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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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