minutes, and make it in three, I'm a Piute." - -"When you understand it, Joe, you'll think differently. An aëroplane -is like a kite, but instead of a string to pull it against the air, it -has a propeller to push it. It's easy enough to fly a kite, but when -you put a man in the kite, and a gas engine and other machinery, and -take away the string that connects the kite with the earth, you're -confronted with problems that it has taken centuries to solve." - -"Keno!" spoke up McGlory. "And do you mean to say, Matt, that those two -pieces of cloth have guessed the riddle?" - -"They'll come pretty close to it," asserted Matt. "The thing that -bothered, you see, was keeping the centre of wind-pressure coincident -with the centre of gravity so the machine wouldn't turn turtle, or----" - -"Help!" fluttered McGlory, throwing up his hands. - -"A German named Lilienthal tried and failed, and so did an Englishman -named Pilcher. It remained for the Wright brothers to work out the -conundrum. Lilienthal and Pilcher shifted weights to keep their machine -right side up in the air, but the American scientists shift the ends of -the wings, or planes. Traquair's invention does away with the shifting -of weights or planes. Look here, Joe." - -Matt pulled a diminutive lever affixed to a platform in the middle of -the lower plane. The ends of the left-hand wings drew in, and the ends -of the right-hand wings simultaneously extended. By pulling the lever -the other way, a contrary movement was effected. - -"Sufferin' blockheads!" muttered the cowboy, pushing his fingers -desperately through his thick hair. "I'm only in the primer, pard, and -you're leading me through the hardest part of the fifth reader. Shucks!" - -"You can understand, can't you," went on Matt patiently, "that closing -or opening the wings distributes the air pressure on each side of the -machine and holds it level?" - -"Never mind me, pard," said McGlory. "Keep right on." - -"These bicycle wheels," and Matt indicated three wheels under the -aëroplane, "give the machine its start." - -"It's got to have a running start, eh?" - -"Sure. When a bird begins to take wing it has to have some kind of a -start. A small bird jumps into the air, and a big bird, like a condor, -has to take a run before its wings take a grip on the atmosphere. It's -the same with an aëroplane. A speed of twenty-eight miles an hour is -required before the air under the planes will lift the flying machine. -The motor of this machine is geared to the bicycle wheels, at the -start. When the machine is running fast enough, the power is switched -to the propeller--and up we go!" - -"Mebby we do," muttered the cowboy, "but I wouldn't bet on it. Then, -again, if we go up will we stay up? And how can you guide the blooming -thing skyward, or on a level, or come down?" - -"Why," continued Matt, "these two little planes in front of the big -ones attend to that." He shifted them with a lever to show McGlory how -they worked. "This upright rudder behind," he added, "shifts the course -to right or left." - -"I'll take your word for it, Matt," said the cowboy. "I've taken a good -many slim chances in my life, but you'll never catch me taking a chance -on one of those things." - -"I don't intend to ask you to take any chances, Joe," proceeded Matt. -"All I want you to do is to trail along and attend to the work below -while I'm in the air. Traquair has invented something here that's -scientific and valuable, and I'm sure we can make a winner out of it, -and not only help Mrs. Traquair, but ourselves, as well. That work -of ours in Madison netted us more than twelve hundred dollars. The -question is, do you want to put in two hundred and fifty dollars with -me on the chance of raking in seven thousand five hundred up at Fort -Totten?" - -"You couldn't keep me from takin' that bet with a shotgun," averred the -cowboy. "If you're in on the deal, then that means me, too, any old -day you find in the almanac. We'll go to Fort Totten, Matt, and while -you're paddlin' around in the air I'll hunt up soft places for you to -'light. Your head's pretty level on most things, and it's a cinch you -must have this business figured out pretty straight, but----" - -At that moment, a hullaballoo came up from the street. The room -occupied by the boys was at the front of the building, and the two -windows were open. - -"Sufferin' cats," cried McGlory, starting for one of the windows, "I -wonder if that's a fire? Ever since we had that close call at the -burnin' boathouse on Fourth Lake, I'm scared of a fire." - -But it wasn't a fire. A Chinese boy was rushing down the street like a -whirlwind, his silk blouse and baggy trousers fluttering and snapping -in the wind of his flight, and his pigtail standing straight out behind -him. - -Back of the Chinaman came a bear. The bear was muzzled, and there was -a collar about its neck and some six or eight feet of chain rattling -around its legs. The bear was going after the Chinaman like a brown -streak, and a whopping crowd of onlookers was gathering on the -sidewalks. - -"Great jump sparks!" cried Matt, astounded; "Why, it's Ping!" - -"Ping it is, pard, and no mistake!" gasped McGlory; "and we left Ping -in Madison, workin' for Lorry. How did he get here? And how in Sam Hill -did that bear pick up his trail?" - -But Matt was already out of the room, and halfway down the stairs on a -run for the street. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -PING AND THE BEAR. - - -Ping Pong, the Chinese boy, had long ago made up his mind that he was -going to work for Motor Matt. He wasn't particular whether he got any -pay or not; just so Matt gave him enough to do to keep him around. - -Ping had followed Matt from San Francisco to Madison, Wisconsin. When -Matt was ready to leave Madison, he got Ping a good job. The Chinaman -seemed a bit depressed, but he thanked Matt for the interest shown -in his welfare, and seemed reconciled with his lot when he bade him -good-by. - -And now here was Ping, dropping into Jamestown like lightning from a -clear sky. The Chinese boy was full of surprises, and his surprises -were always dramatic--sometimes tragic. - -When Matt burst from the hotel into the street, Ping was hustling for -a telegraph pole. The bear was within a couple of lengths of him, and -there was nothing for Ping to do but to find something he could climb. - -Behind the bear raced a rough-looking man in a buckskin jacket. He was -flourishing his arms and yelling, but the roar of the crowd prevented -his words from being heard. - -The people on the sidewalks were enjoying the spectacle immensely. The -bear was muzzled, and the Chinaman was scared. It did not seem possible -that any harm could come to the fleeing Celestial. - -"Two to one on the bear!" whooped some one. - -"It's the Chink gits my money!" guffawed some one else. "He's goin' -like a limited express train, an' that telegraph pole's too handy." - -The crowd surged into the street and toward the pole. Ping was already -climbing, but the pole was slippery, and when he had got up about -twelve feet, he lost his "clinch" and slid downward. The bear was -standing erect and reaching upward with its front paws. Ping slid down -just far enough for the paws to reach for him and close on one of his -feet. - -He gave a yell of fear, and once more began frantically climbing. One -of his wooden sandals was left behind. The bear dropped it with a -sniff, and once more straightened up along the pole. - -Again the slippery surface proved more than Ping could manage, and down -he came with a rush. The bear got the other sandal before Ping could -check his sliding, and the crowd went wild with delight. - -The man in the buckskin coat had come close to the pole, but he made no -move to interfere with proceedings. - -Matt was not able to extract much fun from the situation. The bear's -claws were sharp, and if they once came in contact with the Chinaman's -body, the consequences might prove serious. - -Quickly as he could, Matt forced himself through the edge of the crowd. - -"Is that your bear?" he demanded of the man in the buckskin coat. - -"Waal," drawled the man, with a scowl, "I reckon it ain't no one else's -b'ar." - -"Why don't you chase him away, then?" asked Matt indignantly. "Do you -want him to kill the Chinaman?" - -"It won't be much loss if the critter takes a chunk out o' him. He's -only a Chink, anyways, an' he desarves all he'll git." - -This line of reasoning did not appeal to Matt. The man was leaning on -a heavy club. That club was the only weapon handy, and Matt made a -grab at it and pulled it out of the man's hands. With his support thus -suddenly removed, the man fell flat in the street, striking his head -against the stone curb at the edge of the walk. - -No serious damage was done, and the man got up, swearing luridly. Matt -gave no further attention to him, but turned toward the bear and Ping. - -The Chinaman, tiring with his useless efforts, had started for the -third time to slide down the pole. Before the bear could use its paws, -Matt whirled the club and struck the brute a heavy blow on the head. -The bear was dazed, and dropped down on all fours, blinking at Matt. - -Ping dropped to the foot of the pole, rolled off to one side, bounded -erect, and continued his flight down the street. - -Barely had Ping got away when Matt felt himself grabbed from behind. - -"I'll l'arn ye ter rough things up with me!" snarled a hoarse voice. - -Then, before Matt could make a move to defend himself, he was hurled -backward so fiercely that he lost his footing and fell sprawling in the -dust. - -The man, beside himself with rage, caught up the club, which had fallen -from Matt's hand, and would have attacked the lad with it had McGlory -not interfered. - -While the club was still poised in the air, the cowboy hurled a stone. -The missile struck the man's arm, and the uplifted hand fell as though -paralyzed. - -There was now another vent for the man's seething anger. With a furious -oath, he pushed his left hand under his buckskin coat, and jerked a -revolver from his hip pocket. One of the bystanders caught the weapon -away from him. - -Just at that moment a policeman showed himself, stepping briskly -between the man and McGlory. - -"What's the trouble here?" asked the officer. "What are you trying to -do, Siwash Charley?" - -"I'm er peaceable man," roared Siwash Charley, "but I ain't a-goin' ter -be tromped on!" - -"Who's been tramping on you?" inquired the officer soothingly. - -"Fust off, it was er Chink. I was bringin' that tame b'ar inter town -fer delivery ter Hank Bostwick, at the ginmill he runs, an' I sot down -ter rest. I was ca'm, an' the b'ar was ca'm, but erlong comes the Chink -an' sets off a big firecracker he had left over from the Fourth, I -reckon. Anyways, the blasted thing went off like er cannon, an' I was -blowed clean over the b'ar. When I got up an' looked around, the b'ar -was goin' after the Chink, allymand-left an' all sashay. I took arter -the b'ar. Seein' as how Bostwick is goin' ter gi'me twenty-five dollars -for the brute, I wasn't wantin' him ter git loose. When I got hyer, -that feller"--Siwash Charley nodded toward Matt--"pulled a stick I was -kerryin' out from under me. I sailed inter him an' then that other -feller"--he indicated McGlory--"let loose with a rock an' purty nigh -busted my arm. I ain't goin' ter stand fer no sich doin's--that ain't -Siwash Charley's stripe, not noways." - -"Did the Chink throw the firecracker in the first place?" asked the -officer. - -"He must er done it. If he hadn't, the b'ar wouldn't have took arter -him. I'll fix that Chink if I ever git hands on him; an' I'll fix you -fellers, too," he added, scowling at Matt and McGlory. - -"The Chinaman was trying to climb the telegraph pole and get away from -the bear, officer," spoke up Matt, "but every now and then he'd slip -down the pole, and the bear would slap at him with his claws. Siwash -Charley, as you call him, stood by and never made a move to interfere. -I grabbed the club and struck the bear, and the next thing I knew I was -caught from behind and thrown on my back." - -"I'd 'a' welted you good, too," snarled Siwash Charley, "if that rock -hadn't landed on me." - -The officer looked around. Three men had caught the bear by the chain -and were holding the brute warily. The bear seemed to be recovering its -good nature, the Chinaman had escaped, and little damage had been done. - -"Let the matter drop, Charley," said the officer. "You haven't any -proof that the Chink threw the cannon cracker, or----" - -"B'ars hes got sense," blustered Siwash Charley, "an' this un wouldn't -hev chased the Chink if he wasn't guilty." - -"Well, you go on to Bostwick's and let the matter drop. Scatter," the -officer added sharply to the crowd, "the fun's over with, and there's -nothing more to see." - -Matt beckoned to McGlory, and the two started back toward the hotel. A -roar from Siwash Charley caused them to turn their heads. - -"I'll saw off squar' with ye, yet," shouted Siwash Charley, shaking his -fist. - -"Say moo and chase yourself!" taunted the cowboy. "You're more kinds of -a fake and false alarm than I know how to lay tongue to." - -The officer gave Siwash Charley a push in the direction of his bear, -and Matt caught his chum by the arm and drew him into the hotel. - -Annexing himself to the bear by means of the chain, Siwash Charley -shook his head angrily, rubbed his forearm up and down the front of his -buckskin coat, and proceeded on toward Bostwick's. - -When he got clear of the crowd, a man stepped out into the street. It -was Murgatroyd, and there was an ominous gleam in his eyes. - -"I've got a job for you, Siwash," said the broker. - -"Is thar any money in it, Murg?" demanded Siwash. "It's got ter be spot -cash an' good pickin's, er we don't hitch." - -"You'll get your pay before you begin. Come to my office at five -o'clock." - -"I'll be thar," and the ruffian continued on toward Bostwick's, still -rubbing his aching forearm up and down the front of his greasy buckskin -coat. - -Murgatroyd, muttering to himself, faded away into the building known as -Brown's block. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A NEW VENTURE. - - -"That old persimmon is about ripe enough to be picked," growled -McGlory, as he and Matt climbed the stairs on their way back to their -room. "He's one of those cold game gents that gets quick and deadly -every time a fellow looks at him cross-eyed. The next time he and I -come together there's going to be fireworks." - -"The chances are," said Matt, "we've seen the last of him. We'll close -up our business with Mrs. Traquair at three o'clock, and then we'll -catch the first train for Totten. That will finish our dealings with -Siwash Charley, and with Murgatroyd, too, I hope. There's a lot of work -ahead of us during the next two weeks, and we'll----" - -Matt and McGlory were just turning from the hall into their room. Some -one had arrived in the room during their absence. As fate would have -it, it was Ping. - -The Chinaman sat in a rocking-chair near the window. He was nervous and -uncomfortable, not so much because of his recent experience with the -bear, perhaps, as because he feared the sort of reception he was to -receive from Motor Matt. - -"Well, if it ain't Little Bright-eyes himself!" grinned McGlory. -"You're more kinds of a surprise party, Ping, than I know how to -describe. What did you set off that cannon cracker under the bear for?" - -"My no shootee fi'clackel," expostulated Ping. "Melican boy shootee. -Beal make one piecee mistake--chasee Ping, no chasee Melican boy. -Whoosh! No likee." - -"Where did you come from, Ping?" asked Matt. - -"Mad'son. My no workee fo' anybody but Motol Matt. Tlakee tlain, come -'long." - -"You didn't intend to stay in Madison any of the time, did you?" - -Ping shook his head. - -"Why didn't you tell me you were not going to stay there?" - -"Plaps, my tellee, you no likee. My makee wait till come to Jimtown, -then tellee. You no likee, no can send back." - -A crafty grin worked its way over Ping's yellow face. - -"You can't shake him, pard," laughed McGlory. - -"How did you know where we were coming?" asked Matt. - -"No savvy the pidgin. Come on same tlain." - -"Then you got here on the same train we did?" - -"Sure." - -"Where have you been keeping yourself?" - -"My stay by othel hotel. Bumby, thisee molnin', makee sneak fo' -Gla'stone House. Watchee beal, then fi'clackel makee go bang. China boy -lun allee same Sam Hill. Teleglaph pole him heap slick. Makee climb, -makee slide down, thlee time. Beal ketchee one shoe, ketchee othel -shoe, mebbyso ketchee China boy neck, sendee top side, but fo' Motol -Matt. Whoosh! You heap mad with Ping?" - -"What's the use of getting mad at you, Ping?" smiled Matt. - -The little Chinaman bounded joyfully out of his chair. - -"My workee for you some mo'?" he asked. - -"You seem bound to work for me, whether I've got anything for you to -do, or not." - -"My no havee luck 'less my workee fo' you. Plenty queer pidgin. One -piecee luck come plenty time when my stay 'lound Motol Matt; no gettee -luck when my no stay. What you do now, huh?" - -"We're going to hit the clouds on two canvas wings, Ping," said McGlory. - -"No savvy," returned Ping. - -"Matt's going to fly. Savvy fly? All same bird," and the cowboy flapped -the edges of his coat, and lifted himself on one foot. - -"My no makee good bird," said Ping, the white running into the yellow -of his face. "My makee fall, bleakee neck." - -"You'll wish you'd stayed in Madison, Ping, before you get through with -this bag of tricks," went on McGlory, winking at Matt. "We're going to -let you----" - -The cowboy was intending to have a little fun with Ping, but, at that -moment, a boy from the office appeared in the doorway. - -"Mrs. Traquair is waiting for you down in the office, Motor Matt," he -announced. - -"It's three o'clock!" exclaimed Matt. "Get your two hundred and fifty, -Joe, and come with me." - -"I've got it, pard, right in my jeans," answered McGlory. - -"You can stay here, Ping, till we come back," went on Matt to the -Chinaman. - -"Can do," chirped Ping. - -Thereupon Matt and McGlory went downstairs, and the king of the motor -boys introduced his friend to Mrs. Traquair. The clerk directed them -to a lawyer, and they were soon in the lawyer's office, stating their -business. - -Mrs. Traquair had brought her husband's papers along with her, and also -a duplicate of the mortgage on the Wells County homestead. - -The lawyer's name was Matthews, and he was no friend of Murgatroyd. - -"Murg's a skinner," observed Matthews, "everybody in these parts knows -him for that. I'll bet he's been planning all along to get his clutches -on this invention of your husband's, Mrs. Traquair. Motor Matt is doing -the handsome thing by you, I must say. He takes all the risk, spends -all his time and money, and then gets nothing if the try-out at Fort -Totten isn't a success. Just sit down, please. I'll not be more than -five minutes drawing up a memorandum of agreement." - -When the paper had been drawn up, signed, and witnessed, and the money -turned over, the only thing that remained was for Mrs. Traquair to give -the boys an order on Benner, the post trader at Fort Totten, for the -aëroplane. This second paper having been written out and signed, and -the five hundred dollars turned over, Matt and McGlory found themselves -embarked on a new venture. - -It was different from anything Matt had yet undertaken. Driving a -dirigible balloon was utterly unlike manoeuvring an aëroplane. In a -"dirigible" one had only to sit calmly in the driver's seat, keep -the motor going, and attend to the steering. In an aëroplane, on the -other hand, there was a certain knack to be acquired. Air pressure -under the wings was never the same for two consecutive moments, and if -the swiftly changing centre of air pressure was not met instantly by -extending or contracting the wings, disaster would be sure to result. -But Matt had studied the subject, felt sure that he could acquire the -necessary knack, and was determined to carry the venture through to a -success. - -"You're a plucky young man," said Matthews to the king of the motor -boys when the business had been finally wound up, "but I want to warn -you to look out for Murgatroyd. It does me good to hear how you sailed -into him, but that was something Murg will never forget. As matters are -now, you've beaten him, but he'll never let it rest at that. He'll move -heaven and earth to get even with you. Keep your eyes skinned, that's -all. You're engaged in a worthy work, and I believe you'll succeed, -but you've got to be wary. I'm going with Mrs. Traquair to pay this -interest. Murg won't attempt any bulldozing tactics while I'm around, -you can depend on that." - -"You might see that he doesn't persecute Mrs. Traquair while we're at -Fort Totten, Mr. Matthews," said Matt. "If he gets his interest, he -can't make her any trouble, can he?" - -"He can't make her any more trouble until next year, when the interest -and principal both become due. Long before that, I hope Mrs. Traquair -will be able to settle up with Murgatroyd in full. She can, too, if -your work at Totten is successful." - -"How much do I owe you for drawing up these papers?" Matt asked. - -"Not a red!" was the prompt response. "Do you think I don't know what -you are trying to do for Mrs. Traquair? And do you think I won't do -as much as I can to help her? Why, I got Harry Traquair's patents -through for him, and I'm proud to say that he was my friend. He knew -Murgatroyd was a skinner, just as well as I did, and at the time of -his death he was exhausting every effort to fit himself for making a -'go' of that deal at Totten. He was planning on using that money to get -himself out of Murgatroyd's strangling grip. It looks like a special -favor of Providence, Motor Matt, that you happened along here just when -you did." - -Reference to her husband brought tears into Mrs. Traquair's eyes. -Stepping to Matt impulsively, she caught one of his hands. - -"I appreciate what you are doing, Motor Matt," said she in a low tone, -"and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know the risks you are -running, but somehow I have the utmost confidence that you are going to -pass safely through them all, and please the officers at Fort Totten." - -Matt was touched by the poor woman's gratitude. He pressed her hand -cordially and reassuringly. - -"I've gone into this thing to succeed, Mrs. Traquair," he answered, -"and you may count on me to do my best." - -"When do you go North?" asked the lawyer. - -"We can't go before morning. The afternoon passenger has left, and -we'll have to take the 'accommodation' at eight o'clock." - -"Well, good-by, and good luck. If I can ever do anything for you here, -in a legal way, don't hesitate to call on me." - -Matthews gripped the young motorist's hand heartily, and the little -party separated, the lawyer and Mrs. Traquair starting for Murgatroyd's -office, while Matt and McGlory made their way back to the Gladstone -House. - -"Little as I know about flyin'," remarked McGlory, "and scary as I am -about letting you go up in that aëroplane of Traquair's, just the same -I feel like patting myself on the back. It's a brand-new venture, pard, -but it's a good one. There's something in it, you see, besides just -helping ourselves." - -"It's not going to be easy," remarked Matt. - -"That's you! Sure, it ain't going to be easy, hitting up a cloud trail -and sliding around through the air in a machine that's----" - -"I don't mean that," interrupted Matt. "During the last hour or so I've -had a hunch that Murgatroyd is going to get busy." - -"I'll take care of that old hardshell," declared the cowboy, with -confidence, "if you do the rest of the work with that sky-scraper. -That's what I'm along for, savvy?" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A PARTNER IN VILLAINY. - - -Murgatroyd's interview with Matthews and Mrs. Traquair, at the time the -one hundred and fifty dollars interest was paid, threw the broker into -a spasm of chagrin and temper. One would have thought that Murgatroyd -would have been delighted to get his interest money. But it was not the -interest that Murgatroyd wanted, so much as financial embarrassment on -the part of Mrs. Traquair, which would ultimately lead to foreclosure -of the mortgage on the Wells County homestead. - -To Motor Matt the broker rightly attributed the widow's ability to pay -the interest. And if Motor Matt had given Mrs. Traquair the interest -money, it was a foregone conclusion that Matt had interested himself in -the aëroplane at Fort Totten. - -Matt, the wrathful broker reasoned, was to fly the aëroplane at the -forthcoming government trial. If he pleased the government, and the -machine was bought, then Mrs. Traquair would be able to take up the -mortgage. - -Murgatroyd paced his office for a long time after Matthews and Mrs. -Traquair left. In the midst of his reflections, Prebbles thrust his -head in at the door. - -"A caller, sir," he announced. - -"Who is it?" demanded Murgatroyd sharply. - -"Siwash Charley." - -A feeling of gratification swept through the broker's nerves. - -"Send him in here. And, I say, Prebbles, you can put on your hat and -coat and go home. You're quitting an hour earlier than usual, but you -can make it up some other day." - -Precious few holidays old Prebbles got without "making them up." - -"Very good, sir," he said in his usual humble fashion, and faded into -the other room. - -A moment later Siwash Charley faced the broker. - -"Shut the door, Siwash," said Murgatroyd. - -"That looks like we was a-goin' ter talk over things that was mighty -important," said Siwash Charley as he closed the door. - -"We are." - -"You're an ole fox, all right," chuckled the other; "reg'lar ole -gouger. Money layin' around ev'rywheres," Siwash added, his eyes on the -desk where the money paid by Mrs. Traquair had been left. - -"There's a hundred and fifty in that pile, Siwash," said Murgatroyd. -"If you agree to help me, I'll give you that; and, if you carry out the -work successfully, I'm going to give you a hundred and fifty more." - -Siwash Charley's eyes opened wide. - -"Must be somethin' mighty tough on ter make ye loosen up like that," -said he. "Mebby it's so tough I won't dast ter touch it." - -"I guess it's not too tough for you," returned Murgatroyd dryly. - -"I've done a heap o' things fer you, Murg, as won't bear the searchin' -light o' day," observed Siwash Charley. "From now on, though, I'm -a-goin' ter be a leetle keerful." - -"If you don't want the job," rapped out the broker, "say so, and I'll -get somebody else." - -"How kin I tell whether I want it or not till ye explain what the work -is?" - -"I'll not go into details until you agree to take hold. I'd be in a -nice fix, wouldn't I, if I told you what was up, and then had you back -out on the proposition." - -"Ye'll have ter tell me somethin' about it, that's shore." - -"I'll tell you this much, Siwash, and that is that the two young -fellows you mixed up with, when the bear treed the Chinaman, are the -ones you'll have to go after. That ought to be enough, hadn't it?" - -Charley's eyes kindled viciously. - -"I'm arter them two," he growled. - -"Of course you are," went on the broker, noting with satisfaction the -effect his words had had on his caller. "You're pretty well acquainted -up around Devil's Lake, aren't you?" - -"I spent a good many years thar, Murg." - -"Do you know Benner, the post trader?" - -"Him an' me uster be blanket mates." - -"Well, this young fellow who roughed things up with you, is called -Motor Matt." - -"That's his name, hey? I'm going ter saw off squar' with this Motor -Matt. Revenge is the sort o' por'us plaster I put on my grudges ter -draw out the pizen. I'm wuss ner a rattler's bite when I land on a -feller, Murg." - -"There's a flying machine in the post trader's store at Fort Totten. -Traquair sent it up there for a government trial, two weeks from -to-day." - -"I see." - -"This Motor Matt knows something about gas engines and flying machines, -and I'm pretty sure he's going to Totten on the train to-morrow morning -to familiarize himself with the Traquair flying machine, and try it out -for the government when the time comes." - -"Then I kin lay fer him around Totten, hey?" - -"Not alone, Siwash." - -The burly ruffian gave a grunt of disgust. - -"Think I kain't handle that outfit alone, Murg? Oh, thunder! Why, them -two fellers ain't much more'n kids. I kin pick 'em up, one in each -hand, an' knock their heads tergether." - -"Don't be overconfident, Siwash. If you are, it'll lose the game for -us. You ought to have two more men associated with you--fellows you can -depend on. You can either get them at Totten, or here in Jimtown." - -"Who'll pay 'em?" asked Siwash cautiously. - -"I'll give them twenty-five dollars each, if the work succeeds." - -"That brings us down ter the work ag'in," said Siwash. "What is it, -Murg?" - -"Well, I don't want the flying machine tried out for the benefit of the -government. I want something to happen so that this Motor Matt won't be -able to give a demonstration of what the aëroplane can do." - -"Got er axe ter grind, hey?" - -"That part of the game is my business, Siwash, not yours," said the -broker sharply. "The point is, do you want to follow out my plans, and -make the money I'm offering you?" - -"I'm hungry fer money, all right, Murg," ruminated Siwash. "I jest sold -that pet b'ar ter Bostwick fer twenty-five--b'ar that I captered as a -cub an' fetched up by hand. But twenty-five won't last me fer long. If -I kin git three hundred off'n you it'll be quite a boost. Still, fer -all that, I'd about made up my mind ter be honest from now on, an' cut -out these hyer crooked deals. The way ye come at me, though, kinder -sets me ter calculatin' that I'll go inter pardnership with ye fer one -more round, an' then start ter bein' honest arter that." - -Siwash Charley pushed up the right sleeve of his buckskin coat, -unwrapped a reddened bandage, and exhibited a ragged wound. - -"This hyer's what makes me listen ter ye, Murg," he gritted. "It ain't -the three hundred dollars so much as this hyer arm. That's whar the -young cub landed on me with the stone. I kain't never pass that up -without sawin' off squar'." - -"Of course you can't," declared Murgatroyd, doing everything in his -power to foster Siwash Charley's hard feelings, "it wouldn't be like -you to forget a thing like that, Siwash. I guess you haven't weakened -to that extent." - -Siwash Charley swore under his breath, replaced the bandage, and pulled -down the sleeve of his coat. - -"Will you help me?" went on the broker. "I've got to have your promise, -before I can tell you the plan I've thought out." - -"Yes, I'll help you," answered the ruffian. - -"And you know of two trustworthy men you can get to go with you?" - -"I could pick up a dozen game fellers right here in this man's town all -inside o' fifteen minutes. They're fellers, mind ye, who'd run the risk -o' puttin' their necks in a noose fer twenty-five plunks." - -"Those are the men we want. You're not to tell them anything about me, -mind." - -"That's allers yer game, Murg," and something like discontent pulsed -in Siwash Charley's hoarse voice; "ye don't seem ter hev the sand ter -stand up an' face the music." - -"I can't afford to. How long do you think my loan business would last -if I was found out in a job like this? You've got to screen me, Siwash." - -"I'll promise ter do that, an' I ain't goin' ter let no one find out -that I'm mixed up in it, either, if I kin help. Go ahead." - -The broker got up, and moved softly to the door. Opening it quickly he -peered into the outer office. Apparently satisfied, he closed the door -again, and returned to his chair. - -"Walls have ears," he remarked with a grim smile. "Draw your chair -closer, Siwash." - -The other, with another of his ill-omened chuckles, pulled his seat -nearer to Murgatroyd; then, for five minutes, Siwash listened while -the broker spoke in low, quick tones. When Murgatroyd was done, Siwash -leaned back with an exultant expression on his face. - -"By Jericho," he exclaimed, "we kin do it, Murg! Thar'll be no flyin' -at the fort two weeks from terday. This Motor Matt kain't git ter -Totten afore termorrer. If ye'll start me an' them other two fellers in -a ottermobill, an' land us at Totten afore mornin', I'll agree ter take -keer o' the flyin' machine. If I kain't do that, then I'll agree ter -take keer o' Motor Matt. Count on me, Murg." - -"Enough said, then," answered Murgatroyd, getting up. "Take your money, -Siwash, and get out of here. It won't do for us to be seen leaving -Brown block together. You go out first, and I'll follow, a little -later. The automobile will be at the place I told you within an hour, -and a trusty man will be along to drive it." - -Two minutes later, Siwash Charley swaggered out of the entrance to the -office building and slouched off toward a "shady" part of the town. - -Five minutes after Siwash left, Murgatroyd emerged. - -The broker was hardly out of sight, before Prebbles glided out of the -Brown block, his face puckered with fear and apprehension. But there -was resolution in the clerk's face, too, and he made his way in the -direction of the Gladstone House. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -MATT SHIFTS HIS PLANS. - - -Matt, McGlory, and Ping had their supper together. Following supper, -Ping went back to the other hotel where he had been staying, for the -purpose of getting his luggage. The luggage was not extensive, being -completely wrapped in a yellow silk handkerchief, knotted at the -corners. There was a pair of grass sandals in the handkerchief bundle, -and the Chinaman stood in need of new footgear. - -When Ping had gone, Matt and McGlory sat out in front of the hotel, -waiting for early bedtime to roll around. While they sat there, a -stoop-shouldered, wizened figure shambled along the walk. - -"Prebbles!" exclaimed Matt. - -"Not so loud," croaked Prebbles. "Come along--drop in behind--don't let -anybody notice." - -Matt was surprised. - -"Who's that?" queried McGlory. - -"A clerk in Murgatroyd's office," whispered Matt, getting up. - -"Look out for him, then, for he may be----" - -"He's all right," cut in Matt. "Come along, Joe. Prebbles has something -on his mind." - -Deferring to Matt's better judgment, McGlory arose, and he and Matt -followed Prebbles around one corner of the hotel, and into the dusky -regions that lay in the vicinity of the rear of the building. - -Here, in a place where they could talk unheard by outsiders, Prebbles -halted. - -"What's the matter, Prebbles?" queried Matt, as he and McGlory drew -close. - -"Who's that with you?" asked Prebbles guardedly. - -"A friend of mine." - -"Is he the one that hit Siwash Charley with the stone?" - -"Yes." - -"All right, then. I got to be careful. If I'm not, Murg'll find out -about this and pull the pin on me. I get eight dollars a week workin' -for him, and I can't afford to lose it. Eight dollars a week pays my -board, takes care of my laundry bills, buys a _War Cry_, and gives a -little to the army every week. You boys belong?" - -"Belong to what, Prebbles?" asked Matt. - -"To the Salvation Army," answered Prebbles earnestly. - -"No," answered Matt. - -"I do. Soon's I leave here, and get my supper, I'm going to the -barracks, get into my uniform, take my tambourine and march with the -rest. I was converted two weeks ago. That's why I hate Murgatroyd and -his ways. He's a robber. I want to do right, and that's why I'm here." - -"What do you work for the old skinflint for, if you want to do right?" -put in McGlory. - -"There's nothing wrong with tainted money," replied Prebbles, "if you -use it in the right way." - -"I shouldn't think your employer would like to have you in the army," -said Matt. - -"He likes it. You see, he thinks it gives the office a standing which -it hasn't got, me being connected with the army. But little he knows -what I'm doing on the side. It's because I belong, Motor Matt, that -I spoke to you as I did when you left the office this forenoon; it's -because of that, too, that I suspected something was up when Siwash -Charley came into the office at close to five o'clock and Murg told me -to take my hat and coat and go home; and it's because of that that I'm -here, now, to give you a warning." - -McGlory gave vent to a low whistle. - -"Looks like Siwash and Murg were stackin' up against us, pard," said he. - -"Does Siwash Charley know Murgatroyd?" inquired Matt. - -"Well, I should say," breathed Prebbles. "Siwash is a hard citizen, -and used to live by gambling, stealing, and other ways that the law -wouldn't sanction if he was found out. He's a hard case, Siwash -is--most as hard a case as Murg. I didn't leave the office when I was -told to go. I put on my hat and coat, walked real heavy to the door, -slammed it, and then slipped back to a curtain that hides a lot of old -letter files. Back of the curtain there's a stovepipe hole from the -outside room into Murg's. I climbed up on the letter files and listened -at that hole. Wouldn't have done it if I didn't belong. Say," and -Prebbles straightened himself with feeble pride, "it makes a regular -lion of a man to join the army. You ought to be in; you don't know what -you're missin'." - -"The army's a good thing, Prebbles," said Matt, "and I'm glad you -belong to it. Siwash and Murgatroyd talked about me?" - -"Did they?" echoed Prebbles. "Well, they didn't talk about anything -else. You see, Murg has got a mortgage on the Traquair homestead, up in -Wells County, and he wants to get the quarter section on the mortgage. -I don't know why, but he's set, and determined to foreclose and annex -the land. That's what he's workin' for. Everything was coming his way, -Motor Matt, till you blew in and befriended Mrs. Traquair. Now Murg's -afraid you'll win that government money and fix things so'st Mrs. -Traquair can pay off the mortgage. Murg's goin' to fight you, and he's -rung in Siwash and two of Siwash's friends to help him." - -"Speak to me about this!" murmured McGlory. "That hunch of yours, Matt, -is panning out good color already." - -"How is he going to fight us, Prebbles?" asked Matt. - -"By fixing things so'st you can't exhibit the flying machine at the -time set. If it ain't exhibited then, the government'll back out. In -case Siwash and his pals can't spoil the machine, then their orders are -to eliminate Motor Matt. Oh, it's a villainous scheme, I tell you that." - -"I guess we can take care of ourselves, Prebbles," averred Matt. "The -first train for Totten leaves in the morning, and we're going up on -that. Siwash and his pals can't get there ahead of us, and we'll be -able to look after the aëroplane and see that nothing goes wrong with -it." - -"That's where you're lame," fluttered Prebbles. "Siwash and his pals -have already started for Totten." - -"Started!" exclaimed Matt. "How?" - -"Automobile. That gang of scoundrels will get to Totten in time to -carry out Murg's villainous plans to-night. I've wasted an hour tellin' -you this, waitin' for you to get through supper. You see, I couldn't -walk into the hotel and talk to you; everybody would have seen me, and -told Murg about it. Then Murg would have pulled the pin on me." - -"What are Siwash and his friends going to do at Totten?" queried Matt, -more wrought up over the information of Prebbles than he cared to admit. - -"I don't know that, Motor Matt. When they talked over that part of it, -they dropped their voices so low I couldn't hear. But you can bet it's -a slick scheme, if Murg had anything to do with it." - -"Sufferin' slow freights!" murmured McGlory. "It looks as though Murg -had knocked us out of the running right at the start off." - -"Prebbles," said Matt, "do you know of any one, here in town, who has a -good automobile we could hire?" - -"Well, there's a fellow named Black, a real estate man, who has a car. -In spite of his name, he's as white a man as you'll find in a month of -Sundays. Real estate's kinder dull, just now, and I know he sometimes -lets out his car." - -"Where does he live?" - -"I pass his place on the way to my boarding house. If you want, I'll -have him come around and see you." - -"There's not much time to lose, Prebbles, as Siwash and his pals are -already on the road. Call me up on the phone and let me know if he'll -take us to Fort Totten to-night. If he will, have him hustle his car -right around to the hotel." - -"He'll ask a heap of money for the trip," suggested Prebbles. "How much -are you willing to----" - -"Tell him we'll give him fifty dollars if he'll get us to Fort Totten -before morning." - -"That'll fetch him! I guess I better start right off. You won't tell -anybody about me giving Murg away to you? I don't want to have Murg -pull the pin, you understand." - -"Certainly we won't tell anybody!" answered Matt. "We're obliged to -you, Prebbles, and here's a five-dollar bill to pay you for your -trouble." - -Prebbles drew back from the money. - -"You can't make me take that," he declared. "Murg's the only robber in -the loan office. I'd be as bad as him if I took the money. I'm doing -this because I want to be square. They'd kick me out of the army if I -took money for doin' what's right." - -"Take this," insisted Matt, "and give it to the mission. You can do -that, can't you?" - -"Sure." Prebbles pocketed the money. "I'm off, now," he went on, -starting away. "I hope you won't have more trouble than you can take -care of, but you've got a hard gang against you. Good-by." - -"So long, Prebbles." - -The clerk vanished, and Matt and McGlory, their nerves tingling with -the prospect ahead of them, went back into the hotel, and took chairs -near the telephone booth. - -Mr. Black himself called up, fifteen minutes later. He was willing to -take the boys to Fort Totten that night, for the sum of fifty dollars; -his machine was ready, and he'd be at the hotel in five minutes. - -"Bully!" exulted McGlory, when Matt came out of the booth and reported -what the real estate man had said. "Say, pard," the cowboy added, -"you're throwin' your money around like a nabob. At this rate, how -long'll that stake last that you picked up in Madison?" - -"Till we pull down that government money on account of the aëroplane, -Joe," returned Matt decisively. - -"You're banking on that?" - -"To the last cent. I'll soon be on the wing, Joe, and making a fight -for fame and fortune. That's got to be a winning fight, in spite of -Siwash Charley and his pals, and in spite of Murgatroyd." - -Matt's quiet confidence always inspired confidence in others. - -"Whoop!" jubilated McGlory. "You've got a cheery way about you, pard, -that's as catchin' as the measles. Sure we'll win; and we'll save the -old homestead for Mrs. Traquair like the feller in the play." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -DODGING TROUBLE. - - -The wagon road from Jamestown to Devil's Lake follows the railroad all -the way. At Minnewaukon, near the western end of the lake, the wagon -road to Fort Totten leaves the iron rails and points southeast. - -The trail from Jamestown to Minnewaukon crosses a prairie almost -as level as a floor, and the trail itself is like asphalt. From -Minnewaukon southeast, the road is not so well traveled. Formerly the -mail was hauled from Minnewaukon to the post by wagon, but the mail -carrier was put out of business by a launch that crossed the lake -from Devil's Lake City, on the north shore. The garrison at the fort, -too, has dwindled to a corporal's guard, so that the post has become -practically abandoned. - -Black's car was not a late model. It had the obsolete rear-entrance -tonneau, and was equipped with a four-cylinder thirty-horse-power -motor. However, the car could "go." It would have been a poor car, -indeed, which could not show its heels on such a road. - -It was eight o'clock when Matt, McGlory, Ping, and Black ducked out of -Jimtown, and struck into the trail that followed the railroad track and -the river. Black attended to the driving, and Matt occupied the seat at -his side. McGlory and Ping occupied the tonneau. - -Matt explained to Black that there was a car, somewhere ahead, which -they wanted to beat to the post trader's store at Fort Totten; also, -that the car ahead was filled with men who were not on friendly terms -with Matt and his companions. - -Black was a man of spirit. - -"You want to pass that car, then," said he, "and you want to dodge -trouble?" - -"Exactly," agreed Matt. "We don't want to butt into any trouble if we -can help it. A whole lot depends upon our getting to the post trader's -store right side up with care, and ahead of the other outfit." - -"We'll do what we can," and Black nursed the car to its best speed. - -The night was cool, the sky was cloudless, and the two acetylene lamps -burned holes in the dark far in advance of the car as it devoured the -miles. The forward rush, and the motor's music, thrilled Matt as they -always did whenever he was connected with a speeding engine. - -They whipped through a little town, hardly glimpsing the scattered -lights before they had left them astern. - -"This machine is a back number," remarked Black, "but she can slide -along pretty well, for all that." - -"You're right," said Matt. "I never saw a car with a rear door that -could hold a candle to this one. But the road helps. It's like a -boulevard." - -"Take these Dakota roads, when they're neither too wet nor too dry, -and they're hard to beat. We're going to lose time, though, going -around the sloughs." - -"Sloughs?" queried Matt. - -"Just bog holes," went on Black. "They gully the prairie, here and -there, have no inlet or outlet, and the water rises and falls in -'em like tides of the ocean. Queer, and I don't think the rise and -fall have ever been explained. A wagon with high wheels can spraddle -through, but low wheels and a lot of weight have to go round. But the -car ahead will have to go around, too. There's one of the sloughs, just -ahead. We'll begin going around it right here." - -Having been for several years in the real estate business, selling -farms up and down the Jim River, Black had an accurate knowledge of the -country. - -Three extra miles were added to the journey by going around the slough -north of Parkhurst. But this was a whole lot better than taking a -chance and miring down. - -"Did you know Harry Traquair, Mr. Black?" Matt asked, when they were -once more in the road and forging ahead. - -"I did," answered Black, "and he was one of the finest fellows you -ever met. Still, for all that, I thought he was a little bit 'cracked' -on the flying-machine question. He was always of an inventive turn, -and he built his first aëroplane in his head, up on his farm in Wells -County, long before he ever came to Jimtown and built one of canvas, -and spruce, and wire guys. The Traquairs have had pretty hard sledding -for the last three years. Mrs. Traquair had all the faith in the world -in her husband, but she was possessed with the idea that some accident -was going to happen to him, and she was never around when he flew the -aëroplane. Too bad Harry Traquair had to be killed just as he was about -to give his machine the first government test." - -"That's the way luck runs, sometimes," said Matt. "What town's that?" -he added, as they whisked through another cluster of lights. - -"Buchanan," answered Black. "Say, but we're coming! The next place is -Pingree, then Edmunds, then Melville. After Melville we'll swoop into -Carrington, the biggest town between Jamestown and the lake. Here's -where I'm going to hit 'er up for the last ounce of power in her -cylinders. Hold on to your teeth, everybody!" - -More gasoline and a faster spark hurled the car onward in a way that -made Ping chatter and hang to the rail behind the front seats. - -Then something went wrong. The motor began to miss fire, the speed -slackened, and the motor died with a gasping splutter. - -"Oh, hang the luck!" growled Black, getting down. - -While Matt kept hands off, Black tried out the primary circuit, then -the secondary, then the buzzer. After that he cranked and cranked, but -nothing happened except a distressing cough when the engine tried to -start. - -"Wouldn't that knock you slabsided?" growled Black. "I guess I'll have -to take the carburetor to pieces, run pins through the spray nozzle and -sandpaper the float guides. If that don't work, I'll go under the car -and take off the fuel pipe, and----" - -"It's a gravity feed, isn't it?" asked Matt. - -"Yes." - -"Well, don't lose any time on the carburetor, just yet." - -Matt got at the gasoline tank. What he did Black couldn't see, but he -wasn't more than a minute doing it. - -"Now turn over your engine," said Matt, as he climbed back into his -seat. - -Black gave the crank a pull, and the pleasant chug in the explosion -chamber came to his ears. - -"What the dickens did you do?" he asked, dropping in behind the -steering wheel and getting the car under way. - -"The tank vent was clogged," explained Matt. "You can't feed by gravity -if the gasoline tank is hermetically sealed." - -"That's right; but how did you know the vent was plugged?" - -"By the noise." - -Black turned this over in his mind as they rushed onward. - -"I guess you know a thing or two about motors," he remarked. "I never -heard of a fellow who could tell the tank was hermetically sealed -merely by the noise of the engine." - -"It takes practice," said Matt, "that's all." - -Pingree, Edmunds, and Melville were passed in record time, and the car -rushed into Carrington at a quarter to ten. Carrington was quite a -town, and the party halted to make some inquiries about the car that -was preceding them. - -From a man at one of the hotels they learned that a car had stopped -at a filling station, about nine o'clock, and had dashed on to the -northward about nine-fifteen. There were four men in the car, and one -of them was Siwash Charley. - -Siwash Charley seemed to be well known through that section, and the -fact that the man at the hotel knew him made Matt and his friends -certain that their enemies were less than an hour ahead. - -"We're gaining on 'em!" cried McGlory, as the car shot through the -outskirts of Carrington. "If we can keep on gaining, we'll reach the -post trader's with ground to spare." - -"We're good for it," averred Black. "Hold onto your hair and eyebrows." - -The air fairly sang in the ears of the boys as the real estate man, -throwing himself spiritedly into the contest, hurled his machine onward -over the hard roadbed. - -They flashed through a couple of towns which, Black said, were Divide -and Sheyenne. - -"The next place," the real estate man went on, "is Oberon. After that -comes Lallie, and then Minnewaukon. But it's a waste of time to go to -Minnewaukon. If we went there, we'd have to come southeast to Totten. -We can leave the road at Lallie and go northeast to Totten, thus saving -a few miles and considerable time. If----" - -He broke off with a startled exclamation. Then, in a twinkling, it was -out clutch, down brake, and a kick at the switch. - -Another car, at a dead stop in the road ahead, had come like a blot -under the glow of their lamps. - -At that point the prairie was level, and no such thing as fences were -to be seen. - -"Sufferin' hold-ups!" exclaimed McGlory. "Something's gone wrong with -the Siwash outfit. Look! Two of the gang are plugging this way." - -The cowboy had "called the turn." Two dark forms untangled themselves -from the dusky blot in the road which represented the car, and were -running back along the trail. As the figures came closer, it could be -seen that they were carrying rifles. - -"Quick!" hissed Matt in Black's ear. "Go around the car--take to the -prairie. We can make it if there's gas enough in the cylinders to take -the spark." - -As luck would have it, the engine took the spark and Black worked the -car rapidly out of the road, heading so as to give the other car a wide -berth. - -The dry grass crunched under the swiftly moving tires, and the car -leaped away as Black coaxed her to do her best. - -"Halt!" shouted a husky voice; "halt, or we'll put a bullet into you!" - -"Drop down!" ordered Matt; "they're going to shoot." - -"Let 'em shoot," said Black pluckily. "It's pretty dark for accurate -firing, and we'll be out of range in a minute. I----" - -Sping! Sping! - -Two reports came from behind, two flashes leaped from the guns, and two -bullets fanned the air close to the occupants of the car. - -But the car dashed on over the rolling turf, and presently regained the -road, once more, well in advance of the other automobile. - -"I guess that's dodging trouble, all right!" muttered Black, with a -grim laugh. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -BLANKED. - - -Only two shots were fired. Before the two scoundrels in the road could -send any more bullets after Matt and his friends, their car had swept -back into the road and the other automobile acted as a barricade. - -"Siwash must have known who we were," remarked McGlory. "How do you -reckon he found that out?" - -"The way we kept on going when he ordered us to halt was enough for -him," said Matt. - -"I'll bet it was a surprise," chuckled McGlory. "Wish I could be close -to Murg when he hears about it. We're in the lead, now, and I hope we -can keep it." - -"If the motor hangs together," returned Black, "we'll not only keep it, -but increase it. That's a murderous gang, back there," he added. "There -must be something mighty important awaiting you fellows at the post -trader's to cause Siwash Charley to break loose like that!" - -"Murgatroyd is back of it," said Matt. - -"Murgatroyd? There's a double-dyed scoundrel, if I ever knew one." - -Black's expressing himself in this manner opened the way for Matt to -tell him the true inwardness of that night's work. - -"You're the sort of fellows I like to help!" cried Black, as soon as -Matt had placed the situation before him. "It's a fine thing for Mrs. -Traquair, and it speaks mighty well for you that you've jumped into -this thing like you've done. Not many young fellows would have gone -to all that trouble, with the prospect of a broken neck, or a bullet -between the ribs as a possible reward. But let me tell you something, -Motor Matt." - -Black spoke very earnestly, and commanded the instant attention of the -king of the motor boys. - -"What's that, Mr. Black?" - -"If I were you, I'd be more afraid of that aëroplane than of Siwash -Charley or Murgatroyd." - -"Flying the aëroplane is the least of my worries. I'm sure I can handle -it all right." - -"Don't be too sure. Traquair invented the machine, and it stands to -reason that he knew it as well as any human being could; but see what -happened! Something snapped, a gust of wind hit the aëroplane, and the -whole business came down like a piece of lead." - -"Accidents are always liable to happen, of course," said Matt; "the -only thing to do is to guard against them as well as you can, and do -your best." - -"This North Dakota wind is a hard thing to figure on," pursued Black. -"It gathers terrific force coming across the prairies, and it's liable -to come up quick. I don't think Traquair's aëroplane could stand a -sixty-mile-an-hour wind." - -"She couldn't make any headway against it, but I believe she could be -kept upright." - -"That's your look out, Motor Matt, and I don't want to throw any wet -blanket on your hopes. Be careful, that's all, and----" - -Black broke off with an angry exclamation. The motor began to miss -fire, and finally came to a stop. - -Matt, his head inclined, had been listening sharply. - -"What's the matter now?" asked Black, getting out. - -"It's the carburetor, now," said Matt. "Sounds to me as though it was -clogged." - -The carburetor was taken apart and freed of the obstruction that kept -the gasoline out of the mixing chamber. - -A delay of half an hour was caused, and while they were at a halt an -anxious look out was kept along the road, behind. Much to the relief -of the boys and the real estate man, the other car failed to put in an -appearance. - -"They must be hung up with something serious," observed Black, as he -once more started the car in the direction of Lallie. - -"It can't be too serious to suit me," laughed McGlory. "I won't make -any kick if they're kept back there on the road for a week." - -"No such luck as that, Joe," said Matt. - -Black was about to say something more when the motor went wrong again. -It began to pound furiously. - -Black's exasperation reached a point where he was tempted to say -things. Matt, however, laughed at his impatience, and proceeded to -right the trouble, warning his friends to keep a sharp look along the -back track while he was doing it. - -There was an hour's delay, this time, but still the other car did not -show up, and Matt and his companions finally continued on their way, -congratulating themselves that they were still in the lead. - -Not much time was spent in Lallie. The town was dark, and all the -inhabitants had undoubtedly been abed and asleep for several hours. - -Matt looked at his watch just as they were bumping over the railroad -tracks into the northeast road that led to Totten. - -"Two o'clock," announced Matt. - -Black groaned. - -"Elegant time we're making," said he, "but we'll be at the post -trader's by three o'clock, providing we don't have any more breakdowns." - -This road was not nearly so good as the one they had been following, -mainly because it was not so well traveled. Not more than fifteen miles -an hour could be made. - -"There's another road to Totten from Oberon," observed Black. "That -road comes into this one about five miles this side of Totten. We'll -soon be at the forks, now. I didn't suggest taking the Oberon road, -because it's a good deal worse than the one we're following." - -When they were close to the forks, the creak of a wagon reached their -ears, and the gas lamps showed them a loaded vehicle just pulling into -the Oberon road. This was the first team they had met since leaving -Jamestown. - -"Say, there!" yelled a man on the wagon. "Slow up a little with that -chug cart o' yourn, will ye? My hosses ain't used ter sich sights." - -Black lessened the speed and came on more slowly. The wagon was at a -standstill, and the horses were snorting and rearing against the pole. -The car got past without causing an accident, however, and, a little -after three, drew up in front of the post trader's store. - -The store was at the foot of a hill which overlooked the lake, and was -surrounded by the fort. As was to be expected, the store was dark, and -seemed deserted. - -"Benner lives in the back part," said Black. "Go around the side of the -building, Matt, and knock on the door. You'll not be long getting him -up. I'll wait here till I see what luck you have, and then I'll put up -the car and bunk down somewhere for the rest of the night." - -Matt and McGlory jumped out of their seats and followed around the -plank wall of the building. Although it was dark as Egypt in the shadow -of the wall, yet they succeeded in locating the door, and pounded a -loud summons on its panels. - -The post trader was a sound sleeper, and it took three or four minutes -to develop any signs of life within the dark store building. - -At last, however, they could hear some one stirring around. A light -appeared in a window, and a shuffling step was heard approaching the -door. - -"If you're Injuns," cried an angry voice, "get out! You can come after -what you want in the mornin'." - -"We're not Indians," said Matt. "Are you Mr. Benner?" - -"That's my name, yes." - -"Then we've got important business with you. Please open the door." - -"Beats all a feller can't have no sleep," grumbled Mr. Benner, shoving -a bolt and jerking the door open. - -A big, sandy-haired man, in undershirt and trousers, stood confronting -the boys, a flickering candle upheld in his right hand. - -"What d'ye want?" demanded Benner. - -"Here's a paper I want you to read," answered Matt, taking from his -pocket Mrs. Traquair's order for the aëroplane, and handing it to the -post trader. - -Benner grabbed the paper in his left hand, and held the candle in front -of it. - -"Jumpin' Mariar!" he gasped. "Here's an order for that bloomin' flyin' -machine." - -"Yes. We're here to take charge of it, Mr. Benner." - -"Oh, y' are, eh? Well, I haven't got it. Looks kinder suspicious, too, -this here order does." - -"Haven't got it?" repeated Matt, staring at McGlory. - -"Ain't I tellin' ye?" answered Benner in an irritated tone. - -"Did some men come here in an automobile, a little while ago, and take -it away?" - -"Any one would have played hob takin' that flyin' machine away in an -automobile," scowled Benner. "There's somethin' mighty queer about -this. Step inside, you two, an' I'll show you that telegram." - -Intensely disappointed, the two boys stepped into the room. Benner -placed the candle on the table, and picked up a yellow sheet, which he -handed to Matt. - -"That come to the fort, about two hours ago, an' the leftenant sent it -down ter me," explained Benner. "I had to hustle some, but I worked -through the trick. Now, less'n an hour after I get to bed, here you -fellers come askin' for the flyin' machine. That's more'n I kin -understand, that is." - -The telegram read as follows: - - "Send flying machine on the jump to Oberon. Get it off within an hour - after you receive this. Will settle for your trouble with the man who - brings it." - -This message was addressed to the post trader, at Fort Totten; had been -sent from Oberon, and was signed by "Mrs. Traquair." - -"Oh, sufferin' dummies!" cried McGlory. "Blanked, or I'm a Piute!" - -Matt was fully as much wrought up as was his chum. - -"This message is a forgery, Mr. Benner!" he cried. "Mrs. Traquair isn't -in Oberon, and she never sent it." - -"How was I ter know that?" snorted the post trader. "Soon's I got the -message, I routed out my man, Jake, an' we hitched up to the wagon, -loaded on that consarned machine that I've been holdin here, an' Jake -started with it fer Oberon." - -The cowboy gave a groan, and fell over against the wall. - -"That must have been him we passed, Matt," he murmured. - -Without pausing to reply, Matt whirled and ran out of the room. The -aëroplane was on the road to Oberon, but the automobile could easily -overtake the wagon. It was well, however, not to lose any time. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -SIWASH SHOWS HIS TEETH--AND HIS HEELS. - - -Black's astonishment was great when Motor Matt reappeared at the front -of the building and leaped into the car. - -"Hustle for the Oberon road, Mr. Black!" Matt cried. - -"What's to pay?" asked Black as McGlory flung himself into the tonneau. - -"You remember that wagon we passed?" asked Matt. - -"Of course, but----" - -"Well, the aëroplane is aboard the wagon." - -"Great Cæsar!" Black was already on the ground, cranking up. "How did -that happen?" he asked, getting back into the car and turning it the -other way. - -When they were well started, Matt explained about the telegram received -by the post trader. - -"It's easy to understand what happened," said Matt. "Murgatroyd's plan -was to send Siwash Charley here after the aëroplane. If Siwash had had -all night and part of to-morrow to work in, he and his pals would have -got away with the flying machine in spite of us. But Siwash had to make -another move when he saw us on the road. It was a clever move, too, -although it only won out by a scratch. Siwash went on to Oberon and -sent that message, signing Mrs. Traquair's name to it. If we hadn't had -so many breakdowns, we'd have reached the post trader's before his man -got away with the aëroplane." - -"Well," declared Black, "we can overhaul the wagon long before it gets -to Oberon. If Siwash Charley had used his head a little more, he'd have -known there wasn't one chance in ten of this move of his succeeding. - -"And to think of us sailin' right past that wagon," muttered McGlory, -"and even slowing up so as not to scare the horses! Funny how things -will turn out sometimes." - -The Chinese boy had been using his eyes and ears a great deal more -than his tongue. But his emotions, at every stage of that ride from -Jamestown, had changed with Matt's and McGlory's. Now Ping was all -chagrin, and a wild desire to "push on the reins" and overhaul Jake. - -The road was fairly good until the automobile reached the forks; after -that, it ran into hilly country where there was considerable sand. - -Black forced the car all he could, but the poor speed it developed -filled the impatient boys with dismay and anxiety. - -"We'll never overtake that wagon in a thousand years, at this gait," -fumed McGlory. - -"You forget, Joe," answered Matt, "that if we're going slow, the wagon -is going a lot slower." - -"That's the talk," said Black. "We'll come up with the wagon several -miles this side of Oberon." - -As the car ground through the sand, and chugged up the hills, the boys -kept a sharp watch ahead. Dawn brightened in the east, and the gray -streamers crept steadily toward the zenith. - -"Five o'clock," said Matt, looking at his watch. "The sun will be up in -half an hour." - -"Precious little I care for that," chuckled Black. "There's Jake!" - -The car had topped a hill which gave its passengers a long view out -over the level prairie. Far away in the distance the dim gray light -showed the boys a dark blot on the plain. It was impossible to tell -much about the blot, at that range, but there could be no doubt -concerning it. Surely it was the wagon; it could be nothing else. - -"Jake must have punctured a tire," observed McGlory humorously. "What -has he stopped for?" - -"Possibly he stopped to breathe his horses," suggested Black. "We'll -eat up the ground, now, for the road is on the level, and there's less -sand." - -Black let the car out. As he and the boys came closer and closer, a -startling scene slowly unfolded before their eyes. - -The wagon was at a standstill, just as the cowboy had said, and beside -it was a motor car. Four or five figures could be seen moving around in -the vicinity of the wagon. Abruptly these figures hunched together, and -stood quietly. - -"It's the other automobile," said Black between his teeth. "Siwash -Charley and his pals came out from Oberon to meet Jake." - -"They've got together and are looking this way," breathed McGlory. - -"Mebbyso they makee shoot," chattered Ping. - -"Shall we go on?" queried Black. "It's for you to say, Motor Matt. I -don't think Siwash will dare rough things up so close to the fort, and -in broad day." - -"Yes," said Matt grimly, "we've got to go on. For all we know, -Murgatroyd may have told Siwash to destroy the aëroplane. In fact, that -may be what he's doing, now. Go on, Mr. Black, and go with a rush." - -The boys fell silent as the car bounded on along the road. All of them -felt the danger of their position, but neither McGlory, Black, nor Ping -would have thought of asking Matt to turn back. - -In a few moments the boys were so close they could see the guns which -Siwash Charley and his friends were holding in their hands. Matt, -however, had more concern for the bulky load in the wagon than for the -guns. So far as he could see, the load was intact, and had not been -tampered with. - -The wagon was facing toward Oberon, and the car--drawn up alongside -the wagon--was pointed toward Fort Totten. Several yards in front of -the car stood Siwash Charley, and two other men, who looked fully as -villainous. All of these three had rifles. - -Jake was standing up in the front part of the wagon, hanging to the -reins with one hand and looking back. The driver of the automobile was -leaning against the front of the car, watching passively for what was -to come. An atmosphere of ugly foreboding hovered over the scene as -Black stopped his car within a dozen yards of Siwash Charley and his -two pals. - -"That's erbout as fur as we reckoned we'd let ye come," shouted Siwash -Charley. "If ye'd got hyer ten minutes later, ye'd hev found the flyin' -machine scattered all over the perary." - -"Do you mean to say," cried Matt, standing up in the car, "that you -were going to wreck the aëroplane?" - -"That's what," answered Siwash Charley, "an' we're goin' ter do it, -yet. Ye needn't think that yer comin' will make any diff'rence. I told -you cubs I'd git even with ye fer what ye done, but when I showed my -teeth ye didn't allow I'd bite. I'm showin' my fangs ag'in, an' this -time thar's goin' ter be somethin' doin'." - -"Siwash Charley," said Matt, "you don't mean to say that a trifling -disagreement, like the one we had in Jamestown, is enough to make you -destroy that aëroplane?" - -"I reckon ye don't know me, Motor Matt," blustered Siwash. "I allers -make it a p'int ter saw off even, an' I reckon I kin squar' my account -with you a heap better by bustin' up the flyin' machine than in any -other way. I'll give ye two minutes ter turn that thar machine o' yourn -and take the back track." - -Simultaneously with the words, Siwash lifted his rifle to his shoulder, -and pointed it directly at Matt. - -The king of the motor boys did not stir, but his gray eyes snapped -dangerously as they looked into the eyes gleaming along the barrel of -the gun. - -"You're not going to do any more shooting, Siwash Charley," said Matt, -his voice steady. "You took two shots at us last night, and if either -one of them had struck me, or any of my friends, you and Murgatroyd -would have paid dearly for it." - -The mention of Murgatroyd caused Siwash to drop his gun suddenly. - -"Murgatroyd hasn't got a thing ter do with this," he roared. "It's my -own affair I'm settlin'." - -"Murgatroyd has got everything to do with this!" retorted Matt. "He got -that car for you, and sent you out of Jamestown last night. You hoped -to reach the fort ahead of us--and you'd certainly have done so if we'd -waited until this morning and taken the train. If you make any trouble -for me here, Murgatroyd will be arrested in Jamestown just as quick -as a message can be wired to the police. And you'll make trouble for -yourself, too, for you played a trick in getting that aëroplane off the -government reservation. You can show your teeth as much as you please, -but if you try to bite you'll regret it." - -"I'm done chinnin' with you!" whopped Siwash Charley, once more -bringing his gun to his shoulder. "Turn that ottermobill t'other way, -an' hike out o' this. Ye got a minute left." - -Black got out of the machine, and walked around to the crank. - -"Leave the crank alone, Black," ordered Matt. "That scoundrel's a -coward, and he doesn't dare to shoot." - -Black hesitated. - -"Better do as he says, pard," observed McGlory, climbing over the back -of the seat and ranging himself shoulder to shoulder with Matt. - -The cowboy's words were addressed to Black. The latter retreated -from the front of the machine, and stood at the roadside, watching -developments anxiously. - -It was a situation of the gravest peril, but Matt could not go away and -leave the aëroplane to be wrecked. - -"Are ye goin'?" yelled Siwash furiously. "If ye think I dasn't shoot, -I'll show ye I ain't afeared o' nothin'." - -"Put down that gun!" ordered Matt. - -The scoundrel's finger flexed on the trigger. In another instant the -trigger would have been pressed. But something happened. Jake, standing -in the front of the wagon, whirled a long blacksnake whip about his -head by the lash. Suddenly he let it go, and the weighted handle shot -through the air, and struck Siwash Charley's fated right arm. The end -of the whip handle landed at about the place where McGlory's missile -had struck, the day before. - -With a swirling bellow of pain, Siwash dropped the rifle and staggered -back, clasping his right forearm with his left hand. - -He swore terribly, but the torrent of profanity was cut short by one of -his pals. - -"Sojers!" cried the man, sweeping Siwash Charley's gun off the ground. -"Hustle out o' this, or we're done fer!" - -"Swatties!" jubilated McGlory, waving his hat. "Speak to me about this!" - -Matt faced the other way. There, sure enough, were half a dozen mounted -troopers galloping toward the scene. - -The pop of the other car's motor could be heard, and when Matt looked -around, once more, Siwash Charley and his comrades were kicking up the -dust in the direction of Oberon. - -"Siwash Charley showed his teeth," laughed Black, immensely relieved, -"and now he's showing his heels. Motor Matt," he added soberly, "I -wouldn't have been in your shoes, a moment ago, for all the money in -the United States Treasury!" - -The king of the motor boys did not hear the last remark. He had leaped -down from the car, and had run forward to the wagon, where he was -reaching up and shaking hands with Jake. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -"UNCLE SAM" TAKES HOLD. - - -"Them fellers stopped me," said Jake, "an' was allowin' to unload the -flyin' machine. What could I do agin' the lot of 'em, and armed like -they was? But the fust I knowed they intended ter smash the thing was -when Siwash begun talkin' with you. He'd have shot ye, too. I know -him, an' I know he's desprit, so I took a chanst with the blacksnake. -Gosh-all-hemlocks, but I shore made a good throw of it." - -"You certainly did," said Matt, "and I'm much obliged to you." - -Matt turned away from the wagon to talk with the officer in charge of -the troopers. The soldiers had come to a halt, and one of them, in the -uniform of a lieutenant, had spurred forward. - -"What's the ruction here?" he demanded. "Benner rushed up to the fort -and said some one had stolen the Traquair aëroplane. He showed us a -telegram he had received, told us he had started Jake for Oberon with -the machine, and that a couple of young fellows had happened along, -pronounced the telegram a forgery, and had started in pursuit of Jake -in an automobile. Are you one of the lot that chased up Jake?" - -"Yes," said Matt. "Harry Traquair was killed in Jamestown----" - -"That's stale news," interrupted the lieutenant, sitting back in his -saddle and taking Matt's sizing at his leisure. - -"Well," went on the king of the motor boys, "I've come to Totten to try -out the aëroplane for the government." - -"You?" The lieutenant laughed. "Why, my lad, the machine will do for -you just as it did for Traquair. Who are you?" - -"Matt King." - -The lieutenant almost fell out of his saddle. - -"Not Motor Matt?" he asked. - -"That's what I'm called more often than anything else." - -"Well, this certainly takes the cake!" muttered the lieutenant, pulling -at his mustache. "My name's Cameron, and I'm a lieutenant in the signal -corps. By a coincidence, I'm here to watch the trials of the aëroplane -for the government." - -"Where does the coincidence come in, lieutenant?" asked Matt. - -"Do you remember a young fellow called Ensign Glennie?" - -"Remember Glennie?" cried Matt. "Well, I guess I do. Why, he went -around South America with me in a submarine." - -"Representing the government, wasn't he?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, Glennie's my cousin, and he wrote me all about you and that trip -in the submarine. So that's where the coincidence comes in. He watched -your work with the submarine for the government, just as I'm to watch -your work with the aëroplane. Give us your hand, Motor Matt! I feel as -though we were old friends." - -Matt was delighted. It was one of those meetings which sometimes -happen, and which make a fellow overjoyed with the occasional workings -of fate. McGlory, Black, and Ping were introduced, and then Matt took -the lieutenant off by himself and narrated the events that had taken -place, and which had led up to the villainous work of Siwash Charley. - -Lieutenant Cameron was properly indignant. - -"Siwash Charley's a whelp," he averred, "and this Murgatroyd is a -thoroughbred scoundrel. But the aëroplane seems to be safe, and you'll -have no further trouble with those villains. From this on, Motor -Matt, you and your friends and the Traquair aëroplane are under the -protecting wing of Uncle Sam. We'll have the flying machine guarded, -and you and your friends will stay at the fort with us. There's only -a handful of boys at Totten, now, but we're more than enough to look -after Siwash Charley." - -The lieutenant rode over to the wagon. - -"Jake," said he, "you'd better drive back with that machine." - -"That's what I was calculatin'," grinned Jake. "Somebody hand up my -whip." - -McGlory gathered in the blacksnake, and tossed it to the teamster. - -"Sergeant," called the lieutenant to one of the troopers, "you and the -rest will convoy the aëroplane back to Totten. If Siwash Charley or any -of his gang show up, shoot them on sight." - -"All roight, sor," answered the sergeant, touching his cap. - -"Ride back with us in the car, lieutenant," suggested Matt. "One of the -troopers can bring in your horse." - -"I'll go with you," said Cameron promptly. - -He dismounted at once, and turned his horse over to the Irish sergeant. -He and Matt rode in the tonneau, with Ping, where they could talk to -better advantage, and McGlory mounted to the front seat alongside of -Black. - -"My orders instructed me to be of all the assistance I could to -Traquair," remarked Cameron, when they were sliding off toward the -hills on the return trip; "so, of course, now that you represent the -Traquair interests, I consider it my duty to help you." - -"Glad of that, lieutenant," responded Matt. "After I get the aëroplane -together I'll not need much help. You see, I've got to learn to run the -machine. There's a knack I've got to get hold of." - -"You'll get hold of it, never fear. A fellow like you can learn -whatever he sets out to." - -"But I've only got two weeks," laughed Matt, "and there's a fair -chance, according to a good many people, of breaking my neck." - -"That's what I was thinking, when I heard Traquair had been killed, and -that there was an advertisement in the newspapers for a man of nerve. -But, somehow, I feel pretty confident of the outcome, now that I know -you are to boss the air flights. Let's see. I think Glennie wrote me -you had had some experience with a dirigible balloon?" - -"Yes, I served my apprenticeship at that sort of flying before I tied -up with the submarine." - -"Then you can't be called a new hand at the game." - -"Sailing a dirigible balloon is a whole lot different from driving an -aëroplane." - -"Learn it well, Motor Matt, whatever you do. According to conditions -governing the aëroplane trial, you've got to stay in the air two hours, -make not less than thirty miles an hour, and carry a passenger. I'm to -be the passenger." - -So long as Matt had only his neck to think about, the situation was -tolerably clear; but, now that he knew he had to carry the lieutenant -along, he began to worry a little. - -"I didn't know that part of it before," said Matt gravely. - -"Don't fret, pard," put in McGlory, turning around in his seat. "If the -lieutenant hasn't got the nerve, why, I'll go with you. And I reckon -you know about how much I enjoy the prospect of flyin'." - -"You can't cut me out of that, McGlory," declared Cameron. "Why, if -Mrs. Traquair hadn't found some one to navigate the aëroplane, I was -thinking seriously of offering to do it myself. I was attached to the -balloon corps, for a while, but I'm handicapped by a very imperfect -knowledge of gas engines. You're the fellow for the job, all right, -Matt, and you can bet something that I'll not pass up the chance of -flying with you. Know anything about the Traquair aëroplane?" - -"Only what I've found out from a study of the model. Apart from that, -I've been looking into the subject of aëroplanes for some time. It was -the hope of adding to my knowledge of the subject that brought me to -North Dakota." - -"And you dropped into a villainous conspiracy right at the start off!" -exclaimed Cameron. "I'll send a message to Oberon, just as soon as we -reach the post, and see if Siwash Charley and his mates can be headed -off." - -"It won't do any good to send a message, lieutenant," said Matt. -"Siwash knows enough to make himself scarce. Better let the matter -drop--for the present, anyhow." - -"But there's Murgatroyd. He's got himself into a pretty kettle of fish. -You can go after _him_." - -"I don't want to bother with him, nor with any one nor anything else -but the aëroplane for the next two weeks." - -"I guess your head's level on that point," mused Cameron. "However, if -Siwash Charley shows up on the reservation while you're at work, we'll -lay him by the heels and throw him into the guardhouse. When are you -going to put the aëroplane together?" - -"This afternoon," replied Matt. "There's no time to lose." - -An hour later they were at the post. Black had made up his mind to -remain over until the following day, and Matt paid him his fifty -dollars, and thanked him for his work with the motor car. - -Following a late breakfast at the post, Matt went down to meet Jake -and superintend the unloading of the aëroplane. Selecting a favorable -site for the experiments with the aëroplane required time, and dinner -was ready at the post before Matt and Cameron had picked out a spot -which they considered most favorable for the initial trials. - -Following dinner, Matt and McGlory, in their working togs, and -accompanied by the lieutenant, hustled down the hill to begin work with -the aëroplane. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -ON THE WING. - - -The ground Matt selected for his initial experiments lay about a -quarter of a mile from the post trader's store on the road toward -Lallie, Minnewaukon, and Oberon. For a long distance, at this place, -the road was level, flat as a board, and smooth as asphalt. It was just -the right bottom to give the aëroplane a good start on the bicycle -wheels. - -This part of the road, too, was free from timber, so there could be no -accidents from collisions with stationary objects. - -Lieutenant Cameron had a large "A" tent brought down from the post, and -pitched in a place convenient to Matt's field of operations. Here the -young motorist and his assistants could rest, when they so desired, and -make their headquarters at all times. - -Four dismounted cavalrymen were to be constantly on guard, each detail -relieving the other, morning and night. - -The post farrier placed his working tools at Matt's disposal, and -hammers, hatchets, and wrenches were carried down to "Camp Traquair," -as the aëroplane headquarters came to be called, and Matt set actively -to work uncrating the machine. - -The two big planes of the flying machine measured thirty-two feet in -length by five in width. For convenience in packing, carrying, and -stowing, these planes had been cut into halves, one half dovetailing -into the other by means of iron sockets. - -In assembling the aëroplane, Matt worked from memory alone--his study -of the model serving him in good stead. - -Both of the thirty-two-foot planes were put together first, and then -joined, in a double-deck arrangement, by tough spruce rods, which held -the planes six feet apart. The rods were further braced by wire guys, -which could be tightened at will by means of turn-buckles. - -For a width of about five feet the middle section of the lower plane -was reënforced with light, tough boards. This platform formed a bed for -the engine, the gasoline tank, the mechanism-operating propeller and -bicycle wheels, and afforded seats for the operator and one passenger, -as well as giving a rigid support for the various levers controlling -motor and rudders. - -The sliding wing extensions, so necessary for keeping the machine's -equilibrium while in the air, gave Matt the most trouble of all. They -slid on ball bearings from under each plane, and were so adjusted that -when one extended the other contracted in the same proportion; for, if -there was too much air pressure under one wing, it was necessary that -the area of that wing should be reduced, while the area of the other -was enlarged. - -The putting together of the two large planes consumed the afternoon; -and when Matt, weary and tired, answered the mess call of the colored -cook sent down from the post, he was able to see that the aëroplane was -gradually taking shape. - -"Looks about as much like a bird as I do," commented McGlory. - -The next morning Matt went to work on the two smaller planes which, -in flight, went ahead of the machine, guiding up or down, and doing -something toward distributing the air pressure. The vertical plane, -which had its place in the rear, was likewise adjusted. - -So rapidly did the work proceed that, by noon, Matt was ready to -install the motor. - -Traquair, it was evident, had built the aëroplane, put it together, and -adjusted every part before shipping it to Fort Totten. The result of -this forethought was apparent in the installing of the engine. Every -piece had its place and dropped into it readily. The exact point for -every bolt and screw was marked. - -By seven o'clock the second night the aëroplane was ready. - -McGlory, just before he, Matt, and Ping went for their belated supper, -stood in front of the forward planes. - -"Every boat, pard," said he, "whether she sails the ocean or the sky, -has got to have a name; therefore I, by virtue of my authority as -assistant to the big high boy who is to navigate the craft, name this -aëroplane the _June Bug_." - -With that, the cowboy broke a bottle of Adam's ale over the lower plane. - -"No likee _June Bug_," chattered Ping. "Him velly bum name. Why you no -callee him _Fan Tan_, huh?" - -"_Fan Tan!_" jeered McGlory. "Why, you squint-eyed heathen, this ship's -no gamble, but a sure thing. Remember the lines of that beautiful poem: - - "The June bug has no wings at all, - But it gets there just the same." - -"That's good enough," laughed Matt. "I'm going to eat and turn in, for -to-morrow I fly." - -The motor was a four-cylinder, and Matt judged, after taking -measurements, that it would develop about twenty-five horse power. - -The next day came on with a very high wind, so high that Matt deemed -it worse than foolish to attempt his first flight. It was hoped that, -later in the day, the wind would go down. Time was not lost while -waiting, however. Gasoline was secured from the fort, together with -a quantity of oil, and the motor was disconnected and given its own -particular try-out. - -It worked splendidly. - -Next the power was connected with the bicycle wheels, and the _June -Bug_ was sent along the road under its own power. Matt, in the driver's -seat, came very near taking a fly in spite of himself, for the wings -caught the wind and lifted the aëroplane some four feet in the air. -With a twist of the lever, Matt quickly pointed the smaller planes -downward, and glided into the road again without a jar. - -The wind held until nightfall, and, of course, all hope of a fly for -that day went down with the sun. - -On the following morning there was hardly a breath of air stirring. -All the troopers came down from the fort, and every person from the -immediate vicinity of the trader's store assembled to see how well Matt -would acquit himself of his first attempt at flight in an aëroplane. - -After making sure that everything was properly adjusted and in perfect -working order, Matt had the _June Bug_ pushed to the centre of the hard -road. McGlory was stationed at one wing, and Lieutenant Cameron at the -other, in order to run with the machine and help give it a start. - -"Nervous, Matt?" queried Cameron, as the king of the motor boys took -his place on the seat and lifted his feet to the foot rest. - -"Not half so nervous as you are, old chap," smiled Matt. "Here, feel my -pulse." - -"I'll take your word for it. Don't go very high." - -"So far as results are concerned, if I'm going to fall it might just as -well be from five hundred feet as from fifty. All ready?" - -"All ready!" - -McGlory's voice was a bit husky, for he was even more nervous than -Cameron. - -The engine was already humming like a swarm of bees. - -"Let her go," said Matt, switching the power into the bicycle wheels. - -In less than a dozen feet, the aëroplane was traveling too fast for -Cameron and McGlory, and they dropped out. Standing breathless where -the _June Bug_ had left them, they watched the machine rush faster and -faster along the road, then, suddenly, swing into the air and glide -upward. - -Cheers rang out from half a hundred throats, only to be suddenly -stifled as the great wings tilted, fifty feet above ground, into an -almost vertical position. Matt, they could see, was almost hurled from -his seat. - -A groan was wrenched from Cameron's lips, and he turned away. - -"Sufferin' thunderbolts, but that was close!" the lieutenant heard -McGlory mutter, and then the cheering was renewed. - -Cameron looked again. The _June Bug_ had righted herself, and was -rushing off toward the lake, mounting steadily, higher and higher. - -"That feller's head's level, all right," remarked Benner. - -"How's that?" asked Cameron. - -"Why," laughed the post trader, "if he takes a tumble he intends comin' -down in the water." - -"Don't you believe it!" cried McGlory. "He don't intend to take a -tumble. That pard of mine has his head with him, at every stage of the -game." - -At the watchers judged, the _June Bug_ passed over the post some two -hundred feet in the air. The contortions of the machine were alarming. -First one side would tilt, and then the other. Half a dozen times -it looked as though the _June Bug_ must surely go over on its back, -and come down a wreck with her intrepid young driver mangled in the -machinery. - -But Motor Matt, calm and clear brained, was working to "get the knack." -Every second he was studying. Not once did thoughts of a mishap flash -through his brain. - -At the end of ten minutes he returned from the lake, glided downward, -and brought the bicycle wheels to a rest in the road within a hundred -feet of the place from which he had started. - -His face was flushed, and his gray eyes shining as he stepped from the -machine to receive the congratulations of everybody, even of the bluff -post trader. - -"I'll try it again this afternoon," said Matt. "That's enough for this -morning. I want to think over my experience, and see if I can improve -my work in any particular point." - -"You wabble a good deal," said Cameron. - -"I won't--when I get the knack." - -So that afternoon, and day after day thereafter, Motor Matt went up -and practiced to acquire the "knack." Little by little it came to him, -every flight teaching him something that it was necessary for him to -know. - -He went up in still air, in light winds, and in breezes that made his -friends tremble for his safety; but not once did he get a spill, not -once did anything go wrong with the machinery, and not once did he fail -to bring the _June Bug_ back to earth as gently and easily as he had -done on the morning of his first flight. - -Greater and greater crowds assembled to witness the trials. The people -came from Minnewaukon, from Oberon, and from Devil's Lake City. Even -the Indians gathered from various parts of the reservation, and gazed -stolidly while "Boy-That-Flies-Like-the-Eagle"--as they called -Matt--continued to keep on the wing, and learn the knack. - -As Tuesday--the day of the government test--drew nearer, the railroads -advertised excursions, and from the Department of the Missouri came -sundry men, high in the councils of the war department, to see how well -Motor Matt would meet the supreme test. - -On Monday afternoon, after Matt had finished a flight during which he -had kept the _June Bug_ almost level in the air, Lieutenant Cameron -caught his hand in a convulsive grip. - -"I'm ready, Matt," said he; "you've got the knack." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -DASTARDLY WORK. - - -Ping was a badly demoralized Chinaman. He had watched, with soulful -admiration, every flight Matt had made; he had swelled out like a toad -every time the work of his master was applauded in his hearing; and he -crept around Matt as though he was a joss--a wizard more superhuman -than a mere mortal. - -But the _June Bug_ seemed to have become a part of the Chinaman. He -gloated over it, he patted it affectionately, he crooned strange -gibberish to it, and he kept watch of it while in the air and on the -ground as though it was the apple of his eye. - -After Matt had finished his last flight before the Tuesday trials, Ping -crept off into the woods by himself, dipped some water into a small -china bowl, and dropped into it a cake of India ink. Then he stirred -the ink until it was dissolved, found a big, smooth bowlder that -answered for a table, and squatted down beside it. - -First, he placed the china bowl on the bowlder; next, he brought from -the breast of his blouse a camel's-hair brush, and half a dozen strips -of rice paper; then, on each strip of paper, he began painting potent -prayers. - -Having finished his peculiar labors, he threw the little bowl into the -lake, hid the slips of rice paper under the bowlder, put the brush in -his pocket, and sneaked back to Camp Traquair, arriving just in time -for supper. - -That night Matt went to bed early, and McGlory soon followed him. The -_June Bug_, drawn up to the left of the tent, looked like a ghost in -the gathering dusk. Around her were the four armed and alert guards. - -Then, again, Ping stole away to the bowlder. On its flat top he started -a little fire of dried twigs, and one by one he dropped the slips of -rice paper into the blaze. - -When the last prayer was consumed, and the fire had died down to a -little heap of white ashes, Ping felt that he had done everything -possible to insure Motor Matt's safety and success. - -It was nearly midnight when he stole back toward Camp Traquair. He -saw a little glow of light in the vicinity of the aëroplane, and he -wondered what it could be. Creeping forward, he investigated, and -laughed at himself for his fears. - -The guards had secured a lantern, and, in its light, they were smoking -and playing cards on a blanket. - -With the idea of curling up under one of the wings of the _June Bug_ -and passing the night near the machine, Ping made a wide detour around -the soldiers, and started toward the aëroplane from the other side. - -Suddenly his attention was arrested by a crawling form moving back and -forth, now showing darkly against the white canvas of the planes, and -now vanishing in the deeper shadow under them. - -Presently he heard a queer, rasping note, as of a file biting into -steel. In a second he knew what was going on. - -Siwash Charley was meddling with the aëroplane--was weakening it here -and there so that an accident would be certain on the following day. - -With his heart in his throat, the Chinese boy arose to his feet, and -started toward the soldiers, his lips framing a cry. - -But the cry was never uttered. - -Ping had not taken two steps toward the guards before he was felled by -a cruel blow from behind, and a black, impenetrable pall dropped over -his brain. - -"Begorry, what was thot?" exclaimed Sergeant O'Hara, starting up from -his seat on the ground and looking toward the machine. - -"What's the matter with you, sarg?" asked one of the others. - -"I've a notion, d'ye moind, thot I heard somethin'," answered O'Hara. - -"Your wits are woolgatherin', old man," said another of the men. - -"I'll make sure av it, annyways," averred the sergeant. - -Taking the lamp, he walked over to the aëroplane, and looked under it, -inside it, and all around. - -"Iverything's all roight, so far as I can see," he reported, coming -back to his comrades, "but divil another card do I play this noight. -To yer posts, iviry wan o' ye, an' we'll kape our eyes peeled. Th' -leftinnint an' Motor Matt sail in thot machine to-morrow, an' there's -a rumor thot Siwash Charley was seen in Divil's Lake City th' day. Cut -out th' card playin', b'ys. We've done too much of it already." - -In the shadow of the woods, three men were carrying a senseless -Chinaman. - -"Let's toss him inter the lake, Siwash," suggested one of the men. - -"What's the good, hey?" answered Siwash. "We'll rope an' gag him. He'll -not be found till too late, an' mebby he'll never be found." - -"But if he saw you, an' recognized who ye was----" - -"He didn't; he didn't have time. Put the ropes on him. Twist a cloth -into a gag, Pete." - -"The lot o' us would swing fer this if it's ever found out," demurred -Pete. - -Ping opened his eyes before the scoundrels had left him. He recognized -Siwash Charley by his voice, and he saw his face by a ray of moonlight -that drifted in among the trees. - -Ping tried to cry out, but his lips were sealed; and he tried to use -his hands and feet, but found them bound. - -With an inward groan, he sank back and the night of unconsciousness -once more rolled over him. - -When he again revived, the sun was high, and there was a murmur of life -from far off in the direction of Camp Traquair. He lay on his back, his -face upward, and he could see the high bluffs of the lake, over toward -the post. They were covered with people. - -What was the matter? he asked himself. How had he come there? Why was -he bound, and why was the cloth tied between his jaws? - -In a flash, his bewildered mind remembered all that had happened. - -He heard again the rasp of the file biting into steel; he recalled his -suspicions, his attempt to cry out to the soldiers, the blow that had -felled him; then, too, the moment of consciousness in the woods came -back to him, bringing the raucous voice and ill-omened face of Siwash -Charley. - -The aëroplane had been tampered with by Motor Matt's enemies! And this -was Tuesday, the day of the trials! - -If Matt attempted to fly in the _June Bug_, there would be an accident, -and he would be killed! - -Like a demon, the boy fought to free himself. He must get to Camp -Traquair and tell what he had seen and heard. If he did not, the -fiendish work of Siwash Charley would spell destruction for Motor Matt -and the joss of the clouds. - -What passed in that little heathen's mind will never be known. He was -a Chinaman, and the workings of a Chinaman's mind, while following the -same lines as the workings of a Caucasian's, are yet never quite the -same. - -Ping's fight with the cords that bound his wrists and ankles brought -pain and drew blood, and his tongue, from a frenzied gnawing of the -gag, was sore and swollen; but he could not free himself. Siwash -Charley and his mates had performed their work only too well. - -In sheer desperation, Ping attempted to roll in the direction of Camp -Traquair. - -He got perhaps twenty feet over the sharp stones and rough tree-roots, -and then his mind faded into an oblivion--quite as much the result of -his own horrifying thoughts as of his physical pain and weakness. - -He awoke to hear cheers, and to piece together, once more, his battered -notions of the trend of events. - -As he lay staring dumbly upward, he saw the cloud joss winging across -the woods like a huge bird, high, very high in the air. - -Motor Matt was there, guiding the joss, and making it do his will; -and beside Motor Matt was Lieutenant Cameron. Only a moment did the -aëroplane show itself to Ping's restricted vision, and then the tops of -the trees shut it from his sight. - -Far away somewhere the helpless boy could hear wild cheering. - -What good were choice prayers, painted on rice paper, and burned to the -heathen deities? - -This is what Ping's bruised and quivering mind asked itself. - -By every means in his power, Ping had tried to avert disaster. - -One prayer had been for a calm day. This seemed to have been answered, -for there was hardly a breath stirring the tree tops. - -Another prayer was for a safe start. That, likewise, must have been -answered, or Matt would not now be on the wing. - -Yet another prayer was for the flying machine's safety while in the -air; a fourth had been for the machinery; a fifth for the wings; a -sixth for a safe descent; a seventh had been general in its terms, and -had most to do with Motor Matt's fame and fortune after the trial was -over. - -Ping had burned no prayer for Lieutenant Cameron. In some manner, he -could not understand how, the lieutenant had escaped his mind. - -While he lay there, miserably going over these heathen things which -were all terribly real and important to him, a roar of fear, horror, -and consternation came from the distance. - -Turning his head a little, Ping was able to see people scrambling over -the bluffs, wildly excited. - -The accident had happened. - -With a groan, Ping closed his eyes, and turned his face to the earth. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE GOVERNMENT TRIAL. - - -Matt awoke, on that memorable Tuesday, to find that fortune was -favoring him with a clear sky and not enough wind to ripple the flag -over the tent. - -McGlory greeted him in a strangely subdued manner. The cowboy had a lot -on his mind, and Matt rallied him about his odd reserve. - -"Where's Ping?" asked Matt, noting that the little Chinaman was not -hovering around his vicinity as usual. - -"Give it up, pard," said McGlory. "Suppose he's off asking his joss to -give you luck." - -People were already gathering on the bluffs, and rounding up in wagons -and automobiles in the near vicinity of Camp Traquair. - -While Matt was looking over the aëroplane, Cameron brought several -dignified, gold-laced officers, who had come from distant points to -witness the trials. The lieutenant presented them, and the boyish, -unaffected manner of the young motorist had a good effect on the -representatives of the war department. - -"You understand, do you, Motor Matt," said one of these gentlemen, -"that you are to stay aloft two hours, with one passenger, and travel -at the rate of thirty miles an hour?" - -"Yes, sir," answered Matt. "I can stay aloft three hours just as well -as two, and I think you will see the aëroplane do fifty miles instead -of thirty." - -The officers smiled at his enthusiasm. But they liked it, for it proved -that his heart was in his work. - -"Don't push the machine too hard," counseled one of the officers. - -"I'll not do that, sir," said Matt. "Before I take up the lieutenant, -I'll go up alone, to make sure that everything is working well. I have -just found one of the propeller blades loosened--and that looks a good -deal as though some one had been tampering with the machine. Of course, -however," he added, "that's impossible, for the aëroplane has been -guarded night and day." - -"I'd wager my life on O'Hara," put in Cameron, confidently. "He had -charge of last night's detail." - -As Matt's examination went further, he found bolts loose, here and -there. In fact, so many parts were weakened that the general result -could hardly be called accidental. However, he liked O'Hara, and did -not want to overturn the lieutenant's trust in him. So, saying nothing, -he went on carefully with his examination, tightening everything that -was loose. - -At last he was satisfied that the aëroplane was in as good trim as ever. - -"I'm a little late in starting," said he to McGlory and Cameron, "but -it's always well to be on the safe side. Be ready, old chap," he added -to the lieutenant, "when I come back from this little trial spin." - -In a way that had become an old story to him and his friends, but which -was intensely new and novel to nine out of every ten of the onlookers, -Matt started the _June Bug_ along the road, lifted her into the air, -and sailed her far out over the bluff and the lake. - -Everything was working as well as usual. The air craft met the strain -in every part, seemingly as staunch as she had always been. At a -leisurely jog--just enough to keep the aëroplane afloat with the wings -but slightly tilted--Matt turned above the lake and glided back to his -starting point. - -He had done no manoeuvring, attempted no speed, and had not tried -to break his record for staying aloft. Nevertheless, the military -representatives were enthusiastic. - -"Wait until you see Matt put the machine through her paces," said the -lieutenant, smiling confidently at his senior officer, as he took his -place in the machine. - -Two signal corps privates ran with the _June Bug_ to give her a start. -The added weight of the lieutenant made her a little slower in taking -the air, and not quite so swift in mounting upward, but Matt soon found -that she was more easily managed with this additional ballast. - -"By Jove," cried the lieutenant delightedly, "but this is fine! North -Dakota has turned out a lot of people to see this exhibition, Matt. -The bluffs are black with them, and everywhere you look you can see -people with their faces upturned, either gaping in wonder or yelling -with delight. Hear 'em cheer! I should think it would make your blood -tingle." - -"I haven't any time for all that," said Matt, busy with his levers, and -watching everything with a keen, alert eye; "I've got something else to -keep track of. You're watching the time?" - -"Yes. It was ten-fifteen when we started." - -Matt slowly speeded up the engine. The route, as already determined on, -was to be across Devil's Lake and back, and then to Minnewaukon and -back, going over the course as many times as he could during the two -hours the aëroplane must stay in the air. - -At a height of fifty feet above the surface of the earth, their flight -through the air became a swirling rush. At top speed--a speed which -Matt reckoned as fifty miles an hour--he made a wide, sweeping turn -over the roof tops of Devil's Lake City, and plunged off across the -lake. A frenzy of cheering arose from the bluffs and Camp Traquair as -the aëroplane darted over them on her way to Minnewaukon. - -"Can't we go higher, Matt?" begged the lieutenant. - -"We'll go higher after we make the turn over Minnewaukon," Matt replied. - -After that, Cameron did not bother Matt with questions. The young -motorist's every faculty was wrapped up in his work. His ear alone told -him how well the motor was doing, and his eyes, ears, and his sense of -touch were brought into play in preserving the aëroplane's equilibrium. - -The merest rise of one wing caused a mechanical shifting of the lever -on which Matt constantly held his left hand. - -That left hand of the young motorist had been trained to its work in -many an automobile race, and its quickness and cunning did not fail him -now. - -There were some people still left in Minnewaukon--not all the town's -inhabitants had gone to the bluffs or to Camp Traquair. Those that -remained in the place assembled on the streets or on the roof tops, -and cheered wildly as the aëroplane veered in a circle and rushed back -toward Totten. - -The official recorder was here, as in Devil's Lake City, noting the -time, and jotting it down on a pad of paper. - -Once turned toward Camp Traquair, Matt sent the aëroplane resolutely -upward. Up and still up the craft glided, forced by the whirling -propeller and supported by the air under the planes. - -"How high do you think we are now, Cameron?" asked Matt. - -"Three hundred feet, I should say," replied Cameron. - -"I guess that will do. It's easier sailing up here. The air close to -the earth's surface is in a constant state of agitation, but at this -height it's quieter. Don't you notice how much smoother we're gliding?" - -"I've been noticing that," said Cameron. "It's like a boat on a mill -pond, only we're traveling like an express train." - -Again they were over Camp Traquair, and again the wild cheering of -the crowds reached their ears. They crossed the lake, turned, once -more hovered over Camp Traquair, then glided downward to a height of a -hundred feet, and rushed over the air line to Minnewaukon. - -Three times they made the round trip. As they were coming back from -Minnewaukon the third time, Cameron looked at his watch. - -"The two hours are up, Matt," he announced, "and I am almost sorry for -it. We'd better go down. You have won the test on every point, and the -sale of the aëroplane to the government is assured. If you had a hand -free, I'd give you a hearty grip along with my congratulations." - -"Keep that until we land," laughed Matt. - -The cheering came up to them like Bedlam let loose as they drew near -Camp Traquair, and Matt slackened the pace, preparatory to descending. - -Then it was that the unexpected--so far as Matt was concerned--happened. - -There came a snap like the crack of a pistol, and Matt had a sudden -vision of a writhing wire rope coiling viciously in the air. It missed -him, but struck the lieutenant on the forehead. - -Instinctively the lieutenant arose on the footboard, and tossed his -arms. It was a fierce blow he had received, and unconsciousness had -claimed him. Staggering in midair, he would have tottered off into -space had it not been for the king of the motor boys. - -Quick as a flash, Motor Matt caught the lieutenant's arm just in time -to keep him from falling. - -The accident was witnessed by the thousands of spectators gathered -below. For an instant it seemed as though the fluttering aëroplane -would be overturned and come rushing earthward; then, as the horrified -people watched, the reeling lieutenant was dragged out of sight between -the canvas planes, the aëroplane righted suddenly, glided downward, and -dropped on her wheels in the road. - -Matt's face was white, but his voice was steady as he called to those -who were rushing toward the machine. - -"Cameron is only stunned--he'll be all right in a little while. Here, -lift him out and lay him on the ground." - -One of the epauletted, gold-laced officers brushed a handkerchief -across his forehead with a shaking hand. - -"If he lives," said the officer, "he'll owe his life to Motor Matt. I -never saw anything like that before, and I hope I never shall again. -Gad, how it strains a man's nerves." - -When Cameron was removed from the machine, Matt passed to the forward -planes and examined the end of the broken wire guy. - -"It was notched with a file," he asserted, "and for more than two hours -Cameron and I have been playing with death, hundreds of feet in the -air." - -He passed rapidly to the wire stay supporting the forward planes on the -opposite side. - -"This, also, is notched," he added. "If this guy had snapped, nothing -could have saved us!" - -"What murderous scoundrel could have done it?" demanded a dozen fierce -voices. - -"His name is Siwash Charley," said Matt. "It must have been done last -night. Find the scoundrel, if you can; he should be made to answer for -this." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -FAME--AND A LITTLE FORTUNE. - - -"The returns are in from Devil's Lake City and Minnewaukon. Time, two -hours and seven minutes. Distance traveled, ninety miles. This was -at the rate of a little less than forty-five miles an hour, and the -government ought to be completely satisfied. I know I am. Motor Matt, -allow me to congratulate you." - -One of the officers was doing the speaking. - -It was three hours after the sensational finish of the trial. The -crowds had departed. McGlory, a few officers, Cameron, and Matt were in -the tent at Camp Traquair. Cameron, his head bandaged, was lying on a -cot, but he was wide awake and smiling. - -"I knew he could do the trick," said Cameron; "in fact, I've been -confident of that ever since I saw him wabble around on his first -flight with the aëroplane. What beats me, though, is how those ropes -became notched." - -"Sergeant O'Hara thinks he knows how it happened," explained the -officer who had read off the _June Bug's_ record. "He and the other -three guards were having a game of seven-up, last night, when they -should have been giving their entire attention to watching the -aëroplane. O'Hara thought he heard a noise around the machine. He -investigated, but found no cause for uneasiness. After that, O'Hara -declares, the card playing stopped; but, it now seems clear, the evil -had already been done." - -"We don't know that this fellow calling himself Siwash Charley was the -scoundrel who filed the guy ropes," spoke up another officer. - -"It's a positive certainty, in my own mind," declared Cameron. - -"What your individual belief is, lieutenant, would hardly stand at a -court-martial, or in a court of law." - -"That's true, yes, sir. Siwash Charley was seen in Devil's Lake City -yesterday----" - -"Circumstantial, but hardly conclusive. He can't be found now. Fully -a hundred men have been looking for him and are now on the trail, but -Siwash Charley, if he was here, has vanished." - -"I'm too happy over the way everything came out," put in Matt, "to -waste any thoughts on Siwash Charley. The aëroplane has made good. -There's no doubt about the sale to the government?" - -"Not the slightest," came a chorus from the officers. - -"There can't possibly be, Matt," added Cameron. - -"That telegram of mine was sent to Mrs. Traquair?" Matt went on. - -"It was sent from the post within half an hour after the aëroplane -landed. By this time, Mrs. Traquair knows what Motor Matt has done for -her." - -"It wasn't that that I wanted her to understand, but the fact that -a little fortune had come to her, and that she was no longer in the -clutches of that loan shark, Murgatroyd." - -"She knows that, too. A little fortune, I understand, has also come to -Motor Matt." - -"And more fame," put in McGlory, "than one modest young chap like my -pard knows how to shoulder." - -"What little fortune there is," smiled Matt, "is to be divided with -my chum, Joe McGlory, who was a bigger help to me than I imagine he -realized. Part of the fame should be his, too." - -"Speak to me about that!" chuckled the cowboy. "Fame! Oh, yes, I ought -to be plastered with it. Why, I wouldn't have gone up in the _June Bug_ -for all the fame they tacked onto Napoleon." - -There was a general laugh at this. - -"I wonder what's become of Ping?" Matt inquired anxiously. "It isn't -like him to hide out on us, in this fashion. The last I saw of him was -last night." - -"There is something queer about that," averred McGlory. "He ought to -have been around to exult, Ping had, and it's----" - -O'Hara stuck his head in at the tent flap, just at that moment. - -"Beggin' yer pardon, sors, but there's an Injun just come, totin' a -half-baked Chink. Do yez want thim insoide?" - -"Sure!" cried Matt. "Send them in." - -A Sioux Indian, looking anything but the noble red man in his moccasins -and coat, hat, and trousers, pigeon toed his way into the tent with a -brief but respectful "How!" - -Behind him, half carried and half dragged, came Ping! - -The boy was a sight. - -He was bareheaded and barefooted; his usually neat blouse and baggy -trousers were torn and soiled; his hands were bleeding, and there was a -wild, despairing look on his yellow face. The wildness and the despair -vanished, however, when he caught sight of Matt. - -"By Klismas!" he gurgled. "Shiwas Charley no killee Motol Matt? -Hoop-a-la!" and Ping ran to Matt and dropped down on his knees in front -of him, hugging one of his hands in a maudlin expression of joy. - -"Where have you been, Ping?" asked Matt. - -"Allee same woods. Shiwas makee tie hands and feet, stoppee talk with -gag. Whoosh! My thinkee you go topside, my no come tellee what Shiwas -do. Velly bad pidgin!" - -Then, little by little, Matt got the whole story of Ping's experience. - -"You are positive Siwash Charley was one of the men who knocked you -down, here at the camp, and carried you into the woods?" asked Matt. - -"My savvy Shiwas plenty much," declared Ping. - -"I guess there's our proof, gentlemen," said Cameron. "Siwash can't -dodge that." - -"Hardly," said one of the officers. "If Siwash is caught, he'll be -taken care of. What a dastardly piece of work! What made the fellow -such an enemy of yours, Matt?" - -"He was only a tool in the hands of another," said Matt. "That other -man was an enemy of Traquair's, and the fellow didn't want the -aëroplane to stand the test she faced to-day. The money Mrs. Traquair -is to receive will enable her to pay a mortgage which this other -scoundrel holds on a quarter section of land in Wells County." - -"And all this double-dealing is about a mortgage on a quarter section -of prairie land! It hardly seems possible." - -"There is something about that land I don't understand," admitted -Matt. "But that's the way the matter stands, anyhow, no matter what is -back of the mortgage. The government, I presume," he added, "merely -buys the aëroplane? What it pays for the machine isn't a purchase of -Traquair's patents?" - -"Not at all," went on the officer who had been doing most of -the talking. "The government simply buys this aëroplane, called -the--er--the _June Bug_--a name, by the way, which I don't fancy--and -the government likewise secures the right to purchase any other -aëroplane using the Traquair patents, or to build such machines itself, -paying Traquair's heirs at law a royalty." - -"That," said Matt, "is liable to make Mrs. Traquair a rich woman." - -"Well, hardly, unless the government goes into the aëroplane business -rather more extensively than I think. Still, Mrs. Traquair should be -assured of a modest competence, say, a hundred thousand dollars, or -such a matter." - -McGlory reeled on his chair. - -"Modest competence!" he gulped. "Sufferin' poorhouses! Why, Mrs. -Traquair wouldn't know how to spend a quarter of that money. She----" - -"Tillygram, sor," announced O'Hara, again thrusting his head through -the tent flap. "It jist came down from th' post an' has th' name av -Motor Matt on th' face av ut." - -Matt took the envelope and tore it open. His face crimsoned as he read, -and he started to put the yellow slip away in his pocket. - -But McGlory grabbed it. - -"Listen to this once," said he, and read aloud: - - "'How can a poor woman thank you for what you have done? You, and you - alone, have saved poor Harry Traquair's wife and children from more - bitterness and hardship than you will ever realize. God bless you! - - MRS. TRAQUAIR.'" - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (25) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt's Reverse; - -OR, - -CAUGHT IN A LOSING CAUSE. - - Plotters Three--The New Aeroplane--Treachery and - Tragedy--Murgatroyd's First Move--A Startling Plan--The Air-line - into Trouble--Nothing Doing in Sykestown--Brought to Earth--The Coil - Tightens--The Door in the Hillside--A Revelation for Matt--Pecos - Takes a Chance--Besieged--The Broker's Game--Cant Phillips, - Deserter--The Losing Cause. - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, August 7, 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. - -CONCLUSION. - - -Neatly ensconced under the bed clothes, and with its horrible fleshless -head laid in ghastly mockery upon his pillow, was a human skeleton. - -For a moment Guy Hereford stared at the hideous object. Then recovering -himself with a strong effort, he shouted violently for his boy Rufus. - -The negro came into the room, showing a double row of magnificent -ivories in a grin that stretched almost from ear to ear. - -"What does this mean, Rufe?" demanded Guy angrily, pointing to the -skull on his pillow. - -"Doan' you get excited, boss," said the nigger, still grinning. "I done -dat. I been all day gettin' him. Nebber had such a job in all my bawn -days." - -"Have you gone clean crazy?" cried Guy in amazed perplexity. - -"No, sah. _Dat you!_" was Rufe's amazing reply. "Doan' you be angry, -boss," he went on hurriedly, as Guy stepped suddenly toward him. "I -done discovered a splendiferous plan to obfuscate dat dar Deacon, and -dat am part ob de invention. I tell you dat am you." - -Guy was beyond speech. He could only gaze helplessly at the beaming -face of the negro. - -Rufus, proud as a peacock, condescended to explain. "It dis way, sah. -You going to build a new house soon, ain't you?" - -"I was," replied Guy gloomily. - -"Dat all right, den. Now, doan' you be down-hearted, sah. Dis niggah -bossing dis heah job." - -"For Heaven's sake explain, Rufe," exclaimed Guy. - -"I goin' to, sah. It dis way. Dis am de time for burning de woods, -ain't it?" - -Guy nodded. For the life of him he could not imagine what the man was -driving at. - -"An' grass am good an' long right up to de back ob de garden?" - -"Yes." - -"Den dis my plan, sah. I set out fire in de woods to-night, set him in -ten, twelve places. Dere's a win' blowin' from de west. Ef we doan' -touch it de house burn down sure." He paused with an illuminating -chuckle. - -Light began to dawn on Guy. - -"You mean," he said slowly, "that we're to burn down the shanty and -make them think that I've burned in it. That skeleton's to be me." - -"You done hit de bull's face in once, sah!" cried the negro in high -delight. "Dat just de way I figure it out. In de morning dat no-'count -Deacon, he come round to see you an' find out if you done got de money -for him. Den he find nothin' but de burned-up house an' de burned-up -bones." - -"'Pon my soul, Rufe, I believe it's workable," exclaimed Guy, a light -of hope appearing on his puzzled face. - -"In course it am workable, sah. Deacon, he can't get no money from a -daid man. Dat one thing mighty sure!" - -"But won't he suspect anything?" suggested Guy. - -"Not if dis niggah still alive," declared Rufe emphatically. "I tell -you, Marse Guy, I goin' to do down dat man proper. He find me hyah, -just a-howlin' and a-carryin' on ober dem ole bones, an' I tell him all -about how de fire come in out ob de woods an' how it cotch de house, -an' how I done try to pull you out. Oh, I fool him 'to eights.'" - -Guy couldn't help laughing. Rufe's enjoyment over the prospective -humbugging of Deacon was so intense. - -"You see, Marse Guy," went on Rufe eagerly, "Deacon he be so glad to -think you daid, he never bother to t'ink whether you foolin' him. He -next heir, an' all he t'ink be to get de place an' all de t'ings dat -belong to you. He nebber go to dat inquisition at all." - -"And what's to become of me in the meantime?" asked Guy. - -"You got money, ain't you?" - -"Yes, luckily I've got twenty dollars or so in the house." - -"Well, dat all right. Take de train an' go down to Tampa on de Gulf. -Swimmin' in de sea do you a power o' good, boss. I reckon you better -take some oder name an' den walk down an' cotch de train at some place -furder down de line dan Pine Lake." - -After a little more talk Guy and his man settled up all the details. It -was agreed that the house should be sacrificed, and that Guy himself -should temporarily disappear and go down to Tampa. After the inquest on -Blissett, Rufe was to write to him there at the post office and tell -him how things turned out. - -The worst of it was that Dandy had to be left behind. It would arouse -suspicion if the pony were taken away. But Guy, who was anxious above -all things that his horse should not fall into Deacon's hands, even for -a few days, thought of a way out of the difficulty. He gave Rufe a note -for his wages for two months, and told him that on the following day he -was to go into Pine Lake and file a lien on the pony for his pay. - -Then the two set to work to take Guy's few articles of value out of the -shanty and hide them. This they did by rolling them in a big rubber -blanket and burying them in the dry, sandy soil in the orange grove. - -This took some little time, and it was nearly eleven o'clock when Guy -was at last ready to go. - -"Now, mind you, Rufe," were his last words to the negro, "don't you -overdo it, and don't let Deacon see that you hate him. A little soft -sawder won't do any harm." - -"Doan' you worry your haid, boss," replied Rufe consolingly. "I reckon -I keep up my end agains' Deacon or any of dem folk. To-morrow, after I -seen Deacon, I go to Pine Lake an' hear de inquest on Blissett. Den I -write an' tell you all dat happen." - -Guy nodded. "I shall be desperately anxious to hear the verdict," he -said. "If Deacon doesn't give evidence, the worst they're likely to -return is manslaughter." - -"Doan' you worry, boss," said Rufe confidently. "I reckon it am going -to be 'justificational homeyside.' Deacon, he won't give no evidence. -He be too busy gettin' ready to move over heah." - -"Only hope so," said Guy. "Now, good-by, Rufe. Remember all I've told -you." - -Master and man shook hands, and Guy, slinging a small bag across -his shoulder on a stick, walked away from the shanty which had been -his only home for four long years of hard work and happiness, and -disappeared into the forest. - -He had not gone far before a flickering glow gleamed redly on the -serried ranks of tall, straight trunks. - -He turned. Half a dozen pin points of fire were visible on the far side -of the clearing. They grew rapidly, and presently the night sky was all -aglow with leaping tongues of flame. - -The soft breeze which soughed through the tops of the pines sent the -flames sweeping down upon the little house, which stood a squat, black -mass between the watcher and the blaze behind. - -Fascinated by the sight, Guy stood motionless, watching the destruction -sweep upon his home. - -The many little fires joined forces, and Guy could plainly hear the -roar and crackle as the tall, dry grass burst into hissing sparks. -There was little chance of any one interfering to save the house. Now -that Blissett was dead Guy had no neighbor within a mile, and in the -spring of the year fires are too frequent in the Florida woods for any -one to pay attention. The cattlemen are always busy burning off the old -grass to get fresh pasture for their herds. - -Now the whole sky was alight, and the blaze illuminated the sleeping -woods far and near. Red-hot sparks were falling like rain upon the -shingle roof of the cabin. - -Another minute, and little streaks of red fire were winding like snakes -about the eaves. - -"She's going," muttered Guy sorrowfully. - -Yes, once the fire got hold of the sun-dried pine of which the house -was built the flames rushed up in great leaping columns. The place -burned like a tar barrel, and the glow became so intense that Guy -shrank away further into the woods for fear of being observed by any -one who might possibly have been attracted by the blaze. - -Still he could not tear himself away from the sight of the destruction -of his old home. Sheltering behind a huge pine trunk, he watched till, -with a loud crash and a hurricane of sparks, the roof fell in, and of -the shanty no more remained than a shapeless pile. - -With a deep sigh Guy Hereford turned away, and never stopped until at -four o'clock in the morning he boarded the south-bound mail train at -the small wayside station of Kissochee. - - * * * * * - -"Any letter for George Hatfield?" - -The smart clerk took up a bundle of letters, ran them rapidly through, -and flung them down. "Nope!" - -Guy Hereford's face fell. - -"Quite sure?" he asked. - -The clerk glared. - -"What do you think?" he asked sharply, and the other turned slowly away. - -"What's happened?" he thought uneasily. "Why hasn't Rufe written?" - -He was hardly outside the post office before a bare-legged nigger boy -thrust a paper in his face. "Here y'are, boss. _Tampa Sentinel!_ All de -details ob de horrific tragedy up in Orange County." - -Guy grabbed a paper, shoved a quarter into the astonished youngster's -hand, and, without waiting for change, was off like a shot. - -He reached his room in the boarding house where he had put up, and tore -the paper open. - -Yes, here it was--a whole column! - -"Strange double tragedy near Pine Lake! Well-known cattleman killed. -His nearest neighbor burned to death. Two inquests in one day." - -So much for the headlines. - -Guy gave a deep sigh of relief. "Nothing about murder, anyhow," he -muttered. - -Then he began to read rapidly. Slowly his expression of anxiety changed -to relief, and then to amusement. Finally he burst into a fit of -laughter. - -"Fine! Dandy!" he cried. "My good Oliver, you are a peach, and no -mistake. This is the absolute limit." And dropping the paper he lay -back in his chair and laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks. - -"Dat am too bad, Marse Guy. I nebber t'ink you heah it all from dat -fool newspaper." - -The deep voice made Guy fairly jump. Springing to his feet he swung -round, and there was Rufe, dressed in his best Sunday-go-to-meeting -clothes, and with an expression of deep annoyance on his ebony face. - -"You Rufe?" - -"Yes, sah. I come down all de way by de train to tell you de news, an' -now dat blame paper done tole you de whole t'ing." - -"Not a bit of it, Rufe. It hasn't told me half. If you hadn't turned up -I should have taken the next train back to see you and find out just -what has happened. Tell me, is Deacon in possession?" - -Rufe, somewhat mollified, grinned. "Yes, boss, he dar right enough. He -camping in de stable." - -"Hasn't got Dandy, I hope?" put in Guy anxiously. - -"No, sah. Dandy in de libery stable at Pine Lake." - -"That's all right. Now go on. Tell me what happened. Did he come over -yesterday morning?" - -"Yes, sah; he come ober about ten. An' you ought to hab seen his face -when he foun' de house burned!" - -"He asked for me, I suppose?" - -"Yes, he done ask for you at once, an' I show him de bones, an' tell -him you all burned up. Fust he look flabbergasted, den he sort o' -chuckle, and I feel like whanging him one ober de haid." - -"What happened then?" - -"He act like he think he boss an' I his niggah. He tell me go get a -wagon an' carry de bones into Pine Lake. Say it sabe trouble hab one -inquisition 'stead ob two. I act meek, an go borrow a spring wagon an' -hitch Dandy up, an' we take de bones in, an' he tell de sheriff. I -t'ink dat sheriff kind ob like you, Marse Guy. He mighty worried. Den -he say; 'Quite right. Hab one inquisition on bofe de bodies.'" - -"Did you go, Rufe?" - -"You bet I go, boss. Firs' dey hab Blissett's body. All dem cracker -chaps look at de haid, an' Deacon he gib evidence an say he seen it -all. He say dat Blissett done tried to shoot you, and you didn't hab no -pistol, but you was real brave an' ride hard at him, an' knock him off -de hawse, an' de hawse kick him an' run away into de woods." - -Rufe stopped to chuckle at the remembrance. Guy laughed too. He quite -understood Deacon's motive. - -His cousin wanted to pose in a good light before the jury, so that -there could be no chance of suspicion falling on him that he was -implicated in his--Guy's--death. - -"Den de sheriff he get up an' say dat you was a very nice gen'elman," -went on Rufe, "an' dat Mistah Deacon's evidence was very straight, -an' dat dere was only one verdict for dem to give, an' dat he left de -matter in dere hands. - -"So dey just talk a bit among demselves, an' den de foreman, old Abe -Mizell, he get up and say dat dey was all agreed dat Harvey Blissett -was killed 'cause his skull not so hard as de heel ob his hawse. - -"Den dey hab de bones in, an' I gib evidence." Rufe swelled with pride. - -"What did you say, Rufe?" - -"Dey ask me if I could 'dentify dem dere bones. I say I reckon dey mus' -be you's, 'cause I find 'em in among de cinders ob your bed. I couldn't -sw'ar, I tole 'em, because I warn't dar when it happens. I tell 'em I -coming home from courting my gal, an' see de fire an' run; but t'ain't -no good. I too late. All burned up before I get dar. Anyhow, I ain't -seed you since." - -"So they gave it accidental death?" - -"Yes, sah. Dat's what dey said, and said dey was sorry, 'cause you was -a promising young gen'elman." - -"And what did Deacon do?" anxiously inquired Guy. - -"He go round to de record office to get your land put in his name," -chuckled Rufe. "Den I see him ride out on a libery stable hawse." - -Guy roared. - -"I reckon it going to be de wors' shock he ebber get in his life when -you rides up to de ole place," remarked Rufe presently. - -"I rather expect it will," replied Guy feebly, wiping his eyes. "Come -on, Rufe. There's a train back at twelve-thirty. Just time for dinner, -and then the sooner we're home again the better." - -Guy's first task, when he arrived at Pine Lake, was to call on Anderson -the sheriff. - -Anderson, who was fat and fifty, went positively purple at sight of the -man upon whom he had held an inquest! - -Guy told him the whole story, all about the quarrel between himself and -Blissett, about Deacon's threats and Rufe's plan. The only thing he did -not mention was the fact that Deacon had stolen and sold Blissett's -horse. - -Anderson listened first in amazement, then with amusement, and finally -went off into a fit of laughter. - -"That Rufe's a wonder," he said. "I didn't reckon there was a nigger in -Florida with that much sense. But, look here, young fellow, you've been -taking mighty big liberties with the law. According to law you're dead, -and buried, too. What d'ye reckon we're going to do about that?" - -"Don't know, I'm sure, Mr. Anderson. That's what I came to you about," -replied Guy coolly. - -"Reckoned I could fix it for you, eh?" There was a sly twinkle in old -Anderson's eyes. "I guess I'll have to try. But, say, don't you go -wasting time in here. Ef that thar cousin o' yours hears as you ain't -as dead as he hed supposed, chances are he'll be getting his gun." - -"All right, sheriff," said Guy. "I'll get along. I am under obligations -to you about the business. I'm afraid it's given you a lot of bother." - -"I ain't kicking," said Anderson dryly. "The State pays my fees for an -inquest. Good-by." - -Ten minutes later Guy and Rufe were in a hired buggy, with Dandy in the -shafts, spinning lightly homeward over the sandy roads. - -It was dusk when they reached the gate. - -"So you've brought the horse back," came a sharp voice as Rufe pulled -up in front of the stable. "A mighty good job you did. Take him out and -tie him up. Then you can sling your hook as fast as you like." - -"What for should I git from my boss' land?" asked Rufe with such a -delightfully innocent air that Guy, close by under a tree, almost -laughed out loud. - -"Git!" Deacon roared, "or by----" - -A muscular hand gripped him by the back of the neck, and cut short his -sentence. - -Deacon squirmed round. His eyes fell on Guy Hereford; he gave a scream -like a woman's, and dropped as if he'd been shot in the head. - -"Now, Oliver," said Guy quietly. "Perhaps you'll be good enough to -explain what the thunder you mean by coming and camping on my property." - -The man rose slowly to his feet, and his eyes were venomous. "So you -tricked me," he ground out between clinched teeth. - -"Well, I rather think we did. Rufe and I between us," replied Guy -coolly. - -Deacon burst into a storm of furious invective. He cursed Guy by -everything he could think of. At last he wound up. - -"You needn't think you've got the best of me. I'll raise the country -against you. They'll have to have one inquest over again. I'll see they -have both. I don't care what happens to me. I'll see you hung yet. I -swear it." - -Guy waited until the other stopped, exhausted. - -Then he said very quietly: "Oliver, what's the punishment for horse -stealing? Five years' penitentiary, isn't it? I think that's the -minimum." - -It was quite enough. Deacon went white as ashes. - -"Listen to me," said Guy with sudden sternness. "If you're anywhere in -Orange County this time to-morrow I'll denounce you for stealing and -selling Harvey Blissett's horse." - -Without another word Deacon slunk off into the gloom. - -Guy never again set eyes upon him, for less than six months later the -ruffian was killed in a brawl with a Cuban cigar maker. - - - - -IDAHO TO FEED ELKS. - - -An effort will be made by the State to prevent as far as possible a -repetition of the wanton destruction of large numbers of elk which took -place in Fremont County last winter. - -The animals had been driven by extreme hunger to approach the -settlements, and, weak from starvation and struggling in the unusually -deep snow when they reached the lowlands, were killed and skinned. In -many cases, reduced to mere skeletons, their meat could not be used. - -The idea of the game warden is to arrange if possible to have cheap -hay shipped into the country where the elk abound and place it where -the animals, when their natural food supply gives out, will be able to -find food. Several of the ranches in the elk country have put out hay -for the animals for a number of years, and they have not been long in -locating it when the snow gets deep in the hills. In this manner they -are enabled to keep in good condition throughout the winter, and when -spring arrives return to their usual haunts. - -The eastern part of the State forms the principal range for these -animals which the authorities are endeavoring to protect from the pot -hunters and specimen seekers. Stringent laws have been enacted, which, -if carried out, will go a great way toward protecting the king of North -American game animals. - - - - -NOISY AVIANS. - - -The bellbird, which makes perhaps, in its natural state, the greatest -noise of any known avian, is found both in South America and certain -parts of Africa. Its voice will carry on a still day a distance of -quite three miles. Its note is like the tolling of a distant church -bell, and is uttered during the heat of the day, when every other bird -has ceased to sing and nature is hushed in silence. The hornbill, a -bird which is widely distributed in India, the Malay Archipelago, and -Africa, has also a very loud note. Its call has been described as -"between the shriek of a locomotive and the bray of a donkey," and can -be heard a distance of a couple of miles. - - - - -FISH THAT CANNOT SWIM. - - -More than one species of fish that cannot swim are known to -naturalists. Perhaps the most singular of these is the maltha, a -Brazilian fish, whose organs of locomotion only enable it to crawl or -walk or hop. The anterior (pectoral) fins of the maltha, which are -quite small, are not capable of acting on the water, but can only move -backward and forward, having truly the form of thin paws. Both these -and the ventral and anal fins are very different from the similar -fins in other fishes, and could not serve for swimming at all. Other -examples of non-swimming fishes include the sea-horse, another most -peculiarly shaped inhabitant of the sea, and the starfish. - - - - -LATEST ISSUES - - -BUFFALO BILL STORIES - -The most original stories of Western adventure. The only weekly -containing the adventures of the famous Buffalo Bill. =High art colored -covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.= - - 420--Buffalo Bill and Old Weasel-top; or, The Man From Nowhar. - - 421--Buffalo Bill's Steel Arm Pard; or, Old Weasel-top's Mission. - - 422--Buffalo Bill's Aztec Guide; or, The White Indian. - - 423--Buffalo Bill and Little Firefly; or, Playing with Death. - - 424--Buffalo Bill in the Aztec City; or, Little Firefly's Friendship. - - 425--Buffalo Bill's Balloon Escape; or, Out of the Grip of the Great - Swamp. - - 426--Buffalo Bill and the Guerrillas; or, The Flower Girl of San - Felipe. - - 427--Buffalo Bill's Border War; or, The Mexican Vendetta. - - 428--Buffalo Bill's Mexican Mix-up; or, The Bullfighter's Defiance. - - 429--Buffalo Bill and the Gamecock; or, The Red Trail on the Canadian. - - 430--Buffalo Bill and the Cheyenne Raiders; or, The Spurs of the - Gamecock. - - 431--Buffalo Bill's Whirlwind Finish; or, The Gamecock Wins. - - -BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY - -All kinds of stories that boys like. The biggest and best nickel's -worth ever offered. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. -Price, 5 cents.= - - 335--Three Brave Boys; or, Adventures in the Balloon World. By Frank - Sheridan. - - 336--Archie Atwood, Champion; or, An All-around Athlete's Career. By - Cornelius Shea. - - 337--Dick Stanhope Afloat; or, The Eventful Cruise of the _Elsinore_. - By Harrie Irving Hancock. - - 338--Working His Way Upward; or, From Footlights to Riches. By Fred - Thorpe. - - 339--The Fourteenth Boy; or, How Vin Lovell Won Out. By Weldon J. - Cobb. - - 340--Among the Nomads; or, Life in the Open. By the author of - "Through Air to Fame." - - 341--Bob, the Acrobat; or, Hustle and Win Out. By Harrie Irving - Hancock. - - 342--Through the Earth; or, Jack Nelson's Invention. By Fred Thorpe. - - 343--The Boy Chief; or, Comrades of Camp and Trail. By John De Morgan. - - 344--Smart Alec; or, Bound to Get There. By Weldon J. Cobb. - - 345--Climbing Up; or, The Meanest Boy Alive. By Harrie Irving Hancock. - - 346--Comrades Three; or, With Gordon Keith in the South Seas. By - Lawrence White, Jr. - - 347--A Young Snake-charmer; or, The Fortunes of Dick Erway. By Fred - Thorpe. - - -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. - - - - -_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. - -Italics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=. - -Replaced oe ligatures with "oe" (ligatures retained in HTML version). - -Page 1, corrected "Tranquair" to "Traquair" ("keep Matt from flying the -Traquair"). - -Page 5, added missing open quote before "Rather a peculiar way." -Changed single quote to double quote before "No, there is no way out." - -Page 6, added missing quote after "Yes, yes." - -Page 17, corrected "Mat" to "Matt" ("Matt, taking from his pocket"). -Added missing apostrophe to "Well, I haven't got it." - -Page 19, changed single to double quote after "destroy that aëroplane?" - -Page 20, added missing "with" to "'I'll go with you,' said Cameron -promptly." Removed unnecessary comma from "my lad." - -Page 25, changed "suspicious" to "suspicions" ("recalled his -suspicious"). - -Page 28, changed "forune" to "fortune" ("little forune had come to -her"). - -In "Noisy Avians," changed "can be heard" to "can be heard." - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt on the Wing, by Stanley R. 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Matthews. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%} -hr.full {width: 95%;} - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - .tdl {text-align: left;} - .tdr {text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} - -.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} - -.br {border-right: solid 2px;} - -.bbox {border: solid 2px;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poem { - margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; - text-align: left; -} - -.poem br {display: none;} - -.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -img { border: 0; } -.huge { font-size: 200%; } -.large { font-size: 150%; } -.medium { font-size: 125%; } -.small { font-size: 75%; } -.chaptitle { text-align: center; } -.sig { text-align: right; margin-right: 1.5em; } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt on the Wing, 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 on the Wing - or, Flying for Fame and Fortune - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: February 5, 2016 [EBook #51127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT ON THE WING *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Demian Katz and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images -courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<a href="images/coverlarge.jpg"><img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="562" alt="Quick as a flash, Motor Matt -caught the lieutenant's arm -just in time to keep him -from falling." /></a> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<h1>MOTOR STORIES</h1> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-right: 1.5em;" class="tdr"> -THRILLING<br /> -ADVENTURE -</td> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 1.5em;" class="tdl"> -MOTOR<br /> -FICTION -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="bb bt tdl"> -NO. 24<br /> -AUG. 7, 1909. -</td> -<td class="bb bt tdr"> -FIVE<br /> -CENTS -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="tdl large"> -MOTOR MATT<br /> -ON THE WING -</td><td class="tdr large"> -<span class="smcap">or</span> FLYING FOR<br /> -FAME <span class="smcap">and</span> FORTUNE -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td> </td><td class="tdr"> -<i><span class="smcap">by The <span style="margin-right: 3em">Author</span><br /> -of "Motor Matt"</span></i> -</td></tr> -<tr><td></td><td class="tdl" colspan="2"> -<i><span class="smcap">Street & Smith.</span></i><br /> -<i><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 1.5em">Publishers.</span></i><br /> -<i><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 3em">New York.</span></i> -</td> -</tr></table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><i>Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Copyright, 1909, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y.</i></p> - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bb bt"> -<tr><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdl">No. 24.</td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdc">NEW YORK, August 7, 1909.</td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdr">Price Five Cents.</td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p class="center huge">Motor Matt On the Wing</p> - -<p class="center">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">FLYING FOR FAME AND FORTUNE.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> -<p class="center">By the author of "MOTOR MATT."</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS" id="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS">TABLE OF CONTENTS</a></h2> - - -<p class="center"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. WANTED: A MAN OF NERVE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. FOILING A SCOUNDREL.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. MATT MAKES AN INVESTMENT.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. MATT EXPLAINS TO M'GLORY.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. PING AND THE BEAR.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. A NEW VENTURE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. A PARTNER IN VILLAINY.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. MATT SHIFTS HIS PLANS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. DODGING TROUBLE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. BLANKED.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. SIWASH SHOWS HIS TEETH—AND HIS HEELS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. "UNCLE SAM" TAKES HOLD.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. ON THE WING.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. DASTARDLY WORK.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. THE GOVERNMENT TRIAL.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. FAME—AND A LITTLE FORTUNE.</a><br /> -<a href="#TRICKED_BY_TWO">TRICKED BY TWO.</a><br /> -<a href="#IDAHO_TO_FEED_ELKS">IDAHO TO FEED ELKS.</a><br /> -<a href="#NOISY_AVIANS">NOISY AVIANS.</a><br /> -<a href="#FISH_THAT_CANNOT_SWIM">FISH THAT CANNOT SWIM.</a><br /> -</p> - - - - -<div class="bbox"> -<h2><a name="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY" id="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY">CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY.</a></h2> - - -<blockquote> - -<p><b>Matt King</b>, otherwise Motor Matt.</p> - -<p><b>Joe McGlory</b>, 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.</p> - -<p><b>Ping Pong</b>, a Chinese boy who insists on working for Motor Matt, -and who contrives to make himself valuable, perhaps invaluable.</p> - -<p><b>Mrs. Traquair</b>, wife of the inventor, Harry Traquair, who lost his -life by a fall from an aëroplane of his own invention.</p> - -<p><b>Amos Murgatroyd</b>, a mortgage shark who gets the Traquairs in his -clutches and becomes a bitter enemy of Motor Matt.</p> - -<p><b>Siwash Charley</b>, a ruffian who becomes the tool of Murgatroyd in -his desperate attempts to keep Matt from flying the Traquair -aëroplane in the government trials.</p> - -<p><b>Lieutenant Cameron</b>, an officer in the Signal Corps, U. S. A., who -proves to be the cousin of an old friend of Matt, and who nearly -loses his life when the aëroplane is tested.</p> - -<p><b>Mr. Black</b>, a friendly real estate man of Jamestown, N. D., who -owns an automobile which proves of good service to the king of -the motor boys.</p> - -<p><b>Sergeant O'Hara</b>, a good soldier, but who indulges in a game of -cards at an inopportune moment.</p> - -<p><b>Benner</b>, post trader at Fort Totten, a bluff person who falls into a -trap laid by Siwash Charley.</p> - -<p><b>Jake</b>, a teamster for Benner, who uses a blacksnake whip in a novel, -but effective way.</p></blockquote> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">WANTED: A MAN OF NERVE.</p> - - -<p>"Mr. Amos Murgatroyd?"</p> - -<p>"My name."</p> - -<p>Amos Murgatroyd whirled around in his office chair -and measured his caller with a pair of little, gimlet eyes. -The caller, at the same time, was measuring Murgatroyd.</p> - -<p>The young man who had entered the musty office of -the loan broker and was now undergoing his scrutiny, -stood straight as a plumb line, his shoulders squared, his -lithe, well-set-up form "at attention." He wore a cap, -and his clothes were of dark blue and of a semi-military -cut.</p> - -<p>He was prepossessing in appearance, which, most decidedly, -the loan broker was not.</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd's face was too lean and hard, his eyes too -sharp and shifty, to give one a very exalted idea of his -character.</p> - -<p>The caller drew a folded newspaper from the breast -pocket of his coat and laid it on the broker's desk.</p> - -<p>"Are you the man who put that 'ad' in the paper?" -inquired the youth.</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd picked a pair of nose glasses off his vest, -carefully adjusted them, and lifted the paper. The -following marked paragraph riveted his attention:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Wanted: A man of nerve, one who has had some -experience with flying machines and can handle a gasoline -motor. To such a person a chance is offered to -fly for fame and fortune in a new aëroplane. Sand and -sagacity absolutely essential. Call on or address, A. -Murgatroyd, Brown Block, Jamestown, North Dakota.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The broker dropped the paper, leaned back in his -chair, and swept the glasses off his nose. Tapping -the glasses against the knuckles of his left hand, he continued -to regard the youth.</p> - -<p>"Well?" he growled. "It's my 'ad.' What of it?"</p> - -<p>"I've come several hundred miles to answer it in person."</p> - -<p>"You? Why, I advertised for a man, not a boy."</p> - -<p>"What difference does that make, so long as I can -do the work?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> - -<p>Amos Murgatroyd had no answer for this, and his -remarks took another tack.</p> - -<p>"Had any experience with aëroplanes?"</p> - -<p>"No, but I have had a good deal to do with dirigible -balloons. If you're hunting for a man who is experienced -with aëroplanes, Mr. Murgatroyd, I guess -you'll have to hunt for a long time. Heavier-than-air -machines are only just beginning to come to the front, -and the supply of experienced drivers is limited. It was -the chance to familiarize myself with flying of that kind -that brought me here."</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd continued to tap reflectively with his -glasses.</p> - -<p>"Do you know that the man who invented the aëroplane -fell with one of the machines and was killed?" -he inquired.</p> - -<p>"I heard that there had been an accident here, recently," -was the answer.</p> - -<p>"That was ten days ago, over in the park. The -aëroplane turned turtle, dropped fifty feet, and Traquair -was badly smashed. He lived about fifteen minutes -and wasn't able to speak a word. The machine may -be wrong in principle, I don't know that, but I've got -to get some reliable person, who's not too much afraid -of risking his neck, to learn the machine and then give -an exhibition for the government, up at Fort Totten. -The trial is set for two weeks from to-day. There's -not much time, you see, to learn the ropes."</p> - -<p>"I believe I could learn the ropes," said the other confidently. -"I seem to have a knack for picking up such -things."</p> - -<p>"If anything happens to you, your relatives may come -at me for damages."</p> - -<p>"So far as I know, Mr. Murgatroyd, I haven't any -relatives."</p> - -<p>The beady, gimlet eyes gleamed with undisguised satisfaction.</p> - -<p>"You will have to sign a paper," went on Murgatroyd, -"releasing me from all responsibility, financial or -otherwise, in case any accident happens."</p> - -<p>"I'm willing," was the cool response. "It can't be -that you have very much confidence in your aëroplane, -Mr. Murgatroyd."</p> - -<p>"Solid ground is good enough for me. If man was -intended to fly he would have been born with wings. -That's where I stand in this aëronautical game. Besides, -Traquair invented the machine—I didn't; and the fact -that Traquair was killed by his own invention doesn't -give me superlative confidence in it."</p> - -<p>The youth wondered why Murgatroyd was taking -such an interest in a machine that did not command -his confidence. The next moment the broker explained -this point.</p> - -<p>"Traquair owed me money, and the machine was the -only thing belonging to him that I could get hold of. -If the test at Fort Totten is satisfactory, the war department -will buy the aëroplane at a good figure. This -is the only way I can get back the loan, you see?"</p> - -<p>"What are you willing to pay for the work you want -done?"</p> - -<p>The youth's tone was chilling and business-like. He -was anything but favorably impressed with Murgatroyd.</p> - -<p>"I won't pay a red cent," declared the broker. "I'll -furnish the aëroplane, and you can use it for practice. If -you please the war department, and they pay fifteen -thousand for the machine, we'll split the amount even. -That's fair enough. I won't be throwing good money -after bad, and success or failure is put up to you."</p> - -<p>"Is the machine you have the one that killed Traquair?"</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd gave a choppy laugh.</p> - -<p>"I should say not! There was nothing but kindling -wood left of that machine. Traquair was intending to -fly for the government, and he had a machine constructed -especially for the purpose. It's in storage at -Fort Totten now. The machine he was using here was -the first one he built. By the way, young man, what's -your name?"</p> - -<p>"King, Matt King."</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd gave a grunt of surprise, jammed his -glasses on his nose, and stared at his caller with renewed -interest; then, suddenly, he pressed a push button -at the side of his desk.</p> - -<p>A clerk appeared, a wizened, dried-up little man, who -came in with a cringing air.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Mr. Murgatroyd?"</p> - -<p>"File 'K,' Prebbles. And dust it off. Why don't you -go around this place with a duster, once in a while? -The older you get, Prebbles, the less you seem to know."</p> - -<p>The clerk winced. With a deferential bow, he turned -and slunk out of the room. He returned in a few minutes, -a duster in one hand and a battered letter file in -the other. Murgatroyd took the file on his desk and -sent Prebbles away with a curt gesture.</p> - -<p>After a brief search through the file, the broker developed -a number of newspaper clippings.</p> - -<p>"That your picture?" he asked, holding up a clipping -with an electrotype reproduction of the king of the motor -boys at the top of it.</p> - -<p>"It's supposed to be," smiled Matt, wondering why -this close-fisted broker had gone to so much trouble -to collect the clippings.</p> - -<p>"You had a flying machine called the <i>Hawk</i>, quite a -while ago, didn't you?" pursued Murgatroyd, studying -the clippings.</p> - -<p>"It was a dirigible balloon," explained Matt. "Correctly -speaking, a flying machine is not a motor suspended -from a gas bag."</p> - -<p>"Quite right. I got these clippings from a clipping -bureau in the East, and ever since I found this aëroplane -on my hands I've been trying to locate you. Finally -I had to give up, and then it was that I put that 'ad' -in the paper. And now, here you come answering the -'ad'! Looks like fate had something to do with this, -eh?"</p> - -<p>"Just a coincidence," answered Matt, "and not such a -remarkable coincidence, either. If you knew me better, -Mr. Murgatroyd, you'd understand how anxious I am to -become familiar with every sort of machine propelled by -a gasoline motor. It's the coming power"—Matt's gray -eyes brightened enthusiastically—"and as motors are improved, -and their weight reduced in direct ratio with the -increase in the horse power, the explosive engine will -be used in ways as yet——"</p> - -<p>"That's all right," cut in Murgatroyd, who was coldly -commercial and as far removed from anything like enthusiasm -as night is from day. "A gasoline engine is -a noisy, dirty machine and smells to high heaven. But -that's neither here nor there. Will you take hold of this -aëroplane matter, learn how to run the Traquair invention, -and then test it out at Fort Totten, two weeks -from to-day?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I'll think it over," said Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>He would not have taken a minute to consider the -matter if he had been more favorably impressed with -Murgatroyd.</p> - -<p>"I can't wait very long for you to make up your -mind," went on the broker, visibly disappointed. "There's -only two weeks between now and the Fort Totten trials."</p> - -<p>"I'll give you an answer by to-morrow morning," -and Matt turned toward the door.</p> - -<p>"Fame and fortune are in your grasp," urged Murgatroyd. -"Don't let 'em slide through your fingers."</p> - -<p>Without answering, but nodding a good day to the -broker, Matt stepped into the outer room.</p> - -<p>As he passed through this other office, he saw Prebbles -on a high stool, humped over a ledger. The clerk's -eye shade and little bald head, and his thin, crooked -body, gave him the grotesque appearance of a frog, -roosting on a stone, and getting ready to jump.</p> - -<p>Matt passed on into the hall. Before he could descend -the stairs he heard a hissing sound behind him. -Turning, he saw the clerk standing in the open door, -touching his lips with a finger in token of silence.</p> - -<p>Matt paused with his hand on the stair rail, and the -clerk came gliding toward him.</p> - -<p>"Don't have anythin' to do with him," said Prebbles, -in a tremulous whisper; "he's a robber."</p> - -<p>"Who's a robber?" returned Matt.</p> - -<p>"Murgatroyd. He's a skinflint and hasn't any more -heart than a stone. He's a robber, I tell you; and, anyhow, -if you try to run that machine you'll get killed. -Traquair got killed, and he invented it, and knew more -about it than you can ever learn. If——"</p> - -<p>A buzzer began to sound its call in the outer office. -Prebbles whirled and shuffled away. Pausing at the -door, he turned to repeat, in a stage whisper:</p> - -<p>"Leave him alone, I tell you. He's a robber, and -you'll get killed."</p> - -<p>Then Prebbles vanished, and Matt went thoughtfully -down the stairs.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">FOILING A SCOUNDREL.</p> - - -<p>Near Jamestown the "Jim" River forms a loop, encircling -a generous stretch of timber. Wherever there -is timber, in any prairie country, there is an invitation -for men to make a park; so the ground encompassed by -this loop of the river was beautified and obtained the -name of "City Park."</p> - -<p>After leaving the broker's office, Matt started for the -park. In the outskirts of town he met a youngster walking -in the direction of the river, with a fishpole over -his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Hello," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"Hello yourself," answered the boy.</p> - -<p>"Do you know where Mr. Traquair lost his life in -that flying machine?"</p> - -<p>"I guess yuh don't live in Jimtown, do yuh?" returned -the boy. "Everybody around here knows where <i>that</i> -happened."</p> - -<p>"No," said Matt, "I only reached Jamestown last -night."</p> - -<p>"Well, the' was a hull crowd o' us seen Traquair -when his flyin' machine flopped over. He come down -like a piece o' lead, all mixed up with ropes, an' canvas, -an' things. Gee, but that was a smash. I was one o' the -kids that went to tell Mrs. Traquair. She was allers -afeared Traquair 'u'd git a drop, so she never went to -see him do his flyin', an' she never let any o' the kids -go, nuther. I wisht I hadn't gone. Say, I dream about -that there accident 'most ev'ry night, an' it skeers me -stiff."</p> - -<p>"I'll give you half a dollar," went on Matt, "if you'll -take me to the scene of the accident. Will you?"</p> - -<p>"You've bought somethin', mister," grinned the boy. -"I was goin' fishin', but I'd pass up a circus if some un -offered me half a dollar."</p> - -<p>They pushed on toward the park.</p> - -<p>"Fellers that try to fly ain't got as much sense as the -law allows, I guess," remarked the boy. "Ever'body -said Traquair 'u'd break his neck, an' that's what happened."</p> - -<p>"What kind of a machine did he have?" queried Matt.</p> - -<p>"Doggone if I know. It had wings, an' machinery, -an' a thing that whirled behind, an' three bicycle wheels, -an' rudders, an' I dunno what-all."</p> - -<p>"What were the bicycle wheels for?" asked Matt, interested.</p> - -<p>"Traquair had to take a runnin' start afore he got wind -enough under his wings to lift him. When the wheels -begun to leave ground, he turned the power onto the -whirlin' thing behind, an' that made him scoot up into -the air; then, somehow, he folded the bicycle wheels up -under the machine."</p> - -<p>"Did Traquair ever do much flying?"</p> - -<p>"Did he? Well, I guess! The day before he got killed -he was in the air as much as two hours, twistin' an' turnin' -an' floppin' ev'ry which way, jest like a big chicken -hawk. The' wasn't much wind, that time, an' people say -that's how he was able to keep right side up. The day -he dropped, the wind was purty middlin' strong from -the west."</p> - -<p>"How did the accident happen?"</p> - -<p>"That's more'n anybody knows. Traquair was skimmin' -over the tops o' the trees, an' a big crowd was -down on the ground lookin' at him; then, all to oncet -the' was a snap, like somethin' had busted. The wind -grabbed holt o' them canvas wings an' slammed it plumb -over, the hull bizness droppin' so quick we hadn't much -more'n time to git out o' the way."</p> - -<p>By this time Matt and the boy had reached a cleared -space among the trees. In the middle of it was a level, -grassless stretch, almost as hard as a board floor.</p> - -<p>"There, mister," said the boy, pointing, "is where -Traquair used to start. He'd git his bicycle wheels -to whirlin' at one end o' that tennis ground, an' when he -reached t'other end o' it he was in the air. He was comin' -back to the startin' place when he dropped. Here's -the place."</p> - -<p>The boy stepped off to the left and pointed to a spot -where the earth was grewsomely gouged and torn.</p> - -<p>"Traquair was crazy," observed the boy, as Matt -stepped toward the bruised turf, and stood there reflectively. -"Ev'rybody says his flyin' machine was a fool -killer."</p> - -<p>"Traquair was a great man, my lad," answered Matt, -"and a martyr to science. He gave up his life trying -to help the human race conquer the air. Don't call -him crazy."</p> - -<p>"Gee, mister," scoffed the boy, "he'd better have helped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -his folks 'stead o' givin' so much time to the human -race. Mrs. Traquair had to take in washin' to keep -the fambly in grub."</p> - -<p>Matt kicked up a twisted bolt.</p> - -<p>"That's a momentum," said the boy.</p> - -<p>"I guess you mean memento," laughed Matt, tossing -the bolt away.</p> - -<p>"Mebby it's that where you come from," persisted -the boy doggedly, "but it's momentum out here in Dakoty. -Things is diff'rent in the Northwest to what they -is in the East."</p> - -<p>"Where does Mrs. Traquair live?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"What hotel yuh stoppin' to, mister?"</p> - -<p>"Gladstone House."</p> - -<p>"Then you can pass Mrs. Traquair's shack right on the -way back to the hotel," and the boy proceeded to give -Matt minute instructions as to the way he should go in -order to reach the house.</p> - -<p>Matt flipped a silver coin to the youngster, and turned -and started back toward the town. The boy pushed the -coin into his pocket and went whistling in the direction -of the river.</p> - -<p>Several things were drawing Motor Matt in the direction -of the Traquair home. Mainly, he distrusted -Murgatroyd, and thought that perhaps Mrs. Traquair -might be able to tell him something about the man. -Then, too, Matt was anxious to learn what he could -about the Traquair aëroplane, and felt sure there were -papers containing drawings or descriptions at the house -which would give a tolerably clear idea of the machine.</p> - -<p>The Traquair home was in a squalid neighborhood. -Most of the houses were tumbledown structures with -windows ornamented with old garments wherever a pane -of glass happened to be missing. But, despite its unpainted -walls and sagging roof, the Traquair house had -about it an air of neatness that distinguished it from -its neighbors. There was no rubbish in the front yard, -and two pieces of broken sewer pipe, set on end near -the gate, had been filled with earth and were blooming -with flowers.</p> - -<p>In the rear were two long lines of drying clothes. -A pang of pity went to Matt's heart. No matter how -heavily the hand of grief had fallen on Mrs. Traquair, she -could not neglect the toil necessary to supply the needs -of herself and of her fatherless children.</p> - -<p>Three youngsters—a boy and two girls, the boy being -the oldest and not over six—stood in a frightened huddle -on the front walk, near the gate. The smaller of -the two girls was crying.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" asked Matt, halting beside the -forlorn little group.</p> - -<p>"We're 'fraid to go in the house," answered the boy, -looking up at Matt.</p> - -<p>"Do you live there?"</p> - -<p>"Yes'r, but we're 'fraid. He's in there with mom, -an' he's talkin' like he was mad."</p> - -<p>"Who are you?"</p> - -<p>"Teddy Traquair. I'm six, an' sis, here, is risin' five. -Mary Jane's only three."</p> - -<p>"Who's talking with your mother, Ted?"</p> - -<p>"Murg. I hate him, he's so mean to mom. He was -mean to pap, too. But pap's dead—he got kilt when -the flyin' machine dropped."</p> - -<p>There was a pathetic side to this for a lad with -a heart as soft as Matt's, but just then he had no time -for that phase of the matter. The windows of the front -room of the house were open, and covered with mosquito -net. Voices could be heard coming from the -front room—a woman's voice, tearful and full of entreaty, -and a man's sharp, clean-cut, and almost brutal.</p> - -<p>Quietly Matt passed through the gate and took up -his post near one of the windows.</p> - -<p>"You sign this paper," Murgatroyd was saying, "and -I'll give you a receipt for two years' interest. What -more do you expect?"</p> - -<p>"I can't sign away all my rights to my husband's invention, -Mr. Murgatroyd!" a woman's voice answered. -"The interest for two years is only three hundred dollars, -and that machine he sent to Fort Totten cost nearly -a thousand dollars to build. It isn't right, Mr. Murgatroyd, -for you to take the machine the government is -thinking of buying, and all my interest in poor Harry's -invention, for just three hundred dollars."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you know a heap about business, you do, don't -you?" snarled Murgatroyd. "What good's the flying -machine, anyway? It killed your husband, and it's likely -to kill anybody else that tries to run it. By taking over -the invention, I feel as though I was loading up with -a white elephant, but I've got a chance to get a young -fellow to try and fly in that aëroplane at Fort Totten. -I'll have to pay him a lot of money to do it, and before -I make an arrangement with him I've got to have your -name down in black and white to this paper. Do you -think for a minute I'm going to spend my good money, -paying this young fellow two or three thousand dollars -to risk his neck in that machine, when I haven't got -any writing from you to protect me? Sign this paper. -If you don't, I'll come here and take everything you've -got in the house to pay that hundred and fifty, interest. -Don't whine around about it, because it won't do any -good. If you want to keep a roof over your head, you -do what I say—and do it quick."</p> - -<p>It would be impossible to describe the harsh brutality -of the loan broker's words. The ruffianly bullyragging -was apparent to Matt, even though he could not see -what was taking place in the room, and his blood began -to boil.</p> - -<p>"I can't do what you ask, Mr. Murgatroyd," said the -woman brokenly. "When the two years had passed, -you'd have the homestead, and the invention, and everything -I've got. My duty to my children——"</p> - -<p>A savage exclamation came to Matt's ears, followed -by a cry from the woman and the clatter of an overturned -chair. Prebbles had said that Murgatroyd was a -robber. Matt, of course, could not understand all the -ins and outs of the present situation, but he understood -enough to know that the broker was seeking to browbeat -a defenseless woman, and to intimidate her into -signing away rights which meant much to her and her -children.</p> - -<p>Without a moment's hesitation, the king of the motor -boys leaped through the window—with more or less damage -to the mosquito netting.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MATT MAKES AN INVESTMENT.</p> - - -<p>Murgatroyd, his face distorted with anger and his little -eyes snapping viciously, was clutching a slender, middle-aged -woman by the arm. He had leaped at her, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -a burst of rage, overturning the chair, which happened -to stand in his way.</p> - -<p>Matt's unceremonious entrance into the room startled -Murgatroyd. Releasing his grasp of Mrs. Traquair's -arm, he fell back a step, staring at Matt as though at a -ghost.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Traquair was so desperate and frightened that -she was not nearly so startled by the lad's spring through -the window as was Murgatroyd. From Matt's manner -she was not long in realizing that fate had sent her a -champion at just the moment when she needed one most. -Instinctively, she drew toward the youth, half fearful -and half appealing.</p> - -<p>"Ah, King!" exclaimed Murgatroyd, struggling to -get the whip hand of himself. "Rather a peculiar way -you have of coming into a house," he added, with some -sarcasm.</p> - -<p>"It looked as though I was needed," returned Matt -grimly.</p> - -<p>"You'd better look again. You're not needed. This -is a little money transaction between Mrs. Traquair and -myself. Isn't that so, Mrs. Traquair?" he queried, turning -to the woman.</p> - -<p>"Y-e-s," answered Mrs. Traquair, her voice so low -it was almost a whisper.</p> - -<p>"Don't butt in here, King," scowled Murgatroyd. -"You hear what the lady says. This is none of your -business."</p> - -<p>"That's where I differ from you," said Matt sturdily. -"If I'm not mistaken, you were using me as a club to -drive Mrs. Traquair into signing that paper," and he -nodded toward a document that was lying on the table -near pen and ink.</p> - -<p>"Don't make any misstatements, sir," blustered the -broker.</p> - -<p>"And don't you," cautioned Matt. "I overheard you -tell Mrs. Traquair that you would have to pay a thousand -or two in order to get me to risk my life flying -that aëroplane. As a matter of fact, Mr. Murgatroyd, -you did not offer to pay me a cent. I was to exhibit -the machine, then, if the government bought it for fifteen -thousand dollars, I was to have half."</p> - -<p>The red ran into Murgatroyd's face.</p> - -<p>"How do you know that I was referring to you?" he -demanded.</p> - -<p>"I know it, and that's enough." Matt picked the paper -from the table. "I'll just look over this and see——"</p> - -<p>"Give that to me!" cried Murgatroyd, stepping toward -Matt and making a grab at the document.</p> - -<p>Matt jumped back quickly and thrust the paper behind -him.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Traquair," said he to the woman, "I want to -be a friend of yours. May I read this?"</p> - -<p>"So—so far as I am concerned," the woman whispered, -with a frightened look at the broker.</p> - -<p>"By thunder," exploded Murgatroyd, "I'll not stand -for this! Give that up, King, or I'll have the law on -you."</p> - -<p>"The law won't touch me," said Matt. "This paper -was prepared by you for Mrs. Traquair to sign; as a -friend of Mrs. Traquair's I have the right to look the -trap over before you spring it."</p> - -<p>"Well, of all the impudence—— Say, I wouldn't let -you fly that aëroplane for me if it never got a try-out -at Fort Totten. I'll be even with you for this, my lad! -I'll—I'll——"</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd choked up with wrath and could not finish. -Meanwhile, Matt had glanced at the paper. One glance -was sufficient.</p> - -<p>"This, Mrs. Traquair," said he, "is a document conveying -all your right, title, and interest in your late husband's -aëronautical inventions, and in the aëroplane now -in the post trader's store at Fort Totten, to Amos Murgatroyd. -And the consideration is three hundred dollars. -You will not sign it, of course?"</p> - -<p>"But what am I to do?" faltered the woman hopelessly.</p> - -<p>"Whatever you do, Mrs. Traquair, you must not sign -away your interest in what may perhaps prove valuable -property, for such a small sum."</p> - -<p>Then Matt, with steady hands, ripped the document -into ribbons.</p> - -<p>If Murgatroyd had been angry before, he was fairly -beside himself now.</p> - -<p>"You—you young scoundrel," he cried, shaking his -fist, "I'll teach you to meddle in my business affairs. -This isn't the last of this, not by a long chalk. I'll have -this woman and her brats out in the street before night. -I'll——"</p> - -<p>"You'll keep a respectful tongue between your teeth, -that's what you'll do," and Motor Matt stepped resolutely -toward the broker.</p> - -<p>There was something in the lad's bearing that caused -Murgatroyd to grab his hat and retreat precipitately -to the door.</p> - -<p>"You'll hear from me, the pair of you," he snarled, -"before you're many hours older."</p> - -<p>Then the door slammed. Through the open window, -edged with its torn streamers of mosquito net, Matt -could see the broker hustling through the gate. A choking -sob struck on the lad's ears, and he whirled to find -Mrs. Traquair in a chair, her face in her hands.</p> - -<p>There were ample evidences of poverty in the bare -little front room, and the appearance of the woman herself -testified eloquently of a fierce effort to keep the -wolf from the door by grinding toil. Matt's heart was -full of sympathy for her in her trouble.</p> - -<p>"Don't take it so hard, Mrs. Traquair," said Matt, -stepping to her side. "There may be a way out of -this."</p> - -<p>She lifted her head.</p> - -<p>"No, there is no way out," she answered, in a stifled -voice, "you don't know Mr. Murgatroyd! You don't -know what it means to owe him money and not be able -to pay him even the interest."</p> - -<p>"How much do you owe him?"</p> - -<p>"Just a thousand dollars."</p> - -<p>"But he said the interest due, if I recall his words, -was one hundred and fifty dollars."</p> - -<p>"That's right—fifteen per cent."</p> - -<p>"Fifteen per cent? Great spark-plugs! Why, that's -usury."</p> - -<p>"Not out here. Harry borrowed the money on our -homestead, up in Wells County. He needed it to build -his aëroplane, and he needed a lot more that he raised -by selling his live stock and farming tools and some of -the furniture. He thought he'd get everything back -when he showed what the aëroplane could do, and sold -it to the government. But—but the very machine that -was to make our fortune has taken his life, and—and -what am I to do?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Traquair's face went down into her reddened, -toil-worn hands again.</p> - -<p>"There may be a way out of this, Mrs. Traquair," said -Matt. "It's clear, I think, that Murgatroyd is a thief -and a scoundrel. If he didn't believe there was merit -in your husband's invention he wouldn't be trying to -get hold of it. Have you any drawings, or papers from -the patent office, that I can look at to get an idea of -what the aëroplane is like?"</p> - -<p>"There is a model——"</p> - -<p>"Good! A model will do better than anything else."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Traquair went into another room and brought -out an old "telescope" grip. Unbuckling the straps with -fingers that still trembled, she lifted out of the grip and -held up for Matt's inspection the beautifully constructed -model of an aëroplane.</p> - -<p>Matt sat down in a chair and took the model on his -knees. For all of ten minutes he studied the small machine, -his eyes glowing with amazement and delight.</p> - -<p>"I haven't had much experience with aëroplanes," said -Matt finally, lifting his eyes to Mrs. Traquair's, "but -I've put in a good deal of time studying them. I came -to Jamestown in the hope that I could make a deal with -Murgatroyd and get a little practical work with a real -flying machine. When I first met Murgatroyd I didn't -understand the circumstance so well as I do now; and -after overhearing what I did while standing outside that -window, and after inspecting this model, I am more -anxious than ever to make an acquaintance with the -larger machine at Fort Totten. You haven't signed any -papers giving Murgatroyd a hold on that machine, have -you, Mrs. Traquair?"</p> - -<p>"I haven't put my name to anything," declared the -woman. "Harry had arranged for the government -test, and had sent the machine to Fort Totten before -the—the accident. After that, Mr. Murgatroyd came -here and said he would have to take the aëroplane, and -get some one to fly it, unless I could pay him the interest -money. What could I do?" The poor woman made a -pathetic gesture with her hands. "There were the -funeral expenses to pay, and I could not even think of -paying the interest. Mr. Murgatroyd said that he would -try and find some one who was fool enough to risk his -neck in the aëroplane, and that if he could find such a -person he would talk with me again. That was the -reason he came here this morning."</p> - -<p>Matt placed the model on the table, and walked -thoughtfully up and down the room.</p> - -<p>"There are two or three ideas embodied in this aëroplane, -Mrs. Traquair," said he, halting in front of the -woman, "that seem to me to be of immense value. Do -you know whether Mr. Traquair protected the ideas with -patents?"</p> - -<p>"Harry said that all his inventions were securely protected. -I can find the papers if you——"</p> - -<p>"Your word is enough, for the present. A friend of -mine came to Jamestown with me, and we have a little -money which we would like to invest. Now, I will -make this proposition: If you will give me an order on -the post trader at Fort Totten for the aëroplane, I will -go to the fort at once and familiarize myself with the -machine; then, when the time for the government test -arrives, I'll put the aëroplane through its paces. If the -try-out is a success, then I and my friend are to have -half of the fifteen thousand dollars to be paid for the -machine. I will stand my own expenses, and, in addition, -will give you five hundred dollars. You can take -some of this money and pay Murgatroyd his interest; -then, if the trial at Totten is a success, you will have -plenty to take up the mortgage. Understand, I am not -buying an interest in the invention—that, I firmly believe, -is worth more than I could pay—but I am buying -a half interest in what the government is to hand over, -providing the government officials are pleased with the -performance of the aëroplane."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Traquair was so overwhelmed she could hardly -speak.</p> - -<p>"I don't want to rob you," she protested; "I don't want -to rob anybody, or——"</p> - -<p>Matt interrupted her with a laugh.</p> - -<p>"I'm willing to take a chance, Mrs. Traquair," said -he. "If you will come to the Gladstone House at three -o'clock this afternoon, we'll have a lawyer draw up the -papers, and I'll give you your money. Can I take that -model with me to the hotel? I'm a stranger to you, so -I'll leave twenty dollars in place of the model."</p> - -<p>"Who'll I ask for when I come to the hotel?" inquired -Mrs. Traquair.</p> - -<p>This unexpected stroke of fortune seemed to have -dazed her. She had heard Murgatroyd call Matt by -name, but she did not appear to remember.</p> - -<p>"Matt King," the young motorist answered.</p> - -<p>A cry of astonishment fell from Mrs. Traquair's lips.</p> - -<p>"I've heard my husband speak of you dozens of times!" -she exclaimed. "A friend of his, in Chicago, sent him -a newspaper clipping about you. Motor Matt is what -you were called in the newspaper article, and you had -a flying machine——"</p> - -<p>"A dirigible balloon, Mrs. Traquair," interrupted Matt. -"May I take the model?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes," answered the woman eagerly, "do whatever -you please—I am sure Harry would have it so if -he could be here and speak for himself. Heaven is kind -to raise me up a friend like you, at such a time."</p> - -<p>Hope glowed in Mrs. Traquair's face—for the first -time, it may be, since her husband's death—and Matt was -happy, for it was a pleasure to know that he was doing -some good in the world while helping himself.</p> - -<p>A few minutes later, with the telescope grip in his -hand, he left the house and made his way swiftly in the -direction of the hotel.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MATT EXPLAINS TO M'GLORY.</p> - - -<p>Joe McGlory sat in front of the Gladstone House wondering -what had become of his pard. Matt had been -gone from the hotel for three hours, and when he left -he thought he would be back in an hour. Just as McGlory -had made up his mind to go bushwhacking around -the town, in the hope of picking up his pard's trail, the -king of the motor boys turned the corner, carrying a telescope -satchel, and walking rapidly.</p> - -<p>"Thought you were lost, strayed, or stolen, Matt," -sang out McGlory. "What have you got there?" he added, -his eyes on the grip.</p> - -<p>"A flying machine," laughed Matt.</p> - -<p>"Speak to me about that!" gasped the cowboy. "Has -it come to this, pard, that every man can tote a flying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -machine in his grip, then unpack, and hit a trail through -the clouds whenever he takes the blessed notion? Go on!"</p> - -<p>"It's only a model," went on Matt. "Come up to our -room, and I'll tell you about it."</p> - -<p>"Let's sit in at grub pile first. The dinner gong was -pounded half an hour ago, and I'm as hungry as a buck -Injun on a diet of cottonwood bark."</p> - -<p>Matt took the satchel into the dining room with him, -and kept it between his feet all the while he was eating.</p> - -<p>"You act like that thing was full of gold bricks," remarked -McGlory, as he and Matt climbed the stairs to -their room as soon as the meal was done.</p> - -<p>"Not gold bricks," said Matt. "There's the biggest -little thing in this grip, Joe, you ever saw in your life."</p> - -<p>"Have you hired out to that Murgatroyd person as -the human sky-rocket?" inquired McGlory, as he unlocked -and opened the door of the room.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to try out an aëroplane, up at Fort Totten, -but not for Murgatroyd. A lot of things came up this -morning, and that's what took me so long. The only -way for you to get the whole business straight is for me -to begin at the beginning. Now sit down, take it easy, -and I'll tell you what I've found out, and what I've -done."</p> - -<p>The cowboy was anxious to see what was in the -satchel, but Matt made no move to gratify his curiosity, -just then; instead, he launched into his experiences at -Murgatroyd's office, at City Park, and, lastly, at Mrs. -Traquair's. When he was through, McGlory rubbed -his eyes, stared, then rubbed his eyes and stared again.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with you?" inquired Matt.</p> - -<p>"Dreamin'," answered the cowboy. "You're going to -take a little fly for fame and fortune, and I'm in on the -deal to the tune of two hundred and fifty cold plunks. -It's all right, pard. I'd buy an interest in the North Pole -if you thought there was any profit in icicles; but tell -me: Will it be pleasant for your Uncle Joe to stand -on the ground and watch you taking flyers in a thing -that killed one fellow, and is hungry to wipe out another? -Remember, I'm putting up two-fifty for the -privilege. It's all very fine to help out a poor widow -in distress, and to backcap a loan shark like Murgatroyd—that -reads like a book, and I'm plumb tickled to -help—but, son, there's your neck to think about."</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to take any foolish chances, Joe," said -Matt earnestly. "I'm hungry to run an aëroplane with -a gas engine—and this aëroplane is the goods, don't forget -that."</p> - -<p>"Um-m! Suppose you let me look at the goods?"</p> - -<p>Matt unbuckled the straps, and lifted the model of -the aëroplane out of its case.</p> - -<p>"Oh, tell me about that!" jeered the cowboy. "Two -strips of cloth, one above the other, with an engine between -'em and a propeller behind! Fine! You'd look -pretty a mile high in that thing!"</p> - -<p>"This," said Matt, taking the model on his knee, "is -the fruit of several hundred years of thought and study."</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' buzzards! If I couldn't think up an arrangement -like that in two minutes, and make it in -three, I'm a Piute."</p> - -<p>"When you understand it, Joe, you'll think differently. -An aëroplane is like a kite, but instead of a string -to pull it against the air, it has a propeller to push it. -It's easy enough to fly a kite, but when you put a man -in the kite, and a gas engine and other machinery, and -take away the string that connects the kite with the -earth, you're confronted with problems that it has taken -centuries to solve."</p> - -<p>"Keno!" spoke up McGlory. "And do you mean to -say, Matt, that those two pieces of cloth have guessed -the riddle?"</p> - -<p>"They'll come pretty close to it," asserted Matt. "The -thing that bothered, you see, was keeping the centre of -wind-pressure coincident with the centre of gravity so -the machine wouldn't turn turtle, or——"</p> - -<p>"Help!" fluttered McGlory, throwing up his hands.</p> - -<p>"A German named Lilienthal tried and failed, and so -did an Englishman named Pilcher. It remained for the -Wright brothers to work out the conundrum. Lilienthal -and Pilcher shifted weights to keep their machine -right side up in the air, but the American scientists shift -the ends of the wings, or planes. Traquair's invention -does away with the shifting of weights or planes. Look -here, Joe."</p> - -<p>Matt pulled a diminutive lever affixed to a platform -in the middle of the lower plane. The ends of the left-hand -wings drew in, and the ends of the right-hand -wings simultaneously extended. By pulling the lever -the other way, a contrary movement was effected.</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' blockheads!" muttered the cowboy, pushing -his fingers desperately through his thick hair. "I'm only -in the primer, pard, and you're leading me through the -hardest part of the fifth reader. Shucks!"</p> - -<p>"You can understand, can't you," went on Matt patiently, -"that closing or opening the wings distributes -the air pressure on each side of the machine and holds -it level?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind me, pard," said McGlory. "Keep right -on."</p> - -<p>"These bicycle wheels," and Matt indicated three -wheels under the aëroplane, "give the machine its start."</p> - -<p>"It's got to have a running start, eh?"</p> - -<p>"Sure. When a bird begins to take wing it has to -have some kind of a start. A small bird jumps into -the air, and a big bird, like a condor, has to take a run -before its wings take a grip on the atmosphere. It's -the same with an aëroplane. A speed of twenty-eight -miles an hour is required before the air under the planes -will lift the flying machine. The motor of this machine -is geared to the bicycle wheels, at the start. When the -machine is running fast enough, the power is switched -to the propeller—and up we go!"</p> - -<p>"Mebby we do," muttered the cowboy, "but I wouldn't -bet on it. Then, again, if we go up will we stay up? -And how can you guide the blooming thing skyward, or -on a level, or come down?"</p> - -<p>"Why," continued Matt, "these two little planes in -front of the big ones attend to that." He shifted them -with a lever to show McGlory how they worked. "This -upright rudder behind," he added, "shifts the course to -right or left."</p> - -<p>"I'll take your word for it, Matt," said the cowboy. -"I've taken a good many slim chances in my life, but -you'll never catch me taking a chance on one of those -things."</p> - -<p>"I don't intend to ask you to take any chances, Joe," -proceeded Matt. "All I want you to do is to trail -along and attend to the work below while I'm in the -air. Traquair has invented something here that's scientific -and valuable, and I'm sure we can make a winner -out of it, and not only help Mrs. Traquair, but ourselves, -as well. That work of ours in Madison netted us more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> -than twelve hundred dollars. The question is, do you -want to put in two hundred and fifty dollars with me -on the chance of raking in seven thousand five hundred -up at Fort Totten?"</p> - -<p>"You couldn't keep me from takin' that bet with a -shotgun," averred the cowboy. "If you're in on the -deal, then that means me, too, any old day you find in -the almanac. We'll go to Fort Totten, Matt, and while -you're paddlin' around in the air I'll hunt up soft places -for you to 'light. Your head's pretty level on most -things, and it's a cinch you must have this business figured -out pretty straight, but——"</p> - -<p>At that moment, a hullaballoo came up from the street. -The room occupied by the boys was at the front of the -building, and the two windows were open.</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' cats," cried McGlory, starting for one of -the windows, "I wonder if that's a fire? Ever since we -had that close call at the burnin' boathouse on Fourth -Lake, I'm scared of a fire."</p> - -<p>But it wasn't a fire. A Chinese boy was rushing down -the street like a whirlwind, his silk blouse and baggy -trousers fluttering and snapping in the wind of his flight, -and his pigtail standing straight out behind him.</p> - -<p>Back of the Chinaman came a bear. The bear was -muzzled, and there was a collar about its neck and some -six or eight feet of chain rattling around its legs. The -bear was going after the Chinaman like a brown streak, -and a whopping crowd of onlookers was gathering on -the sidewalks.</p> - -<p>"Great jump sparks!" cried Matt, astounded; "Why, -it's Ping!"</p> - -<p>"Ping it is, pard, and no mistake!" gasped McGlory; -"and we left Ping in Madison, workin' for Lorry. How -did he get here? And how in Sam Hill did that bear -pick up his trail?"</p> - -<p>But Matt was already out of the room, and halfway -down the stairs on a run for the street.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">PING AND THE BEAR.</p> - - -<p>Ping Pong, the Chinese boy, had long ago made up -his mind that he was going to work for Motor Matt. -He wasn't particular whether he got any pay or not; just -so Matt gave him enough to do to keep him around.</p> - -<p>Ping had followed Matt from San Francisco to Madison, -Wisconsin. When Matt was ready to leave Madison, -he got Ping a good job. The Chinaman seemed a -bit depressed, but he thanked Matt for the interest shown -in his welfare, and seemed reconciled with his lot when -he bade him good-by.</p> - -<p>And now here was Ping, dropping into Jamestown -like lightning from a clear sky. The Chinese boy was -full of surprises, and his surprises were always dramatic—sometimes -tragic.</p> - -<p>When Matt burst from the hotel into the street, Ping -was hustling for a telegraph pole. The bear was within -a couple of lengths of him, and there was nothing for -Ping to do but to find something he could climb.</p> - -<p>Behind the bear raced a rough-looking man in a -buckskin jacket. He was flourishing his arms and yelling, -but the roar of the crowd prevented his words from -being heard.</p> - -<p>The people on the sidewalks were enjoying the spectacle -immensely. The bear was muzzled, and the Chinaman -was scared. It did not seem possible that any -harm could come to the fleeing Celestial.</p> - -<p>"Two to one on the bear!" whooped some one.</p> - -<p>"It's the Chink gits my money!" guffawed some one -else. "He's goin' like a limited express train, an' that -telegraph pole's too handy."</p> - -<p>The crowd surged into the street and toward the -pole. Ping was already climbing, but the pole was -slippery, and when he had got up about twelve feet, he -lost his "clinch" and slid downward. The bear was -standing erect and reaching upward with its front paws. -Ping slid down just far enough for the paws to reach -for him and close on one of his feet.</p> - -<p>He gave a yell of fear, and once more began frantically -climbing. One of his wooden sandals was left -behind. The bear dropped it with a sniff, and once more -straightened up along the pole.</p> - -<p>Again the slippery surface proved more than Ping -could manage, and down he came with a rush. The bear -got the other sandal before Ping could check his sliding, -and the crowd went wild with delight.</p> - -<p>The man in the buckskin coat had come close to the -pole, but he made no move to interfere with proceedings.</p> - -<p>Matt was not able to extract much fun from the situation. -The bear's claws were sharp, and if they once -came in contact with the Chinaman's body, the consequences -might prove serious.</p> - -<p>Quickly as he could, Matt forced himself through the -edge of the crowd.</p> - -<p>"Is that your bear?" he demanded of the man in the -buckskin coat.</p> - -<p>"Waal," drawled the man, with a scowl, "I reckon it -ain't no one else's b'ar."</p> - -<p>"Why don't you chase him away, then?" asked Matt -indignantly. "Do you want him to kill the Chinaman?"</p> - -<p>"It won't be much loss if the critter takes a chunk -out o' him. He's only a Chink, anyways, an' he desarves -all he'll git."</p> - -<p>This line of reasoning did not appeal to Matt. The -man was leaning on a heavy club. That club was the -only weapon handy, and Matt made a grab at it and -pulled it out of the man's hands. With his support thus -suddenly removed, the man fell flat in the street, striking -his head against the stone curb at the edge of the -walk.</p> - -<p>No serious damage was done, and the man got up, -swearing luridly. Matt gave no further attention to him, -but turned toward the bear and Ping.</p> - -<p>The Chinaman, tiring with his useless efforts, had -started for the third time to slide down the pole. Before -the bear could use its paws, Matt whirled the club and -struck the brute a heavy blow on the head. The bear -was dazed, and dropped down on all fours, blinking at -Matt.</p> - -<p>Ping dropped to the foot of the pole, rolled off to one -side, bounded erect, and continued his flight down the -street.</p> - -<p>Barely had Ping got away when Matt felt himself -grabbed from behind.</p> - -<p>"I'll l'arn ye ter rough things up with me!" snarled -a hoarse voice.</p> - -<p>Then, before Matt could make a move to defend himself,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -he was hurled backward so fiercely that he lost his -footing and fell sprawling in the dust.</p> - -<p>The man, beside himself with rage, caught up the club, -which had fallen from Matt's hand, and would have -attacked the lad with it had McGlory not interfered.</p> - -<p>While the club was still poised in the air, the cowboy -hurled a stone. The missile struck the man's arm, and -the uplifted hand fell as though paralyzed.</p> - -<p>There was now another vent for the man's seething -anger. With a furious oath, he pushed his left hand -under his buckskin coat, and jerked a revolver from his -hip pocket. One of the bystanders caught the weapon -away from him.</p> - -<p>Just at that moment a policeman showed himself, -stepping briskly between the man and McGlory.</p> - -<p>"What's the trouble here?" asked the officer. "What -are you trying to do, Siwash Charley?"</p> - -<p>"I'm er peaceable man," roared Siwash Charley, "but -I ain't a-goin' ter be tromped on!"</p> - -<p>"Who's been tramping on you?" inquired the officer -soothingly.</p> - -<p>"Fust off, it was er Chink. I was bringin' that tame -b'ar inter town fer delivery ter Hank Bostwick, at the -ginmill he runs, an' I sot down ter rest. I was ca'm, -an' the b'ar was ca'm, but erlong comes the Chink an' -sets off a big firecracker he had left over from the -Fourth, I reckon. Anyways, the blasted thing went off -like er cannon, an' I was blowed clean over the b'ar. -When I got up an' looked around, the b'ar was goin' -after the Chink, allymand-left an' all sashay. I took -arter the b'ar. Seein' as how Bostwick is goin' ter -gi'me twenty-five dollars for the brute, I wasn't wantin' -him ter git loose. When I got hyer, that feller"—Siwash -Charley nodded toward Matt—"pulled a stick I -was kerryin' out from under me. I sailed inter him an' -then that other feller"—he indicated McGlory—"let -loose with a rock an' purty nigh busted my arm. I ain't -goin' ter stand fer no sich doin's—that ain't Siwash -Charley's stripe, not noways."</p> - -<p>"Did the Chink throw the firecracker in the first -place?" asked the officer.</p> - -<p>"He must er done it. If he hadn't, the b'ar wouldn't -have took arter him. I'll fix that Chink if I ever git -hands on him; an' I'll fix you fellers, too," he added, -scowling at Matt and McGlory.</p> - -<p>"The Chinaman was trying to climb the telegraph -pole and get away from the bear, officer," spoke up -Matt, "but every now and then he'd slip down the pole, -and the bear would slap at him with his claws. Siwash -Charley, as you call him, stood by and never made a -move to interfere. I grabbed the club and struck the -bear, and the next thing I knew I was caught from behind -and thrown on my back."</p> - -<p>"I'd 'a' welted you good, too," snarled Siwash Charley, -"if that rock hadn't landed on me."</p> - -<p>The officer looked around. Three men had caught -the bear by the chain and were holding the brute warily. -The bear seemed to be recovering its good nature, the -Chinaman had escaped, and little damage had been done.</p> - -<p>"Let the matter drop, Charley," said the officer. "You -haven't any proof that the Chink threw the cannon -cracker, or——"</p> - -<p>"B'ars hes got sense," blustered Siwash Charley, "an' -this un wouldn't hev chased the Chink if he wasn't -guilty."</p> - -<p>"Well, you go on to Bostwick's and let the matter drop. -Scatter," the officer added sharply to the crowd, "the -fun's over with, and there's nothing more to see."</p> - -<p>Matt beckoned to McGlory, and the two started back -toward the hotel. A roar from Siwash Charley caused -them to turn their heads.</p> - -<p>"I'll saw off squar' with ye, yet," shouted Siwash Charley, -shaking his fist.</p> - -<p>"Say moo and chase yourself!" taunted the cowboy. -"You're more kinds of a fake and false alarm than I -know how to lay tongue to."</p> - -<p>The officer gave Siwash Charley a push in the direction -of his bear, and Matt caught his chum by the -arm and drew him into the hotel.</p> - -<p>Annexing himself to the bear by means of the chain, -Siwash Charley shook his head angrily, rubbed his -forearm up and down the front of his buckskin coat, -and proceeded on toward Bostwick's.</p> - -<p>When he got clear of the crowd, a man stepped out -into the street. It was Murgatroyd, and there was an -ominous gleam in his eyes.</p> - -<p>"I've got a job for you, Siwash," said the broker.</p> - -<p>"Is thar any money in it, Murg?" demanded Siwash. -"It's got ter be spot cash an' good pickin's, er we don't -hitch."</p> - -<p>"You'll get your pay before you begin. Come to my -office at five o'clock."</p> - -<p>"I'll be thar," and the ruffian continued on toward -Bostwick's, still rubbing his aching forearm up and -down the front of his greasy buckskin coat.</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd, muttering to himself, faded away into -the building known as Brown's block.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A NEW VENTURE.</p> - - -<p>"That old persimmon is about ripe enough to be -picked," growled McGlory, as he and Matt climbed the -stairs on their way back to their room. "He's one of -those cold game gents that gets quick and deadly every -time a fellow looks at him cross-eyed. The next time -he and I come together there's going to be fireworks."</p> - -<p>"The chances are," said Matt, "we've seen the last of -him. We'll close up our business with Mrs. Traquair at -three o'clock, and then we'll catch the first train for -Totten. That will finish our dealings with Siwash -Charley, and with Murgatroyd, too, I hope. There's a -lot of work ahead of us during the next two weeks, and -we'll——"</p> - -<p>Matt and McGlory were just turning from the hall -into their room. Some one had arrived in the room -during their absence. As fate would have it, it was -Ping.</p> - -<p>The Chinaman sat in a rocking-chair near the window. -He was nervous and uncomfortable, not so much because -of his recent experience with the bear, perhaps, -as because he feared the sort of reception he was to -receive from Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>"Well, if it ain't Little Bright-eyes himself!" grinned -McGlory. "You're more kinds of a surprise party, Ping, -than I know how to describe. What did you set off that -cannon cracker under the bear for?"</p> - -<p>"My no shootee fi'clackel," expostulated Ping. "Melican<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -boy shootee. Beal make one piecee mistake—chasee -Ping, no chasee Melican boy. Whoosh! No likee."</p> - -<p>"Where did you come from, Ping?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Mad'son. My no workee fo' anybody but Motol -Matt. Tlakee tlain, come 'long."</p> - -<p>"You didn't intend to stay in Madison any of the -time, did you?"</p> - -<p>Ping shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you tell me you were not going to stay -there?"</p> - -<p>"Plaps, my tellee, you no likee. My makee wait till -come to Jimtown, then tellee. You no likee, no can send -back."</p> - -<p>A crafty grin worked its way over Ping's yellow face.</p> - -<p>"You can't shake him, pard," laughed McGlory.</p> - -<p>"How did you know where we were coming?" asked -Matt.</p> - -<p>"No savvy the pidgin. Come on same tlain."</p> - -<p>"Then you got here on the same train we did?"</p> - -<p>"Sure."</p> - -<p>"Where have you been keeping yourself?"</p> - -<p>"My stay by othel hotel. Bumby, thisee molnin', -makee sneak fo' Gla'stone House. Watchee beal, then -fi'clackel makee go bang. China boy lun allee same -Sam Hill. Teleglaph pole him heap slick. Makee climb, -makee slide down, thlee time. Beal ketchee one shoe, -ketchee othel shoe, mebbyso ketchee China boy neck, -sendee top side, but fo' Motol Matt. Whoosh! You -heap mad with Ping?"</p> - -<p>"What's the use of getting mad at you, Ping?" smiled -Matt.</p> - -<p>The little Chinaman bounded joyfully out of his chair.</p> - -<p>"My workee for you some mo'?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You seem bound to work for me, whether I've got -anything for you to do, or not."</p> - -<p>"My no havee luck 'less my workee fo' you. Plenty -queer pidgin. One piecee luck come plenty time when -my stay 'lound Motol Matt; no gettee luck when my no -stay. What you do now, huh?"</p> - -<p>"We're going to hit the clouds on two canvas wings, -Ping," said McGlory.</p> - -<p>"No savvy," returned Ping.</p> - -<p>"Matt's going to fly. Savvy fly? All same bird," and -the cowboy flapped the edges of his coat, and lifted himself -on one foot.</p> - -<p>"My no makee good bird," said Ping, the white running -into the yellow of his face. "My makee fall, bleakee -neck."</p> - -<p>"You'll wish you'd stayed in Madison, Ping, before -you get through with this bag of tricks," went on McGlory, -winking at Matt. "We're going to let you——"</p> - -<p>The cowboy was intending to have a little fun with -Ping, but, at that moment, a boy from the office appeared -in the doorway.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Traquair is waiting for you down in the office, -Motor Matt," he announced.</p> - -<p>"It's three o'clock!" exclaimed Matt. "Get your two -hundred and fifty, Joe, and come with me."</p> - -<p>"I've got it, pard, right in my jeans," answered McGlory.</p> - -<p>"You can stay here, Ping, till we come back," went -on Matt to the Chinaman.</p> - -<p>"Can do," chirped Ping.</p> - -<p>Thereupon Matt and McGlory went downstairs, and -the king of the motor boys introduced his friend to Mrs. -Traquair. The clerk directed them to a lawyer, and they -were soon in the lawyer's office, stating their business.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Traquair had brought her husband's papers along -with her, and also a duplicate of the mortgage on the -Wells County homestead.</p> - -<p>The lawyer's name was Matthews, and he was no -friend of Murgatroyd.</p> - -<p>"Murg's a skinner," observed Matthews, "everybody -in these parts knows him for that. I'll bet he's been -planning all along to get his clutches on this invention -of your husband's, Mrs. Traquair. Motor Matt is doing -the handsome thing by you, I must say. He takes all -the risk, spends all his time and money, and then gets -nothing if the try-out at Fort Totten isn't a success. -Just sit down, please. I'll not be more than five minutes -drawing up a memorandum of agreement."</p> - -<p>When the paper had been drawn up, signed, and witnessed, -and the money turned over, the only thing that -remained was for Mrs. Traquair to give the boys an -order on Benner, the post trader at Fort Totten, for the -aëroplane. This second paper having been written out -and signed, and the five hundred dollars turned over, -Matt and McGlory found themselves embarked on a new -venture.</p> - -<p>It was different from anything Matt had yet undertaken. -Driving a dirigible balloon was utterly unlike -manœuvring an aëroplane. In a "dirigible" one had only -to sit calmly in the driver's seat, keep the motor going, -and attend to the steering. In an aëroplane, on the other -hand, there was a certain knack to be acquired. Air -pressure under the wings was never the same for two -consecutive moments, and if the swiftly changing centre -of air pressure was not met instantly by extending or -contracting the wings, disaster would be sure to result. -But Matt had studied the subject, felt sure that he could -acquire the necessary knack, and was determined to carry -the venture through to a success.</p> - -<p>"You're a plucky young man," said Matthews to the -king of the motor boys when the business had been -finally wound up, "but I want to warn you to look out -for Murgatroyd. It does me good to hear how you -sailed into him, but that was something Murg will never -forget. As matters are now, you've beaten him, but he'll -never let it rest at that. He'll move heaven and earth to -get even with you. Keep your eyes skinned, that's all. -You're engaged in a worthy work, and I believe you'll -succeed, but you've got to be wary. I'm going with -Mrs. Traquair to pay this interest. Murg won't attempt -any bulldozing tactics while I'm around, you can depend -on that."</p> - -<p>"You might see that he doesn't persecute Mrs. Traquair -while we're at Fort Totten, Mr. Matthews," said -Matt. "If he gets his interest, he can't make her any -trouble, can he?"</p> - -<p>"He can't make her any more trouble until next year, -when the interest and principal both become due. Long -before that, I hope Mrs. Traquair will be able to settle -up with Murgatroyd in full. She can, too, if your -work at Totten is successful."</p> - -<p>"How much do I owe you for drawing up these papers?" -Matt asked.</p> - -<p>"Not a red!" was the prompt response. "Do you -think I don't know what you are trying to do for Mrs. -Traquair? And do you think I won't do as much as I -can to help her? Why, I got Harry Traquair's patents -through for him, and I'm proud to say that he was my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -friend. He knew Murgatroyd was a skinner, just as -well as I did, and at the time of his death he was exhausting -every effort to fit himself for making a 'go' of -that deal at Totten. He was planning on using that -money to get himself out of Murgatroyd's strangling -grip. It looks like a special favor of Providence, Motor -Matt, that you happened along here just when you -did."</p> - -<p>Reference to her husband brought tears into Mrs. -Traquair's eyes. Stepping to Matt impulsively, she -caught one of his hands.</p> - -<p>"I appreciate what you are doing, Motor Matt," said -she in a low tone, "and I thank you from the bottom -of my heart. I know the risks you are running, but -somehow I have the utmost confidence that you are going -to pass safely through them all, and please the officers -at Fort Totten."</p> - -<p>Matt was touched by the poor woman's gratitude. He -pressed her hand cordially and reassuringly.</p> - -<p>"I've gone into this thing to succeed, Mrs. Traquair," -he answered, "and you may count on me to do my best."</p> - -<p>"When do you go North?" asked the lawyer.</p> - -<p>"We can't go before morning. The afternoon passenger -has left, and we'll have to take the 'accommodation' -at eight o'clock."</p> - -<p>"Well, good-by, and good luck. If I can ever do -anything for you here, in a legal way, don't hesitate to -call on me."</p> - -<p>Matthews gripped the young motorist's hand heartily, -and the little party separated, the lawyer and Mrs. Traquair -starting for Murgatroyd's office, while Matt and -McGlory made their way back to the Gladstone House.</p> - -<p>"Little as I know about flyin'," remarked McGlory, -"and scary as I am about letting you go up in that aëroplane -of Traquair's, just the same I feel like patting -myself on the back. It's a brand-new venture, pard, but -it's a good one. There's something in it, you see, besides -just helping ourselves."</p> - -<p>"It's not going to be easy," remarked Matt.</p> - -<p>"That's you! Sure, it ain't going to be easy, hitting -up a cloud trail and sliding around through the air in a -machine that's——"</p> - -<p>"I don't mean that," interrupted Matt. "During the -last hour or so I've had a hunch that Murgatroyd is -going to get busy."</p> - -<p>"I'll take care of that old hardshell," declared the cowboy, -with confidence, "if you do the rest of the work with -that sky-scraper. That's what I'm along for, savvy?"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A PARTNER IN VILLAINY.</p> - - -<p>Murgatroyd's interview with Matthews and Mrs. Traquair, -at the time the one hundred and fifty dollars interest -was paid, threw the broker into a spasm of chagrin -and temper. One would have thought that Murgatroyd -would have been delighted to get his interest money. -But it was not the interest that Murgatroyd wanted, so -much as financial embarrassment on the part of Mrs. -Traquair, which would ultimately lead to foreclosure -of the mortgage on the Wells County homestead.</p> - -<p>To Motor Matt the broker rightly attributed the -widow's ability to pay the interest. And if Motor Matt -had given Mrs. Traquair the interest money, it was a -foregone conclusion that Matt had interested himself in -the aëroplane at Fort Totten.</p> - -<p>Matt, the wrathful broker reasoned, was to fly the -aëroplane at the forthcoming government trial. If he -pleased the government, and the machine was bought, -then Mrs. Traquair would be able to take up the mortgage.</p> - -<p>Murgatroyd paced his office for a long time after -Matthews and Mrs. Traquair left. In the midst of his -reflections, Prebbles thrust his head in at the door.</p> - -<p>"A caller, sir," he announced.</p> - -<p>"Who is it?" demanded Murgatroyd sharply.</p> - -<p>"Siwash Charley."</p> - -<p>A feeling of gratification swept through the broker's -nerves.</p> - -<p>"Send him in here. And, I say, Prebbles, you can -put on your hat and coat and go home. You're quitting -an hour earlier than usual, but you can make it up some -other day."</p> - -<p>Precious few holidays old Prebbles got without "making -them up."</p> - -<p>"Very good, sir," he said in his usual humble fashion, -and faded into the other room.</p> - -<p>A moment later Siwash Charley faced the broker.</p> - -<p>"Shut the door, Siwash," said Murgatroyd.</p> - -<p>"That looks like we was a-goin' ter talk over things -that was mighty important," said Siwash Charley as he -closed the door.</p> - -<p>"We are."</p> - -<p>"You're an ole fox, all right," chuckled the other; -"reg'lar ole gouger. Money layin' around ev'rywheres," -Siwash added, his eyes on the desk where the money -paid by Mrs. Traquair had been left.</p> - -<p>"There's a hundred and fifty in that pile, Siwash," -said Murgatroyd. "If you agree to help me, I'll give -you that; and, if you carry out the work successfully, -I'm going to give you a hundred and fifty more."</p> - -<p>Siwash Charley's eyes opened wide.</p> - -<p>"Must be somethin' mighty tough on ter make ye -loosen up like that," said he. "Mebby it's so tough I -won't dast ter touch it."</p> - -<p>"I guess it's not too tough for you," returned Murgatroyd -dryly.</p> - -<p>"I've done a heap o' things fer you, Murg, as won't -bear the searchin' light o' day," observed Siwash Charley. -"From now on, though, I'm a-goin' ter be a leetle -keerful."</p> - -<p>"If you don't want the job," rapped out the broker, -"say so, and I'll get somebody else."</p> - -<p>"How kin I tell whether I want it or not till ye explain -what the work is?"</p> - -<p>"I'll not go into details until you agree to take hold. -I'd be in a nice fix, wouldn't I, if I told you what was -up, and then had you back out on the proposition."</p> - -<p>"Ye'll have ter tell me somethin' about it, that's shore."</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you this much, Siwash, and that is that the -two young fellows you mixed up with, when the bear -treed the Chinaman, are the ones you'll have to go after. -That ought to be enough, hadn't it?"</p> - -<p>Charley's eyes kindled viciously.</p> - -<p>"I'm arter them two," he growled.</p> - -<p>"Of course you are," went on the broker, noting with -satisfaction the effect his words had had on his caller. -"You're pretty well acquainted up around Devil's Lake, -aren't you?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I spent a good many years thar, Murg."</p> - -<p>"Do you know Benner, the post trader?"</p> - -<p>"Him an' me uster be blanket mates."</p> - -<p>"Well, this young fellow who roughed things up with -you, is called Motor Matt."</p> - -<p>"That's his name, hey? I'm going ter saw off squar' -with this Motor Matt. Revenge is the sort o' por'us -plaster I put on my grudges ter draw out the pizen. I'm -wuss ner a rattler's bite when I land on a feller, Murg."</p> - -<p>"There's a flying machine in the post trader's store at -Fort Totten. Traquair sent it up there for a government -trial, two weeks from to-day."</p> - -<p>"I see."</p> - -<p>"This Motor Matt knows something about gas engines -and flying machines, and I'm pretty sure he's going to -Totten on the train to-morrow morning to familiarize -himself with the Traquair flying machine, and try it out -for the government when the time comes."</p> - -<p>"Then I kin lay fer him around Totten, hey?"</p> - -<p>"Not alone, Siwash."</p> - -<p>The burly ruffian gave a grunt of disgust.</p> - -<p>"Think I kain't handle that outfit alone, Murg? Oh, -thunder! Why, them two fellers ain't much more'n -kids. I kin pick 'em up, one in each hand, an' knock -their heads tergether."</p> - -<p>"Don't be overconfident, Siwash. If you are, it'll -lose the game for us. You ought to have two more men -associated with you—fellows you can depend on. You -can either get them at Totten, or here in Jimtown."</p> - -<p>"Who'll pay 'em?" asked Siwash cautiously.</p> - -<p>"I'll give them twenty-five dollars each, if the work -succeeds."</p> - -<p>"That brings us down ter the work ag'in," said Siwash. -"What is it, Murg?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't want the flying machine tried out for -the benefit of the government. I want something to -happen so that this Motor Matt won't be able to give a -demonstration of what the aëroplane can do."</p> - -<p>"Got er axe ter grind, hey?"</p> - -<p>"That part of the game is my business, Siwash, not -yours," said the broker sharply. "The point is, do you -want to follow out my plans, and make the money I'm -offering you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm hungry fer money, all right, Murg," ruminated -Siwash. "I jest sold that pet b'ar ter Bostwick fer -twenty-five—b'ar that I captered as a cub an' fetched up -by hand. But twenty-five won't last me fer long. If I -kin git three hundred off'n you it'll be quite a boost. Still, -fer all that, I'd about made up my mind ter be honest -from now on, an' cut out these hyer crooked deals. The -way ye come at me, though, kinder sets me ter calculatin' -that I'll go inter pardnership with ye fer one more -round, an' then start ter bein' honest arter that."</p> - -<p>Siwash Charley pushed up the right sleeve of his -buckskin coat, unwrapped a reddened bandage, and exhibited -a ragged wound.</p> - -<p>"This hyer's what makes me listen ter ye, Murg," he -gritted. "It ain't the three hundred dollars so much as -this hyer arm. That's whar the young cub landed on -me with the stone. I kain't never pass that up without -sawin' off squar'."</p> - -<p>"Of course you can't," declared Murgatroyd, doing -everything in his power to foster Siwash Charley's hard -feelings, "it wouldn't be like you to forget a thing -like that, Siwash. I guess you haven't weakened to -that extent."</p> - -<p>Siwash Charley swore under his breath, replaced the -bandage, and pulled down the sleeve of his coat.</p> - -<p>"Will you help me?" went on the broker. "I've got -to have your promise, before I can tell you the plan I've -thought out."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'll help you," answered the ruffian.</p> - -<p>"And you know of two trustworthy men you can get -to go with you?"</p> - -<p>"I could pick up a dozen game fellers right here in -this man's town all inside o' fifteen minutes. They're -fellers, mind ye, who'd run the risk o' puttin' their necks -in a noose fer twenty-five plunks."</p> - -<p>"Those are the men we want. You're not to tell them -anything about me, mind."</p> - -<p>"That's allers yer game, Murg," and something like -discontent pulsed in Siwash Charley's hoarse voice; "ye -don't seem ter hev the sand ter stand up an' face the -music."</p> - -<p>"I can't afford to. How long do you think my loan -business would last if I was found out in a job like -this? You've got to screen me, Siwash."</p> - -<p>"I'll promise ter do that, an' I ain't goin' ter let no -one find out that I'm mixed up in it, either, if I kin -help. Go ahead."</p> - -<p>The broker got up, and moved softly to the door. -Opening it quickly he peered into the outer office. Apparently -satisfied, he closed the door again, and returned -to his chair.</p> - -<p>"Walls have ears," he remarked with a grim smile. -"Draw your chair closer, Siwash."</p> - -<p>The other, with another of his ill-omened chuckles, -pulled his seat nearer to Murgatroyd; then, for five minutes, -Siwash listened while the broker spoke in low, -quick tones. When Murgatroyd was done, Siwash -leaned back with an exultant expression on his face.</p> - -<p>"By Jericho," he exclaimed, "we kin do it, Murg! -Thar'll be no flyin' at the fort two weeks from terday. -This Motor Matt kain't git ter Totten afore termorrer. -If ye'll start me an' them other two fellers in a ottermobill, -an' land us at Totten afore mornin', I'll agree -ter take keer o' the flyin' machine. If I kain't do that, -then I'll agree ter take keer o' Motor Matt. Count on -me, Murg."</p> - -<p>"Enough said, then," answered Murgatroyd, getting -up. "Take your money, Siwash, and get out of here. -It won't do for us to be seen leaving Brown block together. -You go out first, and I'll follow, a little later. -The automobile will be at the place I told you within -an hour, and a trusty man will be along to drive it."</p> - -<p>Two minutes later, Siwash Charley swaggered out of -the entrance to the office building and slouched off toward -a "shady" part of the town.</p> - -<p>Five minutes after Siwash left, Murgatroyd emerged.</p> - -<p>The broker was hardly out of sight, before Prebbles -glided out of the Brown block, his face puckered with -fear and apprehension. But there was resolution in the -clerk's face, too, and he made his way in the direction -of the Gladstone House.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MATT SHIFTS HIS PLANS.</p> - - -<p>Matt, McGlory, and Ping had their supper together. -Following supper, Ping went back to the other hotel -where he had been staying, for the purpose of getting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> -his luggage. The luggage was not extensive, being -completely wrapped in a yellow silk handkerchief, knotted -at the corners. There was a pair of grass sandals -in the handkerchief bundle, and the Chinaman stood in -need of new footgear.</p> - -<p>When Ping had gone, Matt and McGlory sat out in -front of the hotel, waiting for early bedtime to roll -around. While they sat there, a stoop-shouldered, wizened -figure shambled along the walk.</p> - -<p>"Prebbles!" exclaimed Matt.</p> - -<p>"Not so loud," croaked Prebbles. "Come along—drop -in behind—don't let anybody notice."</p> - -<p>Matt was surprised.</p> - -<p>"Who's that?" queried McGlory.</p> - -<p>"A clerk in Murgatroyd's office," whispered Matt, getting -up.</p> - -<p>"Look out for him, then, for he may be——"</p> - -<p>"He's all right," cut in Matt. "Come along, Joe. -Prebbles has something on his mind."</p> - -<p>Deferring to Matt's better judgment, McGlory arose, -and he and Matt followed Prebbles around one corner -of the hotel, and into the dusky regions that lay in the -vicinity of the rear of the building.</p> - -<p>Here, in a place where they could talk unheard by -outsiders, Prebbles halted.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, Prebbles?" queried Matt, as he -and McGlory drew close.</p> - -<p>"Who's that with you?" asked Prebbles guardedly.</p> - -<p>"A friend of mine."</p> - -<p>"Is he the one that hit Siwash Charley with the stone?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"All right, then. I got to be careful. If I'm not, -Murg'll find out about this and pull the pin on me. I -get eight dollars a week workin' for him, and I can't -afford to lose it. Eight dollars a week pays my board, -takes care of my laundry bills, buys a <i>War Cry</i>, and -gives a little to the army every week. You boys belong?"</p> - -<p>"Belong to what, Prebbles?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"To the Salvation Army," answered Prebbles earnestly.</p> - -<p>"No," answered Matt.</p> - -<p>"I do. Soon's I leave here, and get my supper, I'm -going to the barracks, get into my uniform, take my -tambourine and march with the rest. I was converted -two weeks ago. That's why I hate Murgatroyd and -his ways. He's a robber. I want to do right, and -that's why I'm here."</p> - -<p>"What do you work for the old skinflint for, if you -want to do right?" put in McGlory.</p> - -<p>"There's nothing wrong with tainted money," replied -Prebbles, "if you use it in the right way."</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't think your employer would like to have -you in the army," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"He likes it. You see, he thinks it gives the office -a standing which it hasn't got, me being connected with -the army. But little he knows what I'm doing on the -side. It's because I belong, Motor Matt, that I spoke -to you as I did when you left the office this forenoon; -it's because of that, too, that I suspected something was -up when Siwash Charley came into the office at close to -five o'clock and Murg told me to take my hat and coat -and go home; and it's because of that that I'm here, -now, to give you a warning."</p> - -<p>McGlory gave vent to a low whistle.</p> - -<p>"Looks like Siwash and Murg were stackin' up against -us, pard," said he.</p> - -<p>"Does Siwash Charley know Murgatroyd?" inquired -Matt.</p> - -<p>"Well, I should say," breathed Prebbles. "Siwash is -a hard citizen, and used to live by gambling, stealing, -and other ways that the law wouldn't sanction if he -was found out. He's a hard case, Siwash is—most as -hard a case as Murg. I didn't leave the office when I -was told to go. I put on my hat and coat, walked real -heavy to the door, slammed it, and then slipped back to -a curtain that hides a lot of old letter files. Back of the -curtain there's a stovepipe hole from the outside room -into Murg's. I climbed up on the letter files and listened -at that hole. Wouldn't have done it if I didn't belong. -Say," and Prebbles straightened himself with feeble -pride, "it makes a regular lion of a man to join the -army. You ought to be in; you don't know what you're -missin'."</p> - -<p>"The army's a good thing, Prebbles," said Matt, "and -I'm glad you belong to it. Siwash and Murgatroyd -talked about me?"</p> - -<p>"Did they?" echoed Prebbles. "Well, they didn't talk -about anything else. You see, Murg has got a mortgage -on the Traquair homestead, up in Wells County, -and he wants to get the quarter section on the mortgage. -I don't know why, but he's set, and determined to foreclose -and annex the land. That's what he's workin' for. -Everything was coming his way, Motor Matt, till you -blew in and befriended Mrs. Traquair. Now Murg's -afraid you'll win that government money and fix things -so'st Mrs. Traquair can pay off the mortgage. Murg's -goin' to fight you, and he's rung in Siwash and two of -Siwash's friends to help him."</p> - -<p>"Speak to me about this!" murmured McGlory. "That -hunch of yours, Matt, is panning out good color already."</p> - -<p>"How is he going to fight us, Prebbles?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"By fixing things so'st you can't exhibit the flying -machine at the time set. If it ain't exhibited then, the -government'll back out. In case Siwash and his pals -can't spoil the machine, then their orders are to eliminate -Motor Matt. Oh, it's a villainous scheme, I tell -you that."</p> - -<p>"I guess we can take care of ourselves, Prebbles," -averred Matt. "The first train for Totten leaves in the -morning, and we're going up on that. Siwash and his -pals can't get there ahead of us, and we'll be able to -look after the aëroplane and see that nothing goes wrong -with it."</p> - -<p>"That's where you're lame," fluttered Prebbles. "Siwash -and his pals have already started for Totten."</p> - -<p>"Started!" exclaimed Matt. "How?"</p> - -<p>"Automobile. That gang of scoundrels will get to -Totten in time to carry out Murg's villainous plans to-night. -I've wasted an hour tellin' you this, waitin' for -you to get through supper. You see, I couldn't walk -into the hotel and talk to you; everybody would have -seen me, and told Murg about it. Then Murg would -have pulled the pin on me."</p> - -<p>"What are Siwash and his friends going to do at -Totten?" queried Matt, more wrought up over the information -of Prebbles than he cared to admit.</p> - -<p>"I don't know that, Motor Matt. When they talked -over that part of it, they dropped their voices so low I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -couldn't hear. But you can bet it's a slick scheme, if -Murg had anything to do with it."</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' slow freights!" murmured McGlory. "It -looks as though Murg had knocked us out of the running -right at the start off."</p> - -<p>"Prebbles," said Matt, "do you know of any one, -here in town, who has a good automobile we could -hire?"</p> - -<p>"Well, there's a fellow named Black, a real estate man, -who has a car. In spite of his name, he's as white a -man as you'll find in a month of Sundays. Real estate's -kinder dull, just now, and I know he sometimes lets out -his car."</p> - -<p>"Where does he live?"</p> - -<p>"I pass his place on the way to my boarding house. If -you want, I'll have him come around and see you."</p> - -<p>"There's not much time to lose, Prebbles, as Siwash -and his pals are already on the road. Call me up on -the phone and let me know if he'll take us to Fort Totten -to-night. If he will, have him hustle his car right around -to the hotel."</p> - -<p>"He'll ask a heap of money for the trip," suggested -Prebbles. "How much are you willing to——"</p> - -<p>"Tell him we'll give him fifty dollars if he'll get us -to Fort Totten before morning."</p> - -<p>"That'll fetch him! I guess I better start right off. -You won't tell anybody about me giving Murg away -to you? I don't want to have Murg pull the pin, you -understand."</p> - -<p>"Certainly we won't tell anybody!" answered Matt. -"We're obliged to you, Prebbles, and here's a five-dollar -bill to pay you for your trouble."</p> - -<p>Prebbles drew back from the money.</p> - -<p>"You can't make me take that," he declared. "Murg's -the only robber in the loan office. I'd be as bad as him if -I took the money. I'm doing this because I want to be -square. They'd kick me out of the army if I took -money for doin' what's right."</p> - -<p>"Take this," insisted Matt, "and give it to the mission. -You can do that, can't you?"</p> - -<p>"Sure." Prebbles pocketed the money. "I'm off, -now," he went on, starting away. "I hope you won't -have more trouble than you can take care of, but you've -got a hard gang against you. Good-by."</p> - -<p>"So long, Prebbles."</p> - -<p>The clerk vanished, and Matt and McGlory, their -nerves tingling with the prospect ahead of them, went -back into the hotel, and took chairs near the telephone -booth.</p> - -<p>Mr. Black himself called up, fifteen minutes later. He -was willing to take the boys to Fort Totten that night, -for the sum of fifty dollars; his machine was ready, and -he'd be at the hotel in five minutes.</p> - -<p>"Bully!" exulted McGlory, when Matt came out of -the booth and reported what the real estate man had -said. "Say, pard," the cowboy added, "you're throwin' -your money around like a nabob. At this rate, how -long'll that stake last that you picked up in Madison?"</p> - -<p>"Till we pull down that government money on account -of the aëroplane, Joe," returned Matt decisively.</p> - -<p>"You're banking on that?"</p> - -<p>"To the last cent. I'll soon be on the wing, Joe, and -making a fight for fame and fortune. That's got to be -a winning fight, in spite of Siwash Charley and his pals, -and in spite of Murgatroyd."</p> - -<p>Matt's quiet confidence always inspired confidence in -others.</p> - -<p>"Whoop!" jubilated McGlory. "You've got a cheery -way about you, pard, that's as catchin' as the measles. -Sure we'll win; and we'll save the old homestead for -Mrs. Traquair like the feller in the play."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">DODGING TROUBLE.</p> - - -<p>The wagon road from Jamestown to Devil's Lake -follows the railroad all the way. At Minnewaukon, near -the western end of the lake, the wagon road to Fort -Totten leaves the iron rails and points southeast.</p> - -<p>The trail from Jamestown to Minnewaukon crosses -a prairie almost as level as a floor, and the trail itself is -like asphalt. From Minnewaukon southeast, the road is -not so well traveled. Formerly the mail was hauled -from Minnewaukon to the post by wagon, but the mail -carrier was put out of business by a launch that crossed -the lake from Devil's Lake City, on the north shore. -The garrison at the fort, too, has dwindled to a corporal's -guard, so that the post has become practically -abandoned.</p> - -<p>Black's car was not a late model. It had the obsolete -rear-entrance tonneau, and was equipped with a four-cylinder -thirty-horse-power motor. However, the car -could "go." It would have been a poor car, indeed, which -could not show its heels on such a road.</p> - -<p>It was eight o'clock when Matt, McGlory, Ping, and -Black ducked out of Jimtown, and struck into the trail -that followed the railroad track and the river. Black -attended to the driving, and Matt occupied the seat at -his side. McGlory and Ping occupied the tonneau.</p> - -<p>Matt explained to Black that there was a car, somewhere -ahead, which they wanted to beat to the post -trader's store at Fort Totten; also, that the car ahead -was filled with men who were not on friendly terms -with Matt and his companions.</p> - -<p>Black was a man of spirit.</p> - -<p>"You want to pass that car, then," said he, "and you -want to dodge trouble?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly," agreed Matt. "We don't want to butt into -any trouble if we can help it. A whole lot depends upon -our getting to the post trader's store right side up with -care, and ahead of the other outfit."</p> - -<p>"We'll do what we can," and Black nursed the car to -its best speed.</p> - -<p>The night was cool, the sky was cloudless, and the -two acetylene lamps burned holes in the dark far in advance -of the car as it devoured the miles. The forward -rush, and the motor's music, thrilled Matt as they always -did whenever he was connected with a speeding -engine.</p> - -<p>They whipped through a little town, hardly glimpsing -the scattered lights before they had left them astern.</p> - -<p>"This machine is a back number," remarked Black, -"but she can slide along pretty well, for all that."</p> - -<p>"You're right," said Matt. "I never saw a car with -a rear door that could hold a candle to this one. But the -road helps. It's like a boulevard."</p> - -<p>"Take these Dakota roads, when they're neither too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -wet nor too dry, and they're hard to beat. We're going -to lose time, though, going around the sloughs."</p> - -<p>"Sloughs?" queried Matt.</p> - -<p>"Just bog holes," went on Black. "They gully the -prairie, here and there, have no inlet or outlet, and the -water rises and falls in 'em like tides of the ocean. -Queer, and I don't think the rise and fall have ever -been explained. A wagon with high wheels can spraddle -through, but low wheels and a lot of weight have to go -round. But the car ahead will have to go around, too. -There's one of the sloughs, just ahead. We'll begin -going around it right here."</p> - -<p>Having been for several years in the real estate business, -selling farms up and down the Jim River, Black -had an accurate knowledge of the country.</p> - -<p>Three extra miles were added to the journey by going -around the slough north of Parkhurst. But this was a -whole lot better than taking a chance and miring down.</p> - -<p>"Did you know Harry Traquair, Mr. Black?" Matt -asked, when they were once more in the road and forging -ahead.</p> - -<p>"I did," answered Black, "and he was one of the finest -fellows you ever met. Still, for all that, I thought he -was a little bit 'cracked' on the flying-machine question. -He was always of an inventive turn, and he built his -first aëroplane in his head, up on his farm in Wells -County, long before he ever came to Jimtown and built -one of canvas, and spruce, and wire guys. The Traquairs -have had pretty hard sledding for the last three -years. Mrs. Traquair had all the faith in the world in -her husband, but she was possessed with the idea that -some accident was going to happen to him, and she was -never around when he flew the aëroplane. Too bad -Harry Traquair had to be killed just as he was about -to give his machine the first government test."</p> - -<p>"That's the way luck runs, sometimes," said Matt. -"What town's that?" he added, as they whisked through -another cluster of lights.</p> - -<p>"Buchanan," answered Black. "Say, but we're coming! -The next place is Pingree, then Edmunds, then -Melville. After Melville we'll swoop into Carrington, -the biggest town between Jamestown and the lake. Here's -where I'm going to hit 'er up for the last ounce of power -in her cylinders. Hold on to your teeth, everybody!"</p> - -<p>More gasoline and a faster spark hurled the car onward -in a way that made Ping chatter and hang to the -rail behind the front seats.</p> - -<p>Then something went wrong. The motor began to -miss fire, the speed slackened, and the motor died with a -gasping splutter.</p> - -<p>"Oh, hang the luck!" growled Black, getting down.</p> - -<p>While Matt kept hands off, Black tried out the primary -circuit, then the secondary, then the buzzer. After that -he cranked and cranked, but nothing happened except a -distressing cough when the engine tried to start.</p> - -<p>"Wouldn't that knock you slabsided?" growled Black. -"I guess I'll have to take the carburetor to pieces, run -pins through the spray nozzle and sandpaper the float -guides. If that don't work, I'll go under the car and -take off the fuel pipe, and——"</p> - -<p>"It's a gravity feed, isn't it?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, don't lose any time on the carburetor, just -yet."</p> - -<p>Matt got at the gasoline tank. What he did Black -couldn't see, but he wasn't more than a minute doing it.</p> - -<p>"Now turn over your engine," said Matt, as he climbed -back into his seat.</p> - -<p>Black gave the crank a pull, and the pleasant chug -in the explosion chamber came to his ears.</p> - -<p>"What the dickens did you do?" he asked, dropping -in behind the steering wheel and getting the car under -way.</p> - -<p>"The tank vent was clogged," explained Matt. "You -can't feed by gravity if the gasoline tank is hermetically -sealed."</p> - -<p>"That's right; but how did you know the vent was -plugged?"</p> - -<p>"By the noise."</p> - -<p>Black turned this over in his mind as they rushed -onward.</p> - -<p>"I guess you know a thing or two about motors," he -remarked. "I never heard of a fellow who could tell -the tank was hermetically sealed merely by the noise of -the engine."</p> - -<p>"It takes practice," said Matt, "that's all."</p> - -<p>Pingree, Edmunds, and Melville were passed in record -time, and the car rushed into Carrington at a quarter -to ten. Carrington was quite a town, and the party -halted to make some inquiries about the car that was -preceding them.</p> - -<p>From a man at one of the hotels they learned that a -car had stopped at a filling station, about nine o'clock, -and had dashed on to the northward about nine-fifteen. -There were four men in the car, and one of them was -Siwash Charley.</p> - -<p>Siwash Charley seemed to be well known through that -section, and the fact that the man at the hotel knew him -made Matt and his friends certain that their enemies -were less than an hour ahead.</p> - -<p>"We're gaining on 'em!" cried McGlory, as the car -shot through the outskirts of Carrington. "If we can -keep on gaining, we'll reach the post trader's with -ground to spare."</p> - -<p>"We're good for it," averred Black. "Hold onto your -hair and eyebrows."</p> - -<p>The air fairly sang in the ears of the boys as the real -estate man, throwing himself spiritedly into the contest, -hurled his machine onward over the hard roadbed.</p> - -<p>They flashed through a couple of towns which, Black -said, were Divide and Sheyenne.</p> - -<p>"The next place," the real estate man went on, "is -Oberon. After that comes Lallie, and then Minnewaukon. -But it's a waste of time to go to Minnewaukon. -If we went there, we'd have to come southeast to Totten. -We can leave the road at Lallie and go northeast -to Totten, thus saving a few miles and considerable -time. If——"</p> - -<p>He broke off with a startled exclamation. Then, in a -twinkling, it was out clutch, down brake, and a kick at -the switch.</p> - -<p>Another car, at a dead stop in the road ahead, had -come like a blot under the glow of their lamps.</p> - -<p>At that point the prairie was level, and no such thing -as fences were to be seen.</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' hold-ups!" exclaimed McGlory. "Something's -gone wrong with the Siwash outfit. Look! Two -of the gang are plugging this way."</p> - -<p>The cowboy had "called the turn." Two dark forms -untangled themselves from the dusky blot in the road -which represented the car, and were running back along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -the trail. As the figures came closer, it could be seen -that they were carrying rifles.</p> - -<p>"Quick!" hissed Matt in Black's ear. "Go around -the car—take to the prairie. We can make it if there's -gas enough in the cylinders to take the spark."</p> - -<p>As luck would have it, the engine took the spark and -Black worked the car rapidly out of the road, heading -so as to give the other car a wide berth.</p> - -<p>The dry grass crunched under the swiftly moving tires, -and the car leaped away as Black coaxed her to do her -best.</p> - -<p>"Halt!" shouted a husky voice; "halt, or we'll put a -bullet into you!"</p> - -<p>"Drop down!" ordered Matt; "they're going to shoot."</p> - -<p>"Let 'em shoot," said Black pluckily. "It's pretty -dark for accurate firing, and we'll be out of range in a -minute. I——"</p> - -<p>Sping! Sping!</p> - -<p>Two reports came from behind, two flashes leaped -from the guns, and two bullets fanned the air close to -the occupants of the car.</p> - -<p>But the car dashed on over the rolling turf, and presently -regained the road, once more, well in advance of -the other automobile.</p> - -<p>"I guess that's dodging trouble, all right!" muttered -Black, with a grim laugh.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">BLANKED.</p> - - -<p>Only two shots were fired. Before the two scoundrels -in the road could send any more bullets after Matt and -his friends, their car had swept back into the road and -the other automobile acted as a barricade.</p> - -<p>"Siwash must have known who we were," remarked -McGlory. "How do you reckon he found that out?"</p> - -<p>"The way we kept on going when he ordered us to -halt was enough for him," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet it was a surprise," chuckled McGlory. "Wish -I could be close to Murg when he hears about it. We're -in the lead, now, and I hope we can keep it."</p> - -<p>"If the motor hangs together," returned Black, "we'll -not only keep it, but increase it. That's a murderous -gang, back there," he added. "There must be something -mighty important awaiting you fellows at the post trader's -to cause Siwash Charley to break loose like that!"</p> - -<p>"Murgatroyd is back of it," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"Murgatroyd? There's a double-dyed scoundrel, if I -ever knew one."</p> - -<p>Black's expressing himself in this manner opened the -way for Matt to tell him the true inwardness of that -night's work.</p> - -<p>"You're the sort of fellows I like to help!" cried -Black, as soon as Matt had placed the situation before -him. "It's a fine thing for Mrs. Traquair, and it speaks -mighty well for you that you've jumped into this thing -like you've done. Not many young fellows would have -gone to all that trouble, with the prospect of a broken -neck, or a bullet between the ribs as a possible reward. -But let me tell you something, Motor Matt."</p> - -<p>Black spoke very earnestly, and commanded the instant -attention of the king of the motor boys.</p> - -<p>"What's that, Mr. Black?"</p> - -<p>"If I were you, I'd be more afraid of that aëroplane -than of Siwash Charley or Murgatroyd."</p> - -<p>"Flying the aëroplane is the least of my worries. I'm -sure I can handle it all right."</p> - -<p>"Don't be too sure. Traquair invented the machine, -and it stands to reason that he knew it as well as any -human being could; but see what happened! Something -snapped, a gust of wind hit the aëroplane, and the whole -business came down like a piece of lead."</p> - -<p>"Accidents are always liable to happen, of course," -said Matt; "the only thing to do is to guard against -them as well as you can, and do your best."</p> - -<p>"This North Dakota wind is a hard thing to figure -on," pursued Black. "It gathers terrific force coming -across the prairies, and it's liable to come up quick. I -don't think Traquair's aëroplane could stand a sixty-mile-an-hour -wind."</p> - -<p>"She couldn't make any headway against it, but I -believe she could be kept upright."</p> - -<p>"That's your look out, Motor Matt, and I don't want -to throw any wet blanket on your hopes. Be careful, -that's all, and——"</p> - -<p>Black broke off with an angry exclamation. The motor -began to miss fire, and finally came to a stop.</p> - -<p>Matt, his head inclined, had been listening sharply.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter now?" asked Black, getting out.</p> - -<p>"It's the carburetor, now," said Matt. "Sounds to -me as though it was clogged."</p> - -<p>The carburetor was taken apart and freed of the obstruction -that kept the gasoline out of the mixing chamber.</p> - -<p>A delay of half an hour was caused, and while they -were at a halt an anxious look out was kept along the -road, behind. Much to the relief of the boys and the -real estate man, the other car failed to put in an appearance.</p> - -<p>"They must be hung up with something serious," observed -Black, as he once more started the car in the -direction of Lallie.</p> - -<p>"It can't be too serious to suit me," laughed McGlory. -"I won't make any kick if they're kept back there on -the road for a week."</p> - -<p>"No such luck as that, Joe," said Matt.</p> - -<p>Black was about to say something more when the motor -went wrong again. It began to pound furiously.</p> - -<p>Black's exasperation reached a point where he was -tempted to say things. Matt, however, laughed at his -impatience, and proceeded to right the trouble, warning -his friends to keep a sharp look along the back track -while he was doing it.</p> - -<p>There was an hour's delay, this time, but still the other -car did not show up, and Matt and his companions finally -continued on their way, congratulating themselves that -they were still in the lead.</p> - -<p>Not much time was spent in Lallie. The town was -dark, and all the inhabitants had undoubtedly been abed -and asleep for several hours.</p> - -<p>Matt looked at his watch just as they were bumping -over the railroad tracks into the northeast road that led -to Totten.</p> - -<p>"Two o'clock," announced Matt.</p> - -<p>Black groaned.</p> - -<p>"Elegant time we're making," said he, "but we'll be -at the post trader's by three o'clock, providing we don't -have any more breakdowns."</p> - -<p>This road was not nearly so good as the one they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -had been following, mainly because it was not so well -traveled. Not more than fifteen miles an hour could be -made.</p> - -<p>"There's another road to Totten from Oberon," observed -Black. "That road comes into this one about five -miles this side of Totten. We'll soon be at the forks, -now. I didn't suggest taking the Oberon road, because -it's a good deal worse than the one we're following."</p> - -<p>When they were close to the forks, the creak of a -wagon reached their ears, and the gas lamps showed -them a loaded vehicle just pulling into the Oberon road. -This was the first team they had met since leaving -Jamestown.</p> - -<p>"Say, there!" yelled a man on the wagon. "Slow up -a little with that chug cart o' yourn, will ye? My -hosses ain't used ter sich sights."</p> - -<p>Black lessened the speed and came on more slowly. -The wagon was at a standstill, and the horses were -snorting and rearing against the pole. The car got -past without causing an accident, however, and, a little -after three, drew up in front of the post trader's store.</p> - -<p>The store was at the foot of a hill which overlooked -the lake, and was surrounded by the fort. As was to be -expected, the store was dark, and seemed deserted.</p> - -<p>"Benner lives in the back part," said Black. "Go -around the side of the building, Matt, and knock on the -door. You'll not be long getting him up. I'll wait here -till I see what luck you have, and then I'll put up the -car and bunk down somewhere for the rest of the night."</p> - -<p>Matt and McGlory jumped out of their seats and followed -around the plank wall of the building. Although -it was dark as Egypt in the shadow of the wall, yet they -succeeded in locating the door, and pounded a loud summons -on its panels.</p> - -<p>The post trader was a sound sleeper, and it took three -or four minutes to develop any signs of life within the -dark store building.</p> - -<p>At last, however, they could hear some one stirring -around. A light appeared in a window, and a shuffling -step was heard approaching the door.</p> - -<p>"If you're Injuns," cried an angry voice, "get out! -You can come after what you want in the mornin'."</p> - -<p>"We're not Indians," said Matt. "Are you Mr. Benner?"</p> - -<p>"That's my name, yes."</p> - -<p>"Then we've got important business with you. Please -open the door."</p> - -<p>"Beats all a feller can't have no sleep," grumbled Mr. -Benner, shoving a bolt and jerking the door open.</p> - -<p>A big, sandy-haired man, in undershirt and trousers, -stood confronting the boys, a flickering candle upheld in -his right hand.</p> - -<p>"What d'ye want?" demanded Benner.</p> - -<p>"Here's a paper I want you to read," answered Matt, -taking from his pocket Mrs. Traquair's order for the -aëroplane, and handing it to the post trader.</p> - -<p>Benner grabbed the paper in his left hand, and held -the candle in front of it.</p> - -<p>"Jumpin' Mariar!" he gasped. "Here's an order for -that bloomin' flyin' machine."</p> - -<p>"Yes. We're here to take charge of it, Mr. Benner."</p> - -<p>"Oh, y' are, eh? Well, I haven't got it. Looks kinder -suspicious, too, this here order does."</p> - -<p>"Haven't got it?" repeated Matt, staring at McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Ain't I tellin' ye?" answered Benner in an irritated -tone.</p> - -<p>"Did some men come here in an automobile, a little -while ago, and take it away?"</p> - -<p>"Any one would have played hob takin' that flyin' machine -away in an automobile," scowled Benner. "There's -somethin' mighty queer about this. Step inside, you -two, an' I'll show you that telegram."</p> - -<p>Intensely disappointed, the two boys stepped into the -room. Benner placed the candle on the table, and picked -up a yellow sheet, which he handed to Matt.</p> - -<p>"That come to the fort, about two hours ago, an' the -leftenant sent it down ter me," explained Benner. "I -had to hustle some, but I worked through the trick. Now, -less'n an hour after I get to bed, here you fellers come -askin' for the flyin' machine. That's more'n I kin understand, -that is."</p> - -<p>The telegram read as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"Send flying machine on the jump to Oberon. Get it -off within an hour after you receive this. Will settle for -your trouble with the man who brings it."</p></blockquote> - -<p>This message was addressed to the post trader, at Fort -Totten; had been sent from Oberon, and was signed by -"Mrs. Traquair."</p> - -<p>"Oh, sufferin' dummies!" cried McGlory. "Blanked, -or I'm a Piute!"</p> - -<p>Matt was fully as much wrought up as was his chum.</p> - -<p>"This message is a forgery, Mr. Benner!" he cried. -"Mrs. Traquair isn't in Oberon, and she never sent it."</p> - -<p>"How was I ter know that?" snorted the post trader. -"Soon's I got the message, I routed out my man, Jake, -an' we hitched up to the wagon, loaded on that consarned -machine that I've been holdin here, an' Jake -started with it fer Oberon."</p> - -<p>The cowboy gave a groan, and fell over against the -wall.</p> - -<p>"That must have been him we passed, Matt," he murmured.</p> - -<p>Without pausing to reply, Matt whirled and ran out -of the room. The aëroplane was on the road to Oberon, -but the automobile could easily overtake the wagon. It -was well, however, not to lose any time.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">SIWASH SHOWS HIS TEETH—AND HIS HEELS.</p> - - -<p>Black's astonishment was great when Motor Matt reappeared -at the front of the building and leaped into -the car.</p> - -<p>"Hustle for the Oberon road, Mr. Black!" Matt cried.</p> - -<p>"What's to pay?" asked Black as McGlory flung himself -into the tonneau.</p> - -<p>"You remember that wagon we passed?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Of course, but——"</p> - -<p>"Well, the aëroplane is aboard the wagon."</p> - -<p>"Great Cæsar!" Black was already on the ground, -cranking up. "How did that happen?" he asked, getting -back into the car and turning it the other way.</p> - -<p>When they were well started, Matt explained about -the telegram received by the post trader.</p> - -<p>"It's easy to understand what happened," said Matt. -"Murgatroyd's plan was to send Siwash Charley here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> -after the aëroplane. If Siwash had had all night and -part of to-morrow to work in, he and his pals would -have got away with the flying machine in spite of us. -But Siwash had to make another move when he saw -us on the road. It was a clever move, too, although it -only won out by a scratch. Siwash went on to Oberon -and sent that message, signing Mrs. Traquair's name -to it. If we hadn't had so many breakdowns, we'd -have reached the post trader's before his man got away -with the aëroplane."</p> - -<p>"Well," declared Black, "we can overhaul the wagon -long before it gets to Oberon. If Siwash Charley had -used his head a little more, he'd have known there -wasn't one chance in ten of this move of his succeeding.</p> - -<p>"And to think of us sailin' right past that wagon," -muttered McGlory, "and even slowing up so as not to -scare the horses! Funny how things will turn out -sometimes."</p> - -<p>The Chinese boy had been using his eyes and ears a -great deal more than his tongue. But his emotions, at -every stage of that ride from Jamestown, had changed -with Matt's and McGlory's. Now Ping was all chagrin, -and a wild desire to "push on the reins" and overhaul -Jake.</p> - -<p>The road was fairly good until the automobile reached -the forks; after that, it ran into hilly country where there -was considerable sand.</p> - -<p>Black forced the car all he could, but the poor speed -it developed filled the impatient boys with dismay and -anxiety.</p> - -<p>"We'll never overtake that wagon in a thousand years, -at this gait," fumed McGlory.</p> - -<p>"You forget, Joe," answered Matt, "that if we're going -slow, the wagon is going a lot slower."</p> - -<p>"That's the talk," said Black. "We'll come up with -the wagon several miles this side of Oberon."</p> - -<p>As the car ground through the sand, and chugged up -the hills, the boys kept a sharp watch ahead. Dawn -brightened in the east, and the gray streamers crept -steadily toward the zenith.</p> - -<p>"Five o'clock," said Matt, looking at his watch. "The -sun will be up in half an hour."</p> - -<p>"Precious little I care for that," chuckled Black. -"There's Jake!"</p> - -<p>The car had topped a hill which gave its passengers a -long view out over the level prairie. Far away in the -distance the dim gray light showed the boys a dark blot -on the plain. It was impossible to tell much about the -blot, at that range, but there could be no doubt concerning -it. Surely it was the wagon; it could be nothing -else.</p> - -<p>"Jake must have punctured a tire," observed McGlory -humorously. "What has he stopped for?"</p> - -<p>"Possibly he stopped to breathe his horses," suggested -Black. "We'll eat up the ground, now, for the road is -on the level, and there's less sand."</p> - -<p>Black let the car out. As he and the boys came -closer and closer, a startling scene slowly unfolded before -their eyes.</p> - -<p>The wagon was at a standstill, just as the cowboy -had said, and beside it was a motor car. Four or five -figures could be seen moving around in the vicinity of -the wagon. Abruptly these figures hunched together, -and stood quietly.</p> - -<p>"It's the other automobile," said Black between his -teeth. "Siwash Charley and his pals came out from -Oberon to meet Jake."</p> - -<p>"They've got together and are looking this way," -breathed McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Mebbyso they makee shoot," chattered Ping.</p> - -<p>"Shall we go on?" queried Black. "It's for you to -say, Motor Matt. I don't think Siwash will dare rough -things up so close to the fort, and in broad day."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Matt grimly, "we've got to go on. For -all we know, Murgatroyd may have told Siwash to destroy -the aëroplane. In fact, that may be what he's -doing, now. Go on, Mr. Black, and go with a rush."</p> - -<p>The boys fell silent as the car bounded on along the -road. All of them felt the danger of their position, -but neither McGlory, Black, nor Ping would have thought -of asking Matt to turn back.</p> - -<p>In a few moments the boys were so close they could -see the guns which Siwash Charley and his friends were -holding in their hands. Matt, however, had more concern -for the bulky load in the wagon than for the guns. -So far as he could see, the load was intact, and had not -been tampered with.</p> - -<p>The wagon was facing toward Oberon, and the car—drawn -up alongside the wagon—was pointed toward Fort -Totten. Several yards in front of the car stood Siwash -Charley, and two other men, who looked fully as villainous. -All of these three had rifles.</p> - -<p>Jake was standing up in the front part of the wagon, -hanging to the reins with one hand and looking back. -The driver of the automobile was leaning against the -front of the car, watching passively for what was to -come. An atmosphere of ugly foreboding hovered over -the scene as Black stopped his car within a dozen yards -of Siwash Charley and his two pals.</p> - -<p>"That's erbout as fur as we reckoned we'd let ye -come," shouted Siwash Charley. "If ye'd got hyer -ten minutes later, ye'd hev found the flyin' machine scattered -all over the perary."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say," cried Matt, standing up in the -car, "that you were going to wreck the aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>"That's what," answered Siwash Charley, "an' we're -goin' ter do it, yet. Ye needn't think that yer comin' -will make any diff'rence. I told you cubs I'd git even -with ye fer what ye done, but when I showed my teeth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -ye didn't allow I'd bite. I'm showin' my fangs ag'in, -an' this time thar's goin' ter be somethin' doin'."</p> - -<p>"Siwash Charley," said Matt, "you don't mean to say -that a trifling disagreement, like the one we had in -Jamestown, is enough to make you destroy that aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>"I reckon ye don't know me, Motor Matt," blustered -Siwash. "I allers make it a p'int ter saw off even, an' I -reckon I kin squar' my account with you a heap better -by bustin' up the flyin' machine than in any other way. -I'll give ye two minutes ter turn that thar machine o' -yourn and take the back track."</p> - -<p>Simultaneously with the words, Siwash lifted his rifle -to his shoulder, and pointed it directly at Matt.</p> - -<p>The king of the motor boys did not stir, but his gray -eyes snapped dangerously as they looked into the eyes -gleaming along the barrel of the gun.</p> - -<p>"You're not going to do any more shooting, Siwash -Charley," said Matt, his voice steady. "You took two -shots at us last night, and if either one of them had -struck me, or any of my friends, you and Murgatroyd -would have paid dearly for it."</p> - -<p>The mention of Murgatroyd caused Siwash to drop -his gun suddenly.</p> - -<p>"Murgatroyd hasn't got a thing ter do with this," he -roared. "It's my own affair I'm settlin'."</p> - -<p>"Murgatroyd has got everything to do with this!" -retorted Matt. "He got that car for you, and sent you -out of Jamestown last night. You hoped to reach the -fort ahead of us—and you'd certainly have done so if -we'd waited until this morning and taken the train. If -you make any trouble for me here, Murgatroyd will be -arrested in Jamestown just as quick as a message can -be wired to the police. And you'll make trouble for -yourself, too, for you played a trick in getting that aëroplane -off the government reservation. You can show -your teeth as much as you please, but if you try to bite -you'll regret it."</p> - -<p>"I'm done chinnin' with you!" whopped Siwash Charley, -once more bringing his gun to his shoulder. "Turn -that ottermobill t'other way, an' hike out o' this. Ye -got a minute left."</p> - -<p>Black got out of the machine, and walked around to -the crank.</p> - -<p>"Leave the crank alone, Black," ordered Matt. "That -scoundrel's a coward, and he doesn't dare to shoot."</p> - -<p>Black hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Better do as he says, pard," observed McGlory, -climbing over the back of the seat and ranging himself -shoulder to shoulder with Matt.</p> - -<p>The cowboy's words were addressed to Black. The -latter retreated from the front of the machine, and -stood at the roadside, watching developments anxiously.</p> - -<p>It was a situation of the gravest peril, but Matt -could not go away and leave the aëroplane to be wrecked.</p> - -<p>"Are ye goin'?" yelled Siwash furiously. "If ye think -I dasn't shoot, I'll show ye I ain't afeared o' nothin'."</p> - -<p>"Put down that gun!" ordered Matt.</p> - -<p>The scoundrel's finger flexed on the trigger. In another -instant the trigger would have been pressed. But -something happened. Jake, standing in the front of the -wagon, whirled a long blacksnake whip about his head -by the lash. Suddenly he let it go, and the weighted -handle shot through the air, and struck Siwash Charley's -fated right arm. The end of the whip handle landed -at about the place where McGlory's missile had struck, -the day before.</p> - -<p>With a swirling bellow of pain, Siwash dropped the -rifle and staggered back, clasping his right forearm -with his left hand.</p> - -<p>He swore terribly, but the torrent of profanity was -cut short by one of his pals.</p> - -<p>"Sojers!" cried the man, sweeping Siwash Charley's -gun off the ground. "Hustle out o' this, or we're done -fer!"</p> - -<p>"Swatties!" jubilated McGlory, waving his hat. "Speak -to me about this!"</p> - -<p>Matt faced the other way. There, sure enough, were -half a dozen mounted troopers galloping toward the -scene.</p> - -<p>The pop of the other car's motor could be heard, and -when Matt looked around, once more, Siwash Charley -and his comrades were kicking up the dust in the direction -of Oberon.</p> - -<p>"Siwash Charley showed his teeth," laughed Black, immensely -relieved, "and now he's showing his heels. -Motor Matt," he added soberly, "I wouldn't have been -in your shoes, a moment ago, for all the money in the -United States Treasury!"</p> - -<p>The king of the motor boys did not hear the last remark. -He had leaped down from the car, and had run -forward to the wagon, where he was reaching up and -shaking hands with Jake.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">"UNCLE SAM" TAKES HOLD.</p> - - -<p>"Them fellers stopped me," said Jake, "an' was allowin' -to unload the flyin' machine. What could I do -agin' the lot of 'em, and armed like they was? But the -fust I knowed they intended ter smash the thing was -when Siwash begun talkin' with you. He'd have shot -ye, too. I know him, an' I know he's desprit, so I took -a chanst with the blacksnake. Gosh-all-hemlocks, but I -shore made a good throw of it."</p> - -<p>"You certainly did," said Matt, "and I'm much obliged -to you."</p> - -<p>Matt turned away from the wagon to talk with the -officer in charge of the troopers. The soldiers had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> -come to a halt, and one of them, in the uniform of a -lieutenant, had spurred forward.</p> - -<p>"What's the ruction here?" he demanded. "Benner -rushed up to the fort and said some one had stolen the -Traquair aëroplane. He showed us a telegram he had -received, told us he had started Jake for Oberon with -the machine, and that a couple of young fellows had -happened along, pronounced the telegram a forgery, and -had started in pursuit of Jake in an automobile. Are -you one of the lot that chased up Jake?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Matt. "Harry Traquair was killed in -Jamestown——"</p> - -<p>"That's stale news," interrupted the lieutenant, sitting -back in his saddle and taking Matt's sizing at his leisure.</p> - -<p>"Well," went on the king of the motor boys, "I've -come to Totten to try out the aëroplane for the government."</p> - -<p>"You?" The lieutenant laughed. "Why, my lad, the -machine will do for you just as it did for Traquair. Who -are you?"</p> - -<p>"Matt King."</p> - -<p>The lieutenant almost fell out of his saddle.</p> - -<p>"Not Motor Matt?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"That's what I'm called more often than anything -else."</p> - -<p>"Well, this certainly takes the cake!" muttered the -lieutenant, pulling at his mustache. "My name's Cameron, -and I'm a lieutenant in the signal corps. By a -coincidence, I'm here to watch the trials of the aëroplane -for the government."</p> - -<p>"Where does the coincidence come in, lieutenant?" -asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Do you remember a young fellow called Ensign -Glennie?"</p> - -<p>"Remember Glennie?" cried Matt. "Well, I guess I -do. Why, he went around South America with me in -a submarine."</p> - -<p>"Representing the government, wasn't he?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, Glennie's my cousin, and he wrote me all about -you and that trip in the submarine. So that's where -the coincidence comes in. He watched your work with -the submarine for the government, just as I'm to watch -your work with the aëroplane. Give us your hand, Motor -Matt! I feel as though we were old friends."</p> - -<p>Matt was delighted. It was one of those meetings -which sometimes happen, and which make a fellow overjoyed -with the occasional workings of fate. McGlory, -Black, and Ping were introduced, and then Matt took the -lieutenant off by himself and narrated the events that -had taken place, and which had led up to the villainous -work of Siwash Charley.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Cameron was properly indignant.</p> - -<p>"Siwash Charley's a whelp," he averred, "and this -Murgatroyd is a thoroughbred scoundrel. But the aëroplane -seems to be safe, and you'll have no further trouble -with those villains. From this on, Motor Matt, you -and your friends and the Traquair aëroplane are under -the protecting wing of Uncle Sam. We'll have the flying -machine guarded, and you and your friends will stay -at the fort with us. There's only a handful of boys at -Totten, now, but we're more than enough to look after -Siwash Charley."</p> - -<p>The lieutenant rode over to the wagon.</p> - -<p>"Jake," said he, "you'd better drive back with that -machine."</p> - -<p>"That's what I was calculatin'," grinned Jake. "Somebody -hand up my whip."</p> - -<p>McGlory gathered in the blacksnake, and tossed it to -the teamster.</p> - -<p>"Sergeant," called the lieutenant to one of the troopers, -"you and the rest will convoy the aëroplane back to -Totten. If Siwash Charley or any of his gang show up, -shoot them on sight."</p> - -<p>"All roight, sor," answered the sergeant, touching his -cap.</p> - -<p>"Ride back with us in the car, lieutenant," suggested -Matt. "One of the troopers can bring in your horse."</p> - -<p>"I'll go with you," said Cameron promptly.</p> - -<p>He dismounted at once, and turned his horse over to -the Irish sergeant. He and Matt rode in the tonneau, -with Ping, where they could talk to better advantage, -and McGlory mounted to the front seat alongside of -Black.</p> - -<p>"My orders instructed me to be of all the assistance -I could to Traquair," remarked Cameron, when they -were sliding off toward the hills on the return trip; "so, -of course, now that you represent the Traquair interests, -I consider it my duty to help you."</p> - -<p>"Glad of that, lieutenant," responded Matt. "After I -get the aëroplane together I'll not need much help. You -see, I've got to learn to run the machine. There's a -knack I've got to get hold of."</p> - -<p>"You'll get hold of it, never fear. A fellow like you -can learn whatever he sets out to."</p> - -<p>"But I've only got two weeks," laughed Matt, "and -there's a fair chance, according to a good many people, of -breaking my neck."</p> - -<p>"That's what I was thinking, when I heard Traquair -had been killed, and that there was an advertisement in -the newspapers for a man of nerve. But, somehow, I -feel pretty confident of the outcome, now that I know -you are to boss the air flights. Let's see. I think Glennie -wrote me you had had some experience with a -dirigible balloon?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I served my apprenticeship at that sort of flying -before I tied up with the submarine."</p> - -<p>"Then you can't be called a new hand at the game."</p> - -<p>"Sailing a dirigible balloon is a whole lot different -from driving an aëroplane."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Learn it well, Motor Matt, whatever you do. According -to conditions governing the aëroplane trial, -you've got to stay in the air two hours, make not less -than thirty miles an hour, and carry a passenger. I'm -to be the passenger."</p> - -<p>So long as Matt had only his neck to think about, the -situation was tolerably clear; but, now that he knew he -had to carry the lieutenant along, he began to worry a -little.</p> - -<p>"I didn't know that part of it before," said Matt -gravely.</p> - -<p>"Don't fret, pard," put in McGlory, turning around -in his seat. "If the lieutenant hasn't got the nerve, why, -I'll go with you. And I reckon you know about how -much I enjoy the prospect of flyin'."</p> - -<p>"You can't cut me out of that, McGlory," declared -Cameron. "Why, if Mrs. Traquair hadn't found some -one to navigate the aëroplane, I was thinking seriously -of offering to do it myself. I was attached to the balloon -corps, for a while, but I'm handicapped by a very -imperfect knowledge of gas engines. You're the fellow -for the job, all right, Matt, and you can bet something -that I'll not pass up the chance of flying with you. Know -anything about the Traquair aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>"Only what I've found out from a study of the model. -Apart from that, I've been looking into the subject of -aëroplanes for some time. It was the hope of adding to -my knowledge of the subject that brought me to North -Dakota."</p> - -<p>"And you dropped into a villainous conspiracy right -at the start off!" exclaimed Cameron. "I'll send a message -to Oberon, just as soon as we reach the post, and -see if Siwash Charley and his mates can be headed off."</p> - -<p>"It won't do any good to send a message, lieutenant," -said Matt. "Siwash knows enough to make himself -scarce. Better let the matter drop—for the present, anyhow."</p> - -<p>"But there's Murgatroyd. He's got himself into a -pretty kettle of fish. You can go after <i>him</i>."</p> - -<p>"I don't want to bother with him, nor with any one -nor anything else but the aëroplane for the next two -weeks."</p> - -<p>"I guess your head's level on that point," mused Cameron. -"However, if Siwash Charley shows up on the -reservation while you're at work, we'll lay him by the -heels and throw him into the guardhouse. When are -you going to put the aëroplane together?"</p> - -<p>"This afternoon," replied Matt. "There's no time to -lose."</p> - -<p>An hour later they were at the post. Black had made -up his mind to remain over until the following day, and -Matt paid him his fifty dollars, and thanked him for -his work with the motor car.</p> - -<p>Following a late breakfast at the post, Matt went down -to meet Jake and superintend the unloading of the aëroplane. -Selecting a favorable site for the experiments -with the aëroplane required time, and dinner was ready -at the post before Matt and Cameron had picked out a -spot which they considered most favorable for the initial -trials.</p> - -<p>Following dinner, Matt and McGlory, in their working -togs, and accompanied by the lieutenant, hustled down -the hill to begin work with the aëroplane.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">ON THE WING.</p> - - -<p>The ground Matt selected for his initial experiments -lay about a quarter of a mile from the post trader's -store on the road toward Lallie, Minnewaukon, and -Oberon. For a long distance, at this place, the road was -level, flat as a board, and smooth as asphalt. It was -just the right bottom to give the aëroplane a good start -on the bicycle wheels.</p> - -<p>This part of the road, too, was free from timber, so -there could be no accidents from collisions with stationary -objects.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Cameron had a large "A" tent brought -down from the post, and pitched in a place convenient -to Matt's field of operations. Here the young motorist -and his assistants could rest, when they so desired, and -make their headquarters at all times.</p> - -<p>Four dismounted cavalrymen were to be constantly -on guard, each detail relieving the other, morning and -night.</p> - -<p>The post farrier placed his working tools at Matt's -disposal, and hammers, hatchets, and wrenches were -carried down to "Camp Traquair," as the aëroplane headquarters -came to be called, and Matt set actively to work -uncrating the machine.</p> - -<p>The two big planes of the flying machine measured -thirty-two feet in length by five in width. For convenience -in packing, carrying, and stowing, these planes -had been cut into halves, one half dovetailing into the -other by means of iron sockets.</p> - -<p>In assembling the aëroplane, Matt worked from memory -alone—his study of the model serving him in good -stead.</p> - -<p>Both of the thirty-two-foot planes were put together -first, and then joined, in a double-deck arrangement, by -tough spruce rods, which held the planes six feet apart. -The rods were further braced by wire guys, which could -be tightened at will by means of turn-buckles.</p> - -<p>For a width of about five feet the middle section of -the lower plane was reënforced with light, tough boards. -This platform formed a bed for the engine, the gasoline -tank, the mechanism-operating propeller and bicycle -wheels, and afforded seats for the operator and one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -passenger, as well as giving a rigid support for the -various levers controlling motor and rudders.</p> - -<p>The sliding wing extensions, so necessary for keeping -the machine's equilibrium while in the air, gave Matt -the most trouble of all. They slid on ball bearings from -under each plane, and were so adjusted that when one -extended the other contracted in the same proportion; -for, if there was too much air pressure under one wing, -it was necessary that the area of that wing should be -reduced, while the area of the other was enlarged.</p> - -<p>The putting together of the two large planes consumed -the afternoon; and when Matt, weary and tired, -answered the mess call of the colored cook sent down -from the post, he was able to see that the aëroplane was -gradually taking shape.</p> - -<p>"Looks about as much like a bird as I do," commented -McGlory.</p> - -<p>The next morning Matt went to work on the two -smaller planes which, in flight, went ahead of the machine, -guiding up or down, and doing something toward -distributing the air pressure. The vertical plane, which -had its place in the rear, was likewise adjusted.</p> - -<p>So rapidly did the work proceed that, by noon, Matt -was ready to install the motor.</p> - -<p>Traquair, it was evident, had built the aëroplane, put -it together, and adjusted every part before shipping it to -Fort Totten. The result of this forethought was apparent -in the installing of the engine. Every piece had -its place and dropped into it readily. The exact point -for every bolt and screw was marked.</p> - -<p>By seven o'clock the second night the aëroplane was -ready.</p> - -<p>McGlory, just before he, Matt, and Ping went for their -belated supper, stood in front of the forward planes.</p> - -<p>"Every boat, pard," said he, "whether she sails the -ocean or the sky, has got to have a name; therefore I, -by virtue of my authority as assistant to the big high -boy who is to navigate the craft, name this aëroplane -the <i>June Bug</i>."</p> - -<p>With that, the cowboy broke a bottle of Adam's ale -over the lower plane.</p> - -<p>"No likee <i>June Bug</i>," chattered Ping. "Him velly -bum name. Why you no callee him <i>Fan Tan</i>, huh?"</p> - -<p>"<i>Fan Tan!</i>" jeered McGlory. "Why, you squint-eyed -heathen, this ship's no gamble, but a sure thing. Remember -the lines of that beautiful poem:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"The June bug has no wings at all,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But it gets there just the same."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>"That's good enough," laughed Matt. "I'm going -to eat and turn in, for to-morrow I fly."</p> - -<p>The motor was a four-cylinder, and Matt judged, after -taking measurements, that it would develop about twenty-five -horse power.</p> - -<p>The next day came on with a very high wind, so high -that Matt deemed it worse than foolish to attempt his -first flight. It was hoped that, later in the day, the wind -would go down. Time was not lost while waiting, however. -Gasoline was secured from the fort, together with -a quantity of oil, and the motor was disconnected and -given its own particular try-out.</p> - -<p>It worked splendidly.</p> - -<p>Next the power was connected with the bicycle wheels, -and the <i>June Bug</i> was sent along the road under its own -power. Matt, in the driver's seat, came very near taking -a fly in spite of himself, for the wings caught the wind -and lifted the aëroplane some four feet in the air. With -a twist of the lever, Matt quickly pointed the smaller -planes downward, and glided into the road again without -a jar.</p> - -<p>The wind held until nightfall, and, of course, all hope -of a fly for that day went down with the sun.</p> - -<p>On the following morning there was hardly a breath -of air stirring. All the troopers came down from the -fort, and every person from the immediate vicinity of -the trader's store assembled to see how well Matt would -acquit himself of his first attempt at flight in an aëroplane.</p> - -<p>After making sure that everything was properly adjusted -and in perfect working order, Matt had the <i>June -Bug</i> pushed to the centre of the hard road. McGlory -was stationed at one wing, and Lieutenant Cameron at -the other, in order to run with the machine and help give -it a start.</p> - -<p>"Nervous, Matt?" queried Cameron, as the king of the -motor boys took his place on the seat and lifted his -feet to the foot rest.</p> - -<p>"Not half so nervous as you are, old chap," smiled -Matt. "Here, feel my pulse."</p> - -<p>"I'll take your word for it. Don't go very high."</p> - -<p>"So far as results are concerned, if I'm going to -fall it might just as well be from five hundred feet as -from fifty. All ready?"</p> - -<p>"All ready!"</p> - -<p>McGlory's voice was a bit husky, for he was even more -nervous than Cameron.</p> - -<p>The engine was already humming like a swarm of -bees.</p> - -<p>"Let her go," said Matt, switching the power into the -bicycle wheels.</p> - -<p>In less than a dozen feet, the aëroplane was traveling -too fast for Cameron and McGlory, and they dropped -out. Standing breathless where the <i>June Bug</i> had left -them, they watched the machine rush faster and faster -along the road, then, suddenly, swing into the air and -glide upward.</p> - -<p>Cheers rang out from half a hundred throats, only -to be suddenly stifled as the great wings tilted, fifty -feet above ground, into an almost vertical position. Matt, -they could see, was almost hurled from his seat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> - -<p>A groan was wrenched from Cameron's lips, and he -turned away.</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' thunderbolts, but that was close!" the lieutenant -heard McGlory mutter, and then the cheering was -renewed.</p> - -<p>Cameron looked again. The <i>June Bug</i> had righted -herself, and was rushing off toward the lake, mounting -steadily, higher and higher.</p> - -<p>"That feller's head's level, all right," remarked Benner.</p> - -<p>"How's that?" asked Cameron.</p> - -<p>"Why," laughed the post trader, "if he takes a tumble -he intends comin' down in the water."</p> - -<p>"Don't you believe it!" cried McGlory. "He don't -intend to take a tumble. That pard of mine has his -head with him, at every stage of the game."</p> - -<p>At the watchers judged, the <i>June Bug</i> passed over the -post some two hundred feet in the air. The contortions -of the machine were alarming. First one side would -tilt, and then the other. Half a dozen times it looked -as though the <i>June Bug</i> must surely go over on its back, -and come down a wreck with her intrepid young driver -mangled in the machinery.</p> - -<p>But Motor Matt, calm and clear brained, was working -to "get the knack." Every second he was studying. -Not once did thoughts of a mishap flash through his -brain.</p> - -<p>At the end of ten minutes he returned from the lake, -glided downward, and brought the bicycle wheels to a -rest in the road within a hundred feet of the place from -which he had started.</p> - -<p>His face was flushed, and his gray eyes shining as he -stepped from the machine to receive the congratulations -of everybody, even of the bluff post trader.</p> - -<p>"I'll try it again this afternoon," said Matt. "That's -enough for this morning. I want to think over my experience, -and see if I can improve my work in any particular -point."</p> - -<p>"You wabble a good deal," said Cameron.</p> - -<p>"I won't—when I get the knack."</p> - -<p>So that afternoon, and day after day thereafter, Motor -Matt went up and practiced to acquire the "knack." Little -by little it came to him, every flight teaching him -something that it was necessary for him to know.</p> - -<p>He went up in still air, in light winds, and in breezes -that made his friends tremble for his safety; but not -once did he get a spill, not once did anything go wrong -with the machinery, and not once did he fail to bring -the <i>June Bug</i> back to earth as gently and easily as he -had done on the morning of his first flight.</p> - -<p>Greater and greater crowds assembled to witness the -trials. The people came from Minnewaukon, from -Oberon, and from Devil's Lake City. Even the Indians -gathered from various parts of the reservation, and -gazed stolidly while "Boy-That-Flies-Like-the-Eagle"—as -they called Matt—continued to keep on the wing, and -learn the knack.</p> - -<p>As Tuesday—the day of the government test—drew -nearer, the railroads advertised excursions, and from -the Department of the Missouri came sundry men, high -in the councils of the war department, to see how well -Motor Matt would meet the supreme test.</p> - -<p>On Monday afternoon, after Matt had finished a flight -during which he had kept the <i>June Bug</i> almost level in -the air, Lieutenant Cameron caught his hand in a convulsive -grip.</p> - -<p>"I'm ready, Matt," said he; "you've got the knack."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">DASTARDLY WORK.</p> - - -<p>Ping was a badly demoralized Chinaman. He had -watched, with soulful admiration, every flight Matt -had made; he had swelled out like a toad every time the -work of his master was applauded in his hearing; and -he crept around Matt as though he was a joss—a wizard -more superhuman than a mere mortal.</p> - -<p>But the <i>June Bug</i> seemed to have become a part of -the Chinaman. He gloated over it, he patted it affectionately, -he crooned strange gibberish to it, and he kept -watch of it while in the air and on the ground as -though it was the apple of his eye.</p> - -<p>After Matt had finished his last flight before the Tuesday -trials, Ping crept off into the woods by himself, -dipped some water into a small china bowl, and dropped -into it a cake of India ink. Then he stirred the ink -until it was dissolved, found a big, smooth bowlder that -answered for a table, and squatted down beside it.</p> - -<p>First, he placed the china bowl on the bowlder; next, -he brought from the breast of his blouse a camel's-hair -brush, and half a dozen strips of rice paper; then, on -each strip of paper, he began painting potent prayers.</p> - -<p>Having finished his peculiar labors, he threw the little -bowl into the lake, hid the slips of rice paper under the -bowlder, put the brush in his pocket, and sneaked back -to Camp Traquair, arriving just in time for supper.</p> - -<p>That night Matt went to bed early, and McGlory soon -followed him. The <i>June Bug</i>, drawn up to the left of -the tent, looked like a ghost in the gathering dusk. -Around her were the four armed and alert guards.</p> - -<p>Then, again, Ping stole away to the bowlder. On its -flat top he started a little fire of dried twigs, and one -by one he dropped the slips of rice paper into the -blaze.</p> - -<p>When the last prayer was consumed, and the fire had -died down to a little heap of white ashes, Ping felt that -he had done everything possible to insure Motor Matt's -safety and success.</p> - -<p>It was nearly midnight when he stole back toward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -Camp Traquair. He saw a little glow of light in the -vicinity of the aëroplane, and he wondered what it could -be. Creeping forward, he investigated, and laughed at -himself for his fears.</p> - -<p>The guards had secured a lantern, and, in its light, they -were smoking and playing cards on a blanket.</p> - -<p>With the idea of curling up under one of the wings -of the <i>June Bug</i> and passing the night near the machine, -Ping made a wide detour around the soldiers, and started -toward the aëroplane from the other side.</p> - -<p>Suddenly his attention was arrested by a crawling -form moving back and forth, now showing darkly -against the white canvas of the planes, and now vanishing -in the deeper shadow under them.</p> - -<p>Presently he heard a queer, rasping note, as of a file -biting into steel. In a second he knew what was going -on.</p> - -<p>Siwash Charley was meddling with the aëroplane—was -weakening it here and there so that an accident -would be certain on the following day.</p> - -<p>With his heart in his throat, the Chinese boy arose to -his feet, and started toward the soldiers, his lips framing -a cry.</p> - -<p>But the cry was never uttered.</p> - -<p>Ping had not taken two steps toward the guards before -he was felled by a cruel blow from behind, and a -black, impenetrable pall dropped over his brain.</p> - -<p>"Begorry, what was thot?" exclaimed Sergeant -O'Hara, starting up from his seat on the ground and -looking toward the machine.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with you, sarg?" asked one of -the others.</p> - -<p>"I've a notion, d'ye moind, thot I heard somethin'," answered -O'Hara.</p> - -<p>"Your wits are woolgatherin', old man," said another -of the men.</p> - -<p>"I'll make sure av it, annyways," averred the sergeant.</p> - -<p>Taking the lamp, he walked over to the aëroplane, and -looked under it, inside it, and all around.</p> - -<p>"Iverything's all roight, so far as I can see," he reported, -coming back to his comrades, "but divil another -card do I play this noight. To yer posts, iviry wan o' -ye, an' we'll kape our eyes peeled. Th' leftinnint an' -Motor Matt sail in thot machine to-morrow, an' there's -a rumor thot Siwash Charley was seen in Divil's Lake -City th' day. Cut out th' card playin', b'ys. We've done -too much of it already."</p> - -<p>In the shadow of the woods, three men were carrying -a senseless Chinaman.</p> - -<p>"Let's toss him inter the lake, Siwash," suggested -one of the men.</p> - -<p>"What's the good, hey?" answered Siwash. "We'll -rope an' gag him. He'll not be found till too late, an' -mebby he'll never be found."</p> - -<p>"But if he saw you, an' recognized who ye was——"</p> - -<p>"He didn't; he didn't have time. Put the ropes on -him. Twist a cloth into a gag, Pete."</p> - -<p>"The lot o' us would swing fer this if it's ever found -out," demurred Pete.</p> - -<p>Ping opened his eyes before the scoundrels had left -him. He recognized Siwash Charley by his voice, and he -saw his face by a ray of moonlight that drifted in among -the trees.</p> - -<p>Ping tried to cry out, but his lips were sealed; and he -tried to use his hands and feet, but found them bound.</p> - -<p>With an inward groan, he sank back and the night of -unconsciousness once more rolled over him.</p> - -<p>When he again revived, the sun was high, and there -was a murmur of life from far off in the direction of -Camp Traquair. He lay on his back, his face upward, -and he could see the high bluffs of the lake, over toward -the post. They were covered with people.</p> - -<p>What was the matter? he asked himself. How had -he come there? Why was he bound, and why was the -cloth tied between his jaws?</p> - -<p>In a flash, his bewildered mind remembered all that -had happened.</p> - -<p>He heard again the rasp of the file biting into steel; he -recalled his suspicions, his attempt to cry out to the -soldiers, the blow that had felled him; then, too, the -moment of consciousness in the woods came back to him, -bringing the raucous voice and ill-omened face of Siwash -Charley.</p> - -<p>The aëroplane had been tampered with by Motor -Matt's enemies! And this was Tuesday, the day of the -trials!</p> - -<p>If Matt attempted to fly in the <i>June Bug</i>, there would -be an accident, and he would be killed!</p> - -<p>Like a demon, the boy fought to free himself. He -must get to Camp Traquair and tell what he had seen -and heard. If he did not, the fiendish work of Siwash -Charley would spell destruction for Motor Matt and -the joss of the clouds.</p> - -<p>What passed in that little heathen's mind will never -be known. He was a Chinaman, and the workings of -a Chinaman's mind, while following the same lines as -the workings of a Caucasian's, are yet never quite the -same.</p> - -<p>Ping's fight with the cords that bound his wrists and -ankles brought pain and drew blood, and his tongue, -from a frenzied gnawing of the gag, was sore and swollen; -but he could not free himself. Siwash Charley and -his mates had performed their work only too well.</p> - -<p>In sheer desperation, Ping attempted to roll in the -direction of Camp Traquair.</p> - -<p>He got perhaps twenty feet over the sharp stones and -rough tree-roots, and then his mind faded into an oblivion—quite -as much the result of his own horrifying -thoughts as of his physical pain and weakness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> - -<p>He awoke to hear cheers, and to piece together, once -more, his battered notions of the trend of events.</p> - -<p>As he lay staring dumbly upward, he saw the cloud -joss winging across the woods like a huge bird, high, -very high in the air.</p> - -<p>Motor Matt was there, guiding the joss, and making -it do his will; and beside Motor Matt was Lieutenant -Cameron. Only a moment did the aëroplane show itself -to Ping's restricted vision, and then the tops of the trees -shut it from his sight.</p> - -<p>Far away somewhere the helpless boy could hear wild -cheering.</p> - -<p>What good were choice prayers, painted on rice paper, -and burned to the heathen deities?</p> - -<p>This is what Ping's bruised and quivering mind asked -itself.</p> - -<p>By every means in his power, Ping had tried to avert -disaster.</p> - -<p>One prayer had been for a calm day. This seemed to -have been answered, for there was hardly a breath stirring -the tree tops.</p> - -<p>Another prayer was for a safe start. That, likewise, -must have been answered, or Matt would not now be -on the wing.</p> - -<p>Yet another prayer was for the flying machine's -safety while in the air; a fourth had been for the machinery; -a fifth for the wings; a sixth for a safe descent; -a seventh had been general in its terms, and had -most to do with Motor Matt's fame and fortune after -the trial was over.</p> - -<p>Ping had burned no prayer for Lieutenant Cameron. -In some manner, he could not understand how, the lieutenant -had escaped his mind.</p> - -<p>While he lay there, miserably going over these heathen -things which were all terribly real and important to -him, a roar of fear, horror, and consternation came -from the distance.</p> - -<p>Turning his head a little, Ping was able to see people -scrambling over the bluffs, wildly excited.</p> - -<p>The accident had happened.</p> - -<p>With a groan, Ping closed his eyes, and turned his -face to the earth.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE GOVERNMENT TRIAL.</p> - - -<p>Matt awoke, on that memorable Tuesday, to find that -fortune was favoring him with a clear sky and not -enough wind to ripple the flag over the tent.</p> - -<p>McGlory greeted him in a strangely subdued manner. -The cowboy had a lot on his mind, and Matt -rallied him about his odd reserve.</p> - -<p>"Where's Ping?" asked Matt, noting that the little -Chinaman was not hovering around his vicinity as usual.</p> - -<p>"Give it up, pard," said McGlory. "Suppose he's off -asking his joss to give you luck."</p> - -<p>People were already gathering on the bluffs, and -rounding up in wagons and automobiles in the near -vicinity of Camp Traquair.</p> - -<p>While Matt was looking over the aëroplane, Cameron -brought several dignified, gold-laced officers, who had -come from distant points to witness the trials. The -lieutenant presented them, and the boyish, unaffected -manner of the young motorist had a good effect on the -representatives of the war department.</p> - -<p>"You understand, do you, Motor Matt," said one of -these gentlemen, "that you are to stay aloft two hours, -with one passenger, and travel at the rate of thirty -miles an hour?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," answered Matt. "I can stay aloft three -hours just as well as two, and I think you will see the -aëroplane do fifty miles instead of thirty."</p> - -<p>The officers smiled at his enthusiasm. But they liked -it, for it proved that his heart was in his work.</p> - -<p>"Don't push the machine too hard," counseled one of -the officers.</p> - -<p>"I'll not do that, sir," said Matt. "Before I take up -the lieutenant, I'll go up alone, to make sure that everything -is working well. I have just found one of the -propeller blades loosened—and that looks a good deal -as though some one had been tampering with the machine. -Of course, however," he added, "that's impossible, -for the aëroplane has been guarded night and -day."</p> - -<p>"I'd wager my life on O'Hara," put in Cameron, confidently. -"He had charge of last night's detail."</p> - -<p>As Matt's examination went further, he found bolts -loose, here and there. In fact, so many parts were weakened -that the general result could hardly be called accidental. -However, he liked O'Hara, and did not want -to overturn the lieutenant's trust in him. So, saying -nothing, he went on carefully with his examination, tightening -everything that was loose.</p> - -<p>At last he was satisfied that the aëroplane was in -as good trim as ever.</p> - -<p>"I'm a little late in starting," said he to McGlory and -Cameron, "but it's always well to be on the safe side. -Be ready, old chap," he added to the lieutenant, "when -I come back from this little trial spin."</p> - -<p>In a way that had become an old story to him and -his friends, but which was intensely new and novel to -nine out of every ten of the onlookers, Matt started the -<i>June Bug</i> along the road, lifted her into the air, and -sailed her far out over the bluff and the lake.</p> - -<p>Everything was working as well as usual. The air -craft met the strain in every part, seemingly as staunch -as she had always been. At a leisurely jog—just enough -to keep the aëroplane afloat with the wings but slightly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -tilted—Matt turned above the lake and glided back to -his starting point.</p> - -<p>He had done no manœuvring, attempted no speed, and -had not tried to break his record for staying aloft. -Nevertheless, the military representatives were enthusiastic.</p> - -<p>"Wait until you see Matt put the machine through her -paces," said the lieutenant, smiling confidently at his -senior officer, as he took his place in the machine.</p> - -<p>Two signal corps privates ran with the <i>June Bug</i> to -give her a start. The added weight of the lieutenant -made her a little slower in taking the air, and not quite -so swift in mounting upward, but Matt soon found that -she was more easily managed with this additional ballast.</p> - -<p>"By Jove," cried the lieutenant delightedly, "but this -is fine! North Dakota has turned out a lot of people to -see this exhibition, Matt. The bluffs are black with them, -and everywhere you look you can see people with their -faces upturned, either gaping in wonder or yelling -with delight. Hear 'em cheer! I should think it would -make your blood tingle."</p> - -<p>"I haven't any time for all that," said Matt, busy with -his levers, and watching everything with a keen, alert -eye; "I've got something else to keep track of. You're -watching the time?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. It was ten-fifteen when we started."</p> - -<p>Matt slowly speeded up the engine. The route, as -already determined on, was to be across Devil's Lake and -back, and then to Minnewaukon and back, going over -the course as many times as he could during the two -hours the aëroplane must stay in the air.</p> - -<p>At a height of fifty feet above the surface of the earth, -their flight through the air became a swirling rush. At -top speed—a speed which Matt reckoned as fifty miles -an hour—he made a wide, sweeping turn over the roof -tops of Devil's Lake City, and plunged off across the -lake. A frenzy of cheering arose from the bluffs and -Camp Traquair as the aëroplane darted over them on -her way to Minnewaukon.</p> - -<p>"Can't we go higher, Matt?" begged the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>"We'll go higher after we make the turn over Minnewaukon," -Matt replied.</p> - -<p>After that, Cameron did not bother Matt with questions. -The young motorist's every faculty was wrapped -up in his work. His ear alone told him how well the -motor was doing, and his eyes, ears, and his sense of -touch were brought into play in preserving the aëroplane's -equilibrium.</p> - -<p>The merest rise of one wing caused a mechanical shifting -of the lever on which Matt constantly held his left -hand.</p> - -<p>That left hand of the young motorist had been trained -to its work in many an automobile race, and its quickness -and cunning did not fail him now.</p> - -<p>There were some people still left in Minnewaukon—not -all the town's inhabitants had gone to the bluffs -or to Camp Traquair. Those that remained in the place -assembled on the streets or on the roof tops, and cheered -wildly as the aëroplane veered in a circle and rushed -back toward Totten.</p> - -<p>The official recorder was here, as in Devil's Lake City, -noting the time, and jotting it down on a pad of paper.</p> - -<p>Once turned toward Camp Traquair, Matt sent the -aëroplane resolutely upward. Up and still up the craft -glided, forced by the whirling propeller and supported -by the air under the planes.</p> - -<p>"How high do you think we are now, Cameron?" -asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Three hundred feet, I should say," replied Cameron.</p> - -<p>"I guess that will do. It's easier sailing up here. The -air close to the earth's surface is in a constant state -of agitation, but at this height it's quieter. Don't you -notice how much smoother we're gliding?"</p> - -<p>"I've been noticing that," said Cameron. "It's like a -boat on a mill pond, only we're traveling like an express -train."</p> - -<p>Again they were over Camp Traquair, and again the -wild cheering of the crowds reached their ears. They -crossed the lake, turned, once more hovered over Camp -Traquair, then glided downward to a height of a hundred -feet, and rushed over the air line to Minnewaukon.</p> - -<p>Three times they made the round trip. As they were -coming back from Minnewaukon the third time, Cameron -looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>"The two hours are up, Matt," he announced, "and I -am almost sorry for it. We'd better go down. You -have won the test on every point, and the sale of the -aëroplane to the government is assured. If you had a -hand free, I'd give you a hearty grip along with my -congratulations."</p> - -<p>"Keep that until we land," laughed Matt.</p> - -<p>The cheering came up to them like Bedlam let loose -as they drew near Camp Traquair, and Matt slackened -the pace, preparatory to descending.</p> - -<p>Then it was that the unexpected—so far as Matt was -concerned—happened.</p> - -<p>There came a snap like the crack of a pistol, and Matt -had a sudden vision of a writhing wire rope coiling -viciously in the air. It missed him, but struck the lieutenant -on the forehead.</p> - -<p>Instinctively the lieutenant arose on the footboard, and -tossed his arms. It was a fierce blow he had received, -and unconsciousness had claimed him. Staggering in -midair, he would have tottered off into space had it not -been for the king of the motor boys.</p> - -<p>Quick as a flash, Motor Matt caught the lieutenant's -arm just in time to keep him from falling.</p> - -<p>The accident was witnessed by the thousands of spectators<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -gathered below. For an instant it seemed as -though the fluttering aëroplane would be overturned and -come rushing earthward; then, as the horrified people -watched, the reeling lieutenant was dragged out of -sight between the canvas planes, the aëroplane righted -suddenly, glided downward, and dropped on her wheels -in the road.</p> - -<p>Matt's face was white, but his voice was steady as he -called to those who were rushing toward the machine.</p> - -<p>"Cameron is only stunned—he'll be all right in a -little while. Here, lift him out and lay him on the -ground."</p> - -<p>One of the epauletted, gold-laced officers brushed a -handkerchief across his forehead with a shaking hand.</p> - -<p>"If he lives," said the officer, "he'll owe his life to -Motor Matt. I never saw anything like that before, and -I hope I never shall again. Gad, how it strains a man's -nerves."</p> - -<p>When Cameron was removed from the machine, Matt -passed to the forward planes and examined the end of -the broken wire guy.</p> - -<p>"It was notched with a file," he asserted, "and for -more than two hours Cameron and I have been playing -with death, hundreds of feet in the air."</p> - -<p>He passed rapidly to the wire stay supporting the forward -planes on the opposite side.</p> - -<p>"This, also, is notched," he added. "If this guy had -snapped, nothing could have saved us!"</p> - -<p>"What murderous scoundrel could have done it?" demanded -a dozen fierce voices.</p> - -<p>"His name is Siwash Charley," said Matt. "It must -have been done last night. Find the scoundrel, if you -can; he should be made to answer for this."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">FAME—AND A LITTLE FORTUNE.</p> - - -<p>"The returns are in from Devil's Lake City and Minnewaukon. -Time, two hours and seven minutes. Distance -traveled, ninety miles. This was at the rate of -a little less than forty-five miles an hour, and the government -ought to be completely satisfied. I know I am. -Motor Matt, allow me to congratulate you."</p> - -<p>One of the officers was doing the speaking.</p> - -<p>It was three hours after the sensational finish of the -trial. The crowds had departed. McGlory, a few officers, -Cameron, and Matt were in the tent at Camp Traquair. -Cameron, his head bandaged, was lying on a cot, -but he was wide awake and smiling.</p> - -<p>"I knew he could do the trick," said Cameron; "in -fact, I've been confident of that ever since I saw him -wabble around on his first flight with the aëroplane. -What beats me, though, is how those ropes became -notched."</p> - -<p>"Sergeant O'Hara thinks he knows how it happened," -explained the officer who had read off the <i>June Bug's</i> -record. "He and the other three guards were having a -game of seven-up, last night, when they should have -been giving their entire attention to watching the aëroplane. -O'Hara thought he heard a noise around the -machine. He investigated, but found no cause for uneasiness. -After that, O'Hara declares, the card playing -stopped; but, it now seems clear, the evil had already -been done."</p> - -<p>"We don't know that this fellow calling himself Siwash -Charley was the scoundrel who filed the guy -ropes," spoke up another officer.</p> - -<p>"It's a positive certainty, in my own mind," declared -Cameron.</p> - -<p>"What your individual belief is, lieutenant, would -hardly stand at a court-martial, or in a court of law."</p> - -<p>"That's true, yes, sir. Siwash Charley was seen in -Devil's Lake City yesterday——"</p> - -<p>"Circumstantial, but hardly conclusive. He can't be -found now. Fully a hundred men have been looking -for him and are now on the trail, but Siwash Charley, -if he was here, has vanished."</p> - -<p>"I'm too happy over the way everything came out," -put in Matt, "to waste any thoughts on Siwash Charley. -The aëroplane has made good. There's no doubt about -the sale to the government?"</p> - -<p>"Not the slightest," came a chorus from the officers.</p> - -<p>"There can't possibly be, Matt," added Cameron.</p> - -<p>"That telegram of mine was sent to Mrs. Traquair?" -Matt went on.</p> - -<p>"It was sent from the post within half an hour after -the aëroplane landed. By this time, Mrs. Traquair -knows what Motor Matt has done for her."</p> - -<p>"It wasn't that that I wanted her to understand, but -the fact that a little fortune had come to her, and that -she was no longer in the clutches of that loan shark, -Murgatroyd."</p> - -<p>"She knows that, too. A little fortune, I understand, -has also come to Motor Matt."</p> - -<p>"And more fame," put in McGlory, "than one modest -young chap like my pard knows how to shoulder."</p> - -<p>"What little fortune there is," smiled Matt, "is to -be divided with my chum, Joe McGlory, who was a -bigger help to me than I imagine he realized. Part of -the fame should be his, too."</p> - -<p>"Speak to me about that!" chuckled the cowboy. -"Fame! Oh, yes, I ought to be plastered with it. Why, -I wouldn't have gone up in the <i>June Bug</i> for all the -fame they tacked onto Napoleon."</p> - -<p>There was a general laugh at this.</p> - -<p>"I wonder what's become of Ping?" Matt inquired -anxiously. "It isn't like him to hide out on us, in this -fashion. The last I saw of him was last night."</p> - -<p>"There is something queer about that," averred McGlory.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -"He ought to have been around to exult, Ping -had, and it's——"</p> - -<p>O'Hara stuck his head in at the tent flap, just at that -moment.</p> - -<p>"Beggin' yer pardon, sors, but there's an Injun just -come, totin' a half-baked Chink. Do yez want thim -insoide?"</p> - -<p>"Sure!" cried Matt. "Send them in."</p> - -<p>A Sioux Indian, looking anything but the noble red -man in his moccasins and coat, hat, and trousers, pigeon -toed his way into the tent with a brief but respectful -"How!"</p> - -<p>Behind him, half carried and half dragged, came -Ping!</p> - -<p>The boy was a sight.</p> - -<p>He was bareheaded and barefooted; his usually neat -blouse and baggy trousers were torn and soiled; his -hands were bleeding, and there was a wild, despairing -look on his yellow face. The wildness and the despair -vanished, however, when he caught sight of Matt.</p> - -<p>"By Klismas!" he gurgled. "Shiwas Charley no -killee Motol Matt? Hoop-a-la!" and Ping ran to Matt -and dropped down on his knees in front of him, hugging -one of his hands in a maudlin expression of joy.</p> - -<p>"Where have you been, Ping?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Allee same woods. Shiwas makee tie hands and -feet, stoppee talk with gag. Whoosh! My thinkee -you go topside, my no come tellee what Shiwas do. -Velly bad pidgin!"</p> - -<p>Then, little by little, Matt got the whole story of -Ping's experience.</p> - -<p>"You are positive Siwash Charley was one of the -men who knocked you down, here at the camp, and -carried you into the woods?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"My savvy Shiwas plenty much," declared Ping.</p> - -<p>"I guess there's our proof, gentlemen," said Cameron. -"Siwash can't dodge that."</p> - -<p>"Hardly," said one of the officers. "If Siwash is -caught, he'll be taken care of. What a dastardly piece -of work! What made the fellow such an enemy of -yours, Matt?"</p> - -<p>"He was only a tool in the hands of another," said -Matt. "That other man was an enemy of Traquair's, -and the fellow didn't want the aëroplane to stand the test -she faced to-day. The money Mrs. Traquair is to receive -will enable her to pay a mortgage which this other -scoundrel holds on a quarter section of land in Wells -County."</p> - -<p>"And all this double-dealing is about a mortgage on -a quarter section of prairie land! It hardly seems possible."</p> - -<p>"There is something about that land I don't understand," -admitted Matt. "But that's the way the matter -stands, anyhow, no matter what is back of the mortgage. -The government, I presume," he added, "merely -buys the aëroplane? What it pays for the machine -isn't a purchase of Traquair's patents?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all," went on the officer who had been doing -most of the talking. "The government simply buys -this aëroplane, called the—er—the <i>June Bug</i>—a name, -by the way, which I don't fancy—and the government -likewise secures the right to purchase any other aëroplane -using the Traquair patents, or to build such machines -itself, paying Traquair's heirs at law a royalty."</p> - -<p>"That," said Matt, "is liable to make Mrs. Traquair -a rich woman."</p> - -<p>"Well, hardly, unless the government goes into the -aëroplane business rather more extensively than I think. -Still, Mrs. Traquair should be assured of a modest competence, -say, a hundred thousand dollars, or such a -matter."</p> - -<p>McGlory reeled on his chair.</p> - -<p>"Modest competence!" he gulped. "Sufferin' poorhouses! -Why, Mrs. Traquair wouldn't know how to -spend a quarter of that money. She——"</p> - -<p>"Tillygram, sor," announced O'Hara, again thrusting -his head through the tent flap. "It jist came down -from th' post an' has th' name av Motor Matt on th' -face av ut."</p> - -<p>Matt took the envelope and tore it open. His face -crimsoned as he read, and he started to put the yellow -slip away in his pocket.</p> - -<p>But McGlory grabbed it.</p> - -<p>"Listen to this once," said he, and read aloud:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"'How can a poor woman thank you for what you -have done? You, and you alone, have saved poor -Harry Traquair's wife and children from more bitterness -and hardship than you will ever realize. God bless -you!</p> - -<p class="sig"> -<span class="smcap">Mrs. Traquair.</span>'"<br /> -</p></blockquote> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="center medium">THE NEXT NUMBER (25) WILL CONTAIN</p> - -<p class="center huge">Motor Matt's Reverse;</p> - -<p class="center medium">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">CAUGHT IN A LOSING CAUSE.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Plotters Three—The New Aeroplane—Treachery and -Tragedy—Murgatroyd's First Move—A Startling -Plan—The Air-line into Trouble—Nothing Doing -in Sykestown—Brought to Earth—The Coil -Tightens—The Door in the Hillside—A Revelation -for Matt—Pecos Takes a Chance—Besieged—The -Broker's Game—Cant Phillips, Deserter—The -Losing Cause.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> - - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">NEW YORK, August 7, 1909.</p> - -<p class="center"><b>TERMS TO MOTOR STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS.</b></p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center"><b>Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.</b></p> - -<table summary="Terms"> -<tr><td>3 months</td><td class="tdr">65c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>4 months</td><td class="tdr">85c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>6 months</td><td class="tdr">$1.25</td></tr> -<tr><td>One year</td><td class="tdr">2.50</td></tr> -<tr><td>2 copies one year</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -<tr><td>1 copy two years</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><b>How to Send Money</b>—By post-office or express money-order, -registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent -by currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter.</p> - -<p><b>Receipts</b>—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper -change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly -credited, and should let us know at once.</p> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr><td> -<span class="smcap">Ormond G. Smith</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">George C. Smith</span>, -</td> -<td style="font-size: 200%">}</td><td style="padding-right: 1em;"><i>Proprietors</i>.</td> -<td class="tdc"> -<b>STREET & SMITH, Publishers,<br /> -79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</b> -</td></tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="TRICKED_BY_TWO" id="TRICKED_BY_TWO">TRICKED BY TWO.</a></h2> - -<p class="center">CONCLUSION.</p> - - -<p>Neatly ensconced under the bed clothes, and with its horrible -fleshless head laid in ghastly mockery upon his pillow, -was a human skeleton.</p> - -<p>For a moment Guy Hereford stared at the hideous object. -Then recovering himself with a strong effort, he shouted -violently for his boy Rufus.</p> - -<p>The negro came into the room, showing a double row of -magnificent ivories in a grin that stretched almost from ear -to ear.</p> - -<p>"What does this mean, Rufe?" demanded Guy angrily, -pointing to the skull on his pillow.</p> - -<p>"Doan' you get excited, boss," said the nigger, still grinning. -"I done dat. I been all day gettin' him. Nebber had -such a job in all my bawn days."</p> - -<p>"Have you gone clean crazy?" cried Guy in amazed perplexity.</p> - -<p>"No, sah. <i>Dat you!</i>" was Rufe's amazing reply. "Doan' -you be angry, boss," he went on hurriedly, as Guy stepped -suddenly toward him. "I done discovered a splendiferous -plan to obfuscate dat dar Deacon, and dat am part ob de -invention. I tell you dat am you."</p> - -<p>Guy was beyond speech. He could only gaze helplessly at -the beaming face of the negro.</p> - -<p>Rufus, proud as a peacock, condescended to explain. "It -dis way, sah. You going to build a new house soon, ain't -you?"</p> - -<p>"I was," replied Guy gloomily.</p> - -<p>"Dat all right, den. Now, doan' you be down-hearted, sah. -Dis niggah bossing dis heah job."</p> - -<p>"For Heaven's sake explain, Rufe," exclaimed Guy.</p> - -<p>"I goin' to, sah. It dis way. Dis am de time for burning -de woods, ain't it?"</p> - -<p>Guy nodded. For the life of him he could not imagine -what the man was driving at.</p> - -<p>"An' grass am good an' long right up to de back ob de -garden?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Den dis my plan, sah. I set out fire in de woods to-night, -set him in ten, twelve places. Dere's a win' blowin' -from de west. Ef we doan' touch it de house burn down -sure." He paused with an illuminating chuckle.</p> - -<p>Light began to dawn on Guy.</p> - -<p>"You mean," he said slowly, "that we're to burn down -the shanty and make them think that I've burned in it. That -skeleton's to be me."</p> - -<p>"You done hit de bull's face in once, sah!" cried the negro -in high delight. "Dat just de way I figure it out. In de -morning dat no-'count Deacon, he come round to see you an' -find out if you done got de money for him. Den he find -nothin' but de burned-up house an' de burned-up bones."</p> - -<p>"'Pon my soul, Rufe, I believe it's workable," exclaimed -Guy, a light of hope appearing on his puzzled face.</p> - -<p>"In course it am workable, sah. Deacon, he can't get no -money from a daid man. Dat one thing mighty sure!"</p> - -<p>"But won't he suspect anything?" suggested Guy.</p> - -<p>"Not if dis niggah still alive," declared Rufe emphatically. -"I tell you, Marse Guy, I goin' to do down dat man proper. -He find me hyah, just a-howlin' and a-carryin' on ober dem -ole bones, an' I tell him all about how de fire come in out ob -de woods an' how it cotch de house, an' how I done try to -pull you out. Oh, I fool him 'to eights.'"</p> - -<p>Guy couldn't help laughing. Rufe's enjoyment over the -prospective humbugging of Deacon was so intense.</p> - -<p>"You see, Marse Guy," went on Rufe eagerly, "Deacon -he be so glad to think you daid, he never bother to t'ink -whether you foolin' him. He next heir, an' all he t'ink be to -get de place an' all de t'ings dat belong to you. He nebber -go to dat inquisition at all."</p> - -<p>"And what's to become of me in the meantime?" asked -Guy.</p> - -<p>"You got money, ain't you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, luckily I've got twenty dollars or so in the house."</p> - -<p>"Well, dat all right. Take de train an' go down to Tampa -on de Gulf. Swimmin' in de sea do you a power o' good, -boss. I reckon you better take some oder name an' den -walk down an' cotch de train at some place furder down de -line dan Pine Lake."</p> - -<p>After a little more talk Guy and his man settled up all -the details. It was agreed that the house should be sacrificed, -and that Guy himself should temporarily disappear and go -down to Tampa. After the inquest on Blissett, Rufe was to -write to him there at the post office and tell him how things -turned out.</p> - -<p>The worst of it was that Dandy had to be left behind. It -would arouse suspicion if the pony were taken away. But -Guy, who was anxious above all things that his horse should -not fall into Deacon's hands, even for a few days, thought of -a way out of the difficulty. He gave Rufe a note for his -wages for two months, and told him that on the following -day he was to go into Pine Lake and file a lien on the pony -for his pay.</p> - -<p>Then the two set to work to take Guy's few articles of -value out of the shanty and hide them. This they did by -rolling them in a big rubber blanket and burying them in the -dry, sandy soil in the orange grove.</p> - -<p>This took some little time, and it was nearly eleven o'clock -when Guy was at last ready to go.</p> - -<p>"Now, mind you, Rufe," were his last words to the negro, -"don't you overdo it, and don't let Deacon see that you hate -him. A little soft sawder won't do any harm."</p> - -<p>"Doan' you worry your haid, boss," replied Rufe consolingly. -"I reckon I keep up my end agains' Deacon or any of -dem folk. To-morrow, after I seen Deacon, I go to Pine -Lake an' hear de inquest on Blissett. Den I write an' tell -you all dat happen."</p> - -<p>Guy nodded. "I shall be desperately anxious to hear the -verdict," he said. "If Deacon doesn't give evidence, the -worst they're likely to return is manslaughter."</p> - -<p>"Doan' you worry, boss," said Rufe confidently. "I reckon -it am going to be 'justificational homeyside.' Deacon, he -won't give no evidence. He be too busy gettin' ready to -move over heah."</p> - -<p>"Only hope so," said Guy. "Now, good-by, Rufe. Remember -all I've told you."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> - -<p>Master and man shook hands, and Guy, slinging a small -bag across his shoulder on a stick, walked away from the -shanty which had been his only home for four long years -of hard work and happiness, and disappeared into the forest.</p> - -<p>He had not gone far before a flickering glow gleamed -redly on the serried ranks of tall, straight trunks.</p> - -<p>He turned. Half a dozen pin points of fire were visible -on the far side of the clearing. They grew rapidly, and -presently the night sky was all aglow with leaping tongues -of flame.</p> - -<p>The soft breeze which soughed through the tops of the -pines sent the flames sweeping down upon the little house, -which stood a squat, black mass between the watcher and -the blaze behind.</p> - -<p>Fascinated by the sight, Guy stood motionless, watching -the destruction sweep upon his home.</p> - -<p>The many little fires joined forces, and Guy could plainly -hear the roar and crackle as the tall, dry grass burst into -hissing sparks. There was little chance of any one interfering -to save the house. Now that Blissett was dead Guy -had no neighbor within a mile, and in the spring of the year -fires are too frequent in the Florida woods for any one to pay -attention. The cattlemen are always busy burning off the -old grass to get fresh pasture for their herds.</p> - -<p>Now the whole sky was alight, and the blaze illuminated -the sleeping woods far and near. Red-hot sparks were falling -like rain upon the shingle roof of the cabin.</p> - -<p>Another minute, and little streaks of red fire were winding -like snakes about the eaves.</p> - -<p>"She's going," muttered Guy sorrowfully.</p> - -<p>Yes, once the fire got hold of the sun-dried pine of which -the house was built the flames rushed up in great leaping -columns. The place burned like a tar barrel, and the glow -became so intense that Guy shrank away further into the -woods for fear of being observed by any one who might -possibly have been attracted by the blaze.</p> - -<p>Still he could not tear himself away from the sight of the -destruction of his old home. Sheltering behind a huge pine -trunk, he watched till, with a loud crash and a hurricane -of sparks, the roof fell in, and of the shanty no more remained -than a shapeless pile.</p> - -<p>With a deep sigh Guy Hereford turned away, and never -stopped until at four o'clock in the morning he boarded the -south-bound mail train at the small wayside station of -Kissochee.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Any letter for George Hatfield?"</p> - -<p>The smart clerk took up a bundle of letters, ran them -rapidly through, and flung them down. "Nope!"</p> - -<p>Guy Hereford's face fell.</p> - -<p>"Quite sure?" he asked.</p> - -<p>The clerk glared.</p> - -<p>"What do you think?" he asked sharply, and the other -turned slowly away.</p> - -<p>"What's happened?" he thought uneasily. "Why hasn't -Rufe written?"</p> - -<p>He was hardly outside the post office before a bare-legged -nigger boy thrust a paper in his face. "Here y'are, boss. -<i>Tampa Sentinel!</i> All de details ob de horrific tragedy up in -Orange County."</p> - -<p>Guy grabbed a paper, shoved a quarter into the astonished -youngster's hand, and, without waiting for change, was off -like a shot.</p> - -<p>He reached his room in the boarding house where he had -put up, and tore the paper open.</p> - -<p>Yes, here it was—a whole column!</p> - -<p>"Strange double tragedy near Pine Lake! Well-known -cattleman killed. His nearest neighbor burned to death. -Two inquests in one day."</p> - -<p>So much for the headlines.</p> - -<p>Guy gave a deep sigh of relief. "Nothing about murder, -anyhow," he muttered.</p> - -<p>Then he began to read rapidly. Slowly his expression of -anxiety changed to relief, and then to amusement. Finally -he burst into a fit of laughter.</p> - -<p>"Fine! Dandy!" he cried. "My good Oliver, you are a -peach, and no mistake. This is the absolute limit." And -dropping the paper he lay back in his chair and laughed till -the tears rolled down his cheeks.</p> - -<p>"Dat am too bad, Marse Guy. I nebber t'ink you heah -it all from dat fool newspaper."</p> - -<p>The deep voice made Guy fairly jump. Springing to his -feet he swung round, and there was Rufe, dressed in his -best Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and with an expression of -deep annoyance on his ebony face.</p> - -<p>"You Rufe?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sah. I come down all de way by de train to tell -you de news, an' now dat blame paper done tole you de -whole t'ing."</p> - -<p>"Not a bit of it, Rufe. It hasn't told me half. If you -hadn't turned up I should have taken the next train back -to see you and find out just what has happened. Tell me, is -Deacon in possession?"</p> - -<p>Rufe, somewhat mollified, grinned. "Yes, boss, he dar -right enough. He camping in de stable."</p> - -<p>"Hasn't got Dandy, I hope?" put in Guy anxiously.</p> - -<p>"No, sah. Dandy in de libery stable at Pine Lake."</p> - -<p>"That's all right. Now go on. Tell me what happened. -Did he come over yesterday morning?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sah; he come ober about ten. An' you ought to hab -seen his face when he foun' de house burned!"</p> - -<p>"He asked for me, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he done ask for you at once, an' I show him de -bones, an' tell him you all burned up. Fust he look flabbergasted, -den he sort o' chuckle, and I feel like whanging him -one ober de haid."</p> - -<p>"What happened then?"</p> - -<p>"He act like he think he boss an' I his niggah. He tell me -go get a wagon an' carry de bones into Pine Lake. Say it -sabe trouble hab one inquisition 'stead ob two. I act meek, -an go borrow a spring wagon an' hitch Dandy up, an' we -take de bones in, an' he tell de sheriff. I t'ink dat sheriff -kind ob like you, Marse Guy. He mighty worried. Den he -say; 'Quite right. Hab one inquisition on bofe de bodies.'"</p> - -<p>"Did you go, Rufe?"</p> - -<p>"You bet I go, boss. Firs' dey hab Blissett's body. All -dem cracker chaps look at de haid, an' Deacon he gib evidence -an say he seen it all. He say dat Blissett done tried -to shoot you, and you didn't hab no pistol, but you was real -brave an' ride hard at him, an' knock him off de hawse, an' -de hawse kick him an' run away into de woods."</p> - -<p>Rufe stopped to chuckle at the remembrance. Guy -laughed too. He quite understood Deacon's motive.</p> - -<p>His cousin wanted to pose in a good light before the jury, -so that there could be no chance of suspicion falling on him -that he was implicated in his—Guy's—death.</p> - -<p>"Den de sheriff he get up an' say dat you was a very nice -gen'elman," went on Rufe, "an' dat Mistah Deacon's evidence -was very straight, an' dat dere was only one verdict -for dem to give, an' dat he left de matter in dere hands.</p> - -<p>"So dey just talk a bit among demselves, an' den de foreman, -old Abe Mizell, he get up and say dat dey was all -agreed dat Harvey Blissett was killed 'cause his skull not so -hard as de heel ob his hawse.</p> - -<p>"Den dey hab de bones in, an' I gib evidence." Rufe -swelled with pride.</p> - -<p>"What did you say, Rufe?"</p> - -<p>"Dey ask me if I could 'dentify dem dere bones. I say I -reckon dey mus' be you's, 'cause I find 'em in among de cinders -ob your bed. I couldn't sw'ar, I tole 'em, because I -warn't dar when it happens. I tell 'em I coming home from -courting my gal, an' see de fire an' run; but t'ain't no good. -I too late. All burned up before I get dar. Anyhow, I ain't -seed you since."</p> - -<p>"So they gave it accidental death?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, sah. Dat's what dey said, and said dey was sorry, -'cause you was a promising young gen'elman."</p> - -<p>"And what did Deacon do?" anxiously inquired Guy.</p> - -<p>"He go round to de record office to get your land put in -his name," chuckled Rufe. "Den I see him ride out on a -libery stable hawse."</p> - -<p>Guy roared.</p> - -<p>"I reckon it going to be de wors' shock he ebber get in his -life when you rides up to de ole place," remarked Rufe presently.</p> - -<p>"I rather expect it will," replied Guy feebly, wiping his -eyes. "Come on, Rufe. There's a train back at twelve-thirty. -Just time for dinner, and then the sooner we're home again -the better."</p> - -<p>Guy's first task, when he arrived at Pine Lake, was to -call on Anderson the sheriff.</p> - -<p>Anderson, who was fat and fifty, went positively purple -at sight of the man upon whom he had held an inquest!</p> - -<p>Guy told him the whole story, all about the quarrel between -himself and Blissett, about Deacon's threats and Rufe's -plan. The only thing he did not mention was the fact that -Deacon had stolen and sold Blissett's horse.</p> - -<p>Anderson listened first in amazement, then with amusement, -and finally went off into a fit of laughter.</p> - -<p>"That Rufe's a wonder," he said. "I didn't reckon there -was a nigger in Florida with that much sense. But, look -here, young fellow, you've been taking mighty big liberties -with the law. According to law you're dead, and buried, too. -What d'ye reckon we're going to do about that?"</p> - -<p>"Don't know, I'm sure, Mr. Anderson. That's what I -came to you about," replied Guy coolly.</p> - -<p>"Reckoned I could fix it for you, eh?" There was a sly -twinkle in old Anderson's eyes. "I guess I'll have to try. -But, say, don't you go wasting time in here. Ef that thar -cousin o' yours hears as you ain't as dead as he hed supposed, -chances are he'll be getting his gun."</p> - -<p>"All right, sheriff," said Guy. "I'll get along. I am under -obligations to you about the business. I'm afraid it's given -you a lot of bother."</p> - -<p>"I ain't kicking," said Anderson dryly. "The State pays -my fees for an inquest. Good-by."</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later Guy and Rufe were in a hired buggy, -with Dandy in the shafts, spinning lightly homeward over -the sandy roads.</p> - -<p>It was dusk when they reached the gate.</p> - -<p>"So you've brought the horse back," came a sharp voice -as Rufe pulled up in front of the stable. "A mighty good -job you did. Take him out and tie him up. Then you can -sling your hook as fast as you like."</p> - -<p>"What for should I git from my boss' land?" asked Rufe -with such a delightfully innocent air that Guy, close by under -a tree, almost laughed out loud.</p> - -<p>"Git!" Deacon roared, "or by——"</p> - -<p>A muscular hand gripped him by the back of the neck, -and cut short his sentence.</p> - -<p>Deacon squirmed round. His eyes fell on Guy Hereford; -he gave a scream like a woman's, and dropped as if he'd been -shot in the head.</p> - -<p>"Now, Oliver," said Guy quietly. "Perhaps you'll be good -enough to explain what the thunder you mean by coming and -camping on my property."</p> - -<p>The man rose slowly to his feet, and his eyes were venomous. -"So you tricked me," he ground out between clinched -teeth.</p> - -<p>"Well, I rather think we did. Rufe and I between us," -replied Guy coolly.</p> - -<p>Deacon burst into a storm of furious invective. He cursed -Guy by everything he could think of. At last he wound up.</p> - -<p>"You needn't think you've got the best of me. I'll raise -the country against you. They'll have to have one inquest -over again. I'll see they have both. I don't care what happens -to me. I'll see you hung yet. I swear it."</p> - -<p>Guy waited until the other stopped, exhausted.</p> - -<p>Then he said very quietly: "Oliver, what's the punishment -for horse stealing? Five years' penitentiary, isn't it? I think -that's the minimum."</p> - -<p>It was quite enough. Deacon went white as ashes.</p> - -<p>"Listen to me," said Guy with sudden sternness. "If -you're anywhere in Orange County this time to-morrow I'll -denounce you for stealing and selling Harvey Blissett's -horse."</p> - -<p>Without another word Deacon slunk off into the gloom.</p> - -<p>Guy never again set eyes upon him, for less than six -months later the ruffian was killed in a brawl with a Cuban -cigar maker.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="IDAHO_TO_FEED_ELKS" id="IDAHO_TO_FEED_ELKS">IDAHO TO FEED ELKS.</a></h2> - - -<p>An effort will be made by the State to prevent as far as -possible a repetition of the wanton destruction of large -numbers of elk which took place in Fremont County last -winter.</p> - -<p>The animals had been driven by extreme hunger to approach -the settlements, and, weak from starvation and struggling -in the unusually deep snow when they reached the -lowlands, were killed and skinned. In many cases, reduced -to mere skeletons, their meat could not be used.</p> - -<p>The idea of the game warden is to arrange if possible to -have cheap hay shipped into the country where the elk -abound and place it where the animals, when their natural -food supply gives out, will be able to find food. Several of -the ranches in the elk country have put out hay for the -animals for a number of years, and they have not been long -in locating it when the snow gets deep in the hills. In this -manner they are enabled to keep in good condition throughout -the winter, and when spring arrives return to their -usual haunts.</p> - -<p>The eastern part of the State forms the principal range -for these animals which the authorities are endeavoring to -protect from the pot hunters and specimen seekers. Stringent -laws have been enacted, which, if carried out, will go -a great way toward protecting the king of North American -game animals.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="NOISY_AVIANS" id="NOISY_AVIANS">NOISY AVIANS.</a></h2> - - -<p>The bellbird, which makes perhaps, in its natural state, -the greatest noise of any known avian, is found both in -South America and certain parts of Africa. Its voice will -carry on a still day a distance of quite three miles. Its note -is like the tolling of a distant church bell, and is uttered -during the heat of the day, when every other bird has ceased -to sing and nature is hushed in silence. The hornbill, a bird -which is widely distributed in India, the Malay Archipelago, -and Africa, has also a very loud note. Its call has been described -as "between the shriek of a locomotive and the bray -of a donkey," and can be heard a distance of a couple of -miles.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="FISH_THAT_CANNOT_SWIM" id="FISH_THAT_CANNOT_SWIM">FISH THAT CANNOT SWIM.</a></h2> - - -<p>More than one species of fish that cannot swim are known -to naturalists. Perhaps the most singular of these is the -maltha, a Brazilian fish, whose organs of locomotion only -enable it to crawl or walk or hop. The anterior (pectoral) -fins of the maltha, which are quite small, are not capable -of acting on the water, but can only move backward and -forward, having truly the form of thin paws. Both these and -the ventral and anal fins are very different from the similar -fins in other fishes, and could not serve for swimming at all. -Other examples of non-swimming fishes include the sea-horse, -another most peculiarly shaped inhabitant of the sea, -and the starfish.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2 class="huge bb"> -<a href="images/i1large.jpg"><img src="images/i1.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -<a name="LATEST_ISSUES" id="LATEST_ISSUES">LATEST ISSUES</a> -<a href="images/i2large.jpg"><img src="images/i2.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -</h2> - - -<h3>BUFFALO BILL STORIES</h3> - -<p>The most original stories of Western adventure. The only weekly containing the adventures of the famous -Buffalo Bill. <b>High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>420—Buffalo Bill and Old Weasel-top; or, The Man From -Nowhar.</p> - -<p>421—Buffalo Bill's Steel Arm Pard; or, Old Weasel-top's Mission.</p> - -<p>422—Buffalo Bill's Aztec Guide; or, The White Indian.</p> - -<p>423—Buffalo Bill and Little Firefly; or, Playing with Death.</p> - -<p>424—Buffalo Bill in the Aztec City; or, Little Firefly's Friendship.</p> - -<p>425—Buffalo Bill's Balloon Escape; or, Out of the Grip of the -Great Swamp.</p> - -<p>426—Buffalo Bill and the Guerrillas; or, The Flower Girl of San -Felipe.</p> - -<p>427—Buffalo Bill's Border War; or, The Mexican Vendetta.</p> - -<p>428—Buffalo Bill's Mexican Mix-up; or, The Bullfighter's Defiance.</p> - -<p>429—Buffalo Bill and the Gamecock; or, The Red Trail on the -Canadian.</p> - -<p>430—Buffalo Bill and the Cheyenne Raiders; or, The Spurs of -the Gamecock.</p> - -<p>431—Buffalo Bill's Whirlwind Finish; or, The Gamecock Wins.</p></blockquote> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h3>BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY</h3> - -<p>All kinds of stories that boys like. The biggest and best nickel's worth ever offered. <b>High art colored -covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>335—Three Brave Boys; or, Adventures in the Balloon World. -By Frank Sheridan.</p> - -<p>336—Archie Atwood, Champion; or, An All-around Athlete's -Career. By Cornelius Shea.</p> - -<p>337—Dick Stanhope Afloat; or, The Eventful Cruise of the -<i>Elsinore</i>. By Harrie Irving Hancock.</p> - -<p>338—Working His Way Upward; or, From Footlights to Riches. -By Fred Thorpe.</p> - -<p>339—The Fourteenth Boy; or, How Vin Lovell Won Out. By -Weldon J. Cobb.</p> - -<p>340—Among the Nomads; or, Life in the Open. By the author -of "Through Air to Fame."</p> - -<p>341—Bob, the Acrobat; or, Hustle and Win Out. By Harrie -Irving Hancock.</p> - -<p>342—Through the Earth; or, Jack Nelson's Invention. By Fred -Thorpe.</p> - -<p>343—The Boy Chief; or, Comrades of Camp and Trail. By John -De Morgan.</p> - -<p>344—Smart Alec; or, Bound to Get There. By Weldon J. Cobb.</p> - -<p>345—Climbing Up; or, The Meanest Boy Alive. By Harrie -Irving Hancock.</p> - -<p>346—Comrades Three; or, With Gordon Keith in the South -Seas. By Lawrence White, Jr.</p> - -<p>347—A Young Snake-charmer; or, The Fortunes of Dick Erway. -By Fred Thorpe.</p></blockquote> -<hr class="r5" /> - - -<h3>MOTOR STORIES</h3> - -<p>The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it is. See for yourself. <b>High art -colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>11—Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen -Brady.</p> - -<p>12—Motor Matt's Peril; or, Castaway in the Bahamas.</p> - -<p>13—Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the Iron Chest.</p> - -<p>14—Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>15—Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise of the -<i>Grampus</i>.</p> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters.</p> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos.</p> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor -Boys.</p> - -<p>21—Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need.</p> - -<p>22—Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right.</p> - -<p>23—Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins.</p> - -<p>24—Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune.</p></blockquote> - - - - -<p><i>For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt of price, -5 cents per copy, in money or postage stamps, by</i></p> - -<p class="center large">STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><b class="medium">IF YOU WANT ANY BACK NUMBERS</b> of our Weeklies and cannot procure them from your newsdealer, they can be -obtained from this office direct. Fill out the following Order Blank and send it to -us with the price of the Weeklies you want and we will send them to you by return mail. <b>POSTAGE STAMPS TAKEN THE SAME AS MONEY.</b></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<table summary="form" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> - -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdr sig">________________________ <i>190</i></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6"><i>STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</i><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find</i> ___________________________ <i>cents for which send me</i>:</span> -</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td><b>TIP TOP WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BUFFALO BILL STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>NICK CARTER WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>DIAMOND DICK WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>MOTOR STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdc"> -<i>Name</i> ________________ <i>Street</i> ________________ <i>City</i> ________________ <i>State</i> ________________<br /> -</td></tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="A_GREAT_SUCCESS" id="A_GREAT_SUCCESS">A GREAT SUCCESS!!</a></h2> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center huge u">MOTOR STORIES</p> - - -<p>Every boy who reads one of the splendid adventures of Motor -Matt, which are making their appearance in this weekly, is at once -surprised and delighted. Surprised at the generous quantity of -reading matter that we are giving for five cents; delighted with the -fascinating interest of the stories, second only to those published -in the Tip Top Weekly.</p> - -<p>Matt has positive mechanical genius, and while his adventures -are unusual, they are, however, drawn so true to life that the reader can -clearly see how it is possible for the ordinary boy to experience them.</p> - - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center"><b><i>HERE ARE THE TITLES NOW READY AND THOSE TO BE PUBLISHED</i>:</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>1—Motor Matt; or, The King of the Wheel.</p> - -<p>2—Motor Matt's Daring; or, True to His Friends.</p> - -<p>3—Motor Matt's Century Run; or, The Governor's -Courier.</p> - -<p>4—Motor Matt's Race; or, The Last Flight of the -"Comet."</p> - -<p>5—Motor Matt's Mystery; or, Foiling a Secret -Plot.</p> - -<p>6—Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On the High Gear.</p> - -<p>7—Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto.</p> - -<p>8—Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds -Forward.</p> - -<p>9—Motor Matt's Air Ship; or, The Rival Inventors.</p> - -<p>10—Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon -House Plot.</p> - -<p>11—Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange -Case of Helen Brady.</p> - -<p>12—Motor Matt's Peril; or, Cast Away in the -Bahamas.</p> - -<p>13—Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the -Iron Chest.</p> - -<p>14—Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the -"Hawk."</p> - -<p>15—Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise -of the "Grampus."</p> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in -Strange Waters.</p> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don -Carlos.</p> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory -for the Motor Boys.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on July 12th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>21—Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on July 19th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>22—Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the -Right.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on July 26th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>23—Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on August 2nd.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>24—Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame -and Fortune.</p></blockquote> - - -<p class="large center">PRICE, FIVE CENTS</p> - -<p class="center">At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt of the price.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table summary="scaffold" style="width: 50%;"> -<tr class="medium"><td style="width: 33%">STREET & SMITH,</td><td class="tdc"><i>Publishers</i>,</td><td class="tdr" style="width: 33%">NEW YORK</td></tr> -</table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber's Notes:</a></h2> - - -<p>Added table of contents.</p> - -<p>Images may be clicked to view larger versions.</p> - -<p>Page 1, corrected "Tranquair" to "Traquair" ("keep Matt from flying the Traquair").</p> - -<p>Page 5, added missing open quote before "Rather a peculiar way." Changed single quote to double quote before "No, there is no way out."</p> - -<p>Page 6, added missing quote after "Yes, yes."</p> - -<p>Page 17, corrected "Mat" to "Matt" ("Matt, taking from his pocket"). Added missing apostrophe to "Well, I haven't got it."</p> - -<p>Page 19, changed single to double quote after "destroy that aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>Page 20, added missing "with" to "'I'll go with you,' said Cameron promptly." Removed unnecessary comma from "my lad."</p> - -<p>Page 25, changed "suspicious" to "suspicions" ("recalled his suspicious").</p> - -<p>Page 28, changed "forune" to "fortune" ("little forune had come to her").</p> - -<p>In "Noisy Avians," changed "can be heard" to "can be heard."</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt on the Wing, by Stanley R. 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