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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..54a6a7c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52891 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52891) diff --git a/old/52891-8.txt b/old/52891-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0e73059..0000000 --- a/old/52891-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5036 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt's Make Up, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Motor Matt's Make Up - or, Playing a New Role - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: August 25, 2016 [EBook #52891] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT'S MAKE UP *** - - - - -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. 29 - SEPT. 11, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - MOTOR MATT'S - MAKE UP - - OR PLAYING - A NEW ROLE - - _BY - THE AUTHOR - OF - "MOTOR MATT"_ - - _Street & Smith - Publishers - New York_ - -[Illustration: _"Maskee!" cried the astounded Hindoo as Motor Matt -leaped at him_] - - - - -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. 29.= NEW YORK, September 11, 1909. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - -MOTOR MATT'S MAKE-UP; - -OR, - -PLAYING A NEW RÔLE. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. HIGH JINKS IN THE SIDE SHOW. - CHAPTER II. THE "BARKER" SHOWS HIS TEETH. - CHAPTER III. THE MAN FROM WASHINGTON. - CHAPTER IV. A CLUE IN HINDOOSTANEE. - CHAPTER V. SOMETHING WRONG. - CHAPTER VI. A BLUNDER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. - CHAPTER VII. THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS. - CHAPTER VIII. THE PILE OF SOOT. - CHAPTER IX. MATT MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. - CHAPTER X. RESCUE! - CHAPTER XI. BILL WILY REPENTS. - CHAPTER XII. MATT LAYS HIS PLANS. - CHAPTER XIII. MOTOR CAR AND AEROPLANE. - CHAPTER XIV. THE OAK OPENING. - CHAPTER XV. AEROPLANE WINS! - CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION. - A BRAVE DEED. - A LOCOMOTIVE HERO. - GEESE DROWN A SQUIRREL. - - - - -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. - - =Carl Pretzel=, an old chum who flags Motor Matt and more trouble - than he can manage, at about the same time. In the rôle of detective, - he makes many blunders, wise and otherwise, finding success only to - wonder how he did it. - - =Ping=, the Chinese boy. - - =Ben Ali=, the Hindoo hypnotist and elephant trainer, who executes a - master-stroke in the matter of his niece, Margaret Manners, and finds - that a letter in Hindoostanee can sometimes prove a boomerang. - - =Dhondaram and Aurung Zeeb=, two Hindoos who have appeared before as - confederates of the crafty Ben Ali, and who now show themselves for - the last time in their villainous part, and vanish--one into prison - and the other into parts unknown. - - =Margaret Manners=, the niece of the rascally Ben Ali and a ward of - the British nation temporarily. In her particular case, justice is - slow in righting a grievous wrong--and would have been slower but for - Motor Matt and his aëroplane. - - =Reginald Pierce Twomley=, who represents the British ambassador, - wears a monocle, and who, in a passage at arms with Dhondaram, proves - himself a man in McGlory's eyes and a near-pard. - - =Boss Burton=, manager and proprietor of the "Big Consolidated," who, - in his usual manner, forms hasty conclusions, discovers his errors, - and shows no sign of repentance. - - =The Bearded Lady, the Armless Wonder, the Elastic Skin Man, the Zulu - chief and the Ossified Man=, all freaks in the side-show tent, who - appear briefly but brilliantly in the light of a Roman candle. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -HIGH JINKS IN THE SIDE SHOW. - - -"Hello, dere, Viskers!" grinned Carl Pretzel, reaching up to grab the -hairy paw of the Zulu chief. - -"Howdy, Dutch!" answered the chief, with a nasal twang that suggested -New England. "By Jocks, I ain't seen yeou in quite a spell. How's -tricks, huh?" - -"Dricks iss fine, I bed you. Say, sheef, dis iss mein leedle shink -bard, Ping Pong. He iss der pest efer--oxcept me. Shake hants, Ping, -mit a Zulu sheef vat vas porn near Pangor, Maine." - -"Tickled tew death," said the chief effusively, taking the yellow palm -of a small Chinaman who pushed himself closer to the platform. - -The scene was the side-show tent of the "Big Consolidated," Boss -Burton's "Tented Aggregation of the World's Marvels." The show had -raised its "tops" at Reid's Lake, near the city of Grand Rapids. A high -wind had prevented Motor Matt from giving his outdoor exhibition of -aëroplane flying, and the disappointed crowds were besieging the side -show, eager to beguile the time until the doors for the big show were -open. - -With the exception of Carl and Ping, no outsiders had yet entered the -side-show tent. Carl, having once played the banjo for the Zulu chief -while he was dancing on broken glass in his bare feet, was a privileged -character. He had walked into the tent without so much as a "by your -leave," and he had escorted Ping without any adverse comment by the man -on the door. - -The freaks and wonders of the side show were all on their platforms and -ready to be viewed. The Ossified Man had been dusted off for the last -time, the Bearded Lady had just arranged her beard most becomingly, the -Elastic Skin Man was giving a few warming-up snaps to his rubberoid -epidermis, the Educated Pig was being put through a preliminary stunt -by the gentlemanly exhibitor, and the Armless Wonder was sticking a -copy of the Stars and Stripes in the base of a wooden pyramid--using -his toes. - -The Armless Wonder occupied the same platform as the Zulu chief. His -specialty was to stand on his head on the wooden pyramid, hold a Roman -candle with one foot, light it with the other, and shoot vari-colored -balls through a hole in the tent roof. In front of the Wonder, -neatly piled on the little stage, were half a dozen long paper tubes -containing the fire balls. - -"How you was, Dutch?" inquired the Wonder, doubling up in his chair and -drawing a bandanna handkerchief over his perspiring face with his foot. - -"_Ganz goot_," laughed Carl, carelessly picking up one of the Roman -candles. "I vill make you acguainted, oof you blease, mit mein leedle -shink bard." - -"Shake!" cried the Wonder heartily, offering his right foot. "It does -me proud to meet up with a friend of Pretzel's." - -"Allee same happy days," remarked Ping, releasing the foot and backing -away. - -"Yeou tew kids aire chums, huh?" put in the Zulu chief, leaning down to -arrange the row of photographs in front of him. - -"Surest t'ing vat you know," answered Carl. - -"Dutchy boy heap fine," declared Ping. "We both one-piecee pards." - -"That's the talk!" exclaimed the Armless Wonder. "Too much weather for -the flyin' machine to-day, huh? Motor Matt was afeared to go up, I -reckon, Dutch?" - -"Afraidt?" protested Carl. "Modor Matt vasn't afraidt oof anyt'ing. -He couldn't haf shtaid ofer der show grounds, und dot's der reason he -dit'nt go oop. Der vind vould haf plowed him galley-vest, und den some." - -"I see. These here aëroplanes are hard things to handle, and----Holy -smoke! Drop it! Put it out!" - -Carl, as has already been stated, had picked up one of the Roman -candles. While talking with the Armless Wonder, he leaned back against -a tent pole and clasped his hands--the candle in one of them--behind -him. - -Ping had stepped back. The Roman candle, held fuse end outward, looked -most inviting. Digging a match out of his kimono, Ping scratched it on -the pole and applied the flame unseen to the fuse. - -While the Armless Wonder was talking, Carl heard a long-drawn-out hiss, -a smell of smoke came to his nostrils, and a Niagara of sparks floated -around him. Naturally he was startled, and it flashed over him that -something was wrong with the Roman candle. Bringing the candle around -in front of him for examination, he had it leveled at the Wonder the -very instant the first fire ball was due. The ball was not behind -schedule. Rushing from the end of the tube, it caught the Wonder in the -breast, and he turned a back somersault off the platform. - -Bewildered by the mysterious cause of the situation, Carl swerved the -candle in order to get a look through the smoke and sparks at the place -where the Wonder had been seated. - -A roar came from the Zulu chief. A ball of flaming red had slapped -against his shoulder, and he jumped for the next platform on the right. -Landing on the edge, his weight overturned the structure. There was a -scream from the Bearded Lady and a whoop from the Elastic Skin Man, and -the next moment they landed in a tangled heap on top of the Zulu chief. - -"Put it out!" the Armless Wonder continued to yell. - -"Point it up or down!" bellowed the gentlemanly trainer of the Educated -Pig. - -"Ged some vater!" howled Carl, running back and forth and waving the -candle; "ged a pucket oof vater und I vill drown der t'ing in it!" - -The Dutch boy didn't know what to do. If he dropped the candle he -might get hit with some of the balls himself, and if he turned it -straight upward he might set fire to the top of the tent. While he was -running up and down, trying frantically to think of some way out of the -trouble, of course the fire stick was continuing to unload. - -Whizz--slap! - -A wad of yellow fire hit the Pig, which squealed and bolted. The -gentlemanly attendant tried to head off the Porcine Marvel, but it ran -between his outspread feet and knocked him off the stand. A rain of -lettered blocks followed. - -The frantic Pig bunted into Ping, tripped him, and hurled him against -Carl. Both boys went down, and Carl rolled over and over, discharging -red, white, and blue balls as he revolved. - -Up to that moment the Ossified Man had escaped. But now his turn had -come. He was said to have been turning to stone for thirty years, and -was supposed to be so brittle that he had to be handled with extreme -care. - -The first ball that struck him, however, caused him to jump off his -board slab with a yell. From the way he rushed to get out of the tent, -it was pretty certain that he was as wiry and pliable as the average. - -The Educated Pig, to an accompaniment of yells, howls, and screams, -and with the lurid glare of the popping balls lighting the smoky -interior of the tent, ran on blindly, overturned the stage set aside -for the Zulu chief and the Armless Wonder, showered broken glass over -everybody, and then tore through the tent wall and out into the open. - -Naturally, this Bedlam, suddenly turned loose in the tent, had excited -the wonder and curiosity of the ticket seller, the "barker," and the -man at the door. - -As the man at the door looked in, the last of the balls struck him -below the belt, and he collapsed in the arms of the "barker," who was -crowding in behind him. - -The last of the balls! That hollow, pasteboard tube seemed to have been -a perfect mine of shooting stars. It had disgorged itself of a dozen. -Carl had not counted them--he was too busy with other matters--but it -seemed to him as though the tube had been fully an hour getting rid of -its contents. - -A madder assortment of freaks it would have been harder to find than -wrangled and protested, there in the side-show tent, while they rubbed -their bruises and shook the kinks out of themselves. - -"It was one of the Armless Wonder's Roman candles," came in sepulchral -tones from the Ossified Man as he climbed back to his slab. - -"I'll quit the show, and give two weeks' notice this minute," piped the -Bearded Lady as she picked her way through the scattered glass, "if -they don't cut out these fireworks. My goodness! You might just as well -be killed outright as scart to death. Wha'ju jump onto our stage for?" -and she glared at the chief, who was gently massaging his burned spot. - -"By Jocks," answered the chief, "I didn't care where I jumped s'long's -I got away from the fireworks." - -"It was the Dutchman done it," flared the Wonder. - -"He's a freak," rumbled the Ossified Man. "Kick him out." - -"I don'd peen a freak," said Carl angrily, throwing the burned-out tube -at the O. M. "Oof I vas, den here iss vere I should shday." - -"Did you set that Roman candle to goin'?" demanded the "barker" -fiercely. - -"I don'd set him to going, py chimineddy! I hat him in my handt, und he -vent off mit himseluf. Dot's all aboudt it." - -"This ain't no place for them kind o' jokes," cried the Elastic Skin -Man. "He's played hob with this outfit: Give him a h'ist!" - -The ticket seller, the "barker," and the man on the door all three -fell upon Carl. Between them they had the Dutch boy turning cartwheels -through the entrance. - -Ping, the cause of all the trouble, slipped away quietly under the -canvas wall--but not until he had picked up something white from the -earthen floor of the tent. The object lay close to where Carl had lain, -and Ping conceived the idea that it belonged to the Dutch boy and that -it was his duty to recover it and return it to the owner. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE "BARKER" SHOWS HIS TEETH. - - -When Carl finally rounded up his wits he found himself sitting under -the lee of the "animal top," leaning against one of the guy ropes. The -wind was blowing half a gale, and the big tents swayed and tugged at -their fastenings. There was only one idea just then in the Dutch boy's -mind, and that was this: - -"How dit dot Roman gandle go off mit itseluf? I remember taking him in -my handt und holting him pehindt me, und den--whizz, bang! Ach, how der -shparks dit fly! Dere vas fordy-'lefen palls in der gandle, und I hit a -freak mit efery pall. Donnervetter, vat a hot time!" - -At this point Ping came rounding the curved canvas wall, head to the -wind, blouse and wide trousers flapping, and pulling himself along by -means of the guy ropes. - -"Hello, Clal!" he called, mooring himself to a tent stake. - -"Hello yourseluf once!" answered Carl, drawing one powder-blackened -hand up and down his trousers leg. "How you like der pooty firevorks?" - -"By Klismus!" grinned the Chinaman, "him velly fine. Fleaks no likee." - -"How dit der gandle go off mit itseluf? Tell me dose." - -Ping's grin faded from his yellow face, and he grew solemn and serious. - -"No savvy, Clal. Him devil joss stick, awri'. Whoosh!" - -A sudden suspicion darted through Carl's brain as he stared at Ping. -The Chinese boy was altogether too serious. - -"Py shiminy grickets!" whooped Carl, "vas it you dot douched him off -ven der gandle vas my pack pehindt und I don'd see? Dit you make all -der drouples? Oof I vas sure oof dot, den I vould eat you oop like some -ham santviches." - -Ping gave a yell of protest. - -"We allee same fliends, huh?" he demanded. "Why my makee tlouble fo' -fliend?" - -"Vell, I don'd know for vy, aber such chokes iss nod vat I like. Oof I -findt oudt dot you lit der gandle, den I vill ged efen for dot. You bed -my life, I pay efery debt vat I owe." - -Ping looked serious. Then, glad that he was able to change the subject, -he remarked: - -"You losee one piecee papel in tent, Clal?" - -"I don't got one piecee paper, shink. How could I lose somet'ing vat I -don't got?" - -"My findee him same place you makee tumble. Look." - -Ping drew the folded sheet from his blouse. Carl stretched out his hand. - -"I vill take a look at dot," said he. - -When opened flat, the sheet contained writing, but it was not writing -that Carl could read. - -"Vedder it iss a ledder or nod," mused Carl, "I don'd know. Vat I see -on dis paper looks schust like hen dracks. It don'd vas English, und it -don'd vas German. Iss it shink wriding, Ping?" - -Ping dropped to his knees and examined the sheet of paper upside down -and sideways. - -"My no savvy," he answered. "Him not China writing. Some fleak lettee -dlop--him fleak writing. Him no gottee sense." - -Carl wrinkled his brows ominously. - -"I tell you somet'ing," said he. "Dere iss more to dis alretty as we -know, Ping. I peen a tedectif. Meppy you vill make a tedectif, too. -Subbose we findt oudt vat der ledder iss aboudt?" - -"Plaps we no makee find out." - -"Dot's vere der tedectif part comes in." - -"Plaps we no gottee sense enough, Clal." - -"_Ach, du lieber!_" grunted Carl. "Ditn't I findt dot Margaret Manners -vat vas draveling mit der show? Ditn't I get dot Ben Ali Hindoo feller -on der run? Ditn't I vin fife tousant tollars?" - -"You no gettee fi' thousan' dol'." - -"I vill get dot. It has to come from Inchia, und Inchia iss more as ten -tousant miles from vere I am. It takes time to get money from Inchia. I -was a shmard feller to do all dot. Meppy I gif you some lessons und you -vill be as shmard as vat I am." - -"Plaps." - -"You vant to choin in mit me, hey?" - -"Awri'. No savvy pidgin, Clal. What we do?" - -Before Carl could answer, the "barker" for the side show came running -around the tent wall. Carl grabbed the letter out of Ping's hand and -thrust it into his pocket. - -"What yuh got there?" demanded the "barker," coming to a halt and -glaring at Carl. - -"You don'd got some pitzness to know," was the Dutch boy's calm reply. - -The "barker's" name was Bill Wily, but, on account of his shady -character, he was generally known as Wily Bill. - -"I lost a letter durin' that shake-up in the tent," said Wily Bill, -truculently, "an' it looked to me as though that sheet yuh just tucked -away in your jeans was the one. Hand it over." - -"Don'd get gay mit yourseluf," warned Carl, rising to his feet. - -"Where'd yuh git that paper?" - -"Dot's for me to know. Oof you get pitzness any blace else, don'd let -us keep you a minid. Moof on. I don'd like you none too vell, anyhow." - -"You'll give me that paper," declared Wily Bill angrily, "or I'll twist -that Dutch neck o' yours." - -"Meppy you vill," answered Carl, "aber I don'd tink. Here it iss -different as it vas in der show. You don'd got der freaks und der -odders to helup." - -"I'll find Burton," fumed Wily Bill, "and I'll tell him yuh've stole -that there paper off me." - -"Den you vill be telling Purton vat ain'd so." - -The "barker" took a step forward. - -"Yuh goin' to give me that?" he shouted. - -"Say," answered Carl, with a happy thought, "you tell me vat iss in der -ledder, den oof it agrees mit vat iss dere you prove he belong mit you, -und I gif him oop. Oddervise, nod. Hey?" - -"Oh, you fall off the earth!" growled Wily Bill. "I don't have to tell -what's in the letter in order to prove it's mine, see? Fork over." - -Carl had thought he might get Wily Bill to translate the "hen tracks," -but the "barker" either could not or would not. - -"You und me don'd agree on dot," said Carl stoutly. "You tell me vat -iss in der ledder, oder you don'd get him. Dot's all aboudt it." - -"Look here," and Wily Bill made a threatening gesture with his clinched -fist, "pass that over or I'll push yer face inter yer back hair. Now, -then. Cough up or take the consequences." - -"I dradder fighdt as eat some meals!" whooped Carl. "Come on vonce, -oof dot's der game. Hit me in der eye! Dot geds my madt oop kevicker -as anyt'ing, und I fighdt pedder der madder vat I ged. Eider eye, it -_machts nichts aus_. Blease!" - -With a savage exclamation, Wily Bill threw himself forward and lunged -with the full force of his right. Carl ducked sideways. The fist missed -him, and the impetus of the blow hurled Wily Bill over the guy rope. - -Boss Burton, the proprietor of the show, seeing the clash from a -distance, was hurrying up to take a part in proceedings. He arrived -just in time to collide with the tumbling form of the "barker." - -It was with difficulty that Burton retained his footing. The breath was -knocked out of him, and as he tottered and gasped he glared at Wily -Bill. - -"Dere iss Poss Purton," chuckled Carl. "Schust tell him vat you vant -und see vat he say." - -"What're you roughing things up like this for, Wily?" demanded the -showman. "You know very well I don't allow any fighting on the show -grounds." - -"That Dutchman," answered the "barker," getting his temper a little in -hand, "has got a letter belongin' to me. I want it, an' he won't give -it up." - -"Is that so, Carl?" asked Burton, whirling on the Dutch boy. - -"I don'd know vedder or nod it iss so," replied Carl. "I got a ledder, -und he say it pelongs by him. Aber he von't say vat iss in der ledder, -so how could I know?" - -"Isn't the envelope addressed?" - -"Dere iss no enfellup." - -"Isn't there a name on the letter?" - -"Dere iss no name anyvere." - -"It's from a pal o' mine, Burton," explained Wily Bill, "and I dropped -it out of my kick in the tent. This Dutch lobster and that chink turned -on a row in the side show. The Dutchman got one of the Armless Wonder's -Roman candles, and while he held it behind him the chink touched a -match to it, and we had all kinds of fireworks for a----" - -"Donner und blitzen!" yelled Carl, facing Ping and shaking his fist. -"Den it _vas_ you, hey? I von't be no tedectif mit you! You vas no bard -to blay sooch a choke! I vill ged efen, yah, so hellup me! Oof you----" - -"That will do," cut in Boss Burton sternly. "We'll settle this letter -business before we do anything else. Where did you get the thing, Carl?" - -"Dot false-alarm chink gif him by me," answered Carl, watching angrily -while Ping allowed the wind to waft him out of sight around the -side-show tent. - -"Where did he get it?" - -"He picked him oop from vere I lay on der groundt. Dot's vat he say, -aber my confidences in him vas padly shook." - -"Give it to me." - -There was no dodging such an order from the proprietor of the show, and -the folded sheet was handed over. - -Burton looked at the letter. While he was doing so, Wily Bill made a -desperate grab for it. The showman was too quick for the "barker," and -jerked the sheet out of reach. - -"That's your game, is it?" growled Burton. "Go back to your job, Wily. -Come to me after the show, and we'll talk this over. I don't like the -way you're acting in this matter, and if you know when you're well off, -you'll put your foot on the soft pedal and keep it there. Not a word! -Clear out!" - -With a black scowl, and a look at Carl that boded him no good, Wily -Bill turned on his heel and made his way back to the side show. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE MAN FROM WASHINGTON. - - -"Sufferin' hurricanes, what a blow!" remarked Joe McGlory. "What good's -a flying machine, pard, when a spell of weather puts it down and out? -The _Comet's_ a back number in a hatful of wind." - -"Hatful!" repeated Motor Matt. "If this breeze isn't doing fifty miles -an hour I'm no hand at guessing." - -The two motor boys were in their old rendezvous, the calliope tent, -sitting on a couple of overturned buckets and listening to the roar -and boom of bellying canvas, the flutter and snap of banners, and the -whistle of violently disturbed air around the tent poles. - -The big card played by Burton was the aëroplane flights, two of -which were given every day, before the afternoon and the evening -performance--wind and weather permitting. Since the motor boys' -engagement with Burton, Matt had not failed to take the aëroplane aloft -on an average of more than two days a week. This violent wind made -the morning flight at Reid's Lake one of the "off" days. There was a -chance, however, that the wind would go down with the sun, and that it -would be possible to do a little flying before the evening show. - -It was Saturday, and the "Big Consolidated" was to remain at Reid's -Lake over Sunday and give two performances Monday. On Monday, -therefore, it was quite possible the _Comet_ would be able to carry out -her part of the circus programme. - -"Up in North Dakota," observed Joe McGlory, "where it blows like sin -when it _does_ blow, you've capered around in the sky in the face of a -breeze every bit as strong as this, Matt." - -"There it was different," answered the young motorist. "I didn't have -to manipulate the machine over the show grounds, and there were not -thousands of people directly underneath to suffer if the aëroplane -didn't come down in the place from which it started. I don't want any -more accidents like the one we had at Jackson." - -"Where a snake short-circuited the engine, and you had all kinds of -hair-raising experiences," breathed McGlory. "Speak to me about that! -By gorry, I wouldn't even look on while you pulled off another such -performance, pard, for a million in yellow boys!" - -Before the king of the motor boys could make any reply, Landers, the -man who had charge of the calliope, showed himself in the tent door. -Behind him trailed a smooth-faced man of forty, in a cap and gray -tweeds. - -"That's Motor Matt," said Landers, pointing to the young motorist. -"This gentleman wants a word with you, Matt," he added, "and I -volunteered to show him where you could be found." - -Landers ducked away again, and the stranger pushed into the tent. - -"Fancy!" he exclaimed, staring at Matt, then at McGlory, and then -letting his eyes wander around the tent. "So this is Motor Matt. Ah, by -Jove!" - -McGlory picked up a bucket, emptied the water out of it, and turned it -upside down. - -"Sit down, pilgrim," said the cowboy, "and make yourself comfortable." - -The other pulled up his trousers at the knees and deposited himself -carefully on the bucket. He laughed a little, lifted a round piece of -glass from his coat and tucked it into his right eye, and then took -another look at Matt and McGlory. - -"Only fancy!" he murmured. - -"If you want to join the show," said McGlory, with a wink at Matt, -"you'll have to see Burton." - -"Join the show?" returned the other. "Why, I don't want to join the -blooming circus. I'm just looking for Motor Matt, don't you know." - -"You're not looking for him, neighbor, but at him. It's your move." - -"Deuced odd, that. My move. In other words, I'm to tell my business, -eh? It's private, very. I want to talk with Motor Matt alone." - -McGlory started to get up, but Matt stopped him with a gesture. - -"This is my chum, Joe McGlory," said he. "I have no secrets from him. -Fire away, sir." - -"Aw," drawled the other. "Well, if that's the way of it, then here -goes." - -Drawing a morocco case from his pocket, the stranger extracted a card -and handed it to Matt. - -"Reginald Pierce Twomley," ran the legend on the card; then, down in -the lower left-hand corner were the words: "Attaché British Embassy, -Washington." - -Matt passed the card to McGlory. - -"Glad to see you, Mr. Twomley," said Matt. "What can we do for you?" - -Reginald Pierce Twomley lighted a cigarette. It was a pretty cigarette, -with a gilt monogram on one side. He offered the case to the boys, but -they respectfully declined. - -"Aw, let us approach our business with method," said Mr. Twomley. "I -have come from Washington--aw--on very important business. Allow me to -prove my right to act as agent for his excellency the Ambassador by -recapitulating a few facts with which you must be familiar. - -"At one time, my dear sir, there was with this circus a Hindoo mahout -who called himself Ben Ali. That was not his real name, but it will -serve. With Ben Ali was a young lady who was called Haidee. Ben -Ali was a rotter--the worst case of thug that ever came out of the -Bombay presidency--and he had a powerful rajah for a brother. Ben Ali -took care of the rajah's elephant herd. The rajah's sister married -one Lionel Manners. Manners died, his wife perished by the infernal -practice of _suttee_--even now secretly practised in spite of the -English government--and Ben Ali left India with Manners' only daughter, -Margaret. The girl known as Haidee was in reality Margaret Manners. Am -I correct?" - -Matt nodded. - -"Ben Ali was an adept in the hypnotic line," proceeded Twomley, looking -thoughtfully into the smoke of his cigarette, "and Miss Manners was -in this country and with the show against her will. Her uncle, the -rascally Ben Ali, kept her under his evil influence, and was gradually -causing her to forget even her own identity. The mahout bore a grudge -against his powerful brother, the rajah, and he had stolen the girl in -a spirit of revenge. Eventually, he hoped to force the rajah to pay -many rupees for Miss Manners before Ben Ali released her. But this is -beside the mark. I don't care a hap'orth about that part of it. The -point that concerns the British Ambassador, Sir Roger Morse-Edwards, is -this: - -"You and your friends, Motor Matt, discovered who Haidee really was. -You rescued her from the evil spell of the mahout, and she was left in -Lafayette, Indiana, in charge of a worthy English lady, pending advices -from her uncle, the rajah, in India. We have received advices, not from -the rajah, but direct from our foreign office. I was sent forthwith -to Lafayette to get Miss Manners, take her to New York, and, with a -suitable maid as companion, send her by first steamer to Liverpool, and -so to London." - -"Good!" exclaimed Matt, with visible satisfaction. "Miss Manners is -a very fine girl, and I suppose her future will make up for the many -hardships she has undergone while in this country." - -"Exactly," answered Twomley, "if we could find her. But we can't. She -has disappeared." - -"Disappeared?" gasped Matt. - -"That is the way of it. I went to this English lady in Lafayette, -and she received me with astonishment. Several days before a man, -professing to be from the ambassador, had called and taken Miss -Manners away. We are done, done as brown as a kipper, and a telegram -to Washington brought an answer requesting me to hunt up this show and -have a talk with you." - -Motor Matt was astounded. And so was McGlory. - -"Have you any idea who the man was that called on the English woman in -Lafayette and took Miss Manners away?" - -"No. The Lafayette police are looking for him." - -"Have you any idea that Ben Ali is mixed up in the affair?" - -"I have, Motor Matt, and a very clear idea. I was ten years in India, -and learned the natives there, and their ways. It was for that, I -fancy, that Sir Roger asked me to come for Miss Manners. While I was -about taking the train at Lafayette, yesterday, I received another -message from the ambassador. That message informed me that a telegram -had been received from Ben Ali, informing Sir Roger that he again -had the girl in his possession, and that she would be delivered to -any agent Sir Roger might send after her on payment of ten thousand -pounds." - -"Fifty thousand dollars!" exclaimed Matt. Then he whistled. - -"Old Ben Ali is out for the stuff," muttered McGlory grimly. - -"He's a crafty beggar!" commented Twomley. "I left all the telegrams -with the police, and Sir Roger is taking the whole matter up with the -United States state department. The Secret Service of the government -will presently be at work on this case, for it is of international -importance. Can you give any information, Motor Matt, that will help us -find Ben Ali, or Miss Manners?" - -Matt shook his head. - -"Why doesn't the ambassador agree to send some one to meet Ben Ali? -Then the rascal could be caught." - -"He's too clever to let himself be caught. He----" - -Just here Boss Burton strode into the tent, followed by Carl. - -"Shut up about that, Carl," the showman was growling. "You haven't any -right to that letter, and I'm going to keep it." - -"I'm in der tedectif pitzness," returned Carl, "und I need dot ledder, -py shinks, to helup unrafel der case. Modor Matt," and Carl appealed to -his pard, "make Purton gif me der ledder." - -"What letter?" demanded Matt. - -"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Burton to Carl; "we'll leave the -letter with Matt. If Wily can prove it's his, then Matt can turn the -thing over to him." - -Burton handed a folded sheet to Matt. The latter, entirely in the dark, -opened the sheet and laid it on his knee. - -"What sort of writing is this?" he asked. - -"That's too many for me. It isn't Chinese--Carl said Ping told him -that--and it isn't Dutch. Of course, it's not English. And who it -belongs to, or where it came from, or what's the good of it, is more -than I know. But it appears to have caused a lot of bother." - -"It's Hindoostanee," spoke up Twomley, staring at the open sheet. "I -can read the language. If you wish, I'll translate it." - -Then, for the first time, Burton and Carl turned on the Englishman and -took his measure. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -A CLUE IN HINDOOSTANEE. - - -"Who are you, my friend?" inquired Burton bluntly. - -"A friend of Motor Matt," replied Twomley easily. "He'll vouch for me, -I fancy." - -"Mr. Twomley, attaché of the British Legation at Washington, Burton," -said Matt. "Mr. Burton," Matt added to the Englishman, "is the -proprietor of the show. The other lad is Carl Pretzel, who is also -a chum of mine. We can talk over this matter before them. Carl had -everything to do with the finding of Margaret Manners, back there at -Lafayette." - -"Aw," drawled Twomley, screwing his monocle in his eye, and regarding -the Dutch boy, "he's the claimant for that thousand pounds reward, I -dare say." - -Tremors of excitement ran galloping through Carl. - -"Haf you prought der money?" he fluttered. "Vas you looking for me to -pay ofer dot rewart?" - -"I am sorry to say that I haven't brought the money. That matter is -still in abeyance." - -"Vat iss dot?" asked the puzzled Carl. "I don'd _verstch_ dot vort -apeyance." - -"He means the matter is still pending, Carl," put in Matt. "In other -words, you haven't got the money yet." - -"I know dot, aber vill I ged it? Dot's vat gifs me some vorries." - -"The rajah's a regular topper," said Twomley. "He'd never miss a -thousand pounds, and I fancy he'll do the right thing." - -"Mooch opliged," breathed Carl, in deep satisfaction. "It vas a -habbiness to know dot I ged him some dime." - -"Now, if you wish," went on Twomley, stretching out his hand for the -letter. - -"Just a moment, Mr. Twomley," said Matt. "We don't know much about this -letter, and I'd like to find out where and how Carl got it, and what -the dispute is about." - -The Dutch boy launched into an explanation, beginning with the Roman -candle and ending at the place where Burton refused to turn the letter -over to Wily Bill. Carl touched but lightly on the culpability of Ping -in the matter of the Roman candle. In this he was wise. Motor Matt's -orders were to the effect that there should be no bickering between the -Dutch boy and the Chinese lad. They had been at swords' points for a -long while and had only recently developed a friendly feeling for each -other. - -"I always sized up that Wily Bill for a false alarm," remarked McGlory. -"Can he read that Hindoostanee lingo? I'll bet my spurs he can't! If -that's the case, what's he doing with the letter?" - -"He must have wanted it a whole lot," said Matt, "or he wouldn't have -made such a fight to get it. Perhaps the letter itself will be a clue. -Tell us what's in it, Mr. Twomley," and Matt passed the letter to the -Englishman. - -The latter studied the sheet with absorbed attention. Finally he sprang -up. - -"By Jove!" he exploded. - -"What's the matter?" inquired Matt. - -"This is luck! Just fancy such a clue coming into our hands at this -very moment when it is most needed. Aw, it's--aw--incredible." - -"You might give us a chance to pass judgment on that, Mr. Twomley," -returned Burton. "Maybe it's not so incredible as you seem to think." - -"It was written by Ben Ali," said the attaché. - -"_That_ tinhorn!" exclaimed McGlory. "I thought we'd cut him out of our -herd altogether. Beats creation how he keeps bobbing up." - -"Who's it for?" spoke up Matt. "Has Bill Wily any right to it?" - -"The name of Wily doesn't appear anywhere in the writing," answered -Twomley. "In fact, the letter's addressed to a fellow named Dhondaram." - -Here was another hot shot. Both McGlory and Matt were brought excitedly -to their feet. - -"Dhondaram!" growled Burton, with an expressive glance at the king of -the motor boys. "I thought we'd heard the last of that villain." - -"Who was he?" demanded Twomley. - -"A Hindoo----" - -"So I gather from the name." - -"He blew into the show grounds with a cobra and a home-made flute, when -we were at Jackson, and I gave him Ben Ali's place as driver of our -man-killin' elephant, Rajah. Oh, he did a lot of things, Dhondaram did. -We captured him, but he got loose and dropped off the train between -stations." - -"Aw, Ben Ali didn't know that," reflected Twomley. "Ben Ali must have -thought he was still with the show, and sent this letter to him." - -"What does the letter say?" asked Matt, with some impatience. - -"It asked Dhondaram to finish his work as soon as possible and to join -Ben Ali, with the money, in short order." - -A silence followed, and during the silence the motor boys exchanged -wondering looks. - -"What was Dhondaram's work?" queried Twomley. - -"Nothing more or less than putting Pard Matt out of the running," -replied McGlory. "Ben Ali's on the warpath against Matt, because of -what he did in Lafayette, and Dhondaram tried hard to wipe my pard off -the slate." - -"Ben Ali speaks of money," went on Twomley. "What does that mean?" - -Burton muttered wrathfully. - -"I'll bet a thousand," said he, "that refers to the proceeds of -the afternoon performance in Jackson, which the ticket man and -this Dhondaram tried to get away with. Ben Ali put up the job with -Dhondaram, and the ticket man was helping them out." - -"Matters must have been lively all around in Jackson," observed -Twomley. "Dhondaram didn't get the money?" - -"Not so you could notice," answered McGlory. "Pard Matt jumped in and -plugged that little game." - -"Ben Ali," reasoned the king of the motor boys, "has probably been -thinking of recapturing Miss Manners for some time. All he had -Dhondaram try to do, in Jackson, was to help on his villainous schemes. -But Dhondaram failed. Probably Ben Ali is needing some money pretty -badly, about now. What is the date of that letter, Mr. Twomley?" - -"There is no date." - -"Then there's no telling how long Bill Wily has carried it in his -pocket?" - -The attaché shook his head. - -"He must have got it after we left Jackson, pard," interposed McGlory. -"If he had got it before, he'd have passed it on to Dhondaram." - -"How he got it at all is a mystery," mused the young motorist. "He has -probably seen and talked with Ben Ali." - -"Before the show got to Jackson, then," continued the cowboy, who was -doing a little sharp thinking. "If he had talked with Ben Ali after the -doings in Jackson, he'd have told the old skinner how Dhondaram fell -down." - -"There's a clue here, but it's not so promising as it might be," came -disappointedly from the Englishman. - -Matt walked toward the tent door. - -"Our best clue," said he decisively, "is Bill Wily. We'd better go to -the side show and have a talk with him." - -"Bring him here, Matt," suggested Burton. "We can talk with him in this -place to better advantage than in the side-show tent. I'll go with you -and make sure he comes. The rest of you wait," and the showman started -from the calliope tent after Matt. - -Inquiry of the man on the door at the side show developed the fact that -Bill Wily had started for town. He had been gone about five minutes, -Matt and Burton were informed, and had left the show grounds for the -street-car track. - -"He's making a getaway!" averred Burton. - -"That's the way it looks," agreed Matt. "We've got to stop him, if we -can." - -Without loss of time the king of the motor boys and the showman hustled -for the place where the street-car track made a loop, just beyond a big -concert garden. They were hoping to catch Wily before he could board a -car. - -But in this they were disappointed. A car was moving off in the -direction of town, and all their frantic yells and gestures were -powerless to secure the attention of the conductor. - -"It'll be fifteen minutes before there's another car," panted Burton, -"and by that time the 'barker' will be--the deuce only knows where. -It's a cinch, Matt, that he's scared, and is running away. If there was -an automobile handy, we could overhaul the car." Burton looked in every -direction. "But, of course," he added, "whenever you want a chug-wagon -there's none in sight." - -A familiar humming drew Motor Matt's attention. Looking in the -direction of the sound, he saw a motor-cycle spinning along the road -from the direction of Grand Rapids. A young fellow of nineteen or -twenty was in the saddle. - -"There's something that will do--if we can borrow it," said Matt, and -jumped into the road and waved his hands. - -The motorcycle came to a stop. - -"Are you flagging me?" asked the driver of the machine. - -"Yes," said Matt hurriedly. "I want to overhaul the street car that -just left here. There's a man aboard that we've got to catch. Will you -let me take your motorcycle?" - -"Well, I guess not!" was the reply. "The last time I loaned this -machine I was two days getting it back into shape again." - -"I'll give you twenty dollars for the use of it, young man," put in -Burton eagerly. - -"No inducement," was the answer. - -"There's hard luck for you, Motor Matt," grunted Burton. - -The young fellow had been on the point of starting away, but he -suddenly paused and turned to Matt. - -"Are you Matt King," he asked, "the fellow they call Motor Matt?" - -"Yes," was the reply. - -"Doing an aëroplane stunt with the show?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, take the machine. It won't cost you a cent, either. I work in -a motor-car factory in the Rapids, and we've heard a good deal about -you there. I'm tickled to death to be able to help you out. Bring the -machine back here when you're done with it, and you'll find me waiting." - -"Such is fame!" laughed Burton. - -With a hasty word of thanks, Matt headed the machine the other way and -got into the saddle. - -One turn of the pedal and the motor took up its cycle. Half a minute -later the king of the motor boys was out of sight down the road. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -SOMETHING WRONG. - - -McGlory, Carl, and Twomley waited in the calliope tent until their -patience was exhausted. - -"Py shiminy," fluttered Carl, "I bed you somet'ing for nodding dot Vily -Pill don'd vas by der site show yet." - -"I reckon you've dropped a bean on the right number," agreed the -cowboy. "What's our next jump, your highness?" - -The question was put to the Englishman. - -"Aw, I say," said the latter, in remonstrance, "I'm not that, don't -you know. I'm not of the peerage. An uncle and three cousins, all -distressingly healthy, stand between me and an earldom." - -"I want to know!" murmured McGlory, in mock surprise. "Why, I didn't -think any one this side a lord could wear one of those little window -panes in the right eye." - -"You jest," said Twomley, with a faint smile. "Fancy!" - -"Well, anyhow, what are we going to do? Sit here and wait, or hit the -trail ourselves and find out what's doing?" - -"Hit the trail?" echoed Twomley, lifting his brows. "Deuced odd, that. -Why should we hit it, and what shall we hit it with?" - -"Vat a ignorance!" murmured Carl. - -"We'll hit it with our feet, excellency," went on McGlory. - -He had a hearty contempt for the monocle, and took it out on the wearer. - -"I don't know whether I rise to that," returned Twomley, "but if it -means to go forth and look into the cause of our friends' delay in -returning with Wily Bill, then, it's ay, ay, with a will." - -"Come on, then, and we'll vamose." - -McGlory led the way to the side-show tent, and Twomley and Carl -followed him closely. - -The crowds had long since entered the big tents, and the performance -in the "circus top" was in full blast. With the beginning of the "big -show" there was no business left for the annex, and the ticket seller -was withdrawn under the lee of a canvas wall, hobnobbing with the man -on the door. These two informed McGlory, Twomley, and Carl that Wily -Bill had left for town on the street car, and that Motor Matt and -Burton had started for the car line in the hope of overhauling him. But -that had been all of half an hour before. - -The three searchers immediately departed for the car-line loop. There -they found Burton and a young fellow kicking their heels impatiently -and keeping their eyes down the track. - -"Where's Matt?" asked McGlory. - -"Ask us something easy," replied Burton. "Wily has hiked for town. When -we got here the car he was on was too far down the track to stop. This -young man"--the showman indicated his companion--"came along on a motor -cycle. Matt borrowed the machine with the intention of overtaking -the car and bringing Wily back, but neither has shown up yet. Must be -something wrong." - -"Vell, I bed you!" said Carl anxiously. "On some modor cycles -Mile-a-minid Matt alvays geds vere he iss going pefore he shtarts. -Somet'ing has gone crossvays alretty, und dot's no tream." - -"I'm doing a century to-day," remarked the motor cycle owner, "and this -is cutting into my time." - -"Don't fret about your wheel, neighbor," spoke up McGlory. "You'll get -it back, all right." - -"I'm not fretting. Motor Matt's welcome to a dozen of the gasoline -bikes if I had 'em. But I'd like to be moving on." - -Burton looked at his watch. - -"Matt's been gone thirty-five minutes," he announced. - -"If he was running all the time," observed the lad from the motor-car -works, "he could be thirty-five miles from here." - -"Perhaps," ventured Twomley, "he has mucked the play, somehow." - -"Mucked the play!" exclaimed the exasperated McGlory. "That's not his -style, your lordship." - -"We'll wait twenty-five minutes longer," announced Burton. "If Matt -isn't back by then, this young man and I will start along the car track -in my runabout and we'll see what we can find." - -"Dake me along," clamored Carl. "I vas afraidt somet'ing iss wrong mit -Matt." - -"If there are any extra passengers in the runabout," said McGlory -resolutely, "I'm the one." - -"My word!" muttered Twomley. "I hope everything's all serene, I do, -indeed. I'm a juggins at waiting when there's so much excitement going -on." - -"Juggins is good," grunted McGlory. "You can retire somewhere, Mr. -Twomley, and hold onto your nerves while the rest of us hunt up the -'barker.' You'll not shine much till we find Wily Bill, anyhow." - -"You're an odd stick," answered Twomley, whose good nature was not a -thing to be ruffled. - -He was sharp enough to see that the cowboy had a pique at him, and he -had sufficient good sense to take it calmly. - -"Py shinks," said Carl, after ten more weary minutes had passed, "Matt -has hat time to do some centuries himseluf, und I can't guess it oudt -for vy he don'd get pack. Oof you don'd dake me in der runaboudt, den, -so helup me, I vill valk. Anydink is pedder to shtand as uncerdainties." - -Carl constantly watched the road that paralleled the car track. And so, -for the most part, did the Englishman. - -"My word, but it is trying!" murmured Twomley. "If we could only see a -bit of dust, then we'd know Motor Matt was coming, and my relief would -be profound." - -"Dust! _Ach, himmelblitzen!_ Vy, Matt vill go so fast on dot machine -der dust vill be a mile pehindt und you don'd see dot." - -"Here's something," came from McGlory. "Speak to me about it, will -you? Where's Ping? Little Slant-eyes is always around when anything is -doing, but I haven't seen him since he finished watering the calliope." - -Carl knew why Ping wasn't around. Ping was afraid Carl would do -something to him to play even for the Roman-candle business. Oh, yes, -that was an easy one for Carl to guess. There was secret satisfaction -for the Dutch boy in the reflection. And he gloated over it and kept it -to himself. - -"Time's up," announced Burton, snapping his watch, "and here's where -I go for the runabout. My thoroughbred is hitched to the buggy, so be -ready to go with me," he added to the owner of the motor cycle. - -"I'm not worrying about the wheel, understand," said the lad, "but -about the century I'm to turn. I'm making it right in the teeth of this -wind." - -Inside of five minutes Burton came with the runabout, his Kentucky -thoroughbred stamping off the ground at a record pace. - -The runabout seat was narrow, and Burton and the lad from the motor-car -factory filled it comfortably. But they took McGlory on their knees and -whipped away, leaving Twomley and Carl gazing after them disconsolately. - -Hardly were the runabout and its passengers out of sight when a car -rounded the loop and deposited its passengers on the platform. - -"Led's ged on der car, Misder Dumley," suggested Carl. "Ve vill vatch -der road as ve go, und oof ve see somet'ing ve vill trop off. I peen a -tedectif feller, und oof dere iss any clues dey von't ged avay from me." - -"Go you!" answered Twomley heartily. - -Any sort of action was a relief for his impatience, and he and Carl -scrambled aboard the car. - -Meanwhile the pedigreed Kentucky cob was pounding off the distance. -In the horse's performance the proud showman lost sight of the main -business in hand--temporarily. - -"See that knee action!" he exulted. "Did either of you ever see a -prettier bit of traveling? We're doing a mile in two-thirty!" - -"Bother the horse!" growled McGlory. "Keep your eyes on the road for -clues." - -"Clues! I'll bet money the 'barker' wouldn't get off the car. How could -Matt make him? He couldn't, of course. Nothing short of a cop and a -warrant could make Wily Bill leave the car if he was set for reaching -Grand Rapids. I might have known that, if I had stopped to think. We'll -have to keep right on into town--and, then, like as not, we won't find -either Matt or Wily. Now----" - -"Whoa!" cried McGlory. "You're shy a few, Burton. Here's where we stop." - -"What's up?" returned Burton, reining in his spirited roadster. - -"Look there!" - -McGlory pointed to the left-hand side of the road. Close to a steep -bank, against a clump of bushes, stood the motor cycle. - -"Jupiter!" exclaimed Burton. - -"Great Scott!" cried the owner of the machine. - -McGlory tumbled clear of the runabout and started toward the bushes. -He had not taken half a dozen steps, however, before he came to a dead -stop. - -A form fluttered out of the bushes and approached him excitedly. - -"Ping!" gasped the cowboy. "Speak to me about this! Where'd you come -from, Ping? And where's Pard Matt?" - -The Chinese boy's feelings apparently defied expression. He tried to -speak, but his lips moved soundlessly. Hopping up and down in his -sandals, he waved his arms and pointed--not toward Grand Rapids, but -off across a piece of rough woodland. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A BLUNDER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. - - -Ping had felt certain that his move in touching off the Roman candle -had not been seen. It was a disagreeable surprise to him, therefore, -when Bill Wily told Carl just who was responsible for the fireworks. - -Ping and Carl were trying hard to be pards. Their hearts were not in -the attempt, for deep in the spirit of each one slumbered a latent -animosity against the other. But they had to try to fraternize. Motor -Matt had issued an edict to the effect that, if they did not become -pards, he and McGlory would cut them out of the motor boys' combination. - -So the lads did their utmost to appear friendly. They wandered around -together, and whenever Matt or McGlory was in sight they locked arms -and addressed each other in terms of endearment. When they were away -from Matt and McGlory they still kept up the pretense, but in a manner -that was more subdued. - -Ping could not resist the temptation to touch a match to the Roman -candle. He had not expected to cause such a disturbance, and the fact -that chaos had reigned in the side show, and that his culpability had -become known, filled him with apprehension. - -Carl would tell Matt, and Matt would sidetrack his Chinese pard. Ping -worried, and had no desire to see Matt, or any one else. The show -was to be at Reid's Lake for three days, and there was no Sunday -performance. Ping, therefore, could flock by himself until Monday -afternoon. - -Ping's work consisted of watering the steam calliope, and in helping -the aëroplane take its running start for the flights. Owing to the -wind, there would be no morning flight, and--very likely, as he argued -to himself--no afternoon ascension, either. And Ping knew Motor Matt -would not work on Sunday. - -Taken all in all, this was a most propitious time for Ping to absent -himself from the show grounds. With the idea that he would go into -Grand Rapids and hunt up some of his countrymen, he left the grounds -and made his way around the concert garden to the car-line loop. - -Here his nerve began to fail him, and he allowed two or three cars -to come and go without getting aboard. Finally he bolstered up his -tottering resolution and climbed into one of the cars. - -Looking through the open window, after he had taken his seat, he saw -Wily Bill swing up by the hand rails. - -Ping was asking himself what this could mean when the car pulled out. -A little worried, he knew not for what reason, he got up from his seat -and walked to the forward platform, thinking it well to keep out of -Bill Wily's sight. - -Suddenly he became aware of something. A voice, from far behind, was -shouting for the car to stop. The passengers, thrusting their heads -from the windows, were looking back, and some of them were talking -excitedly. - -Ping, hanging out from the lower step, turned his gaze rearward, and -what he saw caused his heart to thump wildly against his ribs. - -One of the little two-wheeled devil wagons was rushing along the road -that paralleled the track, coming like a limited choo-choo train, and -Motor Matt was in the saddle! - -Ping had but one thought. The Dutch boy had told Matt about the Roman -candle, and Matt was chasing the street car in order to remove his -Chinese pard, read the riot act to him, and cast him adrift. - -What a turn Ping had! He crouched down on the step, and the clatter of -the gong, as the conductor gave the motorman the bell from the rear -platform, sent a shiver of dread through his nerves. - -Rather than face Matt and be cut out of the motor boys' combination, -Ping would have done almost anything. The only thing that suggested -itself at that moment was to jump and run. His original intention to -lie low until the Roman-candle incident blew over grew stronger in his -mind. - -The car was beginning to slow down, but it was still proceeding at a -lively gait when Ping threw himself straight out from the lower step. - -The Chinese boy did not know the proper way to alight from a swiftly -moving trolley car, and the result of his leap can be imagined. - -The passengers who were looking out from that side of the car had a -vision of a small Chinaman in the air, pigtail flying. The next instant -the Chinaman touched ground, but found it moving too fast for a secure -foothold. Ping bounded into the air again, his slouch hat going in one -direction, his sandals in another, and he himself describing what is -technically known as a parabola. The Le Bons--the best "kinkers" in the -Big Consolidated--could not have twisted themselves into more fantastic -shapes than did Ping during that stunt of ground-and-lofty tumbling. He -landed on the ground like a frog taking to the water from the top of -a toadstool, and he wound up his performance by throwing a number of -choice cartwheels and then sitting up in the dust and looking around in -considerable mental perturbation. - -About the first thing he saw and was able to realize was that another -besides himself had made a jump from the car. The other was Wily Bill, -and he must have dropped from the rear platform a little before Ping -dropped from the platform forward. - -Wily Bill, however, must have known how to jump from a swiftly moving -car and yet keep his balance, for he was on his feet and making a dash -for a brushy bank at the roadside. - -Motor Matt had swerved his motor cycle and was making in the "barker's" -direction, calling loudly the while for him to stop. - -The light that dawned on Ping, just then, was a good balm for his -bruises. - -Matt was not chasing him, after all, but had been hot on the trail of -Wily Bill! - -While Ping sat there in the dust, hat and sandals gone, his clothes -torn and awry, and himself more or less disorganized, he saw Wily Bill -scramble up the steep bank and vanish among the bushes on the top of -it. Possibly thirty seconds later, Matt sprang from the motor cycle, -leaped up the ascent like an antelope, and likewise vanished. - -"By Klismus!" murmured Ping, rubbing his knees. "Velly funny pidgin! My -no savvy. One piecee queer biz, you bettee. Wow! China boy all blokee -up! Motol Matt no wanchee pullee pin on China boy. Hoop-a-la!" - -Between his physical pain on account of his bruises and his rejoicing -over the discovery that Matt had not been following him, Ping failed -to observe that the street car had stopped and backed up to the place -nearest the spot where he was crooning to himself and rubbing his -bruised limbs. It was not until the conductor and the motorman faced -him that Ping realized that he was the object of their consideration. - -"Didju fall off?" asked the conductor. - -"No makee fall," answered Ping, cocking up his almond eyes, "makee -jump." - -"Blamed wonder yu didn't break yer neck!" growled the motorman. "Chinks -don't know nothin' anyhow." - -"Hurt?" asked the conductor, animated by a laudable desire to avoid a -damage suit in behalf of the company. - -"Heap sore," chattered Ping, "no bleakee bone. Hoop-a-la!" he -jubilated, a wide grin cutting his yellow face in half. "Woosh!" he -added, as the grin faded and a look of pain took its place. - -"Well, I'm stumped!" muttered the conductor. "Is he crazy, or what?" he -added, looking at the motorman. - -"Pass it up," snapped the motorman. "Chinks is only half baked, best -you can say for 'em. Let's snake 'im aboard and go on. We've lost -enough time." - -One got on either side of Ping and lifted him to his feet. They would -have dragged him to the car had he not resisted. - -"Leavee 'lone!" he shouted, squirming. - -"Oh, snakes!" ground out the exasperated motorman. "Ain't you fer the -Rapids?" - -"No wanchee go Glan' Lapids!" declared Ping. "Why my makee jump my -wanchee go Glan' Lapids?" - -"That's so," said the conductor. "What did he jump from the car for if -he wanted to go on with us? We'll leave him, Jim. I thought, when I saw -him hit the ground, we'd have to take him to the hospital, but he seems -to be all right." - -Jim, with an angry exclamation, let go of Ping and hustled back to -his place at the front end of the car. The conductor mounted the rear -platform, and the starting bell jingled. - -As the passengers looked back, they saw the Chinese boy attempt a war -dance in his stocking feet, then suddenly cease and reach down to clasp -his right shin. - -"He's got out o' some lunatic asylum," thought the conductor. "Well, -it's none o' my funeral," he added, and went into the car and began -collecting fares. - -Ping, when the car was out of sight, limped around collecting his -scattered wardrobe. While he was about it, he was wondering, in his -feeble way, why Motor Matt was chasing Bill Wily. - -Probably, he reasoned, Wily had cut up so rough with Carl that Matt had -thought best to pursue the man and call him to account. - -Ping was not in very good condition to take part in the chase, but if -he could manage it, and proved of some assistance to Motor Matt, such -a move would go far toward making his peace with the king of the motor -boys. - -"My makee tly," groaned Ping, limping to the place where the motor -cycle had been left. - -With infinite patience he crawled up the steep slope. One of his legs -felt as though it didn't belong to him--it seemed more like a cork leg -than anything else, and was numb from ankle to thigh. But, somehow, he -managed to get up the bank with it. Pausing there, he called aloud for -Motor Matt. His voice echoed weirdly in the scant timber of the rocky -ground in front of him, and the shout brought no response. - -"My findee Motol Matt," declared the Chinese lad to himself, as he -limped into the timber. "My ketchee Motol Matt, mebby ketchee Wily -Bill. Woosh! Hoop-a-la!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS. - - -While making his slow and painful way among the scrub oaks that grew -out of the stony earth, Ping was looking in all directions for Matt and -Wily. He was listening, too, with all his ears. But he could neither -see nor hear anything of the two for whom he was searching. - -"My findee!" he said, with dogged determination. "Motol Matt no chasee -China boy, him chasee Wily Bill," and again he exulted. - -Action was perhaps the best tonic he could have had. As he swung -onward, the leg which did not seem to belong to him began to remind -him, in no uncertain manner, that it was really his, and that he was -responsible for its condition. - -A slow pain made itself manifest, running up the member like a streak -of lightning and giving Ping a "gone" feeling in the pit of his -stomach. But he was "game." Shutting his teeth on more than one groan, -he kept resolutely on through the bleak timber, looking and listening. - -Finally he came out on a rough crossroad, which he followed. Five -minutes of wabbling along this road brought him to the end of it--and -across the end squatted a dingy white house with green shutters. -The shutters were closed, and the house had the appearance of being -deserted. - -Here, Ping felt, was the end of his trail. He was on the wrong track, -and the question that pressed upon him was what he should do next. - -Withdrawing to a clump of bushes, he sat down and gave the matter -extended thought. - -Who lived in the house? And was there any one at home? If there was any -one in the place, would they talk with him and tell him whether they -had seen Matt or the side-show man? - -Ping, unlike Carl, made no boasts of being a "tedectif." He could -blunder around and, maybe, stumble upon something worth while, but it -would be purely a hit-and-miss performance. - -Yes, he decided, he had better go to the house and see whether there -was anybody there. - -Barely had he made up his mind when, with amazing suddenness, Bill Wily -rushed around the corner of the house, jammed a key into the door, and -disappeared. - -He did not close the door behind him, being, as it seemed, in too much -of a hurry to attend to such trifling matters. - -While Ping was still wrenched with this startling exhibition, an even -more astounding spectacle was wafted his way. - -Motor Matt followed Wily around the house corner, paused an instant in -front of the open door, then was swallowed up in the dark interior. - -Ping had not called out, for amazement had held him speechless. - -The Chinese boy had blundered in leaping from the street car, but, as -it had chanced, that had been a blunder in the right direction. All the -heathen gods of luck had been ranged on his side, too, when he followed -the crossroad and went into communion with himself in the clump of -bushes facing the green-shuttered house. - -In about two minutes, Ping figured, Matt would have Bill Wily by the -heels. So it followed, if Ping was to have any part in the capture, he -would have to hurry. - -In the excitement of the moment he forgot his bruises, emerged from the -undergrowth, and made his way rapidly toward the house. - -At the open door he stopped, thrust his head into the hallway, and used -his ears. - -The silence was intense, and not the faintest sound was to be heard. - -There was something weirdly mysterious about this. With Matt and Wily -both in the house, and each more or less hostile toward the other, -there should have been a good deal of noise. - -A qualm raced through Ping's nerves. - -There was something ominous about mysteries, and he had made it a rule -to fight shy of ominous things. He did not consider them at all good -for a Chinaman's health, or his peace of mind. - -And a Melican house, too, deserted and with closed shutters, offered -dangers not lightly to be reckoned with. - -But Ping, as yet, was Motor Matt's pard; and whereever Motor Matt led -the way, then Ping would be more of a hired man than a pard if he did -not follow. Shutting his teeth hard, and breathing only when necessary, -the Chinese boy crossed the threshold of the house with the green -shutters. - -He was in a narrow hall that extended through the house from front to -rear. A stairway led to the second floor, and two doors opened off to -left and right. - -Throttling his fears, Ping moved toward the door on the right, his -sandals scuffling over the uncarpeted floor. There was no furniture in -the house, and the floor was bare. - -The swish of the sandals sent vague fears cantering through the little -Celestial, and he curled up his toes in order to wedge the soles of his -footgear closer to the bottoms of his feet. - -The room he entered was dark. With a trembling hand he groped in his -blouse for matches. Had he lost his matches in taking that header from -the street car? His fears in that respect were short-lived, for he -quickly found half a dozen of the small fire-sticks. - -Scratching one, he held it up and peered around. The room was -empty--bare as a last year's bird's nest. Going back into the hall, he -examined a room on the opposite side. That one also was empty, and over -all the emptiness arose a musty odor as of a building long untenanted. - -Two more rooms remained to be examined on the first floor. - -One of these was the kitchen, and a quantity of soot had drifted down -and lay in a heap on the floor. Ping kept away from the soot, and was -glad afterward that he had done so. Across the hall was the last of -the four rooms comprising the lower part of the house--dark, deserted, -and musty as were the other three. - -Failure to encounter danger of any visible sort had heartened Ping -wonderfully. - -"My makee go up stlails," he thought. "Mebby my ketchee something -top-side." - -He moved softly, but the stairs creaked and rasped under his sandals in -spite of his wariness. - -There were four rooms upstairs, just as there were below, and in none -of the dark chambers did he discover any trace of Motor Matt or of Wily -Bill. - -Ping was "stumped." The longer he thought of the mystery the more -terrified he became. - -He believed in demons. Ben Ali, he knew, was possessed of them, for he -had heard how the Hindoo, with his eyes alone, had put people to sleep -and made them do strange things while they dreamed. - -Ping, naturally, had no idea that Ben Ali was in any way concerned with -Matt's pursuit of Wily Bill, but the Chinaman's mind reverted to Ben -Ali, and Aurung Zeeb, and Dhondaram, three Hindoos, all of whom, at -various times, had formed a part of the Big Consolidated. - -Had he dared, Ping would have shouted Matt's name at the top of his -voice. But he was afraid. A dragon, spouting fire from its red mouth, -and with a hundred claw-armed feet, might materialize and attack him, -did he dare awake the echoes of that sombre house. - -Turning swiftly away from the last room, Ping got astride the -banisters, slid to the bottom of the stairs, and ducked through the -front door. - -The bright sunshine was never pleasanter to him than at that moment. He -gulped down a few draughts of pure outside air and started off toward -the bushes, bent upon a little solitary reflection. - -By a sudden thought, he whirled abruptly, softly drew the door shut, -turned the key in the lock, and then slipped the key into his pocket. - -He had locked the door on the mysteries, and he hoped the fiends of -darkness would respect the barrier until he could think of some way to -exorcise them. - -Once more in his original place among the bushes, Ping watched the -house warily and tried to approach the problem in a reasonable way. - -But it was not a question of reason. His investigation had developed -facts that defied every logical process. - -What had become of Motor Matt? - -This was the point that disturbed the Chinese boy most. If he could -find Motor Matt, he would be content to leave the question of Wily's -whereabouts out of the count. - -Abruptly Ping had an idea. Perhaps Wily had rushed out of a rear door, -and Matt had followed him? During his investigations, Ping had tried no -doors or windows. - -Getting to his feet, he made a circle around the house. There was one -door in the rear, and only one. Cautiously he approached and tried the -knob. The door was locked. - -As for the windows, every one was tightly closed in with the green -shutters. - -These discoveries left Ping in a daze. After several minutes of -bewilderment, he finally made up his mind to return to the show -grounds, find McGlory, and acquaint him with the situation. McGlory -would know what to do! - -Then, there was the two-wheeled devil wagon Motor Matt had left at the -foot of the bank, by the roadside. A hazy idea of riding the machine -back to the show grounds passed through the Chinaman's mind. - -To regain the road by the street-car track took time, but the distance -was covered much more rapidly than Ping had covered it coming the other -way. - -Strange to relate, the Chinese boy's bruises caused him little concern. -All his aches and pains were lost in the details of the inexplicable -situation connected with the deserted house. - -While he was in the brush, at the foot of the bank, eying the motor -cycle a bit dubiously, he heard a patter of hoofs, a grind of wheels, -and a sound of voices. - -Looking up, he saw Burton's runabout at a stop. Burton was in the -buggy, and so was a young fellow Ping had never seen before--and -McGlory. The cowboy was just scrambling out of the vehicle and starting -in the direction of the motor cycle. - -The sight of reinforcements caused all Ping's wonder, and doubt, and -apprehension to revive with redoubled force. He attempted to shout, but -no words escaped his lips. Rushing forth to meet McGlory, he waved his -arms and pointed in the direction of the house with the green shutters. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE PILE OF SOOT. - - -Ping was not many minutes recovering the use of his tongue. McGlory -grabbed him and shook his powers of speech back into their normal -condition. - -"Where's Motor Matt?" cried McGlory. - -"My no savvy!" - -"How did you happen to be here?" - -"Stleet cal." - -"What're you making a run from the show grounds for without saying a -word to Matt?" - -That was a point which Ping did not care to reveal. He was not above -being careless with the truth in a pinch, having been raised that way. -But, while he might resort to a little harmless fiction with McGlory, -he would have cut his tongue out before he would have fibbed to Motor -Matt. - -"Makee see Wily Bill ketchee cal," Ping explained; "my ketchee same -cal. Follow Wily Bill. Wily Bill jump from cal. My jump, too. Tumble -all ovel load. Wily Bill lun fo' top-side bank. Motol Matt chasee. -Motol Matt leavee gas hlorsee by bank. My follow, no findee." - -Out of this pigeon English McGlory captured a few germs of sense. - -"What the nation was he following Wily for?" demanded Burton. "How did -he know we wanted Wily?" - -Ping was still equal to the emergency. - -"Dutchy boy havee low with Wily Bill," he explained. - -"That's right," went on Burton; "you _were_ around during the row. I'd -forgotten that. That may have been enough to put you on Wily's trail, -although I can't figure it out exactly. But you followed him, and then -you followed Matt when he ran after Wily. They went up the bank and -into the woods, you say?" - -"Allee same." - -"Then where did they go?" demanded McGlory. - -"Makee tlacks fo' house with green blinds." - -"They made tracks for a house with green blinds? Now we're getting at -it. Where's this house?" - -"Othel side woods. My findee, you savvy; makee sit down, do heap big -think. Bymby, 'long come Wily Bill, unlock do', go in house. Plenty -soon, 'long come Motol Matt, go in house, too." Ping became oppressed -with the awe aroused by the event next to be described, and his voice -sank into a husky whisper. "My makee tlacks inside, hunt evel place, no -can find. House allee same empty. Motol Matt disappeal, vanish, makee -go up in smoke. Woosh! My plenty 'flaid." - -"What's he givin' us?" snorted Burton. "He's talking through his hat, -seems like, to me." - -"He's run into something that he can't cumtux," returned McGlory. "It's -plain enough, though, that a house with green shutters is at the end of -our trail. Ping can take us there, and it will be up to us to do the -rest." - -"Say, young feller!" cried Burton, standing up in the runabout and -addressing the lad from the motor-car works. - -The latter was pulling his motor cycle out of the bushes and making -ready to forge away on the rest of his "century" run. - -"Well?" returned the youth, one leg over the saddle and ready to pedal -off. - -"Load that machine into the runabout and drive this rig back to the -show grounds for me, will you?" requested Burton. "I'm hungry to see -this game through, and I can't leave the horse hitched in the road." - -"Couldn't get the motor cycle into the buggy," was the answer. "Anyhow, -I guess I've helped you about as much as you could reasonably expect." - -"There's twenty coming to you," went on Burton. "Take the rig back and -I'll make it thirty." - -"There's nothing coming to me. I told Motor Matt he could use the -machine, and welcome. Now that he's done with it, I'll go on with my -run." - -The motor began to pop, and presently settled into a steady hum. A -minute later the motor cycle and its rider were out of sight. - -Just then, when it looked as though Burton was to be permanently -retired from the rest of the pursuit, a street car from the lake -rattled to a halt, and Carl and Twomley dropped from the steps. - -"Here's the Englishman," muttered McGlory, without much enthusiasm. - -"And Carl!" added Burton. "He'll take the rig back for me, and the rest -of us will start for the house with the green shutters." - -"Vat's to pay?" clamored Carl, running toward McGlory and Ping. - -Ping's confidence in Carl, like Carl's confidence in Ping, was badly -"shook." The Chinese boy backed away. - -"Here, Carl," cried Burton. "Jump into the runabout and take it back to -the grounds for me. I've got business with McGlory." - -"Meppy I don'd got some pitzness mit McGlory, same as you," demurred -Carl. "Vere iss Modor Matt?" - -"There's no time to palaver, Carl," interposed McGlory. "Take the rig -back." - -When Matt was away, McGlory was the boss. Carl could not very well -disobey such a pointblank order. Much against his will, he climbed into -the runabout. - -"My word!" cried Twomley. "You seem to have discovered a clue of some -sort. Who's the Chinaman?" - -"Never mind that, now," returned Barton. "Come with us, Twomley, and -we'll tell you as we go along." - -"Lead off, Ping," ordered McGlory. - -Carl, very much out of temper, shook his fist at Burton, and then at -Ping. Following this, he turned the rig the other way and rode moodily -back toward the show grounds. - -Ping, meanwhile, had climbed the bank, and was leading the party of -investigators through the woods in the direction of the crossroad. As -they went along, Burton was telling Twomley what Ping had discovered. - -The information given by the Chinaman was lacking in many important -points, but its very incompleteness added to the tensity of the -situation. - -When they came to the end of the crossroad, Ping halted and indicated -the house with the green shutters. - -"You say," remarked McGlory, giving the house a swift sizing, "that -Wily Bill ran into the house?" - -"All same," answered Ping. - -"And that Pard Matt trailed after him?" - -"All same." - -"Then you went in, looked around, and couldn't see anything of either -of them?" - -"My no findee." Ping shivered. "When my makee come out, my lockee do'." - -He dug up the key and handed it to McGlory. - -"Well," declared McGlory, "if Motor Matt and Wily Bill went in there, -and didn't come out again, we'll find them." - -"If the Chinaman didn't find them," struck in Twomley, "they must have -come out." - -"We'll soon know what's what," and the cowboy made his way to the door, -thrust the key into the lock, and pushed the door ajar. - -The same dark, funereal silence that had greeted Ping stared McGlory, -Burton, and Twomley in the face. - -"My no findee," chattered Ping, drawing back; "you no findee." - -McGlory pressed into the hall. - -"I'll take the rooms on the left," said he, "and the rest of you take -the ones on the right. Do your bushwhacking, and then, if you don't -find anything, meet me at the foot of the stairs for a look overhead." - -Nothing was found. The back door was securely bolted on the inside, and -all the windows and blinds of the various lower windows firmly fastened. - -The situation upstairs was exactly the same. Puzzled and bewildered, -the party returned to the lower hall. - -"If Ping's giving it to us straight," said McGlory, "neither Matt nor -Wily got out of here. They couldn't have gone through the rear door or -any of the windows, without leaving them open. And they couldn't have -left by the front door because it was locked, and Ping had the key." - -"They might have slipped out while Ping was nosing around upstairs," -suggested Burton. - -"They'd have made some noise," objected the cowboy. "Matt didn't have -any call to keep quiet, and Ping would surely have heard him. Let's go -back to the rear rooms again." - -Burton and Twomley had examined the kitchen. McGlory now looked that -room over for himself. - -He was no more than two minutes in picking up a clue. The lighted match -which he held close to the floor showed footprints outlined in black. -He traced them to the pile of soot under the chimney. - -"Here's where we find something!" he cried. "Open those shutters, you -fellows! We want light while we run out this trail of soot." - -Twomley and Burton unfastened the windows and pushed back the blinds on -their screeching hinges. The sunlight, drifting into the room, brought -out the trail with weird distinctness. - -"Maybe the Chinaman blundered into the soot and left the trail," -hazarded Burton. - -"My no makee tlail," declared Ping. "No touchee soot." - -"There's only one of the chink, anyhow, pards," said McGlory, "and at -least two pairs of feet walked through that pile of black stuff. One -man wore shoes, and the other wore slippers. The slippers left marks -a good deal like Ping's sandals, but the marks are too big for Ping. -We'll find out a few things now, I reckon." - -With eyes bent sharply on the floor, the cowboy crossed the kitchen -into the hall, and then moved along the hall to a spot under the stairs. - -The stairs were not enclosed, but sprang directly from the hall floor. -In the angle formed by the flight and the floor the sooty trail -vanished. - -"Now what?" queried Burton. "It looks like we were up in the air as -much as ever." - -Without replying, McGlory drew his knife from his pocket, opened it, -and went down on his knees. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -MATT MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. - - -Matt's pursuit of the street car reminded him of his old motor-cycle -days in Arizona. The familiar hum of the twin cylinders between his -knees carried his mind back to his ill-fated gasoline marvel, the -_Comet_, in honor of which he had named the aëroplane he was using with -the show. - -The borrowed motor cycle had all the improvements, and the way it could -run warmed the cockles of Matt's heart. In less than a minute after -leaving Burton and the machine's owner, the king of the motor boys was -shooting along the road like a bullet out of a gun. - -He was pursuing an electric car that ran at a high rate of speed, but -the motor cycle must have been going five feet to the car's one. Before -Matt fairly realized it he was within sight of the car. - -When he was close enough to be heard he began to call to the conductor -to stop. The passengers heard him, as the row of heads thrust out from -each side of the car conclusively proved; and the conductor also heard -him, for he appeared on the rear platform. - -Matt could see the conductor reaching for the bell rope. At the same -time, Wily Bill rushed out on the back platform, took in the situation -at a startled glance, and then dropped dexterously from the car at the -track side. - -Matt was so wrapped up in what Wily Bill was doing that Ping's leap -from the front platform escaped him entirely. - -Wily Bill scurried for the side of the road, and Matt shut off the -power and glided after him. - -"Hold up there, Wily!" cried Matt. - -The "barker" paid no attention, but plunged up the bank and darted off -into the timber. - -By that time Motor Matt's blood was up. He knew that a great deal -depended on the capture of Wily. If the "barker" could be made to tell -when and how he had received that note in Hindoostanee, a clue to -the whereabouts of Ben Ali and the missing Margaret Manners would be -secured. - -Appreciating fully the exigencies of the case, Matt sprang from the -wheel and leaped up the bank. From the top of the rise he could see -nothing of Wily, but a crashing of the undergrowth told him plainly in -which direction the man had gone. He was but an instant in taking after -him. - -Wily's actions were those of a guilty man; in fact, they inferred a -deeper guilt than the mere possession of a note in Hindoostanee would -indicate. - -This, naturally, made the fellow's capture all the more important. - -For a quarter of a mile, Matt judged, Wily led him a chase through the -woods. The "barker" had lost a little of his lead, but was keeping up -his fierce pace with a good deal of vigor. Then, suddenly, he began to -double. Matt would run on, looking and listening, only to find that -there was no thrashing brush ahead. When he stopped, the sounds made -by the fleeing fugitive had changed their direction, and the young -motorist had to whirl and take another course. - -For some time this variation of the game of hare and hounds continued, -Matt drawing steadily nearer and nearer. - -At last Matt caught his first glimpse of Wily, since he had fled over -the bank from the street car, at the rear of a house whose windows were -closed with green shutters. - -Wily stood out against the house wall, his form sharply defined, just -as Matt rushed from a fringe of hazels. The "barker" cast a look over -his shoulder, gave vent to a panting exclamation, and darted around the -end of the house. - -When Matt reached the front of the structure, Wily had vanished. The -key to his disappearance was furnished by the wide-swinging front door, -key still in the lock. Besides, Wily had not had time to go around the -other side of the house, or to get into the woods again, so Matt knew -he must have entered the building. - -With scarcely a moment's hesitation, the king of the motor boys -followed the fugitive. - -Coming in out of the bright sunshine, the darkness of the shut-in hall -was intense. As Matt ran on past one of the doors leading to a room on -the right a sinewy, turbaned form leaped out and a fist shot through -the gloom, landing on the back of Matt's head with tremendous force. - -Matt staggered, regained his balance, and whirled around. His brain -was reeling, but, looking toward the light that entered at the open -door, he saw that the man who had struck him was not Wily, as he had -imagined, but a Hindoo--none other than his old acquaintance, Dhondaram. - -Flinging out his arms, he leaped at the Hindoo. Then it was that Wily -completed the work that Dhondaram had begun. Another blow from behind, -savagely given with all the "barker's" strength, caused Matt to sink to -his knees and then straighten out unconscious on the bare floor. - -"You saw what was goin' on?" asked Wily breathlessly. - -"Even so, sahib," answered the other, in a low tone. - -"I'm in luck to find you here. Wasn't intendin' to blow in at this -place till night--but any port in a storm. Pick him up and let's get -away somewhere." - -"The kitchen, sahib." - -Between them, the unconscious king of the motor boys was lifted and -carried into the kitchen. - -"Hang it!" growled Wily, floundering through the soot pile; "this -won't do. There may be more after me. There's another place, under the -stairs. Sharp's the word, now. Carry him there." - -Matt was not bereft of his senses for long. There was too much steel -and whalebone in his athletic body to keep him steeped in oblivion for -any great length of time. - -The first thing he saw, when his eyes slowly opened, was a candle -planted in the earth. - -He was lying, hands and feet bound and a cloth over his mouth, in a -sort of pit. Above him were the stringers and boards of a floor. - -A few moments passed while he was picking up the thread of events. -While he was piecing details together, he heard a light footfall on the -floor overhead, advancing and retreating. Later there came the creaking -of boards as of some one climbing a flight of stairs. - -Wily and Dhondaram, silent and motionless as statues, knelt in the -earth, the fluttering gleam of the candle over them, and were listening -to the footfalls with bated breath. - -From the manner of these two Matt understood forthwith that the person -in the upper part of the house must be one whom his captors feared. -Had it not been for the cloth that smothered his lips, Matt would have -shouted at the top of his voice and so have informed a possible friend -where he was. - -Inasmuch as he could neither move nor make an audible sound, the -prisoner lay quiet. - -There was no cellar under this house with the green shutters, only -a scooped-out place in the earth where possibly potatoes and other -vegetables had been kept. - -Presently the footsteps once more descended the stairs and could be -heard leaving the house. Wily turned to Dhondaram with a deep breath of -relief. - -"That was a close call," he muttered. "If we'd been a second later -gettin' down here----" - -He bit off his words quickly. The door had slammed and the grating of a -key could be heard. - -"_Maskee!_" rumbled Dhondaram. "The door has been closed and locked, -sahib. You left the key in the door." - -"I was in too big a hurry to do anythin' else. As it was, Motor Matt -came within one of layin' hands on me. See if he's got his wits back." - -On hands and knees the Hindoo crept to Matt's side and peered into his -face. Matt kept his eyes closed. - -"Not yet, sahib," answered Dhondaram. "It is well. He shall not waken -in this world. The goddess Kali----" - -Dhondaram did not finish the sentence. He had referred to the malign -Hindoo deity invoked by thugs, and it may be he thought the talk -unsuited to American ears. Lifting himself on his knees, he drew from -the breast of his jacket a glittering blade. - -The next moment Wily Bill had caught his arm. - -"Chuck it!" he growled sternly. - -The Hindoo turned his glittering eyes on the "barker." - -"Sahib, you do not understood," said he, in a hissing voice. - -"I understood you're intendin' to use the knife," answered Wily Bill, -"an' I won't have it. What d'you take me for? They don't hang people -in this State, but I don't intend to pass the rest o' my days in the -'pen.' Put that knife back where you took it from." - -"It is my duty to do this thing," flared the Hindoo. - -"Go on!" - -"Ben Ali saved my life in my own country, and I joined the show of -Burra Burton because he told me. I tried to remove Motor Matt because -he told me. That will pay my debt to Ben Ali. I failed in my work while -I was with the show, but now----" - -"You're goin' to fail here, too. I've got a tender regard for my -liberty, an' that's why I was runnin' away from the show grounds. There -was a fracas turned on in the side-show tent, an' I got mixed up in -it. Durin' the row I lost a letter that came to me by mail--a letter -that contained somethin' for you. Ben Ali, in my letter, said where he -wanted to meet you. I don't know what he said in your letter, as that -was in Hindoostanee." - -Dhondaram's eyes glowed expectantly, and he held out his hand. - -"The writing, sahib." - -"I haven't got it. Didn't I just tell you it was lost? That's what made -me bolt from the grounds. One of Motor Matt's friends got the thing, -and when I tried to get it, Burton took possession of it. If that -letter's ever translated, I'll bet it contains stuff that would make -the show too hot to hold me. I got away while there was time--but there -wasn't any too much time, at that. If----" - -Dhondaram drew back. - -"Motor Matt, sahib," muttered Dhondaram, "he's listening to your talk." - -The prisoner had opened his eyes, and the keen glance of the Hindoo had -detected it. Both Dhondaram and Wily turned their gaze on Matt. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -RESCUE! - - -Motor Matt understood full well the gravity of his situation. Never -until that moment had he known the cause of the murderous Dhondaram's -hostility to him, but now it appeared that he was merely seeking to -cancel a debt which he owed Ben Ali. - -Bill Wily's regard for his own welfare was all that stood between Motor -Matt and the knife of the misguided Hindoo. - -"Give me that knife, Dhondaram," ordered Wily. - -"I will keep the knife, sahib," replied the other. - -"Keep it, then, and be hanged to you," answered Wily angrily, "but -you'll settle with me if you try any knife tricks on the prisoner. I -guess you rise to that, all right enough. Take off the gag. I want to -talk with Motor Matt." - -Dhondaram bent down and removed the cloth. - -"I'm a 'barker,'" went on Wily, still addressing the Hindoo and making -brief display of a revolver, "but here's somethin' that bites as well -as barks. Put away that knife." - -Silently the Hindoo returned the knife to his jacket and sank back on -his heels. - -"What was you chasin' me for, Motor Matt?" asked Wily. - -"Why were you running away from me?" Matt countered. - -"That's my business. You answer my question. I guess you'd better treat -me white, 'cause it's me that keeps the Hindoo from doin' a little -knife work on you." - -"Burton wanted you to tell him something about that letter," Matt -answered, making up his mind that a little of the truth would not be -out of place. - -"Oh, ho!" muttered Wily. "Does he think I can read Hindoostanee?" - -"No. What he wanted to know was where you got the letter. The Hindoos -who have been connected with the show haven't turned out very -well--they are all fugitives from the law, even Dhondaram." - -Not a ripple crossed the placid brown face of the Hindoo; only his -glittering eyes revealed the feeling that slumbered in the depths of -his soul. - -"I guessed there'd be a stir about that letter," went on Wily, "an' -that's the reason I made up my mind to pull out. I'd had to explain, -an' no matter what I'd said I'd have been fired, anyway. I used to live -in Grand Rapids, and the home town was a good place for me to cut loose -from the show, see?" - -"Why are you treating me like this?" asked Matt quietly. - -"Couldn't help it. Them kid pards o' yours was the cause o' the hull -bloomin' twist-up!" Wily Bill swore savagely under his breath. "I'd -like to take the kinks out o' that Dutchman. He's too much on the -buttinsky order. You chased after me, hung on, an' wouldn't let go. -What else could I do but make myself safe?" - -"You didn't have to have Dhondaram knock me down." - -"It wasn't him did that. He tried, but I had to finish the job. But I -was treatin' you well, at that. I could have dropped down back of a -clump o' bushes, there in the timber, and picked you off with this." -Wily touched his hip pocket. "But I didn't. That ain't my style. I'd -rather have you like this an' come to a little agreement with you. As -for Dhondaram, I hadn't an idea he was in the house. I'd given him a -key, an' I knew he might be here, but I wasn't expectin' him so soon. -Mebby it was lucky for me that he was around." - -"So that's it, eh?" commented Matt sarcastically. "You've been meeting -Dhondaram, and helping him, when you knew he had been a prisoner of -Burton's and had escaped from the show train between Jackson and -Kalamazoo. If a person helps a fugitive of the law to escape, he is -guilty of a crime and can be punished for it." - -"There you hit it! But I was ducking out--and you wouldn't let me duck. -I'm going to leave, in spite of you and Burton. That's the worst I've -done--talkin' with Dhondaram and carryin' Hindoostanee letters. But -I'll not be jugged for that, or----" - -A hiss of warning came from Dhondaram. At the same moment he leaned -down and replaced the cloth over Matt's lips. - -Distant voices were heard, then the sound of a key rattling in a lock. - -"The fellow that was here before has brought some others," whispered -Wily. "Hang the luck! I wish we had got out o' here while we had the -chance. Now, then, we're in for it an' no mistake." - -"Listen, sahib!" frowned the Hindoo. - -The voices that had been heard outside the house were now talking in -the hall. It was impossible to distinguish words, but Matt's heart -leaped as he recognized McGlory's voice and Burton's. - -They were looking for him! - -"They cannot find us down here, sahib," murmured the Hindoo, his voice -soft and purring as that of a tiger cat. "They will go as the first one -went, then we can leave." - -This was Wily's hope. Breathlessly he listened to the sounds above. -The footsteps and the voices faded away into the upper regions of the -building. - -"Now," muttered Wily, "we might be able to dodge through the front -door. They're all upstairs." - -Dhondaram shook his head. - -"The door in the floor, sahib, cannot be found," he whispered -reassuringly. "The _feringhis_ will not discover us. Be patient." - -Presently Matt heard his friends returning to the lower floor, heard -them enter the kitchen, heard the sound of lifted windows and opening -blinds, marked the slow and steady advance from the kitchen into the -hall, and along the hall to a point under the stairs. - -By then, even Dhondaram had begun to take alarm. - -"They're at the trap!" gasped Wily Bill. - -"Is there no way out of this hole, sahib?" demanded Dhondaram through -his teeth. - -"Only by the way we came in. I lived in this house and I know all about -it." - -Dhondaram smashed the flat of his hand down over the light of the -candle. The Stygian blackness that reigned showed plainly the rim of -daylight under the lifting door. - -"The revolver!" hissed Dhondaram. "Shoot, sahib!" - -"No, I tell you!" answered Wily. "I'll have none o' that, or----" - -With a savage snarl, Dhondaram hurled himself on Wily Bill in a furious -effort to secure the revolver and fight off the approaching rescuers. - -The trapdoor had been thrown entirely back, and daylight was flooding -the pit. The sounds of the struggle between the Hindoo and Wily Bill -reached the ears of those above. - -"Here they are!" cried the voice of McGlory, and instantly he leaped -downward. - -With a blow of his fist the Hindoo staggered the cowboy, leaped upward, -and gained the floor. - -"Dhondaram!" yelled Burton, who was just preparing to follow McGlory -down under the floor. - -The word was hardly out of his lips before the showman was compelled to -drop back to avoid a sweeping blow of the knife in the Hindoo's hand. - -McGlory was looking for Matt, and paid little attention to the Hindoo. -He found his pard with his groping hands, for his eyes were blinded by -the sudden change from day to the darkness of the pit. - -"Bully for you, pard!" exclaimed McGlory. "Lashed hand and foot, or I'm -a Piegan! Speak to me about this, will you? And gagged, too. Sufferin' -blazes, but you've had a time! There, how's that?" - -The cowboy pulled away the cloth. - -"Wily's here," were Matt's first words. "He and the Hindoo had a fight, -and----" - -"Bother Wily! It's you I'm after," and, with his open knife, McGlory -slashed at the cords. "Now we can look after Wily." - -Leaving that part of the work to his chum, Matt leaped upward and -climbed over the edge of the floor. Burton was running toward one of -the front rooms. - -"Where's the Hindoo?" cried Matt. - -"The Englishman tagged him in here, after heading him off at the door," -panted Burton. "I always knew that thug was a killer, and if I hadn't -been quick he'd have knifed me." - -A smash of glass came from the front room and two of the blinds were -smashed open. The light afforded by this gave Matt and Burton a view of -a desperate struggle in which the attaché of the British Legation was -proving himself a whole man, in every sense of the word. - -Unarmed, and with every disregard for his personal danger, Twomley had -set upon the Hindoo. Dhondaram's knife had ripped Twomley's coat and -brought a stain of red, but the Englishman had both hands around the -Hindoo's throat, and they were flinging here and there around the room. - -The smash of glass and the crash of the blinds had been caused by -Dhondaram falling heavily against one of the windows. Then suddenly, -before either Matt or Burton could go to his aid, Twomley hurled his -antagonist from him with terrific force. The Hindoo fell sprawling -against the wall, and dropped stunned to the floor. His knife slipped -from his hand, and Burton kicked it aside while he and Matt threw -themselves upon the supine figure. - -"Take his turban," said Matt, "and bind his hands with it." - -The turban was merely a long strip of twisted cloth, and there were two -or three yards of it--enough for both his wrists and ankles. - -Barely was the tying finished when McGlory drove Wily into the room -with his own six-shooter. - -"Talk about this, friends," laughed McGlory. "Wily Bill fights with -the Hindoo, and has the tuck about all taken out of him. I snatch his -revolver, and then we come out from under the floor, Wily in the lead -and acting real peaceable. You've caught Dhondaram, too. Everything's -lovely, eh?" - -"All serene," answered the Englishman. - -He had removed his coat and was binding his handkerchief about his arm. - -"Twomley captured Dhondaram, Joe," said Matt, "and did it alone." - -"Getting stabbed for his pains," added Burton. - -"A scratch," was Twomley's cool response. "How could you expect me -to do a thing like that without getting a nick or two? A pretty show -altogether. And it might have been a good deal worse." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BILL WILY REPENTS. - - -McGlory motioned Wily to take a seat on the floor, near Dhondaram, and -then turned toward Twomley. - -"So you put the kibosh on our brown friend all by yourself, did you?" -he asked. - -"It wasn't much," was the diffident answer. "I know these Hindoos -somewhat." - -"You're the clear quill," said McGlory, "and I've got a different -estimate of you. What do you think?" he added to Burton. "They had my -pard down in the spud cellar, covered with ropes and gagged." - -"Nice how-d'ye-do!" growled Burton. "What sort of a way is that to act, -Bill Wily?" and he flashed a look of anger and contempt at the "barker." - -"I've made a holy show of myself," mumbled Bill Wily. "That comes of -gettin' confidential with these here chocolate-colored crooks. They're -no good." - -"What do you think of yourself, hey?" - -"Not much, Burton, an' that's a fact. I'm down and out, and just -because I wanted to shake your show an' not have any trouble. What a -lot of excitement over nothin' at all!" - -"Fancy that!" remarked Twomley, mildly surprised. "I guess the man -doesn't know the true state of affairs." - -"He'll know everything before we're done with him," snapped Burton. - -"You're not goin' to bear down too hard on me, are you, Burton?" -pleaded Wily. - -"Why shouldn't I?" - -"What've I done?" - -"I can't tell that till I hear what happened to Motor Matt. If these -disgraceful proceedings get out, it will be a black eye for the show." - -Boss Burton was a queer fish. He had always a high regard for carrying -out every promise he made in his show "paper," and was also solicitous -about the good name of the Big Consolidated; at the same time, he had -done a number of things which gave Matt a poor opinion of his character. - -Matt, taking advantage of the opening afforded him, told what had -happened after he had left Burton on the motor cycle. The rough -treatment he had received brought scowls to the faces of McGlory and -Burton. - -"That Hindoo might have knifed you, and all on account of Wily there!" -breathed the showman. - -"But he didn't," returned Matt, "and that was on account of Wily, too. -Keep that in mind, Burton." - -"Your head, pard," said the cowboy solicitously. "You've had a couple -of good hard raps, and I'll bet that block of yours feels as big as a -barrel." - -"I'm like Twomley," smiled Matt, "and couldn't expect to come through -such a tussle without a few marks. But it's nothing serious. Another -thing, Burton," he added, turning to the showman, "just recollect that, -if Wily wanted to, he could have used that thing Joe has in his hand. -But he wouldn't, and he fought with Dhondaram rather than let him use -it." - -"Wily hadn't the nerve," commented Burton. "He's in the parlor class -when it comes to strong-arm work. He's more of a shell worker and a -confidence man." - -"Don't be rough, Burton," begged Wily Bill. - -"What've you got to say for yourself?" - -"I'm blamed sorry things turned out like they did. That's all." - -"Just how sorry are you? Sorry enough to make a clean breast of -everything?" - -"That depends on what'll happen to me. You let the ticket man off when -he and Dhondaram tried to loot the Jackson proceeds. I didn't do half -as much as him." - -"Tell me what you've done, and then I'll tell you what I'm goin' to -do," said Burton. - -"I knew Ben Ali pretty well when he was with the show," returned Wily, -"but he didn't put it up with _me_ to help steal the ticket-wagon -money. I'm not makin' such a terrible sight as spieler for that -side-show outfit, and when I get a letter in Kalamazoo, inclosin' -another in Hindoostanee and askin' me to deliver same, what am I goin' -to do? That letter contained a money order for ten dollars." - -"And it was from Ben Ali?" asked Motor Matt. - -Wily nodded. - -"We got into Kalamazoo about three in the morning," proceeded Wily -Bill, "and when I dropped off the train, Dhondaram stepped out from -between a couple o' box cars----" - -"It was the night we left Jackson that we had Dhondaram lashed and -lying in the aisle of the sleeper on section two of the show train," -interrupted Burton. "He got loose and skipped. I fired a shot at him, -but he jumped off the train. How could he have done that and then shown -up in Kalamazoo the morning we got there?" - -The showman was trying to pick flaws in Wily's narrative, but the -"barker" was equal to the emergency. - -"For the reason, Burton, that he didn't jump off the train. Dhondaram -rode the platform, and now and then he dodged down on the bumpers when -the train men came too close. As I say, he met me as I dropped off, and -we had a bit of a chin together." - -"Why didn't you grab him," demanded Burton, "and turn him over to me?" - -"That's where I was lame, I expect, but you forget I was a friend of -Ben Ali's, and Dhondaram was also a friend. That made a sort of hitch -between us. Then, too, Dhondaram told me he was expecting word from -Ben Ali in my care. I hadn't received any word, and I told him so. -Dhondaram said that I would get a letter, sooner or later, and that -he'd like to meet me somewhere near Grand Rapids. That's when I told -him about this house and gave him one of my keys to it." - -"What have you got to do with this house?" queried Burton. - -"I happen to own it," was the surprising answer. "It ain't worth much, -an' it's been condemned by a railroad that intends runnin' a line of -rails and ties right over the place where it stands. For that reason -it's closed up. I'm to get twelve hundred dollars for the property any -day now. Why," and Wily Bill looked around, "when I was a kid I used to -live here. When the folks died I rented the house an' took to roamin' -around. It was a good place to meet Dhondaram and give him a letter if -there was any come from Ben Ali. I wasn't expectin', though, to call -here before night. The letter from Ben Ali reached me in Kalamazoo in -the afternoon, at a time when Dhondaram must have been travelin' north." - -"What did you do with your part of the letter?" - -Wily's profession of repentance seemed to be sincere, and Burton and -Matt were doing their utmost to find out everything he was able to -tell. Dhondaram, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, -glared at Wily fixedly while he talked. The savage menace of the -Hindoo's look, however, seemed to make not the slightest impression on -the "barker." - -"I tore up my part o' the letter, Burton," replied Wily. "Didn't think -it best to carry it around. If I'd torn up Dhondaram's part, too, I -guess I'd have been a whole lot better off." - -"I guess you would," agreed the showman dryly. "What had Ben Ali to say -to you?" - -"He told me where he wanted Dhondaram to meet him. You see, Ben Ali's -been busy, an' hasn't been payin' much attention to what's been goin' -on in the show." - -"By Jove," put in Twomley, "I should say he had been busy." - -"Ben Ali didn't know Dhondaram had cooked his goose, so far as the show -was concerned, in Jackson, the same day he joined on." - -"Where did Ben Ali send his letter from?" inquired Matt. - -"Lafayette." - -"And where does he want to meet Dhondaram?" - -"Five miles west of the Rapids, on the wagon road to Elgin. There's an -openin' in the woods, somewhere there, and Ben Ali wants Dhondaram to -join him at the place to-morrow morning. I don't know what's up, but I -guess it's somethin' mighty important for the Hindoos." - -"Does Ben Ali know about this house of yours?" - -"Not a thing. I never told him. I guess I was foolish to jump off the -car and run over here, but the ruction in the side show and the loss -o' that Hindoostanee letter sure got me on the run. I thought mebby, -if I couldn't dodge Motor Matt in the woods, I could get him somewhere -and have a talk with him that would let me out. But things didn't come -out as I wanted. I couldn't shake him in the timber, so I rushed for -the house. Dhondaram was here, ahead o' schedule, an' he complicated -matters a-considerable." - -"Do you think," asked Matt, "that we could go to that place on the -Elgin road and meet Ben Ali instead of letting Dhondaram do it?" - -Twomley started, for he instantly caught Matt's idea. Dhondaram -likewise showed much concern, and undoubtedly he surmised what was at -the back of the young motorist's head. - -"I don't think you could," replied Wily. "Ben Ali ain't nobody's fool, -and he'll have the road watched to see that only the right party comes. -If the wrong party comes, then Ben Ali, more'n likely, 'll fade out of -the oak openin'. You can't get there any way by road without Ben Ali -findin' out just who's after him. That's my notion." - -"Suppose we should come in on him from both sides at once?" suggested -Burton. - -"Then he'd slide out between you. Oh, he's a slippery proposition, that -boy!" - -Twomley nodded affirmatively. - -"He speaks the truth," he averred. "A man who can do what Ben Ali has -done is a rogue of the first water." - -"There's a way to get at him," said Matt confidently. "Here, in a -thickly populated country, that scoundrel can't have things his own -way." - -"He's takin' chances," put in Wily, "but that's his stock in -trade--takin' chances an' throwin' in a little hypnotism now an' then. -Why he's so particular about meetin' Dhondaram is what gets me." - -"He needs money," said Burton sarcastically, "and he has to run a few -risks to get it." - -"I've got a plan," said Matt, starting toward the door. - -"What is it?" asked Burton and McGlory. - -Matt turned around in the doorway and cast a suggestive glance at Wily -and Dhondaram. - -"I'll not go into it now," said he, "but it all depends on the -truthfulness of Bill Wily. If Wily has given us a straight story, -then the plan will work. If it does, then I shall insist that Wily be -allowed to go free, without any punishment for what he has done. If -the plan doesn't succeed, and Ben Ali is not out on the Elgin road -to-morrow morning, I think Wily can be put through for the work he has -done here in this old house." - -"I'm willin' to leave it that way," said Wily, "providin' you're -careful how you come onto Ben Ali, so as not to scare him away, an' -providin' Boss Burton gives me his word to back up Motor Matt's." - -"I'm in on the deal," declared Burton. - -"Both Wily and Dhondaram will have to be left here under suitable guard -until after the plan is executed," continued Matt. - -"Count me in as one of the guard," spoke up Twomley, lighting a -cigarette, "but send over some food and something to sit on. And," he -finished, pointing to the weapon in the cowboy's hand, "Mr. McGlory -might lend me that." - -"McGlory will stay and help you with your guard duty," said Matt. "I'll -have to hurry off now. I suppose Ping and Carl are at the show grounds -and are looking after the aëroplane?" - -"Ping!" exclaimed McGlory, looking around. "Why, where the nation is -he? He was the one who brought us here, and I haven't thought of him -until this minute. But Carl's at the grounds, Matt. Anyhow, one of the -canvasmen is on duty at the aëroplane's berth." - -"Don't fret about the machine," reassured Burton. "I'm going right back -to the grounds and I'll look after it personally." - -"Just a minute, gents," called Wily. "How did you fellows know we were -under the floor." - -"You walked in the soot," laughed Burton derisively. "McGlory can tell -you all about that." - -Thereupon he and Motor Matt left the room. They passed the trap in the -hall floor, and Matt observed that it was flush with the boards and -difficult to locate for any one who did not know it was there. - -"I guess the trouble I had here, Burton," remarked Matt, as he and the -showman passed through the front door, "will turn out to be a pretty -good thing, after all." - -"Not for Ben Ali," returned Burton, "if he is caught and turned over to -Twomley." - -"I was thinking of Margaret Manners," said Matt. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -MATT LAYS HIS PLANS. - - -On the way through the woods and back to the road by the car track, -Motor Matt was extremely thoughtful. - -By Ben Ali's cleverness in getting some white man to represent the -agent of the British ambassador, the Hindoo had succeeded in luring his -niece from the home of the English woman in whose care the girl had -been left. - -Once this was accomplished, it was easy to guess how the artful Hindoo -had proceeded. Miss Manners had been a hypnotic subject for so long -that it was useless for her to attempt to fight against the black -magic of her rascally uncle. He had but to catch her eye and snap his -fingers, and the girl would be utterly in his power. - -To fight such a man as Ben Ali called for ways and means at once bold -and wary. He was not to be easily snared. - -"You're as mum as an oyster," grunted Burton, as they neared the road. -"I've spoken to you half a dozen times, and you didn't seem to hear me. -Come back to earth now, and tell me what's on your mind?" - -"I'll tell you later, Burton," laughed Matt. "I've got a hard problem -to solve, and I don't want to say anything about it until it's all -worked out." - -"From what you said at that house with the green shutters, I take it -you're not going back to the show with me?" - -"No." - -"Be back there in time to take the aëroplane aloft at six-thirty? The -wind's down, and you can pull off the trick." - -"There'll be no aëroplane flight this afternoon, Burton. I have more -important matters to attend to." - -Burton began to bristle. - -"By Jerry," he cried, "what am I giving you your salary for? We've -missed one ascension to-day, and the people will be wild if we don't -have one this afternoon." - -"Then," answered Matt, "tell them that we'll give an aëroplane -performance for the whole of Grand Rapids to-morrow. That ought to -satisfy them, and I know you'll make a lot of capital out of it." - -Burton stopped stock-still and stared. - -"You're crazy?" he bluntly inquired. "To-morrow's Sunday, and I've -never yet been able to get you to make an ascension on Sunday. -Backsliding, eh?" - -"For this one time," said Matt. "I'm not doing this for the benefit of -your show, Burton, but because, as I size the matter up now, there's -nothing else to be done." - -"Whew!" whistled the showman, "you're about the biggest conundrum, now -and then, that I ever tackled. When'll you get back to the grounds?" - -"This evening, some time." - -"Hunt for me the minute you get there, and let me know what's up." - -They found Ping waiting for them in the road. He was a -disconsolate-looking Chinaman, and ran up to Matt the moment he slipped -down the steep bank. - -"You heap mad with Ping, huh?" the Chinese boy chattered. "You know him -makee shoot Loman candle, play plenty hob with side show? Woosh! My -velly bad China boy." - -Matt laughed. That laugh caused Ping to brighten. - -"I'll have to forgive you this once, Ping," said Matt. "A whole lot of -good has resulted from that flare-up in the side-show tent. But I don't -like practical jokes--you know that. Get on the car and go back to the -grounds with Burton. As for the Roman-candle business, we'll talk about -that later." - -"You no pullee pin on China boy?" faltered Ping. - -"No. You make your peace with Carl, that's all." - -"Hoop-a-la!" said Ping, and limped aboard an electric car that Burton -had flagged. - -Matt caught a car going the other way, and, as soon as he reached -Monroe Street, hurried to the nearest automobile garage, bent upon -making the most of the daylight that remained. - -He hired a car and a driver who knew the city. It was a small roadster, -and Matt had the driver take him beyond the city limits and out for -five miles on the Elgin road. - -They passed through a small oak opening, which looked as though it -might be the place where Ben Ali was to meet his crony, Dhondaram. - -"This will be far enough," said Matt. "Now, turn around and take us -back to town." - -The king of the motor boys gave careful attention to all the landmarks, -going both ways. Returning, dusk had begun to fall, and his survey -could not be as comprehensive as the one made on the outward trip. -However, he was abundantly satisfied with the information he had -acquired. - -When they reached the garage, Matt bargained with the proprietor for a -powerful touring car, with the same driver who had already been with -him, to be at the show grounds at Reid's Lake at eight o'clock the -following morning. - -After that, he dropped in at a restaurant and had a good meal, then -boarded a car for the lake, and rode back to the grounds with a crowd -of people who were going to the evening performance of the show. - -He had a good deal of amusement listening to the disappointed -expressions of the people regarding the failure of Burton to have any -aëroplane flights. Mixed up in the talk were a number of complimentary -references to Motor Matt and his chums. These, so far as they applied -to himself, the king of the motor boys tried not to hear. But, -nevertheless, they caused a glow of satisfaction to mount to his face. -It was certainly pleasant to know how his efforts in the line of duty -had struck a popular chord. - -That wild half-hour in the air, over Jackson, when Matt found his -batteries short-circuited by a coiling cobra, had been exploited -through the press. These, while arousing the popular admiration, only -made the general disappointment more keen because of the failure of the -Saturday flights at Reid's Lake. - -When Matt got off the car at the lake, he made his way to the -brilliantly lighted show grounds, and repaired immediately to the -calliope tent. - -Burton was there, smoking a cigar and nervously walking back and forth -in front of the canvas-covered calliope. - -"The people are pulling me all to pieces, Matt," he cried the moment -the king of the motor boys entered the tent. "They're saying we could -just as well have had a flight to-night, that I'm not living up to my -promises, and all that. By Jerry, it hurts!" - -"Let it be announced in the circus tent," said Matt, "that there'll -be a flight to-morrow morning at nine o'clock--not for exhibition -purposes, as Motor Matt doesn't give a performance on Sunday--and that -all who wish to can see it." - -"Good!" declared Burton. "I guess that'll catch them. But what are you -making the flight for, if not to please the people?" - -"For the purpose of backcapping Ben Ali, capturing him, and finding -out where he has taken Margaret Manners." - -Burton whirled around and gave Matt a steady look. - -"What have you got up your sleeve?" he demanded curtly. "Are you going -to try that, all alone, in the _Comet_?" - -"Not all alone. You, and Twomley, and Joe are going to help. Send -Harris and another trusty man over to that house with the green -shutters, will you, and have them relieve the Englishman and McGlory. I -want them here to talk with them." - -Harris was Burton's brother-in-law, and a thoroughly reliable man in -every respect. - -"I've already sent them supper, a lantern, and a couple of chairs," -said Burton, "but it seems to me all foolishness to hold the prisoners -in the house. Why not send 'em to jail, where they belong?" - -"Because Wily may not belong in jail, and because, if Dhondaram is -taken there to-night, Ben Ali might hear of it and not present himself -in that oak opening on the Elgin road to-morrow." - -"Can't you tell me what you're going to do?" - -"Not till Twomley and Joe get here." - -With that, Matt dropped down on a cot, at one side of the tent, and -tried to get a little rest. He was used to the band, and to the many -other sounds that characterized a show just preceding a performance, -and these did not bother him; but his head! that had suddenly begun to -remind him that it had been badly treated during the afternoon. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -MOTOR CAR AND AEROPLANE. - - -It was about nine o'clock in the evening when Matt was awakened by the -arrival of McGlory and Twomley. Burton, curious and eager, came into -the calliope tent with them. - -"I'll tell you what my plan is," said Matt, sitting up on the edge of -the cot, "and then you can all go to bed and get a good night's rest. -Ben Ali is a crafty scoundrel, and it is necessary for us to capture -him in order to find out what he has done with Miss Manners." - -"That's the point," approved Twomley. "If we can't get hold of Ben Ali, -the Secret Service men will have a bally time locating the girl." - -"I'm inclined to think that Bill Wily told nothing but the truth," -proceeded Matt. - -"You never can tell about Wily," struck in Burton. "It's because he's -so shifty and unreliable that they call him Wily Bill. I wouldn't bank -too much on what he says." - -"It's neck or nothing with him," suggested Twomley. "He has everything -to lose by not telling the truth, and I believe the fellow appreciates -that fact." - -"You can gamble a blue stack he does!" declared McGlory. "Did you see -the look Dhondaram gave him while he was handing us that long palaver? -If the Hindoo ever gets foot-loose, I wouldn't stand in Wily's shoes -for a bushel of pesos." - -"To my mind," said Matt, "the fact that Dhondaram was in that house -proves the truth of Wily's story. Well, true or false, my whole plan -is built up on what the 'barker' told us. We're to assume that Ben Ali -will be in that oak opening, five miles from Grand Rapids on the Elgin -road." - -"Who knows whether there's an opening there or not?" asked Burton. - -When the showman once lost confidence in a man, he put no trust in -anything the man might do or say. - -"The opening is there," said Matt. "I went out in an automobile and saw -it for myself." - -"Ah! So that's what you passed up the afternoon flight for, eh?" - -"Partly," answered Matt. "Now, let us suppose that Ben Ali is in that -opening to-morrow, waiting for Dhondaram to arrive with money which -Ben Ali thinks he has stolen. Quite likely the Hindoo will have some -one with him--perhaps the old ticket man whom you discharged, Burton, -and perhaps Aurung Zeeb. This ticket man has played the part of the -agent representing the British ambassador in turning that trick in -Lafayette----" - -"Sufferin' traitors!" chanted McGlory. "I've a hunch, pard, your -finger's on the right button." - -"So," pursued Matt, "it is fair to assume that Ben Ali has some one -to watch the Elgin road in the vicinity of the oak opening. If he is -warned that any suspicious persons are approaching, the Hindoo will -slide away snakelike and dodge pursuit." - -Twomley nodded. - -"You're a fair daisy, Motor Matt, in placing the situation squarely in -front of us. By Jove, it looks like a hard nut to crack." - -"Matt will crack it," averred McGlory. "Listen, now, to how he proposes -to do it." - -"How are you going about it?" inquired Burton impatiently. "I've had -this on my mind ever since you and I left the house with the green -shutters, and I can't tell how nervous you make me hanging fire about -it. Seems like a mighty simple thing to go out in the woods, meet a -fellow where he intends to be, and nab him." - -"Not so deuced simple as you suppose, Mr. Burton," returned Twomley, -"when you consider the character of the man, and his ability to make -passes, look at you, and give you your ticket to the Land of Nod." - -"We're going to work out this problem by motor car and aëroplane," said -Matt. - -"Aëroplane!" exclaimed McGlory. "That means you and me, pard." - -"The motor car for you, Joe," smiled Matt. "You and Twomley, and Burton -will go along the Elgin road in that." - -"What's the good?" demurred Burton. "You all seem to think it a cinch -that the car will be seen, and that Ben Ali will get out of the way." - -"You'll lag behind, you and your car," continued Matt, "and you'll let -me and the aëroplane move ahead. I'll keep over the road as well as I -can, and you can see me. When I sight our quarry I'll descend; then you -can put on all speed and come up." - -"The aëroplane will be a dead give-away!" asserted Burton. "Ben Ali and -his outposts will see that as quick, or quicker, than they will the -automobile." - -"Suppose Ben Ali sees only one man on the machine, and thinks that the -man is Dhondaram?" asked Matt. "Would he run, then?" - -There was a silence, a startled silence, while the words of the young -motorist were being pondered by his listeners. - -"How'll Ben Ali think Dhondaram is running the _Comet_, pard?" queried -McGlory. - -"Because the man on the aëroplane will not look very much like Motor -Matt, and _will_ look a little like a Hindoo." - -"You're going to make up for the part?" - -"It won't be much of a make-up. A white robe over my ordinary clothes -will do." - -"But your face----" - -"In the air and at a distance, my face won't tell against the -deception. When the _Comet_ has landed in the opening, then it will -be Ben Ali and me for it--with an automobile full of reinforcements -rushing to the scene." - -"It sounds good," said McGlory thoughtfully. - -"Here's something," observed Twomley, who had a clear head and a quick -brain. "Ben Ali can think for himself. Won't he think it queer that -Dhondaram is navigating the flying machine? Dhondaram, I make no doubt, -is highly gifted, but will Ben Ali credit him with skill enough to -operate the aëroplane?" - -"He may not," admitted Matt; "still, if Ben Ali sees the machine, and -a man in it who looks like Dhondaram, even if Ben Ali doubts he'll -hold his ground in order to make sure. Ben Ali won't run from one man. -Besides, he's expecting Dhondaram. That's a weighty point." - -"I believe it will work," said Twomley. "At any rate, it will hold Ben -Ali in the opening until the automobile has a chance to come close. -Then the scoundrel is ours, no matter what he tries to do. By Jove, I -like the idea!" - -"Another thing," spoke up McGlory. "If Ben Ali smells a rat and tries -to make a run, Matt can keep over him and follow him." - -"Hardly that, Joe," returned Matt. "The woods are pretty thick along -the Elgin road, and you know how big the top of a tree looks when -you're gazing down on it. Besides, if there's any wind, the _Comet_ is -going to be a fair-sized handful to take care of." - -"There you are," said Burton. "How do you know the opening is big -enough for you to come down in? It won't do," and something akin to -panic took hold of the showman, "to damage the aëroplane." - -"Oh, go off somewhere, Burton, and wring out your wet blanket," growled -McGlory. "You're tryin' to throw it over everything." - -"We've got to get a look at this business from every angle," said -Burton doggedly. - -"Well, be easy about the oak opening," came from Matt. "It's large -enough to alight in and to start from. If there's only a little wind, -there'll be no danger." - -The Englishman reached over and took Matt's hand. - -"Allow me," said he, with a solemn handshake. "Win or lose, my bucko, -you have my admiration." - -Matt flushed. - -"Why," said he, "this is all talk, as yet, Twomley." - -"It's the sort of talk, my lad, that precedes notable achievements. -Nine-tenths of all the great work that's done owes more to the head -than to the hands. What about the automobile?" - -"That will be here at eight o'clock in the morning." - -"You even thought of that! I suppose I'll have to be catching a car for -town." - -Twomley got up and flung away the remains of a cigarette. - -"You'd better stay here," suggested Matt. "There's an extra cot behind -the calliope, and I'm sure Burton will give you your breakfast in the -morning." - -Twomley cast a glance around him. The odor from the animal tent, -of which the calliope house was only a lean-to, was strong and -disquieting. A lantern, tied to one of the tent poles, shed a murky -light over the litter of buckets and ropes that strewed the tent floor. -Matt had made ready for bed by kicking off his shoes and removing his -coat and hat. It was all very primitive. In Washington Twomley looked -as though he might have been of a fastidious nature. But, whatever he -was at Washington, he was "game" at Reid's Lake. - -"Go you," said he briefly. "Just where is that cot, my dear sir?" - -McGlory dragged it out for him and opened it up. - -"I'll pull it away from the wall of the animal top," said the cowboy. -"Rajah, the bad elephant, is just on the other side of that piece of -canvas, and he has the habit of snooping around in here with his trunk." - -"I don't fancy Rajah will bother me," and Twomley shucked out of his -low patent leathers. - -"I could almost make a pard out of you," remarked McGlory. - -"Nice work you've mapped out for Sunday," was Burton's sly fling as he -paused at the door on his way out. "Motor Matt, who refused to make -flights on Sunday for me for an extra hundred a week, lays out to pull -off a go like this! Well, I'm surprised." - -"Fate is no respecter of the calendar, Burton," Matt replied, with -some show of feeling. "I'll work all day to-morrow if I can accomplish -anything for Margaret Manners." - -"Shake again," said the attaché. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE OAK OPENING. - - -Reid's Lake was a popular resort, and a large crowd rendezvoused there -on Sundays and holidays. The coming of the crowd, however, had shifted -to the beginning of the day, so that the start of the aëroplane might -be witnessed. - -Owing to Burton's enterprise, an "extra" of one of the evening dailies -was on the Grand Rapids streets at nine in the evening, announcing, in -large type, that Boss Burton, regretting the disappointment caused the -Grand Rapids people because of the failure of the aëroplane ascensions -on the first day of the show, was glad to announce that the king of the -motor boys would take his famous machine aloft on the following morning -at nine o'clock. - -This was one of the little things Burton could do, on occasion, which -jarred on Matt's nerves. He made it appear in the news columns as -though Matt was making the ascension because Burton had so willed it, -and as though the showman had willed it because of the disappointment -which had been caused the Great Rapids people on the first day of the -show. - -When Matt discovered this, it was too late to remedy it. He had the -satisfaction, however, of telling Burton just what he thought. - -Extra cars were put on the run between town and the lake to accommodate -the crowds. And the people came not only in the street cars, but also -in carriages, wagons, and automobiles. - -Carl and Ping had slept under the lower wings of the _Comet_, as was -their usual custom when the weather was at all propitious, and to -the casual observer it would have looked as though the Roman-candle -incident had been entirely forgotten. - -Matt was early at the machine, looking it over carefully and making -sure that everything was in readiness. The _Comet_, he found, had never -been in better trim for work than she was that morning. - -Then, too, such a day for aëroplane flying could not have been -surpassed. There was not enough wind stirring to flutter the banners on -the tent tops. - -It was necessary for McGlory, Twomley, and Burton to get away somewhat -in advance of Matt, and to take up a position beyond the outskirts of -the city on the Elgin road. At sharp eight-forty-five the motor car -got away. - -McGlory was usually in charge of the start during the aëroplane -flights, but now Matt placed Carl in command. The importance of the -position filled Carl with glory, and was correspondingly depressing to -Ping, who really knew more about the aëroplane than Carl could have -learned in a hundred years. - -Carl and Ping were assisted by half a dozen stout canvasmen. - -Before Matt took his seat, to the wonder of the crowd pressing against -the guard ropes, he shook out a white robe and arranged it about him in -such a manner as to leave his arms perfectly clear, but covering every -part of his clothing. - -After that he stepped on the footboard and dropped down in front of the -motor. - -The canvasmen, divided by Carl into two groups of three each, were -placed behind the wings. - -"All ready, Carl!" called Matt. - -"Retty it iss!" shouted Carl. - -The motor started merrily, the bicycle wheels began to turn, and the -canvasmen to push. - -Slowly the _Comet_ gathered headway. Faster and faster it went, leaving -the canvasmen behind; then, like a great bird, it soared into the air, -followed by wild cheering. - -A vagrant puff of wind struck the planes, just over the concert garden, -and only quick work on the part of the intrepid young motorist averted -a disaster. Gathering headway under the impetus of the thrashing -propeller, the aëroplane darted upward into the blue and began reaching -out toward the city. - -Matt, while manipulating the aëroplane, had little time for sights and -scenes below him. He was obliged to keep every faculty riveted on his -work. Now and again, however, as he took his bearings and laid his -course, he glimpsed the staring people in the roadways and on rooftops. -Some of these spectators had opera glasses and binoculars. - -Over the flat roofs of the city he whirled, cheered almost continuously. - -The motor had never worked better. Everything depended on the motor. -If the power had happened to fail, Matt could have glided harmlessly -down the airy slope to earth--providing the city afforded him a good -clear space in which to alight. A street zigzagged with telegraph, and -telephone, and electric light wires was not such a place. - -Passing the close-packed buildings of the business section, Matt gained -the residence districts, and held on in a straight line for the Elgin -road. He watched his landmarks, and, while they looked differently to -him from aloft than they did from the ground, he knew he was going -right when he saw the waiting automobile. - -McGlory was standing up and waving his hat. - -Throwing full speed into the propeller, Matt set the automobile a -fifty-mile pace. At such a speed only a few minutes were necessary to -carry the flying machine close to the oak opening where Ben Ali was to -be in waiting for Dhondaram. - -Peering forward and downward, Matt guided and manoeuvred the _Comet_ by -sense of touch alone, watching eagerly the while for the great gap in -the woods. - -Finally he saw it, and what he glimpsed in the centre of the cleared -space--etched into his brain as by the instantaneous operation of a -photographic lens--was startling, to say the least. - -The irregular circle of the opening was crossed through its centre -by the hard, level road. Off to one side of the road were the dying -embers of a fire, and near the fire lay a bundle, on which a young -woman was sitting, her head bowed dejectedly. A turbaned figure stood -at a distance from the girl--the figure covered with a red robe and -its brown, staring face uplifted. This was Ben Ali. And the girl--who -was she? Was it possible, _could_ it be possible, that the girl was -Margaret Manners? A wild hope leaped in Motor Matt's breast. - -Ben Ali leaned on a club, leaned and watched with never a move -toward running away. Probably he was speculating as to whether his -confederate, Dhondaram, had learned to operate the air craft. - -Matt gave Ben Ali scant time to come to a conclusion. Quick work was -now in order, and the _Comet_ ducked downward and slid through the air -with slowing motor. Guided by a true, steady hand, the wheels brushed -the roadway, then began to turn as the weight of the machine rested -more heavily upon them. A short run of a dozen feet brought the _Comet_ -to a stop. - -Ben Ali had not stirred from the place where Matt had first seen him -standing. - -Gathering the white robe about him, Motor Matt stepped hurriedly to the -ground and ran toward Ben Ali. - -The Hindoo, staring serpent-like, recoiled, his red robe falling away -slightly as his hands raised the club. - -"Ben Ali," cried the king of the motor boys, "I have caught you at -another of your tricks. Did you think I was Dhondaram? Dhondaram is a -prisoner, and you will soon join him in jail." - -There followed a tense moment, during which Ben Ali's eyes glowed and -scintillated with their marvelous powers, and his hands tightened on -the bludgeon. - -It was not a time to delay matters, and the young motorist made ready -for desperate work against the arrival of the automobile. - -"_Maskee!_" cried the astounded Hindoo, as Motor Matt leaped at him. - -Ben Ali's amazement appeared to hold him paralyzed for the moment. It -was not until Matt had caught the club that he aroused himself and -began vigorous resistance. - -Every instant Matt expected the automobile to come whirling to the spot -with his friends. - -He had the club, but Ben Ali, with a tigrish spring, seized him about -the throat and clung to him like a leech, and all the while Ben Ali's -eyes were rolling about in a way that was horrible to behold. - -Matt dropped the club to catch at the Hindoo's straining arms. He felt -a wave of weakness sweep through him, while the flashing eyes continued -to exercise their baneful spell. - -Was he being hypnotized in spite of himself? He had read that this was -impossible, and that no man could be put in a state of hypnosis against -his will. Yet what did that strange weakness mean? - -A tremor ran through Matt's body. He tried to call aloud, but his lips -framed voiceless words. By degrees he felt himself growing weaker and -weaker, yielding more and more to the spell of the baneful orbs that -sought his undoing. - -Then, when it seemed as though he was about to come entirely under Ben -Ali's power, there fell a blow--sudden, quick, and accompanied by a -wild, feminine cry. - -Ben Ali's tense fingers relaxed their grip, his form slumped forward, -and Matt stood staring at the girl. - -She was Margaret Manners, there was not the least doubt of that. In -order to save him, the girl had seized the bludgeon, had approached her -uncle from behind, and struck him down. - -The girl's face was wild with grief, but there was a burning resolution -in the eyes. - -"I had to!" she cried hysterically. "I had to do that in order to save -you. It was the spell, the spell of the eyes! He would have made you -his victim, Motor Matt, just as certainly as he has worked his will -with me! Oh, let us get away from here! Quick!" In a frenzy of fear -she cast aside the club and seized his arm with both hands. "There are -others--Aurung Zeeb is one. They are armed, and they will soon be here." - -Matt dashed a hand across his forehead, as though to free his brain -from some frightful dream. - -"There are others, you say?" he gasped. - -"Yes, yes," she answered distractedly. - -"Where?" - -"Watching the road! They---- Ah, too late, too late!" - -Matt whirled and looked across the oak opening. From the side lying -nearest the town came a running figure. It was Aurung Zeeb. - -Where was the automobile? Matt could not hear it, and there was now no -time to wait. - -The girl had dropped to her knees and thrown her hands over her face. - -"Come!" he called, bending down and catching her by the arm. "We can -get away from here. Be brave, and trust to me!" - -The girl started up, and he ran with her toward the aëroplane. As they -drew near the machine, Matt saw another Hindoo coming into the opening -along the other road. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -AEROPLANE WINS! - - -Matt supposed that the automobile must have broken down somewhere on -the road. His friends had not arrived in time to help him, so he was -thrown upon his own resources. - -While he and Miss Manners were racing toward the aëroplane, Matt was -measuring his chances. The appearance of the second Hindoo, on the -other side of the opening, complicated the dangers of the situation. - -If these Hindoos were armed, as the girl had declared, then the case -was indeed desperate. In making its start, however, the _Comet_ would -be running away from Aurung Zeeb, and straight toward the other Hindoo. -This second man would have to leave the road or be run down; and if the -start was made quickly enough, the _Comet_ could get away from Aurung -Zeeb. - -"Sit there," cried Matt, lifting the girl to a seat on the lower plane. -"Hold on," he added, starting the motor, "and don't move." - -The girl's small fingers twined convulsively into the hand-holds. Matt -dropped into his own seat and turned the power into the bicycle wheels. -Slowly they took the push, the great wings lurching and swaying as the -aëroplane moved. - -Would it be possible for the machine, unaided by a crew of men behind -the wings, to take to the air before the trees on the opposite side of -the opening interfered? - -This was a momentous, nay, a vital, question, and could only be solved -by actual trial. - -Out of the tails of his eyes Matt saw Ben Ali rising groggily to his -feet. He flung up his arms and shouted. - -Crack! - -From behind came a bullet, ripping through the canvas of the upper -plane, but, fortunately, doing no damage to the machinery. Aurung Zeeb -was doing the firing. - -And this same Aurung Zeeb had failed Ben Ali once in a dangerous pinch. -This had caused a rupture of the friendly relations between the two -men, but their differences had evidently been patched up. Now Aurung -Zeeb was doing his utmost to help Ben Ali--and, perhaps, to land -himself in the same trouble in which Dhondaram had been entrapped. - -Another bullet was fired, but Aurung Zeeb must have been shooting as he -ran, for his aim was poor. - -Faster and faster raced the aëroplane, and Matt kept measuring the -distance between the machine and the trees on the farther side of -the opening. The Hindoo, in the road ahead, was running out of the -aëroplane's path like a frightened hare. - -By then, Ben Ali had joined in the chase, but the speed of the _Comet_ -was too great for the pursuers. - -They were close to the edge of the timber, very close, when Matt felt -the wings beginning to lift. A dozen feet farther and they were in the -air. - -In a flash the power was switched from the wheels to the propeller. The -aëroplane dropped a little before it yielded to the thrashing blades of -the screw; then it picked up the lost headway and arose. - -The upward tilt was frightful, but necessary if a wreck in the treetops -was to be avoided. - -Never a word had come from Margaret Manners. White as a ghost, she held -to her place, swaying her body to preserve a poise against the tilt and -pitch of the huge framework. - -The wheels brushed against the outer ends of the tree limbs, but the -machine continued to glide into the air, walking upward as though -climbing the rounds of a ladder. - -If the motor had failed from any cause, there could have been no -harmless gliding back to earth. A sheer drop downward would have been -the result. - -But the motor performed its work, and the trees presently hid the -Hindoos and screened the _Comet_ from any further attack. - -Then, and not till then, did the king of the motor boys draw a full -breath. - -"Are you holding on, Miss Manners?" asked Matt. - -"Yes," was the reply in a stifled voice. - -"You're not afraid?" - -"No." - -"Bravo! We'll soon be back at the show grounds. You have seen the last -of Ben Ali." - -High above the trees Matt brought the _Comet_ to an even keel, then -laid out in a straightaway flight toward the lake. This time he did not -follow the Elgin road, but struck across country the nearest way home. - -That was not the first time Margaret Manners had had a ride in the -aëroplane. Some time before, when, under the name of Haidee, she had -traveled with the Big Consolidated, she had ridden on a trapeze swung -below the machine. It was against Matt's will, and only a trick of -Burton's had made it possible for the girl to make the ascension. At -the time she was under hypnotic influence, and could not realize what -she was doing. So, it followed, this was really the first ride she had -ever taken in the aëroplane while mistress of her own faculties and -able to understand her situation. - -She behaved admirably, and did not even cry out when the wings tilted -sideways, or ducked forward with the seeming intention of hurling her -and Matt to the earth. - -There was no talk between the two. In silence Matt attended to his -work, drove the _Comet_ at speed over the show grounds, circled, and -came down in the roped-off space set apart for the machine. - -The crowds were still lingering, waiting for the aëroplane to return. -Cheering began as soon as the _Comet_ was in sight, and was kept up -until she was safely on the ground in the position from which she had -originally started. - -Carl and Ping were waiting, too, and the eyes of both boys were big -with astonishment when they saw and recognized Margaret Manners. - -"Vell, py shiminy grickets!" exclaimed Carl. - -The girl smiled at him wanly as Matt helped her from her seat. - -"You and Ping take care of the machine, Carl," cautioned Matt, as he -led Miss Manners to the guard ropes and parted a course for her through -the jostling mob. - -"Hurrah for Motor Matt!" shouted some one. "He goes out alone and comes -back with a passenger!" - -A laugh followed the cheer. - -"What's the price for a trip on the _Comet_?" called some one else. - -"Where does your air-ship line run?" - -"Give me a ticket to San Francisco!" - -Matt met the joking good-naturedly and piloted Miss Manners to the -calliope tent. The girl was tired and worn out. - -"You'd better get a little rest, Miss Manners," Matt suggested. "What -you have passed through this morning would have shaken nerves much -stronger than yours." - -"I don't want to rest," she answered; "I want to talk. You have saved -me again, Motor Matt, but what is the use of it all if I can't leave -this country and go to England, or back to India? Ben Ali will find me -again." - -"You are through with him," said Matt, "just as I told you. A man has -come from the British legation in Washington to get you and send you -away by the first boat leaving New York." - -"The man who came to Mrs. Chadwick's in Lafayette said the same thing," -answered the girl wearily. "It seems as though there is no escaping Ben -Ali." - -"Has he hypnotized you many times since he took you from Mrs. -Chadwick's?" asked Matt anxiously. - -"Only once. I gave up hope, and went with him without trying to resist. -He said he intended to send me back to India, but not until the rajah -had paid him a lot of rupees." - -"He treated you well?" - -"He always treated me well--in his way--but the horror of going into -a trance and saying and doing things I know nothing about is more -terrible than ever to me. It was the fear of a trance that made me -promise not to make Uncle Ben any trouble." - -"Who was the man who impersonated the agent of the British ambassador?" - -"I had never seen him before." - -"I thought that perhaps he might have been the man who sold tickets in -the ticket wagon for Burton--the one who was with the show when you and -Ben Ali were traveling with us." - -She shook her head. - -"I should have known that man if it had been he." - -"Where did the man take you?" - -"On the train somewhere. I thought we were going to Washington until we -got off the train at a little station and met Uncle Ben. It was then he -threw me into a trance, and when he awoke me we were at a little house -near the place where we went this morning to wait for Dhondaram. Aurung -Zeeb was at the house, and so was the other Hindoo--a man I had never -seen before. You are sure," the girl asked tremblingly, "that this -other agent of the British ambassador is really the person he pretends -to be?" - -The girl's lack of confidence was pitiable. She had suffered so much -that Matt could readily understand her feelings. - -"I am positive, Miss Manners," he answered gently. "You must rest now. -I will have Mrs. Harris come and stay with you for a while." - -The girl did not object, and Matt had soon found Mrs. Harris and sent -her to the calliope tent. - -Two hours later, while Matt was lounging around the front of the animal -tent, a tired party consisting of Burton, Twomley, and McGlory arrived -from the direction of the street-car line. - -"You Matt!" cried McGlory. "Why didn't you wait and give us a chance?" - -"If I'd waited much longer," answered Matt, "there wouldn't have been a -chance for anybody. Did you see me coming back from the oak opening?" - -"Did we?" echoed Twomley, putting his monocle in his eyes. "By Jove, I -should say we did. Fancy! You up aloft, sailing as nice as you please -with Miss Manners beside you, and Burton, McGlory, and me tramping -along the road." - -"What was the matter?" asked Matt. - -"Matter?" fumed Burton. "What's the matter when you set out in an -automobile and don't arrive where you're going? The motor bucked, three -miles out of Grand Rapids, and you sailed right along and never paid -any attention to us. McGlory, Twomley, and I started to walk the rest -of the distance, when we saw the machine couldn't be fixed up for an -hour or so, and before we'd gone a mile you sailed off in the direction -of the show grounds--and never looked our way! Oh, blazes! I'm done -with automobiles." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -CONCLUSION. - - -Motor Matt's regret was keen over the failure to catch Ben Ali, Aurung -Zeeb, and the unknown Hindoo. It was one of those cases, however, where -it was best to be satisfied with the work accomplished, and to forget -the failure whereby three miscreants escaped the consequence of their -evil deeds. - -And it was possible that Ben Ali was not long to enjoy his freedom, -for Twomley asserted that all the powers of the United States Secret -Service would be bent toward accomplishing his ultimate capture. - -When it came to dealing legally with Dhondaram, a serious question -arose. If the Hindoo was to be punished severely, it would be necessary -to take him to Jackson, where the worst of his crimes had been -committed. This would require the presence of complaining witnesses, -of which Burton was one. For a man traveling from place to place -constantly, as was Burton, such a move could not be made without great -sacrifices. - -It was deemed better, therefore, to have Dhondaram brought to book for -the lesser crime committed in the house of the green shutters. "Assault -with murderous intent" was the charge, and a light sentence followed. - -Bill Wily, agreeably to promises given him, was released. Whether -he profited by his experience or not, Motor Matt never afterward -discovered. Such a lesson as he had had, however, should have been -enough for any man. For a little matter of ten dollars, he had entered -blindly into the schemes of Ben Ali--and Ben Ali's schemes left their -mark on every person who had anything to do with them. - -Twomley was a delighted Englishman, if there ever was one. He had -fulfilled the mission with which he had been intrusted by Sir Roger, -and he had done so after discovering that his errand to Lafayette, so -far as securing Miss Manners was concerned, was useless. - -A Roman candle in the side-show tent had lent itself to the -perpetration of a practical joke; and out of that joke had come the -clue which had made possible the second rescue of Margaret Manners. - -Carl was very much pleased to learn that so much good had developed -from a row in the freak tent, but whether or not he forgave Ping for -setting off the Roman candle is open to question. - -Carl had declared that he would "play even" with Ping for the candle -episode, and those who knew Carl best believed that he would prove as -good as his word. - -Monday morning Twomley and Miss Manners took a train for New York, but -not until both the attaché and the girl had expressed to Matt and the -motor boys their appreciation of all that they had done. - -It was somewhat indelicate of Carl, perhaps, to mention the matter of -his five thousand dollars before Miss Manners, but he was beginning -to worry about the money. As he expressed it, "Der longer vat der time -iss, der more vat I don'd seem to ged dot rewart. I peen sefendeen -years olt, und meppy I don'd lif more as sixdy years from now." - -Twomley assured Carl that he would do whatever he possibly could to -hurry the money along. And with this promise Carl had to be satisfied. - -With the turning over of Dhondaram to the police, the liberating of -Bill Wily, and the departure of Twomley and Miss Manners, a series of -thrilling incidents connected with Motor Matt's show career came to a -close. - -And Motor Matt's show experiences were likewise drawing near an end. -Just how close this end was he did not dream that Monday morning when -he and McGlory accompanied the attaché and his charge to the train. - -When the two boys got back to the show grounds, however, Boss Burton -had a telegram for Matt. - -Burton was frankly worried about that telegram. Some other showman, -he felt sure, was offering Matt a bigger salary for his aëroplane -performances. - -"Don't you forget for a minute," said Burton, watching keenly as Matt -opened the telegram, "that you're hooked up with me on a contract for -the season. You can't break that contract, you know." - -"There were conditions, Burton," said Matt. - -"The only condition I remember was something about the government -buying the aëroplane--which is all a dream. The government has bought -one of the machines, and that's enough. It takes a Motor Matt to run -one of those cranky Traquair air ships. It'll be a long while before -Uncle Sam buys another." - -Matt read the message through, gave a whoop of delight, and passed the -yellow slip on to McGlory. - -Then McGlory jubilated. - -"What's to pay?" demanded Burton. - -"Uncle Sam has done the trick!" crowed the cowboy. "He takes the -_Comet_ at the same price he paid for the _June Bug_--fifteen thousand -spot--machine to be crated and shipped immediately, if not sooner. -Whoop-ya! That settles the aëroplane business for King & McGlory. The -next game we get into will be something, I reckon, that I can take a -hand in, and not leave Pard Matt to do all the work." - -Burton's face grew gloomy. - -"Let me look at that message," he requested. - -Matt handed it to him, and he read it over two or three times, then -dropped it savagely, and ground it under his heel. - -"You don't _have_ to sell," said he angrily. "You can turn that offer -down if you want to." - -"No, I can't," Matt answered. "The sale was virtually made up in North -Dakota weeks ago. Besides, I'm not the only one interested in the -deal." - -"Who else besides McGlory?" - -"Why, Mrs. Traquair, the widow of Harry Traquair, who invented the -extension wings and a few other things that have made the aëroplane -a success. Half of the fifteen thousand the government pays for the -machine goes to Mrs. Traquair." - -"Oh, blazes!" growled Burton. "Don't tell the woman anything about it. -Send word back to the war department you don't want to sell; then I'll -make a new contract with you for a thousand a week. In seven or eight -weeks you boys will receive all your share of what the government pays -for the _Comet_." - -Matt listened to the showman gravely. - -"You don't mean what you say, Burton," said he. "If you think for -a minute that I'd play crooked with Mrs. Traquair, or with the -government, then you've got pretty far off your track. It's in our -contract that, if the government wants the machine, the contract -terminates. Here's where the motor boys' engagement with the Big -Consolidated comes to a close." - -"You'll make a couple of flights to-day, won't you?" asked Burton, -swallowing his disappointment. - -"Yes, I'll do that much for you," Matt answered, "and then, bright and -early to-morrow morning, we begin crating the machine for shipment." - -"Blamed if I don't sort of hate to see the machine go," murmured -McGlory. "Many a hair-raising old trip you've had in the _Comet_, pard, -with me below lookin' up at you and almost kicking the bucket with -heart failure! Mainy a thriller the machine has given us, and--well, I -reckon it's done some good, too." - -"That's the best part of it, Joe," said the king of the motor boys. - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (30) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt's Mandarin - -OR, - -Turning a Trick for Tsan Ti. - - On the Mountainside--The Yellow Cord--The Glass Balls--The Paper - Clue--Putting Two-and-two Together--A Smash--Nip and Tuck--Tsan Ti - Vanishes Again--Tricked Once More--The Diamond Merchant--The Old - Sugar Camp--A Tight Corner--The Glass Spheres--A Master Rogue--The - Eye of Buddha--The Broken Hoodoo. - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, September 11, 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. - - - - -A BRAVE DEED. - - -The mining town of Capelton was alive with excitement. A -long-looked-for event was about to take place. Mr. Hilton, the owner of -the mines and more than half the village, was to give a ball in honor -of his son's twenty-first birthday, and also to celebrate the return of -his only daughter from the Parisian school to which she had been sent -when but ten years old. - -Carl Hilton was an only son, and because of his parents' indulgence had -become selfish and tyrannical. His father idolized him, and was blind -to his faults. He was to become a partner in the mines on attaining his -majority. As Mr. Hilton had been out of health for more than a year, -Carl had attended to most of the business, and he had so tyrannized -over the miners that they one and all hated him; but they loved and -respected his father, and for his sake bore in silence the abuse of the -son. - -To this birthday ball all the miners and their families had been -invited, and the rumors of the great beauty of Nina Hilton only added -to the excitement and anticipation. - -I will not weary the reader by a description of the affair, and no -event of interest occurred until supper was announced. It fell to the -lot of Fred Chase, one of the foremen in the mines, to escort the -beautiful Nina, and so deeply did they become engaged in conversation -that it was some minutes before Fred noticed that Carl sat directly -opposite, and was watching them closely. With an effort the young man -concealed his annoyance, and continued his attentions to Nina. - -"I intend to visit the mines to-morrow," said the girl, in tones loud -enough to be heard by her brother. "I want to descend the new shaft." - -"I shall be very happy to conduct you through the mines, but you must -not descend the new shaft, for it is not safe. I have warned your -brother that the roof of the mine is in danger of falling, but he only -laughs at me, and I fear some terrible accident will be the result of -his neglect." - -"You are a fool, Fred Chase! The shaft is safe enough; if you talk like -this, the men will all be afraid of it, and refuse to work. I shall -take Nina there myself to-morrow," said Carl angrily. - -The young man's face flushed, but he controlled himself, and answered -coldly: - -"I spoke the truth; the shaft is not safe, and unless more timber is -put in to support the roof, you will soon have proof that I am right. I -only hope that no lives will be lost." - -"Pooh! You are a coward. I will show you to-morrow how little faith I -put in your words." - -The eyes of all present were drawn to the two by Carl's excited tone, -and Fred's reply was plainly heard. - -"Call me a coward, if you will, but time will prove the truth of my -assertion. Neglect for twenty-four hours to order more timber to be -placed in the new shaft for the support of its roof, and you alone will -be responsible for what follows." - -Carl did not answer, but glanced angrily at Fred, who, after a minute's -pause, turned to Nina again, and changed the subject of conversation. - -The following morning Carl started for the new shaft alone. Nina -refused to accompany him, and begged him to delay his visit until the -roof was made secure. - -"Nonsense, sis! It is safe enough. That fool, Fred Chase, wanted to -impress you." - -Carl believed what he said. He had not visited the shaft for several -weeks, and had not seen the timbers bend beneath the weight of earth -above them. He reached the shaft just as half a dozen miners came -from it, and in answer to his inquiries, was told that Fred Chase and -another man had remained behind to finish filling the last car with ore. - -"I am going down," he said, and in a few minutes was lowered to the -bottom of the shaft. In the distance he could see the lights of the -two miners. He advanced toward them. By the light of his own lantern -he saw that some of the beams were bent; all seemed weighted to their -utmost capacity, and he could not but own to himself that Fred Chase -was right. He involuntarily shuddered as, in passing one large post, a -slight crackling sound was heard; but it was not repeated, and he went -on, determined to again make light of the matter. - -"You see, I am not afraid of your shaft," he said sneeringly, as he -reached the spot where the two men were standing with the now loaded -car beside them. - -"Only cowards need boast of their bravery," said Fred sternly. - -"I am going on a short distance to look at the ore; you may wait for -me at the foot of the shaft, and we will all be drawn up at once," -continued Carl. - -He strolled on, while Fred and his companion returned, as directed, to -the entrance. They had barely reached it when they heard a loud report -behind; a cry of fear mingled with the noise of falling rocks; then all -was still. - -With pallid faces the men looked at each other, for each knew what -had happened. The roof had fallen, and Carl Hilton was either crushed -beneath the rocks or imprisoned in the opening beyond. - -Only an instant did they stand motionless. Then Fred grasped the rope -and gave the signal to be hoisted to the top. - -They told their sad story, and a messenger was dispatched to Mr. -Hilton's residence. Soon the entrance to the shaft was a scene of wild -excitement. The stricken relatives of the buried man had reached the -spot as soon as possible. The father offered large rewards to any who -would attempt the rescue of his son; but not a man would volunteer. - -Mr. Hilton doubled and trebled his reward, but to no avail; to his -entreaties were added the frantic pleading of the mother and Nina's -distressed sobs. - -Fred had stood silent, with his eyes bent on the ground, until the old -man, in sheer despair, cried out: - -"I will give half of my fortune, and it is a large one, to the men who -will help me reach my boy!" - -Fred came forward with a look of resolve on his face. "Mr. Hilton, not -for your entire fortune would I enter that mine to save your son; but -for humanity's sake, I will do my best to rescue him." - -A cheer from the miners greeted these brave words. With a wave of his -hand, Fred commanded silence, and running his eye over the crowd, said -slowly: - -"I must have three trusty men to help me. Who will go?" - -For an instant no one responded; then Charles Gray, Fred's chosen -companion, stepped to his side. - -"I will go, Fred," he said quietly. - -Two more men quickly followed the example of their brave leader, and, -armed with spades, bars, ropes, and a bottle of brandy, they were -lowered into the shaft. - -Then followed a time of anxious suspense to the waiting crowd, who -could only pray for the safety and success of the rescuing party. - -The first act of the workers was to place extra beams, a few of which -were lowered down the shaft for the purpose, as near as they could -to the fallen roof, to help bear any strain that might be resting on -those already there. In a few minutes they realized their wisdom, for a -cracking sound was heard which caused them to retreat toward the shaft; -but it was not repeated, and they returned to their work. At the end -of three hours of cautious digging they came to the car which Fred and -his companion had stayed behind to fill, and they stopped for a few -moments' rest. - -"He cannot be far from here, for we had barely reached the shaft when -the roof fell. Hark! What was that?" - -Fred stopped suddenly to listen. - -"It was a groan! He is alive! Let us get to work, for he must be quite -near," said Charlie Gray excitedly. - -With new zeal they worked on, and in half an hour they had reached an -opening caused by two large rocks, which had fallen together in such a -manner as to leave a space between them. In that space lay Carl, with -one arm doubled under him, and one foot pinioned by a large stone. The -poor fellow was terribly bruised and cut, but conscious. Very gently he -was lifted by the men and borne to the foot of the shaft. The signal -was given, and they were carefully drawn to the top, and when they laid -Carl on the ground a shout went up from the miners that echoed loudly -over the hills. - -"God bless you, Fred, and your brave companions!" said Mr. Hilton -huskily, as he grasped the young man by the hand. "From my heart I -thank you." - -"No thanks are due. I could not bear to see a fellow creature die -without trying to save him." - -The crowd soon dispersed, and Carl was conveyed to his home. After many -weeks of suffering he recovered; but the crushed foot was useless--he -was a cripple for life. - -As soon as he was able to do so, Carl sent for Fred. - -"Forgive me, Fred," he said frankly. "I was wrong not to heed your -advice, but my punishment has been great. Forget the past, and allow me -to thank you for saving my life." - -Fred could not refuse the apology thus offered, and the two became fast -friends. - -About a year afterward Mr. Hilton bestowed his daughter's hand upon the -brave young man who had saved his son's life, and on his wedding day -Fred became one of the owners of the mines. He is now a wealthy and -prosperous man, and, with his beautiful wife, is almost worshiped by -the miners. - - - - -A LOCOMOTIVE HERO. - - -Well, boys, if you wish it, I'll tell you the story. When I was a youth -of eighteen, and lived with my parents, I had a boyish ambition to -become an engineer, although I had been educated for loftier pursuits. - -During my college vacation, I constantly lounged about the station, -making friends with the officials, and especially with an engineer -named Silas Markley. I became much attached to this man, although he -was forty years of age and by no means a sociable fellow. - -He was my ideal of a brave, skillful, thoroughbred engineer, and I -looked up to him as something of a hero. He was not a married man, but -lived alone with his old mother. I was a frequent visitor at their -house, and I think they both took quite a fancy to me in their quiet, -undemonstrative way. - -When this Markley's fireman left him, I induced him to let me take his -place during the remainder of my vacation. He hesitated for some time -before he consented to humor my boyish whim; but he finally yielded, -and I was in great glee. - -The fact was that, in my idleness and the overworked state of my brain, -I craved for the excitement, and, besides, I had such longing dreams -of the fiery ride through the hills, mounted literally on the iron -horse. So I became an expert fireman, and liked it exceedingly; for the -excitement more than compensated for the rough work I was required to -do. - -But there came a time when I got my fill of excitement. Mrs. Markley -one day formed a plan which seemed to give her a good deal of -happiness. It was her son's birthday, and she wanted to go down to -Philadelphia in the train without letting him know anything about it, -and there purchase a present for him. She took me into her confidence, -and asked me to assist her. I arranged the preliminaries, got her into -the train without being noticed by Markley, who, of course, was busy -with his engine. - -The old lady was in high glee over the bit of innocent deception she -was practicing on her son. She enjoined me again not to tell Silas, and -then I left her and took my place. - -It was a midsummer day, and the weather was delightful. - -The train was one which stopped at the principal stations on the route. -On this occasion, as there were two specials on the line, it was run by -telegraph--that is, the engineer has simply to obey the instructions -which he receives at each station, so that he is put as a machine in -the hands of one controller, who directs all trains from a central -point, and thus has the whole line under his eye. If the engineer does -not obey to the least tittle his orders, it is destruction to the whole. - -Well, we started without mishap, and up to time, and easily reached the -first station in the time allotted to us. As we stopped there, a boy -ran alongside with the telegram, which he handed to the engineer. The -next moment I heard a smothered exclamation from Markley. - -"Go back," he said to the boy; "tell Williams to have the message -repeated; there's a mistake." - -The boy dashed off; in a few minutes he came flying back. - -"Had it repeated," he panted. "Williams is storming at you; says -there's no mistake, and you'd best get on." - -He thrust the second message up as he spoke. - -Markley read it, and stood hesitating for half a minute. - -There was dismay and utter perplexity in the expression of his face as -he looked at the telegram and the long train behind him. His lips moved -as if he were calculating chances, and his eyes suddenly quailed as if -he saw death at the end of the calculation. I was watching him with -considerable curiosity. I ventured to ask him what was the matter, and -what he was going to do. - -"I'm going to obey," he said curtly. - -The engine gave a long shriek of horror that made me start as if it -were Markley's own voice. The next instant we slipped out of the -station and dashed through low-lying farms at a speed which seemed -dangerous to me. - -"Put in more coal," said Markley. - -I shoveled in more, but took time. - -"We are going very fast, Markley." - -He did not answer. His eyes were fixed on the steam gauge, his lips -close shut. - -"More coal," he said. - -I threw it in. The fields and houses began to fly past half-seen. -We were nearing Dufreme, the next station. Markley's eyes went from -the gauge to the face of the timepiece and back. He moved like an -automaton. There was little more meaning in his face. - -"More!" he said, without turning his eye. - -"Markley, do you know you are going at the rate of sixty miles an hour?" - -"Coal!" - -I was alarmed at the stern, cold rigidity of the man. His pallor was -becoming frightful. I threw in the coal. At least we must stop at -Dufreme. That was the next halt. The little town was approaching. As -the first house came into view the engine sent its shrieks of warning; -it grew louder--still louder. - -We dashed over the switches, up to the station, where a group of -passengers waited, and passed it without the halt of an instant, -catching a glimpse of the appalled faces and the waiting crowd. Then we -were in the fields again. The speed now became literally breathless, -the furnace glared red hot. The heat, the velocity, the terrible -nervous strain of the man beside me seemed to weight the air. I found -myself drawing long, stertorous breaths, like one drowning. - -I heaped in the coal at intervals as he bade me. I did it because I -was oppressed by an odd sense of duty which I never had in my ordinary -brainwork. Since then I have understood how it is that dull, ignorant -men, without a spark of enthusiasm, show such heroism as soldiers, -firemen, and captains of wrecked vessels. - -It is this overpowering sense of routine duty. It's a finer thing than -sheer bravery, in my idea. However, I began to think that Markley was -mad--laboring under some frenzy from drink, though I had never seen him -touch liquor. - -He did not move hand or foot, except in the mechanical control of -his engine, his eyes going from the gauge to the timepiece with a -steadiness that was more terrible and threatening than any gleam -of insanity would have been. Once he glared back at the long train -sweeping after the engine with a headlong speed that rocked it from -side to side. - -One could imagine he saw a hundred men and women in the cars, talking, -reading, smoking, unconscious that their lives were all in the hold of -one man, whom I now suspected to be mad. I knew by his look that he -remembered that their lives were in his hand. He glanced at the clock. - -"Twenty miles," he muttered. "Throw on more coal, Jack; the fire is -going out." - -I did it. Yes, I did it. There was something in the face of that man I -could not resist. Then I climbed forward and shook him roughly by the -shoulder. - -"Markley," I shouted, "you are running this train into the jaws of -death!" - -"I know it," he replied quietly. - -"Your mother is on board." - -"Heavens!" - -He staggered to his feet. But even then he did not remove his eyes from -the gauge. - -"Make up the fire," he commanded, and pushed in the throttle valve. - -"I will not." - -"Make up the fire, Jack," very quietly. - -"I will not. You may kill yourself and your mother, but you shall not -murder me!" - -He looked at me. His kindly gray eyes glared like those of a wild -beast, but he controlled himself in a moment. - -"I could throw you off this engine, and make short work of you," he -said. "But, look here, do you see the station yonder?" - -I saw a faint streak in the sky about five miles ahead. - -"I was told to reach that station by six o'clock," he continued. "The -express train meeting us is due now. I ought to have laid by for it at -Defreme. I was told to come on. The track is a single one. Unless I -make the siding at the station in three minutes, we shall meet it in -yonder hollow." - -"Somebody's blunder?" I said. - -"Yes, I think so." - -I said nothing. I threw on coal. If I had had petroleum, I should have -thrown it on; but I never was calmer in my life. When death actually -stares a man in the face, it often frightens him into the most perfect -composure. Markley pushed the valve still farther. The engine began -to give a strange panting sound. Far off to the south I could see the -dense black smoke of a train. I looked at Markley inquiringly. He -nodded. It was the express. I stooped to the fire. - -"No more," he said. - -I looked across the clear summer sky at the gray smoke of the peaceful -little village, and beyond that at a black line coming closer, closer, -across the sky. Then I turned to the watch. In one minute more--well, -I confess I sat down and buried my face in my hands. I don't think -I tried to pray. I had a confused thought of mangled, dying men and -women--mothers and their babies. - -There was a terrible shriek from the engine, against which I leaned, -another in my face. A hot, hissing tempest swept past me. I looked up. -We were on the siding, and the express had gone by. It grazed our end -car in passing. In a sort of delirious joy, I sprang up and shouted to -Markley. He did not speak. He sat there immovable and cold as a stone. -I went to the train and brought his mother to him, and, when he opened -his eyes and took the old lady's hand in his, I turned hastily away. - -Yes, gentlemen, I have been in many a railway accident, but I have -always considered that the closest shave I ever had. - -What was the blunder? - -I don't know; Markley made light of it ever afterward, and kept it a -secret; but no man on the line stood so high in the confidence of the -company after that as he. By his coolness and nerve he had saved a -hundred lives. - - - - -GEESE DROWN A SQUIRREL. - - -Jack, a big gray squirrel, who, with his mate, Jill, inhabited the -island in the duck inclosure in the Bronx Park Zoo, New York City, -sacrificed his life to his love of high living. It was this way: - -Jack and Jill long ago discovered that by crossing over the -ten-foot-wide stream of water which separates the island from the -mainland on all sides they could reach a trough filled with corn, -which was replenished daily, for the ducks and geese, which rightfully -inhabit the pond and island. A wire fence dividing the inclosure used -by the mallard ducks from that enjoyed by the Canada geese offered a -means of communication between the island and the corn trough, and -Jack and Jill long ago became expert in running along the top of this -ticklish pathway. - -Daily the two squirrels made pilgrimages to the corn trough, eaten to -repletion, and then returned to the island. The ducks and the geese -always swam close to the fence, flapping their wings and uttering -hoarse cries of rage, but were never able to catch the nimble -squirrels. Little by little, however, Jack lost his native agility as -he partook of more and more of the rich food, and when he started back -from a particularly heavy feast he waddled slowly along the top of the -fence instead of hopping nimbly along as had been his wont. - -One of the mallards saw him and realized that he was too heavy and too -well fed to move hurriedly. The duck sounded a cry which brought all -of its mates, and they attacked Jack viciously. The squirrel tried to -hurry, but at last was pushed off the fence and fell into the pond. - -In an instant he was surrounded by big Canada geese. Persons on shore -saw him fight desperately for life, but finally he was forced under -water. The geese churned the pond into a foam, and when they swam -majestically away there was nothing to be seen of Jack. - -Jill, who ran back and forth on the shore of the island while Jack was -fighting for his life, retired to a tree after the tragedy, and has not -been seen since. Keepers think that she will not try to reach the corn -trough any more. - - - - -LATEST ISSUES - - -MOTOR STORIES - -The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it -is. See for yourself. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. -Price, 5 cents.= - - 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. - - 25--Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing Game. - - 26--Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing the Spark of - Friendship. - - 27--Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road With a Show. - - 28--Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's Vow. - - 29--Motor Matt's Make-up; or, Playing a New Rôle. - - -TIP TOP WEEKLY - -The most popular publication for boys. The adventures of Frank and Dick -Merriwell can be had only in this weekly. =High art colored covers. -Thirty-two pages. Price, 5 cents.= - - 687--Dick Merriwell's Colors; or, All For the Blue. - - 688--Dick Merriwell, Driver; or, The Race for the Daremore Cup. - - 689--Dick Merriwell on the Deep; or, The Cruise of the _Yale_. - - 690--Dick Merriwell in the North Woods; or, The Timber Thieves of the - Floodwood. - - 691--Dick Merriwell's Dandies; or, A Surprise for the Cowboy Nine. - - 692--Dick Merriwell's "Skyscooter"; or, Professor Pagan and the - "Princess." - - 693--Dick Merriwell in the Elk Mountains; or, The Search for "Dead - Injun" Mine. - - 694--Dick Merriwell in Utah; or, The Road to "Promised Land." - - 695--Dick Merriwell's Bluff; or, The Boy Who Ran Away. - - 696--Dick Merriwell in the Saddle; or, The Bunch from the Bar--Z. - - 697--Dick Merriwell's Ranch Friends; or, Sport on the Range. - - 698--Frank Merriwell at Phantom Lake; or, The Mystery of the Mad - Doctor. - - 699--Frank Merriwell's Hold-back; or, The Boys of Bristol. - - 700--Frank Merriwell's Lively Lads; or, The Rival Campers. - - -NICK CARTER WEEKLY - -The best detective stories on earth. Nick Carter's exploits are read -the world over. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, -5 cents.= - - 649--The Triangle Clue; or, Nick Carter's Greenwich Village Case. - - 650--The Hollingsworth Puzzle; or, Nick Carter Three Times Baffled. - - 651--The Affair of the Missing Bonds; or, Nick Carter in the Harness. - - 652--The Green Box Clue; or, Nick Carter's Good Friend. - - 653--The Taxicab Mystery; or, Nick Carter Closes a Deal. - - 654--The Mystery of a Hotel Room; or, Nick Carter's Best Work. - - 655--The Tragedy of the Well; or, Nick Carter Under Suspicion. - - 656--The Black Hand; or, Chick Carter's Well-laid Plot. - - 657--The Black Hand Nemesis; or, Chick Carter and the Mysterious - Woman. - - 658--A Masterly Trick; or, Chick and the Beautiful Italian. - - 659--A Dangerous Man; or, Nick Carter and the Famous Castor Case. - - 660--Castor the Poisoner; or, Nick Carter Wins a Man. - - 661--The Castor Riddle; or, Nick Carter's Search for a Hidden Fortune. - - 662--A Tragedy of the Bowery; or, Nick Carter and Ida at Coney Island. - - 663--Four Scraps of Paper; or, Nick Carter's Coney Island Search. - - -_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. - - 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. - - 25--Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing Game. - - 26--Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing the Spark of - Friendship. - - 27--Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road With a Show. - - 28--Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's Vow. - -To be Published on September 6th. - - 29--Motor Matt's Make-up; or, Playing a New Role. - -To be Published on September 13th. - - 30--Motor Matt's Mandarin; or, Turning a Trick for Tsan Ti. - -To be Published on September 20th. - - 31--Motor Matt's Mariner; or, Filling the Bill for Bunce. - -To be Published on September 27th. - - 32--Motor Matt's Double-trouble; or, The Last of the Hoodoo. - - -PRICE, FIVE CENTS - -At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt -of the price. - - STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_, NEW YORK - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - - -Added table of contents. - -Retained some inconsistent hyphenation; in many cases, words are -hyphenated when used as adjectives but unhyphenated when used as nouns. - -Italics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=. - -Front and rear covers, accent is missing from "Role" in original; -retained inconsistency. - -Page 1, corrected ? to ! after "Howdy, Dutch!" - -Page 3, corrected "shimiiy" to "shiminy" in "Py shiminy grickets!" - -Page 4, corrected "Wiley" to "Wily" in "Go back to your job, Wily." - -Page 6, removed stray single quote after "going to keep it." - -Page 8, added missing quote before "I'm the one." - -Page 9, corrected typo "minues" in "Inside of five minutes." - -Page 11, removed unnecessary quote before "Yes, he decided." (Adding a -quote after "Yes" would also have been an option; however, this series -usually does not quote thoughts). - -Page 16, changed "doin 'a" to "doin' a." - -Page 18, changed "go" to "got" in "What have you got to do with this -house?" - -Page 19, changed "he" to "the" in "the loss o' that Hindoostanee." - -Page 21, changed "foolishnes" to "foolishness." - -Page 22, changed "fair to asume" to "fair to assume." Changed "every" -to "ever" in "on my mind ever since." - -Page 24, expanded oe ligature to "oe" for this text edition. Ligature -retained in HTML version. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Make Up, by Stanley R. 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Matthews. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%} -hr.full {width: 95%;} - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - .tdl {text-align: left;} - .tdr {text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} - -.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} - -.br {border-right: solid 2px;} - -.bbox {border: solid 2px;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } -img { border: 0; } -.huge { font-size: 200%; } -.large { font-size: 150%; } -.medium { font-size: 125%; } -.small { font-size: 75%; } -.chaptitle { text-align: center; } -.sig { text-align: right; margin-right: 1.5em; } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt's Make Up, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Motor Matt's Make Up - or, Playing a New Role - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: August 25, 2016 [EBook #52891] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT'S MAKE UP *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Demian Katz and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images -courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<a href="images/coverlarge.jpg"><img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="562" alt=""Maskee!" cried the -astounded Hindoo as -Motor Matt leaped -at him" /></a> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<h1>MOTOR STORIES</h1> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-right: 1.5em;" class="tdr"> -THRILLING<br /> -ADVENTURE -</td> -<td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 1.5em;" class="tdl"> -MOTOR<br /> -FICTION -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="bb bt tdl"> -No. 29<br /> -SEPT. 11, 1909. -</td> -<td class="bb bt tdr"> -FIVE<br /> -CENTS -</td> -</tr><tr> -<td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"> -MOTOR MATT'S<br /> -MAKE UP -</td><td class="tdr large"> -<span class="smcap">or</span> PLAYING<br /> -A NEW ROLE -</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="tdc"><i>BY<br /> -THE AUTHOR<br /> -OF<br /> -"<span class="smcap medium">Motor Matt</span>"</i></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr"> -<i>Street & Smith<br /> -Publishers<br /> -New York</i> -</td> -</tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><i>Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Copyright, 1909, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y.</i></p> - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bb bt"> -<tr><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdl"><b>No. 29.</b></td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdc">NEW YORK, September 11, 1909.</td><td style="width: 33%;" class="tdr"><b>Price Five Cents.</b></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p class="center huge">MOTOR MATT'S MAKE-UP;</p> - -<p class="center">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">PLAYING A NEW RÔLE.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> -<p class="center">By the author of "MOTOR MATT."</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<p class="center"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. HIGH JINKS IN THE SIDE SHOW.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. THE "BARKER" SHOWS HIS TEETH.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. THE MAN FROM WASHINGTON.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. A CLUE IN HINDOOSTANEE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. SOMETHING WRONG.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. A BLUNDER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. THE PILE OF SOOT.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. MATT MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. RESCUE!</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. BILL WILY REPENTS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. MATT LAYS HIS PLANS.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. MOTOR CAR AND AEROPLANE.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. THE OAK OPENING.</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. AEROPLANE WINS!</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION.</a><br /> -<a href="#A_BRAVE_DEED">A BRAVE DEED.</a><br /> -<a href="#A_LOCOMOTIVE_HERO">A LOCOMOTIVE HERO.</a><br /> -<a href="#GEESE_DROWN_A_SQUIRREL">GEESE DROWN A SQUIRREL.</a><br /> -</p> - - - -<div class="bbox"> - -<h2><a name="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY" id="CHARACTERS_THAT_APPEAR_IN_THIS_STORY">CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY.</a></h2> - - -<blockquote> - -<p><b>Matt King</b>, otherwise Motor Matt.</p> - -<p><b>Joe McGlory</b>, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth -and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous -side. A good chum to tie to—a point Motor Matt is quick to -perceive.</p> - -<p><b>Carl Pretzel</b>, an old chum who flags Motor Matt and more trouble -than he can manage, at about the same time. In the rôle of -detective, he makes many blunders, wise and otherwise, finding -success only to wonder how he did it.</p> - -<p><b>Ping</b>, the Chinese boy.</p> - -<p><b>Ben Ali</b>, the Hindoo hypnotist and elephant trainer, who executes a -master-stroke in the matter of his niece, Margaret Manners, -and finds that a letter in Hindoostanee can sometimes prove a -boomerang.</p> - -<p><b>Dhondaram and Aurung Zeeb</b>, two Hindoos who have appeared -before as confederates of the crafty Ben Ali, and who now show -themselves for the last time in their villainous part, and vanish—one -into prison and the other into parts unknown.</p> - -<p><b>Margaret Manners</b>, the niece of the rascally Ben Ali and a ward of -the British nation temporarily. In her particular case, justice -is slow in righting a grievous wrong—and would have been -slower but for Motor Matt and his aëroplane.</p> - -<p><b>Reginald Pierce Twomley</b>, who represents the British ambassador, -wears a monocle, and who, in a passage at arms with Dhondaram, -proves himself a man in McGlory's eyes and a near-pard.</p> - -<p><b>Boss Burton</b>, manager and proprietor of the "Big Consolidated," -who, in his usual manner, forms hasty conclusions, discovers -his errors, and shows no sign of repentance.</p> - -<p><b>The Bearded Lady, the Armless Wonder, the Elastic Skin Man, the -Zulu chief and the Ossified Man</b>, all freaks in the side-show tent, -who appear briefly but brilliantly in the light of a Roman -candle.</p></blockquote> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">HIGH JINKS IN THE SIDE SHOW.</p> - - -<p>"Hello, dere, Viskers!" grinned Carl Pretzel, reaching -up to grab the hairy paw of the Zulu chief.</p> - -<p>"Howdy, Dutch!" answered the chief, with a nasal -twang that suggested New England. "By Jocks, I ain't -seen yeou in quite a spell. How's tricks, huh?"</p> - -<p>"Dricks iss fine, I bed you. Say, sheef, dis iss mein -leedle shink bard, Ping Pong. He iss der pest efer—oxcept -me. Shake hants, Ping, mit a Zulu sheef vat vas -porn near Pangor, Maine."</p> - -<p>"Tickled tew death," said the chief effusively, taking -the yellow palm of a small Chinaman who pushed himself -closer to the platform.</p> - -<p>The scene was the side-show tent of the "Big Consolidated," -Boss Burton's "Tented Aggregation of the -World's Marvels." The show had raised its "tops" at -Reid's Lake, near the city of Grand Rapids. A high -wind had prevented Motor Matt from giving his outdoor -exhibition of aëroplane flying, and the disappointed -crowds were besieging the side show, eager to beguile -the time until the doors for the big show were open.</p> - -<p>With the exception of Carl and Ping, no outsiders had -yet entered the side-show tent. Carl, having once played -the banjo for the Zulu chief while he was dancing on -broken glass in his bare feet, was a privileged character. -He had walked into the tent without so much as a "by -your leave," and he had escorted Ping without any adverse -comment by the man on the door.</p> - -<p>The freaks and wonders of the side show were all on -their platforms and ready to be viewed. The Ossified -Man had been dusted off for the last time, the Bearded -Lady had just arranged her beard most becomingly, the -Elastic Skin Man was giving a few warming-up snaps -to his rubberoid epidermis, the Educated Pig was being -put through a preliminary stunt by the gentlemanly exhibitor, -and the Armless Wonder was sticking a copy of -the Stars and Stripes in the base of a wooden pyramid—using -his toes.</p> - -<p>The Armless Wonder occupied the same platform as -the Zulu chief. His specialty was to stand on his head -on the wooden pyramid, hold a Roman candle with one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> -foot, light it with the other, and shoot vari-colored balls -through a hole in the tent roof. In front of the Wonder, -neatly piled on the little stage, were half a dozen long -paper tubes containing the fire balls.</p> - -<p>"How you was, Dutch?" inquired the Wonder, doubling -up in his chair and drawing a bandanna handkerchief -over his perspiring face with his foot.</p> - -<p>"<i>Ganz goot</i>," laughed Carl, carelessly picking up one -of the Roman candles. "I vill make you acguainted, oof -you blease, mit mein leedle shink bard."</p> - -<p>"Shake!" cried the Wonder heartily, offering his right -foot. "It does me proud to meet up with a friend of -Pretzel's."</p> - -<p>"Allee same happy days," remarked Ping, releasing -the foot and backing away.</p> - -<p>"Yeou tew kids aire chums, huh?" put in the Zulu -chief, leaning down to arrange the row of photographs -in front of him.</p> - -<p>"Surest t'ing vat you know," answered Carl.</p> - -<p>"Dutchy boy heap fine," declared Ping. "We both -one-piecee pards."</p> - -<p>"That's the talk!" exclaimed the Armless Wonder. -"Too much weather for the flyin' machine to-day, huh? -Motor Matt was afeared to go up, I reckon, Dutch?"</p> - -<p>"Afraidt?" protested Carl. "Modor Matt vasn't -afraidt oof anyt'ing. He couldn't haf shtaid ofer der -show grounds, und dot's der reason he dit'nt go oop. -Der vind vould haf plowed him galley-vest, und den -some."</p> - -<p>"I see. These here aëroplanes are hard things to handle, -and——Holy smoke! Drop it! Put it out!"</p> - -<p>Carl, as has already been stated, had picked up one of -the Roman candles. While talking with the Armless -Wonder, he leaned back against a tent pole and clasped -his hands—the candle in one of them—behind him.</p> - -<p>Ping had stepped back. The Roman candle, held fuse -end outward, looked most inviting. Digging a match out -of his kimono, Ping scratched it on the pole and applied -the flame unseen to the fuse.</p> - -<p>While the Armless Wonder was talking, Carl heard a -long-drawn-out hiss, a smell of smoke came to his nostrils, -and a Niagara of sparks floated around him. Naturally -he was startled, and it flashed over him that something -was wrong with the Roman candle. Bringing the -candle around in front of him for examination, he had -it leveled at the Wonder the very instant the first fire ball -was due. The ball was not behind schedule. Rushing -from the end of the tube, it caught the Wonder in the -breast, and he turned a back somersault off the platform.</p> - -<p>Bewildered by the mysterious cause of the situation, -Carl swerved the candle in order to get a look through -the smoke and sparks at the place where the Wonder -had been seated.</p> - -<p>A roar came from the Zulu chief. A ball of flaming -red had slapped against his shoulder, and he jumped for -the next platform on the right. Landing on the edge, -his weight overturned the structure. There was a -scream from the Bearded Lady and a whoop from the -Elastic Skin Man, and the next moment they landed in -a tangled heap on top of the Zulu chief.</p> - -<p>"Put it out!" the Armless Wonder continued to yell.</p> - -<p>"Point it up or down!" bellowed the gentlemanly -trainer of the Educated Pig.</p> - -<p>"Ged some vater!" howled Carl, running back and -forth and waving the candle; "ged a pucket oof vater -und I vill drown der t'ing in it!"</p> - -<p>The Dutch boy didn't know what to do. If he dropped -the candle he might get hit with some of the balls himself, -and if he turned it straight upward he might set -fire to the top of the tent. While he was running up and -down, trying frantically to think of some way out of the -trouble, of course the fire stick was continuing to unload.</p> - -<p>Whizz—slap!</p> - -<p>A wad of yellow fire hit the Pig, which squealed and -bolted. The gentlemanly attendant tried to head off the -Porcine Marvel, but it ran between his outspread feet -and knocked him off the stand. A rain of lettered blocks -followed.</p> - -<p>The frantic Pig bunted into Ping, tripped him, and -hurled him against Carl. Both boys went down, and -Carl rolled over and over, discharging red, white, and -blue balls as he revolved.</p> - -<p>Up to that moment the Ossified Man had escaped. But -now his turn had come. He was said to have been turning -to stone for thirty years, and was supposed to be so -brittle that he had to be handled with extreme care.</p> - -<p>The first ball that struck him, however, caused him to -jump off his board slab with a yell. From the way he -rushed to get out of the tent, it was pretty certain that he -was as wiry and pliable as the average.</p> - -<p>The Educated Pig, to an accompaniment of yells, -howls, and screams, and with the lurid glare of the popping -balls lighting the smoky interior of the tent, ran on -blindly, overturned the stage set aside for the Zulu chief -and the Armless Wonder, showered broken glass over -everybody, and then tore through the tent wall and out -into the open.</p> - -<p>Naturally, this Bedlam, suddenly turned loose in the -tent, had excited the wonder and curiosity of the ticket -seller, the "barker," and the man at the door.</p> - -<p>As the man at the door looked in, the last of the balls -struck him below the belt, and he collapsed in the arms -of the "barker," who was crowding in behind him.</p> - -<p>The last of the balls! That hollow, pasteboard tube -seemed to have been a perfect mine of shooting stars. It -had disgorged itself of a dozen. Carl had not counted -them—he was too busy with other matters—but it -seemed to him as though the tube had been fully an hour -getting rid of its contents.</p> - -<p>A madder assortment of freaks it would have been -harder to find than wrangled and protested, there in the -side-show tent, while they rubbed their bruises and shook -the kinks out of themselves.</p> - -<p>"It was one of the Armless Wonder's Roman candles," -came in sepulchral tones from the Ossified Man as he -climbed back to his slab.</p> - -<p>"I'll quit the show, and give two weeks' notice this -minute," piped the Bearded Lady as she picked her way -through the scattered glass, "if they don't cut out these -fireworks. My goodness! You might just as well be -killed outright as scart to death. Wha'ju jump onto our -stage for?" and she glared at the chief, who was gently -massaging his burned spot.</p> - -<p>"By Jocks," answered the chief, "I didn't care where I -jumped s'long's I got away from the fireworks."</p> - -<p>"It was the Dutchman done it," flared the Wonder.</p> - -<p>"He's a freak," rumbled the Ossified Man. "Kick him -out."</p> - -<p>"I don'd peen a freak," said Carl angrily, throwing -the burned-out tube at the O. M. "Oof I vas, den here -iss vere I should shday."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Did you set that Roman candle to goin'?" demanded -the "barker" fiercely.</p> - -<p>"I don'd set him to going, py chimineddy! I hat him -in my handt, und he vent off mit himseluf. Dot's all -aboudt it."</p> - -<p>"This ain't no place for them kind o' jokes," cried the -Elastic Skin Man. "He's played hob with this outfit: -Give him a h'ist!"</p> - -<p>The ticket seller, the "barker," and the man on the -door all three fell upon Carl. Between them they had -the Dutch boy turning cartwheels through the entrance.</p> - -<p>Ping, the cause of all the trouble, slipped away quietly -under the canvas wall—but not until he had picked up -something white from the earthen floor of the tent. The -object lay close to where Carl had lain, and Ping conceived -the idea that it belonged to the Dutch boy and that -it was his duty to recover it and return it to the owner.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE "BARKER" SHOWS HIS TEETH.</p> - - -<p>When Carl finally rounded up his wits he found himself -sitting under the lee of the "animal top," leaning -against one of the guy ropes. The wind was blowing -half a gale, and the big tents swayed and tugged at their -fastenings. There was only one idea just then in the -Dutch boy's mind, and that was this:</p> - -<p>"How dit dot Roman gandle go off mit itseluf? I remember -taking him in my handt und holting him pehindt -me, und den—whizz, bang! Ach, how der shparks dit -fly! Dere vas fordy-'lefen palls in der gandle, und I hit -a freak mit efery pall. Donnervetter, vat a hot time!"</p> - -<p>At this point Ping came rounding the curved canvas -wall, head to the wind, blouse and wide trousers flapping, -and pulling himself along by means of the guy ropes.</p> - -<p>"Hello, Clal!" he called, mooring himself to a tent -stake.</p> - -<p>"Hello yourseluf once!" answered Carl, drawing one -powder-blackened hand up and down his trousers leg. -"How you like der pooty firevorks?"</p> - -<p>"By Klismus!" grinned the Chinaman, "him velly fine. -Fleaks no likee."</p> - -<p>"How dit der gandle go off mit itseluf? Tell me -dose."</p> - -<p>Ping's grin faded from his yellow face, and he grew -solemn and serious.</p> - -<p>"No savvy, Clal. Him devil joss stick, awri'. -Whoosh!"</p> - -<p>A sudden suspicion darted through Carl's brain as he -stared at Ping. The Chinese boy was altogether too -serious.</p> - -<p>"Py shiminy grickets!" whooped Carl, "vas it you dot -douched him off ven der gandle vas my pack pehindt und -I don'd see? Dit you make all der drouples? Oof I -vas sure oof dot, den I vould eat you oop like some ham -santviches."</p> - -<p>Ping gave a yell of protest.</p> - -<p>"We allee same fliends, huh?" he demanded. "Why -my makee tlouble fo' fliend?"</p> - -<p>"Vell, I don'd know for vy, aber such chokes iss nod -vat I like. Oof I findt oudt dot you lit der gandle, den I -vill ged efen for dot. You bed my life, I pay efery debt -vat I owe."</p> - -<p>Ping looked serious. Then, glad that he was able to -change the subject, he remarked:</p> - -<p>"You losee one piecee papel in tent, Clal?"</p> - -<p>"I don't got one piecee paper, shink. How could I lose -somet'ing vat I don't got?"</p> - -<p>"My findee him same place you makee tumble. Look."</p> - -<p>Ping drew the folded sheet from his blouse. Carl -stretched out his hand.</p> - -<p>"I vill take a look at dot," said he.</p> - -<p>When opened flat, the sheet contained writing, but it -was not writing that Carl could read.</p> - -<p>"Vedder it iss a ledder or nod," mused Carl, "I don'd -know. Vat I see on dis paper looks schust like hen -dracks. It don'd vas English, und it don'd vas German. -Iss it shink wriding, Ping?"</p> - -<p>Ping dropped to his knees and examined the sheet of -paper upside down and sideways.</p> - -<p>"My no savvy," he answered. "Him not China writing. -Some fleak lettee dlop—him fleak writing. Him no -gottee sense."</p> - -<p>Carl wrinkled his brows ominously.</p> - -<p>"I tell you somet'ing," said he. "Dere iss more to dis -alretty as we know, Ping. I peen a tedectif. Meppy you -vill make a tedectif, too. Subbose we findt oudt vat der -ledder iss aboudt?"</p> - -<p>"Plaps we no makee find out."</p> - -<p>"Dot's vere der tedectif part comes in."</p> - -<p>"Plaps we no gottee sense enough, Clal."</p> - -<p>"<i>Ach, du lieber!</i>" grunted Carl. "Ditn't I findt dot -Margaret Manners vat vas draveling mit der show? -Ditn't I get dot Ben Ali Hindoo feller on der run? -Ditn't I vin fife tousant tollars?"</p> - -<p>"You no gettee fi' thousan' dol'."</p> - -<p>"I vill get dot. It has to come from Inchia, und Inchia -iss more as ten tousant miles from vere I am. It -takes time to get money from Inchia. I was a shmard -feller to do all dot. Meppy I gif you some lessons -und you vill be as shmard as vat I am."</p> - -<p>"Plaps."</p> - -<p>"You vant to choin in mit me, hey?"</p> - -<p>"Awri'. No savvy pidgin, Clal. What we do?"</p> - -<p>Before Carl could answer, the "barker" for the side -show came running around the tent wall. Carl grabbed -the letter out of Ping's hand and thrust it into his pocket.</p> - -<p>"What yuh got there?" demanded the "barker," coming -to a halt and glaring at Carl.</p> - -<p>"You don'd got some pitzness to know," was the -Dutch boy's calm reply.</p> - -<p>The "barker's" name was Bill Wily, but, on account -of his shady character, he was generally known as Wily -Bill.</p> - -<p>"I lost a letter durin' that shake-up in the tent," said -Wily Bill, truculently, "an' it looked to me as though -that sheet yuh just tucked away in your jeans was the -one. Hand it over."</p> - -<p>"Don'd get gay mit yourseluf," warned Carl, rising to -his feet.</p> - -<p>"Where'd yuh git that paper?"</p> - -<p>"Dot's for me to know. Oof you get pitzness any blace -else, don'd let us keep you a minid. Moof on. I don'd -like you none too vell, anyhow."</p> - -<p>"You'll give me that paper," declared Wily Bill angrily, -"or I'll twist that Dutch neck o' yours."</p> - -<p>"Meppy you vill," answered Carl, "aber I don'd tink. -Here it iss different as it vas in der show. You don'd -got der freaks und der odders to helup."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I'll find Burton," fumed Wily Bill, "and I'll tell him -yuh've stole that there paper off me."</p> - -<p>"Den you vill be telling Purton vat ain'd so."</p> - -<p>The "barker" took a step forward.</p> - -<p>"Yuh goin' to give me that?" he shouted.</p> - -<p>"Say," answered Carl, with a happy thought, "you tell -me vat iss in der ledder, den oof it agrees mit vat iss dere -you prove he belong mit you, und I gif him oop. Oddervise, -nod. Hey?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, you fall off the earth!" growled Wily Bill. "I -don't have to tell what's in the letter in order to prove it's -mine, see? Fork over."</p> - -<p>Carl had thought he might get Wily Bill to translate -the "hen tracks," but the "barker" either could not or -would not.</p> - -<p>"You und me don'd agree on dot," said Carl stoutly. -"You tell me vat iss in der ledder, oder you don'd get -him. Dot's all aboudt it."</p> - -<p>"Look here," and Wily Bill made a threatening gesture -with his clinched fist, "pass that over or I'll push -yer face inter yer back hair. Now, then. Cough up or -take the consequences."</p> - -<p>"I dradder fighdt as eat some meals!" whooped Carl. -"Come on vonce, oof dot's der game. Hit me in der eye! -Dot geds my madt oop kevicker as anyt'ing, und I fighdt -pedder der madder vat I ged. Eider eye, it <i>machts -nichts aus</i>. Blease!"</p> - -<p>With a savage exclamation, Wily Bill threw himself -forward and lunged with the full force of his right. Carl -ducked sideways. The fist missed him, and the impetus -of the blow hurled Wily Bill over the guy rope.</p> - -<p>Boss Burton, the proprietor of the show, seeing the -clash from a distance, was hurrying up to take a part in -proceedings. He arrived just in time to collide with the -tumbling form of the "barker."</p> - -<p>It was with difficulty that Burton retained his footing. -The breath was knocked out of him, and as he tottered -and gasped he glared at Wily Bill.</p> - -<p>"Dere iss Poss Purton," chuckled Carl. "Schust tell -him vat you vant und see vat he say."</p> - -<p>"What're you roughing things up like this for, Wily?" -demanded the showman. "You know very well I don't -allow any fighting on the show grounds."</p> - -<p>"That Dutchman," answered the "barker," getting his -temper a little in hand, "has got a letter belongin' to me. -I want it, an' he won't give it up."</p> - -<p>"Is that so, Carl?" asked Burton, whirling on the -Dutch boy.</p> - -<p>"I don'd know vedder or nod it iss so," replied Carl. -"I got a ledder, und he say it pelongs by him. Aber he -von't say vat iss in der ledder, so how could I know?"</p> - -<p>"Isn't the envelope addressed?"</p> - -<p>"Dere iss no enfellup."</p> - -<p>"Isn't there a name on the letter?"</p> - -<p>"Dere iss no name anyvere."</p> - -<p>"It's from a pal o' mine, Burton," explained Wily -Bill, "and I dropped it out of my kick in the tent. This -Dutch lobster and that chink turned on a row in the -side show. The Dutchman got one of the Armless Wonder's -Roman candles, and while he held it behind him the -chink touched a match to it, and we had all kinds of fireworks -for a——"</p> - -<p>"Donner und blitzen!" yelled Carl, facing Ping and -shaking his fist. "Den it <i>vas</i> you, hey? I von't be no -tedectif mit you! You vas no bard to blay sooch a -choke! I vill ged efen, yah, so hellup me! Oof you——"</p> - -<p>"That will do," cut in Boss Burton sternly. "We'll -settle this letter business before we do anything else. -Where did you get the thing, Carl?"</p> - -<p>"Dot false-alarm chink gif him by me," answered Carl, -watching angrily while Ping allowed the wind to waft -him out of sight around the side-show tent.</p> - -<p>"Where did he get it?"</p> - -<p>"He picked him oop from vere I lay on der groundt. -Dot's vat he say, aber my confidences in him vas padly -shook."</p> - -<p>"Give it to me."</p> - -<p>There was no dodging such an order from the proprietor -of the show, and the folded sheet was handed -over.</p> - -<p>Burton looked at the letter. While he was doing so, -Wily Bill made a desperate grab for it. The showman -was too quick for the "barker," and jerked the sheet out -of reach.</p> - -<p>"That's your game, is it?" growled Burton. "Go back -to your job, Wily. Come to me after the show, and -we'll talk this over. I don't like the way you're acting -in this matter, and if you know when you're well off, -you'll put your foot on the soft pedal and keep it there. -Not a word! Clear out!"</p> - -<p>With a black scowl, and a look at Carl that boded him -no good, Wily Bill turned on his heel and made his way -back to the side show.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE MAN FROM WASHINGTON.</p> - - -<p>"Sufferin' hurricanes, what a blow!" remarked Joe -McGlory. "What good's a flying machine, pard, when a -spell of weather puts it down and out? The <i>Comet's</i> -a back number in a hatful of wind."</p> - -<p>"Hatful!" repeated Motor Matt. "If this breeze isn't -doing fifty miles an hour I'm no hand at guessing."</p> - -<p>The two motor boys were in their old rendezvous, the -calliope tent, sitting on a couple of overturned buckets -and listening to the roar and boom of bellying canvas, -the flutter and snap of banners, and the whistle of violently -disturbed air around the tent poles.</p> - -<p>The big card played by Burton was the aëroplane -flights, two of which were given every day, before the -afternoon and the evening performance—wind and -weather permitting. Since the motor boys' engagement -with Burton, Matt had not failed to take the aëroplane -aloft on an average of more than two days a week. This -violent wind made the morning flight at Reid's Lake one -of the "off" days. There was a chance, however, that -the wind would go down with the sun, and that it would -be possible to do a little flying before the evening show.</p> - -<p>It was Saturday, and the "Big Consolidated" was to -remain at Reid's Lake over Sunday and give two performances -Monday. On Monday, therefore, it was quite -possible the <i>Comet</i> would be able to carry out her part -of the circus programme.</p> - -<p>"Up in North Dakota," observed Joe McGlory, "where -it blows like sin when it <i>does</i> blow, you've capered -around in the sky in the face of a breeze every bit as -strong as this, Matt."</p> - -<p>"There it was different," answered the young motorist. -"I didn't have to manipulate the machine over the -show grounds, and there were not thousands of people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -directly underneath to suffer if the aëroplane didn't come -down in the place from which it started. I don't want -any more accidents like the one we had at Jackson."</p> - -<p>"Where a snake short-circuited the engine, and you -had all kinds of hair-raising experiences," breathed McGlory. -"Speak to me about that! By gorry, I wouldn't -even look on while you pulled off another such performance, -pard, for a million in yellow boys!"</p> - -<p>Before the king of the motor boys could make any -reply, Landers, the man who had charge of the calliope, -showed himself in the tent door. Behind him trailed a -smooth-faced man of forty, in a cap and gray tweeds.</p> - -<p>"That's Motor Matt," said Landers, pointing to the -young motorist. "This gentleman wants a word with -you, Matt," he added, "and I volunteered to show him -where you could be found."</p> - -<p>Landers ducked away again, and the stranger pushed -into the tent.</p> - -<p>"Fancy!" he exclaimed, staring at Matt, then at McGlory, -and then letting his eyes wander around the tent. -"So this is Motor Matt. Ah, by Jove!"</p> - -<p>McGlory picked up a bucket, emptied the water out of -it, and turned it upside down.</p> - -<p>"Sit down, pilgrim," said the cowboy, "and make -yourself comfortable."</p> - -<p>The other pulled up his trousers at the knees and deposited -himself carefully on the bucket. He laughed a -little, lifted a round piece of glass from his coat and -tucked it into his right eye, and then took another look -at Matt and McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Only fancy!" he murmured.</p> - -<p>"If you want to join the show," said McGlory, with a -wink at Matt, "you'll have to see Burton."</p> - -<p>"Join the show?" returned the other. "Why, I don't -want to join the blooming circus. I'm just looking for -Motor Matt, don't you know."</p> - -<p>"You're not looking for him, neighbor, but at him. -It's your move."</p> - -<p>"Deuced odd, that. My move. In other words, I'm to -tell my business, eh? It's private, very. I want to talk -with Motor Matt alone."</p> - -<p>McGlory started to get up, but Matt stopped him with -a gesture.</p> - -<p>"This is my chum, Joe McGlory," said he. "I have no -secrets from him. Fire away, sir."</p> - -<p>"Aw," drawled the other. "Well, if that's the way -of it, then here goes."</p> - -<p>Drawing a morocco case from his pocket, the stranger -extracted a card and handed it to Matt.</p> - -<p>"Reginald Pierce Twomley," ran the legend on the -card; then, down in the lower left-hand corner were the -words: "Attaché British Embassy, Washington."</p> - -<p>Matt passed the card to McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you, Mr. Twomley," said Matt. "What -can we do for you?"</p> - -<p>Reginald Pierce Twomley lighted a cigarette. It was -a pretty cigarette, with a gilt monogram on one side. He -offered the case to the boys, but they respectfully declined.</p> - -<p>"Aw, let us approach our business with method," said -Mr. Twomley. "I have come from Washington—aw—on -very important business. Allow me to prove my right to -act as agent for his excellency the Ambassador by recapitulating -a few facts with which you must be familiar.</p> - -<p>"At one time, my dear sir, there was with this circus -a Hindoo mahout who called himself Ben Ali. That was -not his real name, but it will serve. With Ben Ali was -a young lady who was called Haidee. Ben Ali was a -rotter—the worst case of thug that ever came out of the -Bombay presidency—and he had a powerful rajah for a -brother. Ben Ali took care of the rajah's elephant herd. -The rajah's sister married one Lionel Manners. Manners -died, his wife perished by the infernal practice of -<i>suttee</i>—even now secretly practised in spite of the English -government—and Ben Ali left India with Manners' -only daughter, Margaret. The girl known as Haidee -was in reality Margaret Manners. Am I correct?"</p> - -<p>Matt nodded.</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali was an adept in the hypnotic line," proceeded -Twomley, looking thoughtfully into the smoke of his -cigarette, "and Miss Manners was in this country and -with the show against her will. Her uncle, the rascally -Ben Ali, kept her under his evil influence, and was gradually -causing her to forget even her own identity. The -mahout bore a grudge against his powerful brother, the -rajah, and he had stolen the girl in a spirit of revenge. -Eventually, he hoped to force the rajah to pay many -rupees for Miss Manners before Ben Ali released her. -But this is beside the mark. I don't care a hap'orth -about that part of it. The point that concerns the British -Ambassador, Sir Roger Morse-Edwards, is this:</p> - -<p>"You and your friends, Motor Matt, discovered who -Haidee really was. You rescued her from the evil spell -of the mahout, and she was left in Lafayette, Indiana, in -charge of a worthy English lady, pending advices from -her uncle, the rajah, in India. We have received advices, -not from the rajah, but direct from our foreign office. -I was sent forthwith to Lafayette to get Miss Manners, -take her to New York, and, with a suitable maid as companion, -send her by first steamer to Liverpool, and so to -London."</p> - -<p>"Good!" exclaimed Matt, with visible satisfaction. -"Miss Manners is a very fine girl, and I suppose her -future will make up for the many hardships she has undergone -while in this country."</p> - -<p>"Exactly," answered Twomley, "if we could find her. -But we can't. She has disappeared."</p> - -<p>"Disappeared?" gasped Matt.</p> - -<p>"That is the way of it. I went to this English lady in -Lafayette, and she received me with astonishment. -Several days before a man, professing to be from the -ambassador, had called and taken Miss Manners away. -We are done, done as brown as a kipper, and a telegram -to Washington brought an answer requesting me to hunt -up this show and have a talk with you."</p> - -<p>Motor Matt was astounded. And so was McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Have you any idea who the man was that called on -the English woman in Lafayette and took Miss Manners -away?"</p> - -<p>"No. The Lafayette police are looking for him."</p> - -<p>"Have you any idea that Ben Ali is mixed up in the -affair?"</p> - -<p>"I have, Motor Matt, and a very clear idea. I was ten -years in India, and learned the natives there, and their -ways. It was for that, I fancy, that Sir Roger asked me -to come for Miss Manners. While I was about taking -the train at Lafayette, yesterday, I received another -message from the ambassador. That message informed -me that a telegram had been received from Ben Ali, informing -Sir Roger that he again had the girl in his -possession, and that she would be delivered to any agent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> -Sir Roger might send after her on payment of ten thousand -pounds."</p> - -<p>"Fifty thousand dollars!" exclaimed Matt. Then he -whistled.</p> - -<p>"Old Ben Ali is out for the stuff," muttered McGlory -grimly.</p> - -<p>"He's a crafty beggar!" commented Twomley. "I left -all the telegrams with the police, and Sir Roger is taking -the whole matter up with the United States state department. -The Secret Service of the government will -presently be at work on this case, for it is of international -importance. Can you give any information, Motor -Matt, that will help us find Ben Ali, or Miss Manners?"</p> - -<p>Matt shook his head.</p> - -<p>"Why doesn't the ambassador agree to send some one -to meet Ben Ali? Then the rascal could be caught."</p> - -<p>"He's too clever to let himself be caught. He——"</p> - -<p>Just here Boss Burton strode into the tent, followed -by Carl.</p> - -<p>"Shut up about that, Carl," the showman was growling. -"You haven't any right to that letter, and I'm -going to keep it."</p> - -<p>"I'm in der tedectif pitzness," returned Carl, "und I -need dot ledder, py shinks, to helup unrafel der case. -Modor Matt," and Carl appealed to his pard, "make Purton -gif me der ledder."</p> - -<p>"What letter?" demanded Matt.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Burton to Carl; -"we'll leave the letter with Matt. If Wily can prove it's -his, then Matt can turn the thing over to him."</p> - -<p>Burton handed a folded sheet to Matt. The latter, entirely -in the dark, opened the sheet and laid it on his -knee.</p> - -<p>"What sort of writing is this?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"That's too many for me. It isn't Chinese—Carl said -Ping told him that—and it isn't Dutch. Of course, it's -not English. And who it belongs to, or where it came -from, or what's the good of it, is more than I know. -But it appears to have caused a lot of bother."</p> - -<p>"It's Hindoostanee," spoke up Twomley, staring at the -open sheet. "I can read the language. If you wish, I'll -translate it."</p> - -<p>Then, for the first time, Burton and Carl turned on -the Englishman and took his measure.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A CLUE IN HINDOOSTANEE.</p> - - -<p>"Who are you, my friend?" inquired Burton bluntly.</p> - -<p>"A friend of Motor Matt," replied Twomley easily. -"He'll vouch for me, I fancy."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Twomley, attaché of the British Legation at -Washington, Burton," said Matt. "Mr. Burton," Matt -added to the Englishman, "is the proprietor of the show. -The other lad is Carl Pretzel, who is also a chum of -mine. We can talk over this matter before them. Carl -had everything to do with the finding of Margaret Manners, -back there at Lafayette."</p> - -<p>"Aw," drawled Twomley, screwing his monocle in his -eye, and regarding the Dutch boy, "he's the claimant for -that thousand pounds reward, I dare say."</p> - -<p>Tremors of excitement ran galloping through Carl.</p> - -<p>"Haf you prought der money?" he fluttered. "Vas -you looking for me to pay ofer dot rewart?"</p> - -<p>"I am sorry to say that I haven't brought the money. -That matter is still in abeyance."</p> - -<p>"Vat iss dot?" asked the puzzled Carl. "I don'd -<i>verstch</i> dot vort apeyance."</p> - -<p>"He means the matter is still pending, Carl," put in -Matt. "In other words, you haven't got the money yet."</p> - -<p>"I know dot, aber vill I ged it? Dot's vat gifs me -some vorries."</p> - -<p>"The rajah's a regular topper," said Twomley. "He'd -never miss a thousand pounds, and I fancy he'll do the -right thing."</p> - -<p>"Mooch opliged," breathed Carl, in deep satisfaction. -"It vas a habbiness to know dot I ged him some dime."</p> - -<p>"Now, if you wish," went on Twomley, stretching -out his hand for the letter.</p> - -<p>"Just a moment, Mr. Twomley," said Matt. "We -don't know much about this letter, and I'd like to find -out where and how Carl got it, and what the dispute is -about."</p> - -<p>The Dutch boy launched into an explanation, beginning -with the Roman candle and ending at the place where -Burton refused to turn the letter over to Wily Bill. Carl -touched but lightly on the culpability of Ping in the matter -of the Roman candle. In this he was wise. Motor -Matt's orders were to the effect that there should be no -bickering between the Dutch boy and the Chinese lad. -They had been at swords' points for a long while and -had only recently developed a friendly feeling for each -other.</p> - -<p>"I always sized up that Wily Bill for a false alarm," -remarked McGlory. "Can he read that Hindoostanee -lingo? I'll bet my spurs he can't! If that's the case, -what's he doing with the letter?"</p> - -<p>"He must have wanted it a whole lot," said Matt, "or -he wouldn't have made such a fight to get it. Perhaps -the letter itself will be a clue. Tell us what's in it, Mr. -Twomley," and Matt passed the letter to the Englishman.</p> - -<p>The latter studied the sheet with absorbed attention. -Finally he sprang up.</p> - -<p>"By Jove!" he exploded.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" inquired Matt.</p> - -<p>"This is luck! Just fancy such a clue coming into our -hands at this very moment when it is most needed. Aw, -it's—aw—incredible."</p> - -<p>"You might give us a chance to pass judgment on -that, Mr. Twomley," returned Burton. "Maybe it's not -so incredible as you seem to think."</p> - -<p>"It was written by Ben Ali," said the attaché.</p> - -<p>"<i>That</i> tinhorn!" exclaimed McGlory. "I thought we'd -cut him out of our herd altogether. Beats creation -how he keeps bobbing up."</p> - -<p>"Who's it for?" spoke up Matt. "Has Bill Wily any -right to it?"</p> - -<p>"The name of Wily doesn't appear anywhere in the -writing," answered Twomley. "In fact, the letter's addressed -to a fellow named Dhondaram."</p> - -<p>Here was another hot shot. Both McGlory and Matt -were brought excitedly to their feet.</p> - -<p>"Dhondaram!" growled Burton, with an expressive -glance at the king of the motor boys. "I thought we'd -heard the last of that villain."</p> - -<p>"Who was he?" demanded Twomley.</p> - -<p>"A Hindoo——"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> - -<p>"So I gather from the name."</p> - -<p>"He blew into the show grounds with a cobra and a -home-made flute, when we were at Jackson, and I gave -him Ben Ali's place as driver of our man-killin' elephant, -Rajah. Oh, he did a lot of things, Dhondaram -did. We captured him, but he got loose and dropped off -the train between stations."</p> - -<p>"Aw, Ben Ali didn't know that," reflected Twomley. -"Ben Ali must have thought he was still with the show, -and sent this letter to him."</p> - -<p>"What does the letter say?" asked Matt, with some -impatience.</p> - -<p>"It asked Dhondaram to finish his work as soon as -possible and to join Ben Ali, with the money, in short -order."</p> - -<p>A silence followed, and during the silence the motor -boys exchanged wondering looks.</p> - -<p>"What was Dhondaram's work?" queried Twomley.</p> - -<p>"Nothing more or less than putting Pard Matt out of -the running," replied McGlory. "Ben Ali's on the warpath -against Matt, because of what he did in Lafayette, -and Dhondaram tried hard to wipe my pard off the -slate."</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali speaks of money," went on Twomley. "What -does that mean?"</p> - -<p>Burton muttered wrathfully.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet a thousand," said he, "that refers to the proceeds -of the afternoon performance in Jackson, which the -ticket man and this Dhondaram tried to get away with. -Ben Ali put up the job with Dhondaram, and the ticket -man was helping them out."</p> - -<p>"Matters must have been lively all around in Jackson," -observed Twomley. "Dhondaram didn't get the money?"</p> - -<p>"Not so you could notice," answered McGlory. "Pard -Matt jumped in and plugged that little game."</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali," reasoned the king of the motor boys, "has -probably been thinking of recapturing Miss Manners for -some time. All he had Dhondaram try to do, in Jackson, -was to help on his villainous schemes. But Dhondaram -failed. Probably Ben Ali is needing some money -pretty badly, about now. What is the date of that letter, -Mr. Twomley?"</p> - -<p>"There is no date."</p> - -<p>"Then there's no telling how long Bill Wily has carried -it in his pocket?"</p> - -<p>The attaché shook his head.</p> - -<p>"He must have got it after we left Jackson, pard," interposed -McGlory. "If he had got it before, he'd have -passed it on to Dhondaram."</p> - -<p>"How he got it at all is a mystery," mused the young -motorist. "He has probably seen and talked with Ben -Ali."</p> - -<p>"Before the show got to Jackson, then," continued the -cowboy, who was doing a little sharp thinking. "If he -had talked with Ben Ali after the doings in Jackson, he'd -have told the old skinner how Dhondaram fell down."</p> - -<p>"There's a clue here, but it's not so promising as it -might be," came disappointedly from the Englishman.</p> - -<p>Matt walked toward the tent door.</p> - -<p>"Our best clue," said he decisively, "is Bill Wily. -We'd better go to the side show and have a talk with -him."</p> - -<p>"Bring him here, Matt," suggested Burton. "We can -talk with him in this place to better advantage than in -the side-show tent. I'll go with you and make sure he -comes. The rest of you wait," and the showman started -from the calliope tent after Matt.</p> - -<p>Inquiry of the man on the door at the side show developed -the fact that Bill Wily had started for town. -He had been gone about five minutes, Matt and Burton -were informed, and had left the show grounds for the -street-car track.</p> - -<p>"He's making a getaway!" averred Burton.</p> - -<p>"That's the way it looks," agreed Matt. "We've got to -stop him, if we can."</p> - -<p>Without loss of time the king of the motor boys and -the showman hustled for the place where the street-car -track made a loop, just beyond a big concert garden. -They were hoping to catch Wily before he could board a -car.</p> - -<p>But in this they were disappointed. A car was moving -off in the direction of town, and all their frantic yells -and gestures were powerless to secure the attention of -the conductor.</p> - -<p>"It'll be fifteen minutes before there's another car," -panted Burton, "and by that time the 'barker' will be—the -deuce only knows where. It's a cinch, Matt, that he's -scared, and is running away. If there was an automobile -handy, we could overhaul the car." Burton looked in -every direction. "But, of course," he added, "whenever -you want a chug-wagon there's none in sight."</p> - -<p>A familiar humming drew Motor Matt's attention. -Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a motor-cycle -spinning along the road from the direction of -Grand Rapids. A young fellow of nineteen or twenty -was in the saddle.</p> - -<p>"There's something that will do—if we can borrow it," -said Matt, and jumped into the road and waved his -hands.</p> - -<p>The motorcycle came to a stop.</p> - -<p>"Are you flagging me?" asked the driver of the machine.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Matt hurriedly. "I want to overhaul the -street car that just left here. There's a man aboard that -we've got to catch. Will you let me take your motorcycle?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I guess not!" was the reply. "The last time I -loaned this machine I was two days getting it back into -shape again."</p> - -<p>"I'll give you twenty dollars for the use of it, young -man," put in Burton eagerly.</p> - -<p>"No inducement," was the answer.</p> - -<p>"There's hard luck for you, Motor Matt," grunted -Burton.</p> - -<p>The young fellow had been on the point of starting -away, but he suddenly paused and turned to Matt.</p> - -<p>"Are you Matt King," he asked, "the fellow they call -Motor Matt?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," was the reply.</p> - -<p>"Doing an aëroplane stunt with the show?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, take the machine. It won't cost you a cent, either. -I work in a motor-car factory in the Rapids, and we've -heard a good deal about you there. I'm tickled to death -to be able to help you out. Bring the machine back here -when you're done with it, and you'll find me waiting."</p> - -<p>"Such is fame!" laughed Burton.</p> - -<p>With a hasty word of thanks, Matt headed the machine -the other way and got into the saddle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<p>One turn of the pedal and the motor took up its cycle. -Half a minute later the king of the motor boys was out -of sight down the road.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">SOMETHING WRONG.</p> - - -<p>McGlory, Carl, and Twomley waited in the calliope -tent until their patience was exhausted.</p> - -<p>"Py shiminy," fluttered Carl, "I bed you somet'ing for -nodding dot Vily Pill don'd vas by der site show yet."</p> - -<p>"I reckon you've dropped a bean on the right number," -agreed the cowboy. "What's our next jump, your -highness?"</p> - -<p>The question was put to the Englishman.</p> - -<p>"Aw, I say," said the latter, in remonstrance, "I'm not -that, don't you know. I'm not of the peerage. An uncle -and three cousins, all distressingly healthy, stand between -me and an earldom."</p> - -<p>"I want to know!" murmured McGlory, in mock surprise. -"Why, I didn't think any one this side a lord -could wear one of those little window panes in the right -eye."</p> - -<p>"You jest," said Twomley, with a faint smile. -"Fancy!"</p> - -<p>"Well, anyhow, what are we going to do? Sit here -and wait, or hit the trail ourselves and find out what's -doing?"</p> - -<p>"Hit the trail?" echoed Twomley, lifting his brows. -"Deuced odd, that. Why should we hit it, and what shall -we hit it with?"</p> - -<p>"Vat a ignorance!" murmured Carl.</p> - -<p>"We'll hit it with our feet, excellency," went on McGlory.</p> - -<p>He had a hearty contempt for the monocle, and took -it out on the wearer.</p> - -<p>"I don't know whether I rise to that," returned -Twomley, "but if it means to go forth and look into -the cause of our friends' delay in returning with Wily -Bill, then, it's ay, ay, with a will."</p> - -<p>"Come on, then, and we'll vamose."</p> - -<p>McGlory led the way to the side-show tent, and Twomley -and Carl followed him closely.</p> - -<p>The crowds had long since entered the big tents, and -the performance in the "circus top" was in full blast. -With the beginning of the "big show" there was no business -left for the annex, and the ticket seller was withdrawn -under the lee of a canvas wall, hobnobbing with -the man on the door. These two informed McGlory, -Twomley, and Carl that Wily Bill had left for town on -the street car, and that Motor Matt and Burton had -started for the car line in the hope of overhauling him. -But that had been all of half an hour before.</p> - -<p>The three searchers immediately departed for the -car-line loop. There they found Burton and a young -fellow kicking their heels impatiently and keeping their -eyes down the track.</p> - -<p>"Where's Matt?" asked McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Ask us something easy," replied Burton. "Wily has -hiked for town. When we got here the car he was on -was too far down the track to stop. This young man"—the -showman indicated his companion—"came along on a -motor cycle. Matt borrowed the machine with the intention -of overtaking the car and bringing Wily back, -but neither has shown up yet. Must be something -wrong."</p> - -<p>"Vell, I bed you!" said Carl anxiously. "On some -modor cycles Mile-a-minid Matt alvays geds vere he iss -going pefore he shtarts. Somet'ing has gone crossvays -alretty, und dot's no tream."</p> - -<p>"I'm doing a century to-day," remarked the motor -cycle owner, "and this is cutting into my time."</p> - -<p>"Don't fret about your wheel, neighbor," spoke up -McGlory. "You'll get it back, all right."</p> - -<p>"I'm not fretting. Motor Matt's welcome to a dozen -of the gasoline bikes if I had 'em. But I'd like to be -moving on."</p> - -<p>Burton looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>"Matt's been gone thirty-five minutes," he announced.</p> - -<p>"If he was running all the time," observed the lad from -the motor-car works, "he could be thirty-five miles from -here."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps," ventured Twomley, "he has mucked the -play, somehow."</p> - -<p>"Mucked the play!" exclaimed the exasperated McGlory. -"That's not his style, your lordship."</p> - -<p>"We'll wait twenty-five minutes longer," announced -Burton. "If Matt isn't back by then, this young man and -I will start along the car track in my runabout and we'll -see what we can find."</p> - -<p>"Dake me along," clamored Carl. "I vas afraidt somet'ing -iss wrong mit Matt."</p> - -<p>"If there are any extra passengers in the runabout," -said McGlory resolutely, "I'm the one."</p> - -<p>"My word!" muttered Twomley. "I hope everything's -all serene, I do, indeed. I'm a juggins at waiting when -there's so much excitement going on."</p> - -<p>"Juggins is good," grunted McGlory. "You can retire -somewhere, Mr. Twomley, and hold onto your -nerves while the rest of us hunt up the 'barker.' You'll -not shine much till we find Wily Bill, anyhow."</p> - -<p>"You're an odd stick," answered Twomley, whose -good nature was not a thing to be ruffled.</p> - -<p>He was sharp enough to see that the cowboy had a -pique at him, and he had sufficient good sense to take it -calmly.</p> - -<p>"Py shinks," said Carl, after ten more weary minutes -had passed, "Matt has hat time to do some centuries -himseluf, und I can't guess it oudt for vy he don'd get -pack. Oof you don'd dake me in der runaboudt, den, so -helup me, I vill valk. Anydink is pedder to shtand as -uncerdainties."</p> - -<p>Carl constantly watched the road that paralleled the -car track. And so, for the most part, did the Englishman.</p> - -<p>"My word, but it is trying!" murmured Twomley. "If -we could only see a bit of dust, then we'd know Motor -Matt was coming, and my relief would be profound."</p> - -<p>"Dust! <i>Ach, himmelblitzen!</i> Vy, Matt vill go so fast -on dot machine der dust vill be a mile pehindt und you -don'd see dot."</p> - -<p>"Here's something," came from McGlory. "Speak to -me about it, will you? Where's Ping? Little Slant-eyes -is always around when anything is doing, but I -haven't seen him since he finished watering the calliope."</p> - -<p>Carl knew why Ping wasn't around. Ping was afraid -Carl would do something to him to play even for the -Roman-candle business. Oh, yes, that was an easy one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -for Carl to guess. There was secret satisfaction for the -Dutch boy in the reflection. And he gloated over it and -kept it to himself.</p> - -<p>"Time's up," announced Burton, snapping his watch, -"and here's where I go for the runabout. My thoroughbred -is hitched to the buggy, so be ready to go with me," -he added to the owner of the motor cycle.</p> - -<p>"I'm not worrying about the wheel, understand," said -the lad, "but about the century I'm to turn. I'm making -it right in the teeth of this wind."</p> - -<p>Inside of five minutes Burton came with the runabout, -his Kentucky thoroughbred stamping off the ground at a -record pace.</p> - -<p>The runabout seat was narrow, and Burton and the -lad from the motor-car factory filled it comfortably. But -they took McGlory on their knees and whipped away, -leaving Twomley and Carl gazing after them disconsolately.</p> - -<p>Hardly were the runabout and its passengers out of -sight when a car rounded the loop and deposited its passengers -on the platform.</p> - -<p>"Led's ged on der car, Misder Dumley," suggested -Carl. "Ve vill vatch der road as ve go, und oof ve see -somet'ing ve vill trop off. I peen a tedectif feller, und -oof dere iss any clues dey von't ged avay from me."</p> - -<p>"Go you!" answered Twomley heartily.</p> - -<p>Any sort of action was a relief for his impatience, and -he and Carl scrambled aboard the car.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the pedigreed Kentucky cob was pounding -off the distance. In the horse's performance the proud -showman lost sight of the main business in hand—temporarily.</p> - -<p>"See that knee action!" he exulted. "Did either of -you ever see a prettier bit of traveling? We're doing a -mile in two-thirty!"</p> - -<p>"Bother the horse!" growled McGlory. "Keep your -eyes on the road for clues."</p> - -<p>"Clues! I'll bet money the 'barker' wouldn't get off the -car. How could Matt make him? He couldn't, of -course. Nothing short of a cop and a warrant could -make Wily Bill leave the car if he was set for reaching -Grand Rapids. I might have known that, if I had -stopped to think. We'll have to keep right on into town—and, -then, like as not, we won't find either Matt or -Wily. Now——"</p> - -<p>"Whoa!" cried McGlory. "You're shy a few, Burton. -Here's where we stop."</p> - -<p>"What's up?" returned Burton, reining in his spirited -roadster.</p> - -<p>"Look there!"</p> - -<p>McGlory pointed to the left-hand side of the road. -Close to a steep bank, against a clump of bushes, stood -the motor cycle.</p> - -<p>"Jupiter!" exclaimed Burton.</p> - -<p>"Great Scott!" cried the owner of the machine.</p> - -<p>McGlory tumbled clear of the runabout and started -toward the bushes. He had not taken half a dozen steps, -however, before he came to a dead stop.</p> - -<p>A form fluttered out of the bushes and approached him -excitedly.</p> - -<p>"Ping!" gasped the cowboy. "Speak to me about this! -Where'd you come from, Ping? And where's Pard -Matt?"</p> - -<p>The Chinese boy's feelings apparently defied expression. -He tried to speak, but his lips moved soundlessly. -Hopping up and down in his sandals, he waved his -arms and pointed—not toward Grand Rapids, but off -across a piece of rough woodland.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">A BLUNDER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.</p> - - -<p>Ping had felt certain that his move in touching off the -Roman candle had not been seen. It was a disagreeable -surprise to him, therefore, when Bill Wily told Carl just -who was responsible for the fireworks.</p> - -<p>Ping and Carl were trying hard to be pards. Their -hearts were not in the attempt, for deep in the spirit of -each one slumbered a latent animosity against the other. -But they had to try to fraternize. Motor Matt had issued -an edict to the effect that, if they did not become pards, -he and McGlory would cut them out of the motor boys' -combination.</p> - -<p>So the lads did their utmost to appear friendly. They -wandered around together, and whenever Matt or McGlory -was in sight they locked arms and addressed each -other in terms of endearment. When they were away -from Matt and McGlory they still kept up the pretense, -but in a manner that was more subdued.</p> - -<p>Ping could not resist the temptation to touch a match -to the Roman candle. He had not expected to cause -such a disturbance, and the fact that chaos had reigned -in the side show, and that his culpability had become -known, filled him with apprehension.</p> - -<p>Carl would tell Matt, and Matt would sidetrack his -Chinese pard. Ping worried, and had no desire to see -Matt, or any one else. The show was to be at Reid's -Lake for three days, and there was no Sunday performance. -Ping, therefore, could flock by himself until Monday -afternoon.</p> - -<p>Ping's work consisted of watering the steam calliope, -and in helping the aëroplane take its running start for -the flights. Owing to the wind, there would be no morning -flight, and—very likely, as he argued to himself—no -afternoon ascension, either. And Ping knew Motor Matt -would not work on Sunday.</p> - -<p>Taken all in all, this was a most propitious time for -Ping to absent himself from the show grounds. With -the idea that he would go into Grand Rapids and hunt -up some of his countrymen, he left the grounds and -made his way around the concert garden to the car-line -loop.</p> - -<p>Here his nerve began to fail him, and he allowed two -or three cars to come and go without getting aboard. -Finally he bolstered up his tottering resolution and -climbed into one of the cars.</p> - -<p>Looking through the open window, after he had taken -his seat, he saw Wily Bill swing up by the hand rails.</p> - -<p>Ping was asking himself what this could mean when -the car pulled out. A little worried, he knew not for -what reason, he got up from his seat and walked to the -forward platform, thinking it well to keep out of Bill -Wily's sight.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he became aware of something. A voice, -from far behind, was shouting for the car to stop. The -passengers, thrusting their heads from the windows, -were looking back, and some of them were talking excitedly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ping, hanging out from the lower step, turned his -gaze rearward, and what he saw caused his heart to -thump wildly against his ribs.</p> - -<p>One of the little two-wheeled devil wagons was rushing -along the road that paralleled the track, coming like -a limited choo-choo train, and Motor Matt was in the -saddle!</p> - -<p>Ping had but one thought. The Dutch boy had told -Matt about the Roman candle, and Matt was chasing the -street car in order to remove his Chinese pard, read the -riot act to him, and cast him adrift.</p> - -<p>What a turn Ping had! He crouched down on the -step, and the clatter of the gong, as the conductor gave -the motorman the bell from the rear platform, sent a -shiver of dread through his nerves.</p> - -<p>Rather than face Matt and be cut out of the motor -boys' combination, Ping would have done almost anything. -The only thing that suggested itself at that moment -was to jump and run. His original intention to -lie low until the Roman-candle incident blew over grew -stronger in his mind.</p> - -<p>The car was beginning to slow down, but it was still -proceeding at a lively gait when Ping threw himself -straight out from the lower step.</p> - -<p>The Chinese boy did not know the proper way to alight -from a swiftly moving trolley car, and the result of his -leap can be imagined.</p> - -<p>The passengers who were looking out from that side -of the car had a vision of a small Chinaman in the air, -pigtail flying. The next instant the Chinaman touched -ground, but found it moving too fast for a secure foothold. -Ping bounded into the air again, his slouch hat -going in one direction, his sandals in another, and he -himself describing what is technically known as a parabola. -The Le Bons—the best "kinkers" in the Big Consolidated—could -not have twisted themselves into more -fantastic shapes than did Ping during that stunt of -ground-and-lofty tumbling. He landed on the ground -like a frog taking to the water from the top of a toadstool, -and he wound up his performance by throwing a -number of choice cartwheels and then sitting up in the -dust and looking around in considerable mental perturbation.</p> - -<p>About the first thing he saw and was able to realize -was that another besides himself had made a jump from -the car. The other was Wily Bill, and he must have -dropped from the rear platform a little before Ping -dropped from the platform forward.</p> - -<p>Wily Bill, however, must have known how to jump -from a swiftly moving car and yet keep his balance, for -he was on his feet and making a dash for a brushy bank -at the roadside.</p> - -<p>Motor Matt had swerved his motor cycle and was -making in the "barker's" direction, calling loudly the -while for him to stop.</p> - -<p>The light that dawned on Ping, just then, was a good -balm for his bruises.</p> - -<p>Matt was not chasing him, after all, but had been hot -on the trail of Wily Bill!</p> - -<p>While Ping sat there in the dust, hat and sandals -gone, his clothes torn and awry, and himself more or -less disorganized, he saw Wily Bill scramble up the -steep bank and vanish among the bushes on the top of -it. Possibly thirty seconds later, Matt sprang from the -motor cycle, leaped up the ascent like an antelope, and -likewise vanished.</p> - -<p>"By Klismus!" murmured Ping, rubbing his knees. -"Velly funny pidgin! My no savvy. One piecee queer -biz, you bettee. Wow! China boy all blokee up! Motol -Matt no wanchee pullee pin on China boy. Hoop-a-la!"</p> - -<p>Between his physical pain on account of his bruises -and his rejoicing over the discovery that Matt had not -been following him, Ping failed to observe that the street -car had stopped and backed up to the place nearest the -spot where he was crooning to himself and rubbing his -bruised limbs. It was not until the conductor and the -motorman faced him that Ping realized that he was the -object of their consideration.</p> - -<p>"Didju fall off?" asked the conductor.</p> - -<p>"No makee fall," answered Ping, cocking up his almond -eyes, "makee jump."</p> - -<p>"Blamed wonder yu didn't break yer neck!" growled -the motorman. "Chinks don't know nothin' anyhow."</p> - -<p>"Hurt?" asked the conductor, animated by a laudable -desire to avoid a damage suit in behalf of the company.</p> - -<p>"Heap sore," chattered Ping, "no bleakee bone. Hoop-a-la!" -he jubilated, a wide grin cutting his yellow face -in half. "Woosh!" he added, as the grin faded and a -look of pain took its place.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm stumped!" muttered the conductor. "Is he -crazy, or what?" he added, looking at the motorman.</p> - -<p>"Pass it up," snapped the motorman. "Chinks is only -half baked, best you can say for 'em. Let's snake 'im -aboard and go on. We've lost enough time."</p> - -<p>One got on either side of Ping and lifted him to his -feet. They would have dragged him to the car had he -not resisted.</p> - -<p>"Leavee 'lone!" he shouted, squirming.</p> - -<p>"Oh, snakes!" ground out the exasperated motorman. -"Ain't you fer the Rapids?"</p> - -<p>"No wanchee go Glan' Lapids!" declared Ping. "Why -my makee jump my wanchee go Glan' Lapids?"</p> - -<p>"That's so," said the conductor. "What did he jump -from the car for if he wanted to go on with us? We'll -leave him, Jim. I thought, when I saw him hit the -ground, we'd have to take him to the hospital, but he -seems to be all right."</p> - -<p>Jim, with an angry exclamation, let go of Ping and -hustled back to his place at the front end of the car. The -conductor mounted the rear platform, and the starting -bell jingled.</p> - -<p>As the passengers looked back, they saw the Chinese -boy attempt a war dance in his stocking feet, then suddenly -cease and reach down to clasp his right shin.</p> - -<p>"He's got out o' some lunatic asylum," thought the -conductor. "Well, it's none o' my funeral," he added, and -went into the car and began collecting fares.</p> - -<p>Ping, when the car was out of sight, limped around -collecting his scattered wardrobe. While he was about it, -he was wondering, in his feeble way, why Motor Matt -was chasing Bill Wily.</p> - -<p>Probably, he reasoned, Wily had cut up so rough with -Carl that Matt had thought best to pursue the man and -call him to account.</p> - -<p>Ping was not in very good condition to take part in -the chase, but if he could manage it, and proved of some -assistance to Motor Matt, such a move would go far -toward making his peace with the king of the motor -boys.</p> - -<p>"My makee tly," groaned Ping, limping to the place -where the motor cycle had been left.</p> - -<p>With infinite patience he crawled up the steep slope.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -One of his legs felt as though it didn't belong to him—it -seemed more like a cork leg than anything else, and -was numb from ankle to thigh. But, somehow, he managed -to get up the bank with it. Pausing there, he called -aloud for Motor Matt. His voice echoed weirdly in the -scant timber of the rocky ground in front of him, and the -shout brought no response.</p> - -<p>"My findee Motol Matt," declared the Chinese lad to -himself, as he limped into the timber. "My ketchee -Motol Matt, mebby ketchee Wily Bill. Woosh! Hoop-a-la!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS.</p> - - -<p>While making his slow and painful way among the -scrub oaks that grew out of the stony earth, Ping was -looking in all directions for Matt and Wily. He was -listening, too, with all his ears. But he could neither see -nor hear anything of the two for whom he was -searching.</p> - -<p>"My findee!" he said, with dogged determination. -"Motol Matt no chasee China boy, him chasee Wily -Bill," and again he exulted.</p> - -<p>Action was perhaps the best tonic he could have had. -As he swung onward, the leg which did not seem to -belong to him began to remind him, in no uncertain -manner, that it was really his, and that he was responsible -for its condition.</p> - -<p>A slow pain made itself manifest, running up the member -like a streak of lightning and giving Ping a "gone" -feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he was "game." -Shutting his teeth on more than one groan, he kept resolutely -on through the bleak timber, looking and listening.</p> - -<p>Finally he came out on a rough crossroad, which he -followed. Five minutes of wabbling along this road -brought him to the end of it—and across the end squatted -a dingy white house with green shutters. The shutters -were closed, and the house had the appearance of being -deserted.</p> - -<p>Here, Ping felt, was the end of his trail. He was on -the wrong track, and the question that pressed upon him -was what he should do next.</p> - -<p>Withdrawing to a clump of bushes, he sat down and -gave the matter extended thought.</p> - -<p>Who lived in the house? And was there any one at -home? If there was any one in the place, would they -talk with him and tell him whether they had seen Matt -or the side-show man?</p> - -<p>Ping, unlike Carl, made no boasts of being a "tedectif." -He could blunder around and, maybe, stumble upon -something worth while, but it would be purely a hit-and-miss -performance.</p> - -<p>Yes, he decided, he had better go to the house and -see whether there was anybody there.</p> - -<p>Barely had he made up his mind when, with amazing -suddenness, Bill Wily rushed around the corner of the -house, jammed a key into the door, and disappeared.</p> - -<p>He did not close the door behind him, being, as it -seemed, in too much of a hurry to attend to such trifling -matters.</p> - -<p>While Ping was still wrenched with this startling exhibition, -an even more astounding spectacle was wafted -his way.</p> - -<p>Motor Matt followed Wily around the house corner, -paused an instant in front of the open door, then was -swallowed up in the dark interior.</p> - -<p>Ping had not called out, for amazement had held him -speechless.</p> - -<p>The Chinese boy had blundered in leaping from the -street car, but, as it had chanced, that had been a blunder -in the right direction. All the heathen gods of luck had -been ranged on his side, too, when he followed the crossroad -and went into communion with himself in the -clump of bushes facing the green-shuttered house.</p> - -<p>In about two minutes, Ping figured, Matt would have -Bill Wily by the heels. So it followed, if Ping was to -have any part in the capture, he would have to hurry.</p> - -<p>In the excitement of the moment he forgot his bruises, -emerged from the undergrowth, and made his way rapidly -toward the house.</p> - -<p>At the open door he stopped, thrust his head into the -hallway, and used his ears.</p> - -<p>The silence was intense, and not the faintest sound was -to be heard.</p> - -<p>There was something weirdly mysterious about this. -With Matt and Wily both in the house, and each more -or less hostile toward the other, there should have been -a good deal of noise.</p> - -<p>A qualm raced through Ping's nerves.</p> - -<p>There was something ominous about mysteries, and -he had made it a rule to fight shy of ominous things. -He did not consider them at all good for a Chinaman's -health, or his peace of mind.</p> - -<p>And a Melican house, too, deserted and with closed -shutters, offered dangers not lightly to be reckoned with.</p> - -<p>But Ping, as yet, was Motor Matt's pard; and whereever -Motor Matt led the way, then Ping would be more -of a hired man than a pard if he did not follow. Shutting -his teeth hard, and breathing only when necessary, -the Chinese boy crossed the threshold of the house with -the green shutters.</p> - -<p>He was in a narrow hall that extended through the -house from front to rear. A stairway led to the second -floor, and two doors opened off to left and right.</p> - -<p>Throttling his fears, Ping moved toward the door on -the right, his sandals scuffling over the uncarpeted floor. -There was no furniture in the house, and the floor was -bare.</p> - -<p>The swish of the sandals sent vague fears cantering -through the little Celestial, and he curled up his toes in -order to wedge the soles of his footgear closer to the -bottoms of his feet.</p> - -<p>The room he entered was dark. With a trembling hand -he groped in his blouse for matches. Had he lost his -matches in taking that header from the street car? His -fears in that respect were short-lived, for he quickly -found half a dozen of the small fire-sticks.</p> - -<p>Scratching one, he held it up and peered around. The -room was empty—bare as a last year's bird's nest. Going -back into the hall, he examined a room on the opposite -side. That one also was empty, and over all the emptiness -arose a musty odor as of a building long untenanted.</p> - -<p>Two more rooms remained to be examined on the -first floor.</p> - -<p>One of these was the kitchen, and a quantity of soot -had drifted down and lay in a heap on the floor. Ping -kept away from the soot, and was glad afterward that -he had done so. Across the hall was the last of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -four rooms comprising the lower part of the house—dark, -deserted, and musty as were the other three.</p> - -<p>Failure to encounter danger of any visible sort had -heartened Ping wonderfully.</p> - -<p>"My makee go up stlails," he thought. "Mebby my -ketchee something top-side."</p> - -<p>He moved softly, but the stairs creaked and rasped -under his sandals in spite of his wariness.</p> - -<p>There were four rooms upstairs, just as there were -below, and in none of the dark chambers did he discover -any trace of Motor Matt or of Wily Bill.</p> - -<p>Ping was "stumped." The longer he thought of the -mystery the more terrified he became.</p> - -<p>He believed in demons. Ben Ali, he knew, was possessed -of them, for he had heard how the Hindoo, with -his eyes alone, had put people to sleep and made them do -strange things while they dreamed.</p> - -<p>Ping, naturally, had no idea that Ben Ali was in any -way concerned with Matt's pursuit of Wily Bill, but the -Chinaman's mind reverted to Ben Ali, and Aurung Zeeb, -and Dhondaram, three Hindoos, all of whom, at various -times, had formed a part of the Big Consolidated.</p> - -<p>Had he dared, Ping would have shouted Matt's name -at the top of his voice. But he was afraid. A dragon, -spouting fire from its red mouth, and with a hundred -claw-armed feet, might materialize and attack him, did -he dare awake the echoes of that sombre house.</p> - -<p>Turning swiftly away from the last room, Ping got -astride the banisters, slid to the bottom of the stairs, and -ducked through the front door.</p> - -<p>The bright sunshine was never pleasanter to him than -at that moment. He gulped down a few draughts of -pure outside air and started off toward the bushes, bent -upon a little solitary reflection.</p> - -<p>By a sudden thought, he whirled abruptly, softly drew -the door shut, turned the key in the lock, and then slipped -the key into his pocket.</p> - -<p>He had locked the door on the mysteries, and he -hoped the fiends of darkness would respect the barrier -until he could think of some way to exorcise them.</p> - -<p>Once more in his original place among the bushes, -Ping watched the house warily and tried to approach the -problem in a reasonable way.</p> - -<p>But it was not a question of reason. His investigation -had developed facts that defied every logical process.</p> - -<p>What had become of Motor Matt?</p> - -<p>This was the point that disturbed the Chinese boy most. -If he could find Motor Matt, he would be content to -leave the question of Wily's whereabouts out of the -count.</p> - -<p>Abruptly Ping had an idea. Perhaps Wily had rushed -out of a rear door, and Matt had followed him? During -his investigations, Ping had tried no doors or windows.</p> - -<p>Getting to his feet, he made a circle around the house. -There was one door in the rear, and only one. Cautiously -he approached and tried the knob. The door was -locked.</p> - -<p>As for the windows, every one was tightly closed in -with the green shutters.</p> - -<p>These discoveries left Ping in a daze. After several -minutes of bewilderment, he finally made up his mind to -return to the show grounds, find McGlory, and acquaint -him with the situation. McGlory would know what to -do!</p> - -<p>Then, there was the two-wheeled devil wagon Motor -Matt had left at the foot of the bank, by the roadside. A -hazy idea of riding the machine back to the show grounds -passed through the Chinaman's mind.</p> - -<p>To regain the road by the street-car track took time, -but the distance was covered much more rapidly than -Ping had covered it coming the other way.</p> - -<p>Strange to relate, the Chinese boy's bruises caused him -little concern. All his aches and pains were lost in the -details of the inexplicable situation connected with the -deserted house.</p> - -<p>While he was in the brush, at the foot of the bank, -eying the motor cycle a bit dubiously, he heard a patter -of hoofs, a grind of wheels, and a sound of voices.</p> - -<p>Looking up, he saw Burton's runabout at a stop. Burton -was in the buggy, and so was a young fellow Ping -had never seen before—and McGlory. The cowboy -was just scrambling out of the vehicle and starting in -the direction of the motor cycle.</p> - -<p>The sight of reinforcements caused all Ping's wonder, -and doubt, and apprehension to revive with redoubled -force. He attempted to shout, but no words escaped his -lips. Rushing forth to meet McGlory, he waved his arms -and pointed in the direction of the house with the green -shutters.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE PILE OF SOOT.</p> - - -<p>Ping was not many minutes recovering the use of his -tongue. McGlory grabbed him and shook his powers of -speech back into their normal condition.</p> - -<p>"Where's Motor Matt?" cried McGlory.</p> - -<p>"My no savvy!"</p> - -<p>"How did you happen to be here?"</p> - -<p>"Stleet cal."</p> - -<p>"What're you making a run from the show grounds -for without saying a word to Matt?"</p> - -<p>That was a point which Ping did not care to reveal. -He was not above being careless with the truth in a -pinch, having been raised that way. But, while he might -resort to a little harmless fiction with McGlory, he would -have cut his tongue out before he would have fibbed to -Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>"Makee see Wily Bill ketchee cal," Ping explained; -"my ketchee same cal. Follow Wily Bill. Wily Bill -jump from cal. My jump, too. Tumble all ovel load. -Wily Bill lun fo' top-side bank. Motol Matt chasee. -Motol Matt leavee gas hlorsee by bank. My follow, no -findee."</p> - -<p>Out of this pigeon English McGlory captured a few -germs of sense.</p> - -<p>"What the nation was he following Wily for?" demanded -Burton. "How did he know we wanted Wily?"</p> - -<p>Ping was still equal to the emergency.</p> - -<p>"Dutchy boy havee low with Wily Bill," he explained.</p> - -<p>"That's right," went on Burton; "you <i>were</i> around -during the row. I'd forgotten that. That may have been -enough to put you on Wily's trail, although I can't figure -it out exactly. But you followed him, and then you -followed Matt when he ran after Wily. They went up -the bank and into the woods, you say?"</p> - -<p>"Allee same."</p> - -<p>"Then where did they go?" demanded McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Makee tlacks fo' house with green blinds."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They made tracks for a house with green blinds? -Now we're getting at it. Where's this house?"</p> - -<p>"Othel side woods. My findee, you savvy; makee sit -down, do heap big think. Bymby, 'long come Wily Bill, -unlock do', go in house. Plenty soon, 'long come Motol -Matt, go in house, too." Ping became oppressed with the -awe aroused by the event next to be described, and his -voice sank into a husky whisper. "My makee tlacks inside, -hunt evel place, no can find. House allee same -empty. Motol Matt disappeal, vanish, makee go up in -smoke. Woosh! My plenty 'flaid."</p> - -<p>"What's he givin' us?" snorted Burton. "He's talking -through his hat, seems like, to me."</p> - -<p>"He's run into something that he can't cumtux," returned -McGlory. "It's plain enough, though, that a -house with green shutters is at the end of our trail. Ping -can take us there, and it will be up to us to do the rest."</p> - -<p>"Say, young feller!" cried Burton, standing up in the -runabout and addressing the lad from the motor-car -works.</p> - -<p>The latter was pulling his motor cycle out of the -bushes and making ready to forge away on the rest of -his "century" run.</p> - -<p>"Well?" returned the youth, one leg over the saddle -and ready to pedal off.</p> - -<p>"Load that machine into the runabout and drive this -rig back to the show grounds for me, will you?" requested -Burton. "I'm hungry to see this game through, -and I can't leave the horse hitched in the road."</p> - -<p>"Couldn't get the motor cycle into the buggy," was the -answer. "Anyhow, I guess I've helped you about as -much as you could reasonably expect."</p> - -<p>"There's twenty coming to you," went on Burton. -"Take the rig back and I'll make it thirty."</p> - -<p>"There's nothing coming to me. I told Motor Matt -he could use the machine, and welcome. Now that he's -done with it, I'll go on with my run."</p> - -<p>The motor began to pop, and presently settled into a -steady hum. A minute later the motor cycle and its rider -were out of sight.</p> - -<p>Just then, when it looked as though Burton was to be -permanently retired from the rest of the pursuit, a street -car from the lake rattled to a halt, and Carl and Twomley -dropped from the steps.</p> - -<p>"Here's the Englishman," muttered McGlory, without -much enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>"And Carl!" added Burton. "He'll take the rig back -for me, and the rest of us will start for the house with -the green shutters."</p> - -<p>"Vat's to pay?" clamored Carl, running toward McGlory -and Ping.</p> - -<p>Ping's confidence in Carl, like Carl's confidence in -Ping, was badly "shook." The Chinese boy backed -away.</p> - -<p>"Here, Carl," cried Burton. "Jump into the runabout -and take it back to the grounds for me. I've got business -with McGlory."</p> - -<p>"Meppy I don'd got some pitzness mit McGlory, same -as you," demurred Carl. "Vere iss Modor Matt?"</p> - -<p>"There's no time to palaver, Carl," interposed McGlory. -"Take the rig back."</p> - -<p>When Matt was away, McGlory was the boss. Carl -could not very well disobey such a pointblank order. -Much against his will, he climbed into the runabout.</p> - -<p>"My word!" cried Twomley. "You seem to have discovered -a clue of some sort. Who's the Chinaman?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind that, now," returned Barton. "Come -with us, Twomley, and we'll tell you as we go along."</p> - -<p>"Lead off, Ping," ordered McGlory.</p> - -<p>Carl, very much out of temper, shook his fist at Burton, -and then at Ping. Following this, he turned the rig -the other way and rode moodily back toward the show -grounds.</p> - -<p>Ping, meanwhile, had climbed the bank, and was leading -the party of investigators through the woods in the -direction of the crossroad. As they went along, Burton -was telling Twomley what Ping had discovered.</p> - -<p>The information given by the Chinaman was lacking -in many important points, but its very incompleteness -added to the tensity of the situation.</p> - -<p>When they came to the end of the crossroad, Ping -halted and indicated the house with the green shutters.</p> - -<p>"You say," remarked McGlory, giving the house a -swift sizing, "that Wily Bill ran into the house?"</p> - -<p>"All same," answered Ping.</p> - -<p>"And that Pard Matt trailed after him?"</p> - -<p>"All same."</p> - -<p>"Then you went in, looked around, and couldn't see -anything of either of them?"</p> - -<p>"My no findee." Ping shivered. "When my makee -come out, my lockee do'."</p> - -<p>He dug up the key and handed it to McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Well," declared McGlory, "if Motor Matt and Wily -Bill went in there, and didn't come out again, we'll find -them."</p> - -<p>"If the Chinaman didn't find them," struck in Twomley, -"they must have come out."</p> - -<p>"We'll soon know what's what," and the cowboy made -his way to the door, thrust the key into the lock, and -pushed the door ajar.</p> - -<p>The same dark, funereal silence that had greeted Ping -stared McGlory, Burton, and Twomley in the face.</p> - -<p>"My no findee," chattered Ping, drawing back; "you -no findee."</p> - -<p>McGlory pressed into the hall.</p> - -<p>"I'll take the rooms on the left," said he, "and the rest -of you take the ones on the right. Do your bushwhacking, -and then, if you don't find anything, meet me at the -foot of the stairs for a look overhead."</p> - -<p>Nothing was found. The back door was securely -bolted on the inside, and all the windows and blinds of -the various lower windows firmly fastened.</p> - -<p>The situation upstairs was exactly the same. Puzzled -and bewildered, the party returned to the lower hall.</p> - -<p>"If Ping's giving it to us straight," said McGlory, -"neither Matt nor Wily got out of here. They couldn't -have gone through the rear door or any of the windows, -without leaving them open. And they couldn't have left -by the front door because it was locked, and Ping had -the key."</p> - -<p>"They might have slipped out while Ping was nosing -around upstairs," suggested Burton.</p> - -<p>"They'd have made some noise," objected the cowboy. -"Matt didn't have any call to keep quiet, and Ping -would surely have heard him. Let's go back to the rear -rooms again."</p> - -<p>Burton and Twomley had examined the kitchen. -McGlory now looked that room over for himself.</p> - -<p>He was no more than two minutes in picking up a -clue. The lighted match which he held close to the floor -showed footprints outlined in black. He traced them -to the pile of soot under the chimney.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Here's where we find something!" he cried. "Open -those shutters, you fellows! We want light while we -run out this trail of soot."</p> - -<p>Twomley and Burton unfastened the windows and -pushed back the blinds on their screeching hinges. The -sunlight, drifting into the room, brought out the trail -with weird distinctness.</p> - -<p>"Maybe the Chinaman blundered into the soot and -left the trail," hazarded Burton.</p> - -<p>"My no makee tlail," declared Ping. "No touchee -soot."</p> - -<p>"There's only one of the chink, anyhow, pards," said -McGlory, "and at least two pairs of feet walked through -that pile of black stuff. One man wore shoes, and the -other wore slippers. The slippers left marks a good deal -like Ping's sandals, but the marks are too big for Ping. -We'll find out a few things now, I reckon."</p> - -<p>With eyes bent sharply on the floor, the cowboy -crossed the kitchen into the hall, and then moved along -the hall to a spot under the stairs.</p> - -<p>The stairs were not enclosed, but sprang directly from -the hall floor. In the angle formed by the flight and -the floor the sooty trail vanished.</p> - -<p>"Now what?" queried Burton. "It looks like we were -up in the air as much as ever."</p> - -<p>Without replying, McGlory drew his knife from his -pocket, opened it, and went down on his knees.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MATT MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.</p> - - -<p>Matt's pursuit of the street car reminded him of his -old motor-cycle days in Arizona. The familiar hum of -the twin cylinders between his knees carried his mind -back to his ill-fated gasoline marvel, the <i>Comet</i>, in honor -of which he had named the aëroplane he was using with -the show.</p> - -<p>The borrowed motor cycle had all the improvements, -and the way it could run warmed the cockles of Matt's -heart. In less than a minute after leaving Burton and -the machine's owner, the king of the motor boys was -shooting along the road like a bullet out of a gun.</p> - -<p>He was pursuing an electric car that ran at a high -rate of speed, but the motor cycle must have been going -five feet to the car's one. Before Matt fairly realized it -he was within sight of the car.</p> - -<p>When he was close enough to be heard he began to -call to the conductor to stop. The passengers heard him, -as the row of heads thrust out from each side of the car -conclusively proved; and the conductor also heard him, -for he appeared on the rear platform.</p> - -<p>Matt could see the conductor reaching for the bell -rope. At the same time, Wily Bill rushed out on the -back platform, took in the situation at a startled glance, -and then dropped dexterously from the car at the track -side.</p> - -<p>Matt was so wrapped up in what Wily Bill was doing -that Ping's leap from the front platform escaped him -entirely.</p> - -<p>Wily Bill scurried for the side of the road, and Matt -shut off the power and glided after him.</p> - -<p>"Hold up there, Wily!" cried Matt.</p> - -<p>The "barker" paid no attention, but plunged up the -bank and darted off into the timber.</p> - -<p>By that time Motor Matt's blood was up. He knew -that a great deal depended on the capture of Wily. If -the "barker" could be made to tell when and how he had -received that note in Hindoostanee, a clue to the whereabouts -of Ben Ali and the missing Margaret Manners -would be secured.</p> - -<p>Appreciating fully the exigencies of the case, Matt -sprang from the wheel and leaped up the bank. From -the top of the rise he could see nothing of Wily, but a -crashing of the undergrowth told him plainly in which -direction the man had gone. He was but an instant in -taking after him.</p> - -<p>Wily's actions were those of a guilty man; in fact, -they inferred a deeper guilt than the mere possession of -a note in Hindoostanee would indicate.</p> - -<p>This, naturally, made the fellow's capture all the more -important.</p> - -<p>For a quarter of a mile, Matt judged, Wily led him a -chase through the woods. The "barker" had lost a little -of his lead, but was keeping up his fierce pace with a -good deal of vigor. Then, suddenly, he began to double. -Matt would run on, looking and listening, only to find -that there was no thrashing brush ahead. When he -stopped, the sounds made by the fleeing fugitive had -changed their direction, and the young motorist had to -whirl and take another course.</p> - -<p>For some time this variation of the game of hare and -hounds continued, Matt drawing steadily nearer and -nearer.</p> - -<p>At last Matt caught his first glimpse of Wily, since he -had fled over the bank from the street car, at the rear of -a house whose windows were closed with green shutters.</p> - -<p>Wily stood out against the house wall, his form sharply -defined, just as Matt rushed from a fringe of hazels. -The "barker" cast a look over his shoulder, gave vent to -a panting exclamation, and darted around the end of the -house.</p> - -<p>When Matt reached the front of the structure, Wily -had vanished. The key to his disappearance was furnished -by the wide-swinging front door, key still in the -lock. Besides, Wily had not had time to go around the -other side of the house, or to get into the woods again, -so Matt knew he must have entered the building.</p> - -<p>With scarcely a moment's hesitation, the king of the -motor boys followed the fugitive.</p> - -<p>Coming in out of the bright sunshine, the darkness of -the shut-in hall was intense. As Matt ran on past one -of the doors leading to a room on the right a sinewy, -turbaned form leaped out and a fist shot through the -gloom, landing on the back of Matt's head with tremendous -force.</p> - -<p>Matt staggered, regained his balance, and whirled -around. His brain was reeling, but, looking toward the -light that entered at the open door, he saw that the man -who had struck him was not Wily, as he had imagined, -but a Hindoo—none other than his old acquaintance, -Dhondaram.</p> - -<p>Flinging out his arms, he leaped at the Hindoo. Then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -it was that Wily completed the work that Dhondaram -had begun. Another blow from behind, savagely given -with all the "barker's" strength, caused Matt to sink to -his knees and then straighten out unconscious on the bare -floor.</p> - -<p>"You saw what was goin' on?" asked Wily breathlessly.</p> - -<p>"Even so, sahib," answered the other, in a low tone.</p> - -<p>"I'm in luck to find you here. Wasn't intendin' to -blow in at this place till night—but any port in a storm. -Pick him up and let's get away somewhere."</p> - -<p>"The kitchen, sahib."</p> - -<p>Between them, the unconscious king of the motor boys -was lifted and carried into the kitchen.</p> - -<p>"Hang it!" growled Wily, floundering through the -soot pile; "this won't do. There may be more after me. -There's another place, under the stairs. Sharp's the -word, now. Carry him there."</p> - -<p>Matt was not bereft of his senses for long. There was -too much steel and whalebone in his athletic body to keep -him steeped in oblivion for any great length of time.</p> - -<p>The first thing he saw, when his eyes slowly opened, -was a candle planted in the earth.</p> - -<p>He was lying, hands and feet bound and a cloth over -his mouth, in a sort of pit. Above him were the stringers -and boards of a floor.</p> - -<p>A few moments passed while he was picking up the -thread of events. While he was piecing details together, -he heard a light footfall on the floor overhead, advancing -and retreating. Later there came the creaking of boards -as of some one climbing a flight of stairs.</p> - -<p>Wily and Dhondaram, silent and motionless as statues, -knelt in the earth, the fluttering gleam of the candle over -them, and were listening to the footfalls with bated -breath.</p> - -<p>From the manner of these two Matt understood forthwith -that the person in the upper part of the house must -be one whom his captors feared. Had it not been for -the cloth that smothered his lips, Matt would have -shouted at the top of his voice and so have informed a -possible friend where he was.</p> - -<p>Inasmuch as he could neither move nor make an audible -sound, the prisoner lay quiet.</p> - -<p>There was no cellar under this house with the green -shutters, only a scooped-out place in the earth where -possibly potatoes and other vegetables had been kept.</p> - -<p>Presently the footsteps once more descended the stairs -and could be heard leaving the house. Wily turned to -Dhondaram with a deep breath of relief.</p> - -<p>"That was a close call," he muttered. "If we'd been -a second later gettin' down here——"</p> - -<p>He bit off his words quickly. The door had slammed -and the grating of a key could be heard.</p> - -<p>"<i>Maskee!</i>" rumbled Dhondaram. "The door has been -closed and locked, sahib. You left the key in the door."</p> - -<p>"I was in too big a hurry to do anythin' else. As it -was, Motor Matt came within one of layin' hands on me. -See if he's got his wits back."</p> - -<p>On hands and knees the Hindoo crept to Matt's side -and peered into his face. Matt kept his eyes closed.</p> - -<p>"Not yet, sahib," answered Dhondaram. "It is well. -He shall not waken in this world. The goddess Kali——"</p> - -<p>Dhondaram did not finish the sentence. He had referred -to the malign Hindoo deity invoked by thugs, and -it may be he thought the talk unsuited to American ears. -Lifting himself on his knees, he drew from the breast of -his jacket a glittering blade.</p> - -<p>The next moment Wily Bill had caught his arm.</p> - -<p>"Chuck it!" he growled sternly.</p> - -<p>The Hindoo turned his glittering eyes on the "barker."</p> - -<p>"Sahib, you do not understood," said he, in a hissing -voice.</p> - -<p>"I understood you're intendin' to use the knife," answered -Wily Bill, "an' I won't have it. What d'you -take me for? They don't hang people in this State, but -I don't intend to pass the rest o' my days in the 'pen.' -Put that knife back where you took it from."</p> - -<p>"It is my duty to do this thing," flared the Hindoo.</p> - -<p>"Go on!"</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali saved my life in my own country, and I -joined the show of Burra Burton because he told me. I -tried to remove Motor Matt because he told me. That -will pay my debt to Ben Ali. I failed in my work while -I was with the show, but now——"</p> - -<p>"You're goin' to fail here, too. I've got a tender regard -for my liberty, an' that's why I was runnin' away -from the show grounds. There was a fracas turned on -in the side-show tent, an' I got mixed up in it. Durin' -the row I lost a letter that came to me by mail—a letter -that contained somethin' for you. Ben Ali, in my letter, -said where he wanted to meet you. I don't know what -he said in your letter, as that was in Hindoostanee."</p> - -<p>Dhondaram's eyes glowed expectantly, and he held out -his hand.</p> - -<p>"The writing, sahib."</p> - -<p>"I haven't got it. Didn't I just tell you it was lost? -That's what made me bolt from the grounds. One of -Motor Matt's friends got the thing, and when I tried to -get it, Burton took possession of it. If that letter's ever -translated, I'll bet it contains stuff that would make the -show too hot to hold me. I got away while there was -time—but there wasn't any too much time, at that. -If——"</p> - -<p>Dhondaram drew back.</p> - -<p>"Motor Matt, sahib," muttered Dhondaram, "he's -listening to your talk."</p> - -<p>The prisoner had opened his eyes, and the keen glance -of the Hindoo had detected it. Both Dhondaram and -Wily turned their gaze on Matt.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">RESCUE!</p> - - -<p>Motor Matt understood full well the gravity of his situation. -Never until that moment had he known the -cause of the murderous Dhondaram's hostility to him, -but now it appeared that he was merely seeking to cancel -a debt which he owed Ben Ali.</p> - -<p>Bill Wily's regard for his own welfare was all that -stood between Motor Matt and the knife of the misguided -Hindoo.</p> - -<p>"Give me that knife, Dhondaram," ordered Wily.</p> - -<p>"I will keep the knife, sahib," replied the other.</p> - -<p>"Keep it, then, and be hanged to you," answered Wily -angrily, "but you'll settle with me if you try any knife -tricks on the prisoner. I guess you rise to that, all right -enough. Take off the gag. I want to talk with Motor -Matt."</p> - -<p>Dhondaram bent down and removed the cloth.</p> - -<p>"I'm a 'barker,'" went on Wily, still addressing the -Hindoo and making brief display of a revolver, "but -here's somethin' that bites as well as barks. Put away -that knife."</p> - -<p>Silently the Hindoo returned the knife to his jacket -and sank back on his heels.</p> - -<p>"What was you chasin' me for, Motor Matt?" asked -Wily.</p> - -<p>"Why were you running away from me?" Matt countered.</p> - -<p>"That's my business. You answer my question. I -guess you'd better treat me white, 'cause it's me that -keeps the Hindoo from doin' a little knife work on you."</p> - -<p>"Burton wanted you to tell him something about that -letter," Matt answered, making up his mind that a little -of the truth would not be out of place.</p> - -<p>"Oh, ho!" muttered Wily. "Does he think I can read -Hindoostanee?"</p> - -<p>"No. What he wanted to know was where you got the -letter. The Hindoos who have been connected with the -show haven't turned out very well—they are all fugitives -from the law, even Dhondaram."</p> - -<p>Not a ripple crossed the placid brown face of the -Hindoo; only his glittering eyes revealed the feeling that -slumbered in the depths of his soul.</p> - -<p>"I guessed there'd be a stir about that letter," went -on Wily, "an' that's the reason I made up my mind to -pull out. I'd had to explain, an' no matter what I'd said -I'd have been fired, anyway. I used to live in Grand -Rapids, and the home town was a good place for me to -cut loose from the show, see?"</p> - -<p>"Why are you treating me like this?" asked Matt -quietly.</p> - -<p>"Couldn't help it. Them kid pards o' yours was the -cause o' the hull bloomin' twist-up!" Wily Bill swore -savagely under his breath. "I'd like to take the kinks -out o' that Dutchman. He's too much on the buttinsky -order. You chased after me, hung on, an' wouldn't let -go. What else could I do but make myself safe?"</p> - -<p>"You didn't have to have Dhondaram knock me -down."</p> - -<p>"It wasn't him did that. He tried, but I had to finish -the job. But I was treatin' you well, at that. I could -have dropped down back of a clump o' bushes, there in -the timber, and picked you off with this." Wily touched -his hip pocket. "But I didn't. That ain't my style. I'd -rather have you like this an' come to a little agreement -with you. As for Dhondaram, I hadn't an idea he was -in the house. I'd given him a key, an' I knew he might -be here, but I wasn't expectin' him so soon. Mebby it -was lucky for me that he was around."</p> - -<p>"So that's it, eh?" commented Matt sarcastically. -"You've been meeting Dhondaram, and helping him, -when you knew he had been a prisoner of Burton's and -had escaped from the show train between Jackson and -Kalamazoo. If a person helps a fugitive of the law to -escape, he is guilty of a crime and can be punished for -it."</p> - -<p>"There you hit it! But I was ducking out—and you -wouldn't let me duck. I'm going to leave, in spite of you -and Burton. That's the worst I've done—talkin' with -Dhondaram and carryin' Hindoostanee letters. But I'll -not be jugged for that, or——"</p> - -<p>A hiss of warning came from Dhondaram. At the -same moment he leaned down and replaced the cloth over -Matt's lips.</p> - -<p>Distant voices were heard, then the sound of a key -rattling in a lock.</p> - -<p>"The fellow that was here before has brought some -others," whispered Wily. "Hang the luck! I wish we -had got out o' here while we had the chance. Now, then, -we're in for it an' no mistake."</p> - -<p>"Listen, sahib!" frowned the Hindoo.</p> - -<p>The voices that had been heard outside the house were -now talking in the hall. It was impossible to distinguish -words, but Matt's heart leaped as he recognized -McGlory's voice and Burton's.</p> - -<p>They were looking for him!</p> - -<p>"They cannot find us down here, sahib," murmured the -Hindoo, his voice soft and purring as that of a tiger cat. -"They will go as the first one went, then we can leave."</p> - -<p>This was Wily's hope. Breathlessly he listened to the -sounds above. The footsteps and the voices faded -away into the upper regions of the building.</p> - -<p>"Now," muttered Wily, "we might be able to dodge -through the front door. They're all upstairs."</p> - -<p>Dhondaram shook his head.</p> - -<p>"The door in the floor, sahib, cannot be found," he -whispered reassuringly. "The <i>feringhis</i> will not discover -us. Be patient."</p> - -<p>Presently Matt heard his friends returning to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -lower floor, heard them enter the kitchen, heard the -sound of lifted windows and opening blinds, marked the -slow and steady advance from the kitchen into the hall, -and along the hall to a point under the stairs.</p> - -<p>By then, even Dhondaram had begun to take alarm.</p> - -<p>"They're at the trap!" gasped Wily Bill.</p> - -<p>"Is there no way out of this hole, sahib?" demanded -Dhondaram through his teeth.</p> - -<p>"Only by the way we came in. I lived in this house -and I know all about it."</p> - -<p>Dhondaram smashed the flat of his hand down over -the light of the candle. The Stygian blackness that -reigned showed plainly the rim of daylight under the -lifting door.</p> - -<p>"The revolver!" hissed Dhondaram. "Shoot, sahib!"</p> - -<p>"No, I tell you!" answered Wily. "I'll have none o' -that, or——"</p> - -<p>With a savage snarl, Dhondaram hurled himself on -Wily Bill in a furious effort to secure the revolver and -fight off the approaching rescuers.</p> - -<p>The trapdoor had been thrown entirely back, and daylight -was flooding the pit. The sounds of the struggle -between the Hindoo and Wily Bill reached the ears of -those above.</p> - -<p>"Here they are!" cried the voice of McGlory, and instantly -he leaped downward.</p> - -<p>With a blow of his fist the Hindoo staggered the cowboy, -leaped upward, and gained the floor.</p> - -<p>"Dhondaram!" yelled Burton, who was just preparing -to follow McGlory down under the floor.</p> - -<p>The word was hardly out of his lips before the showman -was compelled to drop back to avoid a sweeping -blow of the knife in the Hindoo's hand.</p> - -<p>McGlory was looking for Matt, and paid little attention -to the Hindoo. He found his pard with his groping -hands, for his eyes were blinded by the sudden change -from day to the darkness of the pit.</p> - -<p>"Bully for you, pard!" exclaimed McGlory. "Lashed -hand and foot, or I'm a Piegan! Speak to me about this, -will you? And gagged, too. Sufferin' blazes, but you've -had a time! There, how's that?"</p> - -<p>The cowboy pulled away the cloth.</p> - -<p>"Wily's here," were Matt's first words. "He and the -Hindoo had a fight, and——"</p> - -<p>"Bother Wily! It's you I'm after," and, with his open -knife, McGlory slashed at the cords. "Now we can look -after Wily."</p> - -<p>Leaving that part of the work to his chum, Matt -leaped upward and climbed over the edge of the floor. -Burton was running toward one of the front rooms.</p> - -<p>"Where's the Hindoo?" cried Matt.</p> - -<p>"The Englishman tagged him in here, after heading -him off at the door," panted Burton. "I always knew -that thug was a killer, and if I hadn't been quick he'd -have knifed me."</p> - -<p>A smash of glass came from the front room and two -of the blinds were smashed open. The light afforded by -this gave Matt and Burton a view of a desperate struggle -in which the attaché of the British Legation was proving -himself a whole man, in every sense of the word.</p> - -<p>Unarmed, and with every disregard for his personal -danger, Twomley had set upon the Hindoo. Dhondaram's -knife had ripped Twomley's coat and brought a stain of -red, but the Englishman had both hands around the -Hindoo's throat, and they were flinging here and there -around the room.</p> - -<p>The smash of glass and the crash of the blinds had -been caused by Dhondaram falling heavily against one -of the windows. Then suddenly, before either Matt or -Burton could go to his aid, Twomley hurled his antagonist -from him with terrific force. The Hindoo fell -sprawling against the wall, and dropped stunned to the -floor. His knife slipped from his hand, and Burton -kicked it aside while he and Matt threw themselves upon -the supine figure.</p> - -<p>"Take his turban," said Matt, "and bind his hands -with it."</p> - -<p>The turban was merely a long strip of twisted cloth, -and there were two or three yards of it—enough for both -his wrists and ankles.</p> - -<p>Barely was the tying finished when McGlory drove -Wily into the room with his own six-shooter.</p> - -<p>"Talk about this, friends," laughed McGlory. "Wily -Bill fights with the Hindoo, and has the tuck about all -taken out of him. I snatch his revolver, and then we -come out from under the floor, Wily in the lead and acting -real peaceable. You've caught Dhondaram, too. -Everything's lovely, eh?"</p> - -<p>"All serene," answered the Englishman.</p> - -<p>He had removed his coat and was binding his handkerchief -about his arm.</p> - -<p>"Twomley captured Dhondaram, Joe," said Matt, "and -did it alone."</p> - -<p>"Getting stabbed for his pains," added Burton.</p> - -<p>"A scratch," was Twomley's cool response. "How -could you expect me to do a thing like that without getting -a nick or two? A pretty show altogether. And it -might have been a good deal worse."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">BILL WILY REPENTS.</p> - - -<p>McGlory motioned Wily to take a seat on the floor, -near Dhondaram, and then turned toward Twomley.</p> - -<p>"So you put the kibosh on our brown friend all by -yourself, did you?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"It wasn't much," was the diffident answer. "I know -these Hindoos somewhat."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You're the clear quill," said McGlory, "and I've got -a different estimate of you. What do you think?" he -added to Burton. "They had my pard down in the -spud cellar, covered with ropes and gagged."</p> - -<p>"Nice how-d'ye-do!" growled Burton. "What sort of -a way is that to act, Bill Wily?" and he flashed a look of -anger and contempt at the "barker."</p> - -<p>"I've made a holy show of myself," mumbled Bill -Wily. "That comes of gettin' confidential with these -here chocolate-colored crooks. They're no good."</p> - -<p>"What do you think of yourself, hey?"</p> - -<p>"Not much, Burton, an' that's a fact. I'm down and -out, and just because I wanted to shake your show an' -not have any trouble. What a lot of excitement over -nothin' at all!"</p> - -<p>"Fancy that!" remarked Twomley, mildly surprised. -"I guess the man doesn't know the true state of affairs."</p> - -<p>"He'll know everything before we're done with him," -snapped Burton.</p> - -<p>"You're not goin' to bear down too hard on me, are -you, Burton?" pleaded Wily.</p> - -<p>"Why shouldn't I?"</p> - -<p>"What've I done?"</p> - -<p>"I can't tell that till I hear what happened to Motor -Matt. If these disgraceful proceedings get out, it will -be a black eye for the show."</p> - -<p>Boss Burton was a queer fish. He had always a high -regard for carrying out every promise he made in his -show "paper," and was also solicitous about the good -name of the Big Consolidated; at the same time, he had -done a number of things which gave Matt a poor opinion -of his character.</p> - -<p>Matt, taking advantage of the opening afforded him, -told what had happened after he had left Burton on the -motor cycle. The rough treatment he had received -brought scowls to the faces of McGlory and Burton.</p> - -<p>"That Hindoo might have knifed you, and all on account -of Wily there!" breathed the showman.</p> - -<p>"But he didn't," returned Matt, "and that was on account -of Wily, too. Keep that in mind, Burton."</p> - -<p>"Your head, pard," said the cowboy solicitously. -"You've had a couple of good hard raps, and I'll bet -that block of yours feels as big as a barrel."</p> - -<p>"I'm like Twomley," smiled Matt, "and couldn't expect -to come through such a tussle without a few marks. -But it's nothing serious. Another thing, Burton," he -added, turning to the showman, "just recollect that, if -Wily wanted to, he could have used that thing Joe has -in his hand. But he wouldn't, and he fought with -Dhondaram rather than let him use it."</p> - -<p>"Wily hadn't the nerve," commented Burton. "He's -in the parlor class when it comes to strong-arm work. -He's more of a shell worker and a confidence man."</p> - -<p>"Don't be rough, Burton," begged Wily Bill.</p> - -<p>"What've you got to say for yourself?"</p> - -<p>"I'm blamed sorry things turned out like they did. -That's all."</p> - -<p>"Just how sorry are you? Sorry enough to make a -clean breast of everything?"</p> - -<p>"That depends on what'll happen to me. You let the -ticket man off when he and Dhondaram tried to loot the -Jackson proceeds. I didn't do half as much as him."</p> - -<p>"Tell me what you've done, and then I'll tell you what -I'm goin' to do," said Burton.</p> - -<p>"I knew Ben Ali pretty well when he was with the -show," returned Wily, "but he didn't put it up with <i>me</i> -to help steal the ticket-wagon money. I'm not makin' -such a terrible sight as spieler for that side-show outfit, -and when I get a letter in Kalamazoo, inclosin' another -in Hindoostanee and askin' me to deliver same, what am -I goin' to do? That letter contained a money order for -ten dollars."</p> - -<p>"And it was from Ben Ali?" asked Motor Matt.</p> - -<p>Wily nodded.</p> - -<p>"We got into Kalamazoo about three in the morning," -proceeded Wily Bill, "and when I dropped off the train, -Dhondaram stepped out from between a couple o' box -cars——"</p> - -<p>"It was the night we left Jackson that we had Dhondaram -lashed and lying in the aisle of the sleeper on section -two of the show train," interrupted Burton. "He -got loose and skipped. I fired a shot at him, but he -jumped off the train. How could he have done that -and then shown up in Kalamazoo the morning we got -there?"</p> - -<p>The showman was trying to pick flaws in Wily's narrative, -but the "barker" was equal to the emergency.</p> - -<p>"For the reason, Burton, that he didn't jump off the -train. Dhondaram rode the platform, and now and then -he dodged down on the bumpers when the train men -came too close. As I say, he met me as I dropped off, -and we had a bit of a chin together."</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you grab him," demanded Burton, "and -turn him over to me?"</p> - -<p>"That's where I was lame, I expect, but you forget I -was a friend of Ben Ali's, and Dhondaram was also a -friend. That made a sort of hitch between us. Then, -too, Dhondaram told me he was expecting word from -Ben Ali in my care. I hadn't received any word, and -I told him so. Dhondaram said that I would get a letter, -sooner or later, and that he'd like to meet me somewhere -near Grand Rapids. That's when I told him about -this house and gave him one of my keys to it."</p> - -<p>"What have you got to do with this house?" queried -Burton.</p> - -<p>"I happen to own it," was the surprising answer. "It -ain't worth much, an' it's been condemned by a railroad -that intends runnin' a line of rails and ties right over the -place where it stands. For that reason it's closed up.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -I'm to get twelve hundred dollars for the property any -day now. Why," and Wily Bill looked around, "when I -was a kid I used to live here. When the folks died I -rented the house an' took to roamin' around. It was a -good place to meet Dhondaram and give him a letter if -there was any come from Ben Ali. I wasn't expectin', -though, to call here before night. The letter from Ben -Ali reached me in Kalamazoo in the afternoon, at a time -when Dhondaram must have been travelin' north."</p> - -<p>"What did you do with your part of the letter?"</p> - -<p>Wily's profession of repentance seemed to be sincere, -and Burton and Matt were doing their utmost to find out -everything he was able to tell. Dhondaram, sitting on -the floor with his back against the wall, glared at Wily -fixedly while he talked. The savage menace of the Hindoo's -look, however, seemed to make not the slightest impression -on the "barker."</p> - -<p>"I tore up my part o' the letter, Burton," replied Wily. -"Didn't think it best to carry it around. If I'd torn up -Dhondaram's part, too, I guess I'd have been a whole lot -better off."</p> - -<p>"I guess you would," agreed the showman dryly. -"What had Ben Ali to say to you?"</p> - -<p>"He told me where he wanted Dhondaram to meet -him. You see, Ben Ali's been busy, an' hasn't been -payin' much attention to what's been goin' on in the -show."</p> - -<p>"By Jove," put in Twomley, "I should say he had -been busy."</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali didn't know Dhondaram had cooked his -goose, so far as the show was concerned, in Jackson, the -same day he joined on."</p> - -<p>"Where did Ben Ali send his letter from?" inquired -Matt.</p> - -<p>"Lafayette."</p> - -<p>"And where does he want to meet Dhondaram?"</p> - -<p>"Five miles west of the Rapids, on the wagon road to -Elgin. There's an openin' in the woods, somewhere -there, and Ben Ali wants Dhondaram to join him at the -place to-morrow morning. I don't know what's up, but -I guess it's somethin' mighty important for the Hindoos."</p> - -<p>"Does Ben Ali know about this house of yours?"</p> - -<p>"Not a thing. I never told him. I guess I was foolish -to jump off the car and run over here, but the ruction -in the side show and the loss o' that Hindoostanee -letter sure got me on the run. I thought mebby, if I -couldn't dodge Motor Matt in the woods, I could get him -somewhere and have a talk with him that would let me -out. But things didn't come out as I wanted. I couldn't -shake him in the timber, so I rushed for the house. -Dhondaram was here, ahead o' schedule, an' he complicated -matters a-considerable."</p> - -<p>"Do you think," asked Matt, "that we could go to that -place on the Elgin road and meet Ben Ali instead of letting -Dhondaram do it?"</p> - -<p>Twomley started, for he instantly caught Matt's idea. -Dhondaram likewise showed much concern, and undoubtedly -he surmised what was at the back of the young -motorist's head.</p> - -<p>"I don't think you could," replied Wily. "Ben Ali -ain't nobody's fool, and he'll have the road watched to -see that only the right party comes. If the wrong party -comes, then Ben Ali, more'n likely, 'll fade out of the -oak openin'. You can't get there any way by road without -Ben Ali findin' out just who's after him. That's my -notion."</p> - -<p>"Suppose we should come in on him from both sides -at once?" suggested Burton.</p> - -<p>"Then he'd slide out between you. Oh, he's a slippery -proposition, that boy!"</p> - -<p>Twomley nodded affirmatively.</p> - -<p>"He speaks the truth," he averred. "A man who can -do what Ben Ali has done is a rogue of the first water."</p> - -<p>"There's a way to get at him," said Matt confidently. -"Here, in a thickly populated country, that scoundrel -can't have things his own way."</p> - -<p>"He's takin' chances," put in Wily, "but that's his -stock in trade—takin' chances an' throwin' in a little hypnotism -now an' then. Why he's so particular about -meetin' Dhondaram is what gets me."</p> - -<p>"He needs money," said Burton sarcastically, "and he -has to run a few risks to get it."</p> - -<p>"I've got a plan," said Matt, starting toward the door.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" asked Burton and McGlory.</p> - -<p>Matt turned around in the doorway and cast a suggestive -glance at Wily and Dhondaram.</p> - -<p>"I'll not go into it now," said he, "but it all depends -on the truthfulness of Bill Wily. If Wily has given us -a straight story, then the plan will work. If it does, then -I shall insist that Wily be allowed to go free, without -any punishment for what he has done. If the plan -doesn't succeed, and Ben Ali is not out on the Elgin road -to-morrow morning, I think Wily can be put through for -the work he has done here in this old house."</p> - -<p>"I'm willin' to leave it that way," said Wily, "providin' -you're careful how you come onto Ben Ali, so as -not to scare him away, an' providin' Boss Burton gives -me his word to back up Motor Matt's."</p> - -<p>"I'm in on the deal," declared Burton.</p> - -<p>"Both Wily and Dhondaram will have to be left here -under suitable guard until after the plan is executed," -continued Matt.</p> - -<p>"Count me in as one of the guard," spoke up Twomley, -lighting a cigarette, "but send over some food and -something to sit on. And," he finished, pointing to the -weapon in the cowboy's hand, "Mr. McGlory might lend -me that."</p> - -<p>"McGlory will stay and help you with your guard -duty," said Matt. "I'll have to hurry off now. I suppose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> -Ping and Carl are at the show grounds and are -looking after the aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>"Ping!" exclaimed McGlory, looking around. "Why, -where the nation is he? He was the one who brought us -here, and I haven't thought of him until this minute. -But Carl's at the grounds, Matt. Anyhow, one of the -canvasmen is on duty at the aëroplane's berth."</p> - -<p>"Don't fret about the machine," reassured Burton. -"I'm going right back to the grounds and I'll look after -it personally."</p> - -<p>"Just a minute, gents," called Wily. "How did you -fellows know we were under the floor."</p> - -<p>"You walked in the soot," laughed Burton derisively. -"McGlory can tell you all about that."</p> - -<p>Thereupon he and Motor Matt left the room. They -passed the trap in the hall floor, and Matt observed that -it was flush with the boards and difficult to locate for -any one who did not know it was there.</p> - -<p>"I guess the trouble I had here, Burton," remarked -Matt, as he and the showman passed through the front -door, "will turn out to be a pretty good thing, after all."</p> - -<p>"Not for Ben Ali," returned Burton, "if he is caught -and turned over to Twomley."</p> - -<p>"I was thinking of Margaret Manners," said Matt.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MATT LAYS HIS PLANS.</p> - - -<p>On the way through the woods and back to the road -by the car track, Motor Matt was extremely thoughtful.</p> - -<p>By Ben Ali's cleverness in getting some white man to -represent the agent of the British ambassador, the Hindoo -had succeeded in luring his niece from the home of -the English woman in whose care the girl had been left.</p> - -<p>Once this was accomplished, it was easy to guess how -the artful Hindoo had proceeded. Miss Manners had -been a hypnotic subject for so long that it was useless for -her to attempt to fight against the black magic of her rascally -uncle. He had but to catch her eye and snap his -fingers, and the girl would be utterly in his power.</p> - -<p>To fight such a man as Ben Ali called for ways and -means at once bold and wary. He was not to be easily -snared.</p> - -<p>"You're as mum as an oyster," grunted Burton, as -they neared the road. "I've spoken to you half a dozen -times, and you didn't seem to hear me. Come back to -earth now, and tell me what's on your mind?"</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you later, Burton," laughed Matt. "I've got -a hard problem to solve, and I don't want to say anything -about it until it's all worked out."</p> - -<p>"From what you said at that house with the green -shutters, I take it you're not going back to the show with -me?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Be back there in time to take the aëroplane aloft at -six-thirty? The wind's down, and you can pull off the -trick."</p> - -<p>"There'll be no aëroplane flight this afternoon, Burton. -I have more important matters to attend to."</p> - -<p>Burton began to bristle.</p> - -<p>"By Jerry," he cried, "what am I giving you your salary -for? We've missed one ascension to-day, and the -people will be wild if we don't have one this afternoon."</p> - -<p>"Then," answered Matt, "tell them that we'll give an -aëroplane performance for the whole of Grand Rapids -to-morrow. That ought to satisfy them, and I know -you'll make a lot of capital out of it."</p> - -<p>Burton stopped stock-still and stared.</p> - -<p>"You're crazy?" he bluntly inquired. "To-morrow's -Sunday, and I've never yet been able to get you to make -an ascension on Sunday. Backsliding, eh?"</p> - -<p>"For this one time," said Matt. "I'm not doing this -for the benefit of your show, Burton, but because, as I -size the matter up now, there's nothing else to be done."</p> - -<p>"Whew!" whistled the showman, "you're about the -biggest conundrum, now and then, that I ever tackled. -When'll you get back to the grounds?"</p> - -<p>"This evening, some time."</p> - -<p>"Hunt for me the minute you get there, and let me -know what's up."</p> - -<p>They found Ping waiting for them in the road. He -was a disconsolate-looking Chinaman, and ran up to -Matt the moment he slipped down the steep bank.</p> - -<p>"You heap mad with Ping, huh?" the Chinese boy -chattered. "You know him makee shoot Loman candle, -play plenty hob with side show? Woosh! My velly bad -China boy."</p> - -<p>Matt laughed. That laugh caused Ping to brighten.</p> - -<p>"I'll have to forgive you this once, Ping," said Matt. -"A whole lot of good has resulted from that flare-up in -the side-show tent. But I don't like practical jokes—you -know that. Get on the car and go back to the -grounds with Burton. As for the Roman-candle business, -we'll talk about that later."</p> - -<p>"You no pullee pin on China boy?" faltered Ping.</p> - -<p>"No. You make your peace with Carl, that's all."</p> - -<p>"Hoop-a-la!" said Ping, and limped aboard an electric -car that Burton had flagged.</p> - -<p>Matt caught a car going the other way, and, as soon -as he reached Monroe Street, hurried to the nearest automobile -garage, bent upon making the most of the daylight -that remained.</p> - -<p>He hired a car and a driver who knew the city. It -was a small roadster, and Matt had the driver take him -beyond the city limits and out for five miles on the Elgin -road.</p> - -<p>They passed through a small oak opening, which looked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> -as though it might be the place where Ben Ali was to -meet his crony, Dhondaram.</p> - -<p>"This will be far enough," said Matt. "Now, turn -around and take us back to town."</p> - -<p>The king of the motor boys gave careful attention to -all the landmarks, going both ways. Returning, dusk -had begun to fall, and his survey could not be as comprehensive -as the one made on the outward trip. However, -he was abundantly satisfied with the information -he had acquired.</p> - -<p>When they reached the garage, Matt bargained with -the proprietor for a powerful touring car, with the same -driver who had already been with him, to be at the show -grounds at Reid's Lake at eight o'clock the following -morning.</p> - -<p>After that, he dropped in at a restaurant and had a -good meal, then boarded a car for the lake, and rode -back to the grounds with a crowd of people who were -going to the evening performance of the show.</p> - -<p>He had a good deal of amusement listening to the disappointed -expressions of the people regarding the failure -of Burton to have any aëroplane flights. Mixed up -in the talk were a number of complimentary references -to Motor Matt and his chums. These, so far as they -applied to himself, the king of the motor boys tried not -to hear. But, nevertheless, they caused a glow of satisfaction -to mount to his face. It was certainly pleasant -to know how his efforts in the line of duty had struck -a popular chord.</p> - -<p>That wild half-hour in the air, over Jackson, when -Matt found his batteries short-circuited by a coiling -cobra, had been exploited through the press. These, -while arousing the popular admiration, only made the -general disappointment more keen because of the failure -of the Saturday flights at Reid's Lake.</p> - -<p>When Matt got off the car at the lake, he made his -way to the brilliantly lighted show grounds, and repaired -immediately to the calliope tent.</p> - -<p>Burton was there, smoking a cigar and nervously -walking back and forth in front of the canvas-covered -calliope.</p> - -<p>"The people are pulling me all to pieces, Matt," he -cried the moment the king of the motor boys entered the -tent. "They're saying we could just as well have had -a flight to-night, that I'm not living up to my promises, -and all that. By Jerry, it hurts!"</p> - -<p>"Let it be announced in the circus tent," said Matt, -"that there'll be a flight to-morrow morning at nine -o'clock—not for exhibition purposes, as Motor Matt -doesn't give a performance on Sunday—and that all who -wish to can see it."</p> - -<p>"Good!" declared Burton. "I guess that'll catch them. -But what are you making the flight for, if not to please -the people?"</p> - -<p>"For the purpose of backcapping Ben Ali, capturing -him, and finding out where he has taken Margaret Manners."</p> - -<p>Burton whirled around and gave Matt a steady look.</p> - -<p>"What have you got up your sleeve?" he demanded -curtly. "Are you going to try that, all alone, in the -<i>Comet</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Not all alone. You, and Twomley, and Joe are going -to help. Send Harris and another trusty man over -to that house with the green shutters, will you, and have -them relieve the Englishman and McGlory. I want them -here to talk with them."</p> - -<p>Harris was Burton's brother-in-law, and a thoroughly -reliable man in every respect.</p> - -<p>"I've already sent them supper, a lantern, and a couple -of chairs," said Burton, "but it seems to me all foolishness -to hold the prisoners in the house. Why not send -'em to jail, where they belong?"</p> - -<p>"Because Wily may not belong in jail, and because, if -Dhondaram is taken there to-night, Ben Ali might hear -of it and not present himself in that oak opening on the -Elgin road to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"Can't you tell me what you're going to do?"</p> - -<p>"Not till Twomley and Joe get here."</p> - -<p>With that, Matt dropped down on a cot, at one side of -the tent, and tried to get a little rest. He was used to -the band, and to the many other sounds that characterized -a show just preceding a performance, and these did not -bother him; but his head! that had suddenly begun to -remind him that it had been badly treated during the -afternoon.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">MOTOR CAR AND AEROPLANE.</p> - - -<p>It was about nine o'clock in the evening when Matt -was awakened by the arrival of McGlory and Twomley. -Burton, curious and eager, came into the calliope tent -with them.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you what my plan is," said Matt, sitting up -on the edge of the cot, "and then you can all go to bed -and get a good night's rest. Ben Ali is a crafty scoundrel, -and it is necessary for us to capture him in order -to find out what he has done with Miss Manners."</p> - -<p>"That's the point," approved Twomley. "If we can't -get hold of Ben Ali, the Secret Service men will have a -bally time locating the girl."</p> - -<p>"I'm inclined to think that Bill Wily told nothing but -the truth," proceeded Matt.</p> - -<p>"You never can tell about Wily," struck in Burton. -"It's because he's so shifty and unreliable that they call -him Wily Bill. I wouldn't bank too much on what he -says."</p> - -<p>"It's neck or nothing with him," suggested Twomley. -"He has everything to lose by not telling the truth, and -I believe the fellow appreciates that fact."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You can gamble a blue stack he does!" declared -McGlory. "Did you see the look Dhondaram gave him -while he was handing us that long palaver? If the -Hindoo ever gets foot-loose, I wouldn't stand in Wily's -shoes for a bushel of pesos."</p> - -<p>"To my mind," said Matt, "the fact that Dhondaram -was in that house proves the truth of Wily's story. Well, -true or false, my whole plan is built up on what the -'barker' told us. We're to assume that Ben Ali will be -in that oak opening, five miles from Grand Rapids on -the Elgin road."</p> - -<p>"Who knows whether there's an opening there or -not?" asked Burton.</p> - -<p>When the showman once lost confidence in a man, he -put no trust in anything the man might do or say.</p> - -<p>"The opening is there," said Matt. "I went out in an -automobile and saw it for myself."</p> - -<p>"Ah! So that's what you passed up the afternoon -flight for, eh?"</p> - -<p>"Partly," answered Matt. "Now, let us suppose that -Ben Ali is in that opening to-morrow, waiting for -Dhondaram to arrive with money which Ben Ali thinks -he has stolen. Quite likely the Hindoo will have some -one with him—perhaps the old ticket man whom you -discharged, Burton, and perhaps Aurung Zeeb. This -ticket man has played the part of the agent representing -the British ambassador in turning that trick in -Lafayette——"</p> - -<p>"Sufferin' traitors!" chanted McGlory. "I've a hunch, -pard, your finger's on the right button."</p> - -<p>"So," pursued Matt, "it is fair to assume that Ben Ali -has some one to watch the Elgin road in the vicinity of -the oak opening. If he is warned that any suspicious -persons are approaching, the Hindoo will slide away -snakelike and dodge pursuit."</p> - -<p>Twomley nodded.</p> - -<p>"You're a fair daisy, Motor Matt, in placing the situation -squarely in front of us. By Jove, it looks like a -hard nut to crack."</p> - -<p>"Matt will crack it," averred McGlory. "Listen, now, -to how he proposes to do it."</p> - -<p>"How are you going about it?" inquired Burton impatiently. -"I've had this on my mind ever since you -and I left the house with the green shutters, and I can't -tell how nervous you make me hanging fire about it. -Seems like a mighty simple thing to go out in the woods, -meet a fellow where he intends to be, and nab him."</p> - -<p>"Not so deuced simple as you suppose, Mr. Burton," -returned Twomley, "when you consider the character of -the man, and his ability to make passes, look at you, and -give you your ticket to the Land of Nod."</p> - -<p>"We're going to work out this problem by motor car -and aëroplane," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"Aëroplane!" exclaimed McGlory. "That means you -and me, pard."</p> - -<p>"The motor car for you, Joe," smiled Matt. "You -and Twomley, and Burton will go along the Elgin road -in that."</p> - -<p>"What's the good?" demurred Burton. "You all seem -to think it a cinch that the car will be seen, and that Ben -Ali will get out of the way."</p> - -<p>"You'll lag behind, you and your car," continued Matt, -"and you'll let me and the aëroplane move ahead. I'll -keep over the road as well as I can, and you can see me. -When I sight our quarry I'll descend; then you can put -on all speed and come up."</p> - -<p>"The aëroplane will be a dead give-away!" asserted -Burton. "Ben Ali and his outposts will see that as quick, -or quicker, than they will the automobile."</p> - -<p>"Suppose Ben Ali sees only one man on the machine, -and thinks that the man is Dhondaram?" asked Matt. -"Would he run, then?"</p> - -<p>There was a silence, a startled silence, while the words -of the young motorist were being pondered by his listeners.</p> - -<p>"How'll Ben Ali think Dhondaram is running the -<i>Comet</i>, pard?" queried McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Because the man on the aëroplane will not look very -much like Motor Matt, and <i>will</i> look a little like a -Hindoo."</p> - -<p>"You're going to make up for the part?"</p> - -<p>"It won't be much of a make-up. A white robe over -my ordinary clothes will do."</p> - -<p>"But your face——"</p> - -<p>"In the air and at a distance, my face won't tell against -the deception. When the <i>Comet</i> has landed in the opening, -then it will be Ben Ali and me for it—with an automobile -full of reinforcements rushing to the scene."</p> - -<p>"It sounds good," said McGlory thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>"Here's something," observed Twomley, who had a -clear head and a quick brain. "Ben Ali can think for -himself. Won't he think it queer that Dhondaram is -navigating the flying machine? Dhondaram, I make no -doubt, is highly gifted, but will Ben Ali credit him with -skill enough to operate the aëroplane?"</p> - -<p>"He may not," admitted Matt; "still, if Ben Ali sees -the machine, and a man in it who looks like Dhondaram, -even if Ben Ali doubts he'll hold his ground in order to -make sure. Ben Ali won't run from one man. Besides, -he's expecting Dhondaram. That's a weighty point."</p> - -<p>"I believe it will work," said Twomley. "At any rate, -it will hold Ben Ali in the opening until the automobile -has a chance to come close. Then the scoundrel is ours, -no matter what he tries to do. By Jove, I like the idea!"</p> - -<p>"Another thing," spoke up McGlory. "If Ben Ali -smells a rat and tries to make a run, Matt can keep over -him and follow him."</p> - -<p>"Hardly that, Joe," returned Matt. "The woods are -pretty thick along the Elgin road, and you know how big -the top of a tree looks when you're gazing down on it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -Besides, if there's any wind, the <i>Comet</i> is going to be a -fair-sized handful to take care of."</p> - -<p>"There you are," said Burton. "How do you know -the opening is big enough for you to come down in? It -won't do," and something akin to panic took hold of the -showman, "to damage the aëroplane."</p> - -<p>"Oh, go off somewhere, Burton, and wring out your -wet blanket," growled McGlory. "You're tryin' to -throw it over everything."</p> - -<p>"We've got to get a look at this business from every -angle," said Burton doggedly.</p> - -<p>"Well, be easy about the oak opening," came from -Matt. "It's large enough to alight in and to start from. -If there's only a little wind, there'll be no danger."</p> - -<p>The Englishman reached over and took Matt's hand.</p> - -<p>"Allow me," said he, with a solemn handshake. "Win -or lose, my bucko, you have my admiration."</p> - -<p>Matt flushed.</p> - -<p>"Why," said he, "this is all talk, as yet, Twomley."</p> - -<p>"It's the sort of talk, my lad, that precedes notable -achievements. Nine-tenths of all the great work that's -done owes more to the head than to the hands. What -about the automobile?"</p> - -<p>"That will be here at eight o'clock in the morning."</p> - -<p>"You even thought of that! I suppose I'll have to be -catching a car for town."</p> - -<p>Twomley got up and flung away the remains of a -cigarette.</p> - -<p>"You'd better stay here," suggested Matt. "There's -an extra cot behind the calliope, and I'm sure Burton will -give you your breakfast in the morning."</p> - -<p>Twomley cast a glance around him. The odor from -the animal tent, of which the calliope house was only a -lean-to, was strong and disquieting. A lantern, tied to -one of the tent poles, shed a murky light over the litter -of buckets and ropes that strewed the tent floor. Matt -had made ready for bed by kicking off his shoes and removing -his coat and hat. It was all very primitive. In -Washington Twomley looked as though he might have -been of a fastidious nature. But, whatever he was at -Washington, he was "game" at Reid's Lake.</p> - -<p>"Go you," said he briefly. "Just where is that cot, my -dear sir?"</p> - -<p>McGlory dragged it out for him and opened it up.</p> - -<p>"I'll pull it away from the wall of the animal top," -said the cowboy. "Rajah, the bad elephant, is just on -the other side of that piece of canvas, and he has the -habit of snooping around in here with his trunk."</p> - -<p>"I don't fancy Rajah will bother me," and Twomley -shucked out of his low patent leathers.</p> - -<p>"I could almost make a pard out of you," remarked -McGlory.</p> - -<p>"Nice work you've mapped out for Sunday," was Burton's -sly fling as he paused at the door on his way out. -"Motor Matt, who refused to make flights on Sunday for -me for an extra hundred a week, lays out to pull off a go -like this! Well, I'm surprised."</p> - -<p>"Fate is no respecter of the calendar, Burton," Matt -replied, with some show of feeling. "I'll work all day -to-morrow if I can accomplish anything for Margaret -Manners."</p> - -<p>"Shake again," said the attaché.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">THE OAK OPENING.</p> - - -<p>Reid's Lake was a popular resort, and a large crowd -rendezvoused there on Sundays and holidays. The coming -of the crowd, however, had shifted to the beginning -of the day, so that the start of the aëroplane might be -witnessed.</p> - -<p>Owing to Burton's enterprise, an "extra" of one of the -evening dailies was on the Grand Rapids streets at nine -in the evening, announcing, in large type, that Boss Burton, -regretting the disappointment caused the Grand -Rapids people because of the failure of the aëroplane -ascensions on the first day of the show, was glad to announce -that the king of the motor boys would take his -famous machine aloft on the following morning at nine -o'clock.</p> - -<p>This was one of the little things Burton could do, -on occasion, which jarred on Matt's nerves. He made it -appear in the news columns as though Matt was making -the ascension because Burton had so willed it, and as -though the showman had willed it because of the disappointment -which had been caused the Great Rapids people -on the first day of the show.</p> - -<p>When Matt discovered this, it was too late to remedy -it. He had the satisfaction, however, of telling Burton -just what he thought.</p> - -<p>Extra cars were put on the run between town and the -lake to accommodate the crowds. And the people came -not only in the street cars, but also in carriages, wagons, -and automobiles.</p> - -<p>Carl and Ping had slept under the lower wings of the -<i>Comet</i>, as was their usual custom when the weather was -at all propitious, and to the casual observer it would -have looked as though the Roman-candle incident had -been entirely forgotten.</p> - -<p>Matt was early at the machine, looking it over carefully -and making sure that everything was in readiness. -The <i>Comet</i>, he found, had never been in better trim for -work than she was that morning.</p> - -<p>Then, too, such a day for aëroplane flying could not -have been surpassed. There was not enough wind stirring -to flutter the banners on the tent tops.</p> - -<p>It was necessary for McGlory, Twomley, and Burton -to get away somewhat in advance of Matt, and to take -up a position beyond the outskirts of the city on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -Elgin road. At sharp eight-forty-five the motor car got -away.</p> - -<p>McGlory was usually in charge of the start during the -aëroplane flights, but now Matt placed Carl in command. -The importance of the position filled Carl with glory, and -was correspondingly depressing to Ping, who really knew -more about the aëroplane than Carl could have learned -in a hundred years.</p> - -<p>Carl and Ping were assisted by half a dozen stout -canvasmen.</p> - -<p>Before Matt took his seat, to the wonder of the crowd -pressing against the guard ropes, he shook out a white -robe and arranged it about him in such a manner as to -leave his arms perfectly clear, but covering every part -of his clothing.</p> - -<p>After that he stepped on the footboard and dropped -down in front of the motor.</p> - -<p>The canvasmen, divided by Carl into two groups of -three each, were placed behind the wings.</p> - -<p>"All ready, Carl!" called Matt.</p> - -<p>"Retty it iss!" shouted Carl.</p> - -<p>The motor started merrily, the bicycle wheels began -to turn, and the canvasmen to push.</p> - -<p>Slowly the <i>Comet</i> gathered headway. Faster and -faster it went, leaving the canvasmen behind; then, like -a great bird, it soared into the air, followed by wild -cheering.</p> - -<p>A vagrant puff of wind struck the planes, just over -the concert garden, and only quick work on the part of -the intrepid young motorist averted a disaster. Gathering -headway under the impetus of the thrashing propeller, -the aëroplane darted upward into the blue and -began reaching out toward the city.</p> - -<p>Matt, while manipulating the aëroplane, had little time -for sights and scenes below him. He was obliged to keep -every faculty riveted on his work. Now and again, -however, as he took his bearings and laid his course, he -glimpsed the staring people in the roadways and on rooftops. -Some of these spectators had opera glasses and -binoculars.</p> - -<p>Over the flat roofs of the city he whirled, cheered almost -continuously.</p> - -<p>The motor had never worked better. Everything depended -on the motor. If the power had happened to fail, -Matt could have glided harmlessly down the airy slope -to earth—providing the city afforded him a good clear -space in which to alight. A street zigzagged with telegraph, -and telephone, and electric light wires was not -such a place.</p> - -<p>Passing the close-packed buildings of the business section, -Matt gained the residence districts, and held on in -a straight line for the Elgin road. He watched his landmarks, -and, while they looked differently to him from -aloft than they did from the ground, he knew he was -going right when he saw the waiting automobile.</p> - -<p>McGlory was standing up and waving his hat.</p> - -<p>Throwing full speed into the propeller, Matt set the -automobile a fifty-mile pace. At such a speed only a few -minutes were necessary to carry the flying machine close -to the oak opening where Ben Ali was to be in waiting -for Dhondaram.</p> - -<p>Peering forward and downward, Matt guided and -manœuvred the <i>Comet</i> by sense of touch alone, watching -eagerly the while for the great gap in the woods.</p> - -<p>Finally he saw it, and what he glimpsed in the centre -of the cleared space—etched into his brain as by the instantaneous -operation of a photographic lens—was -startling, to say the least.</p> - -<p>The irregular circle of the opening was crossed -through its centre by the hard, level road. Off to one -side of the road were the dying embers of a fire, and -near the fire lay a bundle, on which a young woman was -sitting, her head bowed dejectedly. A turbaned figure -stood at a distance from the girl—the figure covered -with a red robe and its brown, staring face uplifted. This -was Ben Ali. And the girl—who was she? Was it -possible, <i>could</i> it be possible, that the girl was Margaret -Manners? A wild hope leaped in Motor Matt's breast.</p> - -<p>Ben Ali leaned on a club, leaned and watched with -never a move toward running away. Probably he was -speculating as to whether his confederate, Dhondaram, -had learned to operate the air craft.</p> - -<p>Matt gave Ben Ali scant time to come to a conclusion. -Quick work was now in order, and the <i>Comet</i> ducked -downward and slid through the air with slowing motor. -Guided by a true, steady hand, the wheels brushed the -roadway, then began to turn as the weight of the machine -rested more heavily upon them. A short run of a -dozen feet brought the <i>Comet</i> to a stop.</p> - -<p>Ben Ali had not stirred from the place where Matt -had first seen him standing.</p> - -<p>Gathering the white robe about him, Motor Matt -stepped hurriedly to the ground and ran toward Ben -Ali.</p> - -<p>The Hindoo, staring serpent-like, recoiled, his red robe -falling away slightly as his hands raised the club.</p> - -<p>"Ben Ali," cried the king of the motor boys, "I have -caught you at another of your tricks. Did you think I -was Dhondaram? Dhondaram is a prisoner, and you -will soon join him in jail."</p> - -<p>There followed a tense moment, during which Ben -Ali's eyes glowed and scintillated with their marvelous -powers, and his hands tightened on the bludgeon.</p> - -<p>It was not a time to delay matters, and the young -motorist made ready for desperate work against the arrival -of the automobile.</p> - -<p>"<i>Maskee!</i>" cried the astounded Hindoo, as Motor -Matt leaped at him.</p> - -<p>Ben Ali's amazement appeared to hold him paralyzed -for the moment. It was not until Matt had caught the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -club that he aroused himself and began vigorous resistance.</p> - -<p>Every instant Matt expected the automobile to come -whirling to the spot with his friends.</p> - -<p>He had the club, but Ben Ali, with a tigrish spring, -seized him about the throat and clung to him like a leech, -and all the while Ben Ali's eyes were rolling about in a -way that was horrible to behold.</p> - -<p>Matt dropped the club to catch at the Hindoo's straining -arms. He felt a wave of weakness sweep through -him, while the flashing eyes continued to exercise their -baneful spell.</p> - -<p>Was he being hypnotized in spite of himself? He had -read that this was impossible, and that no man could be -put in a state of hypnosis against his will. Yet what did -that strange weakness mean?</p> - -<p>A tremor ran through Matt's body. He tried to call -aloud, but his lips framed voiceless words. By degrees -he felt himself growing weaker and weaker, yielding -more and more to the spell of the baneful orbs that -sought his undoing.</p> - -<p>Then, when it seemed as though he was about to come -entirely under Ben Ali's power, there fell a blow—sudden, -quick, and accompanied by a wild, feminine cry.</p> - -<p>Ben Ali's tense fingers relaxed their grip, his form -slumped forward, and Matt stood staring at the girl.</p> - -<p>She was Margaret Manners, there was not the least -doubt of that. In order to save him, the girl had seized -the bludgeon, had approached her uncle from behind, -and struck him down.</p> - -<p>The girl's face was wild with grief, but there was a -burning resolution in the eyes.</p> - -<p>"I had to!" she cried hysterically. "I had to do that -in order to save you. It was the spell, the spell of the -eyes! He would have made you his victim, Motor Matt, -just as certainly as he has worked his will with me! Oh, -let us get away from here! Quick!" In a frenzy of -fear she cast aside the club and seized his arm with both -hands. "There are others—Aurung Zeeb is one. They -are armed, and they will soon be here."</p> - -<p>Matt dashed a hand across his forehead, as though to -free his brain from some frightful dream.</p> - -<p>"There are others, you say?" he gasped.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes," she answered distractedly.</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>"Watching the road! They—— Ah, too late, too -late!"</p> - -<p>Matt whirled and looked across the oak opening. -From the side lying nearest the town came a running -figure. It was Aurung Zeeb.</p> - -<p>Where was the automobile? Matt could not hear it, -and there was now no time to wait.</p> - -<p>The girl had dropped to her knees and thrown her -hands over her face.</p> - -<p>"Come!" he called, bending down and catching her by -the arm. "We can get away from here. Be brave, and -trust to me!"</p> - -<p>The girl started up, and he ran with her toward the -aëroplane. As they drew near the machine, Matt saw -another Hindoo coming into the opening along the other -road.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">AEROPLANE WINS!</p> - - -<p>Matt supposed that the automobile must have broken -down somewhere on the road. His friends had not -arrived in time to help him, so he was thrown upon his -own resources.</p> - -<p>While he and Miss Manners were racing toward the -aëroplane, Matt was measuring his chances. The appearance -of the second Hindoo, on the other side of the -opening, complicated the dangers of the situation.</p> - -<p>If these Hindoos were armed, as the girl had declared, -then the case was indeed desperate. In making its start, -however, the <i>Comet</i> would be running away from -Aurung Zeeb, and straight toward the other Hindoo. -This second man would have to leave the road or be run -down; and if the start was made quickly enough, the -<i>Comet</i> could get away from Aurung Zeeb.</p> - -<p>"Sit there," cried Matt, lifting the girl to a seat on the -lower plane. "Hold on," he added, starting the motor, -"and don't move."</p> - -<p>The girl's small fingers twined convulsively into the -hand-holds. Matt dropped into his own seat and turned -the power into the bicycle wheels. Slowly they took the -push, the great wings lurching and swaying as the aëroplane -moved.</p> - -<p>Would it be possible for the machine, unaided by a -crew of men behind the wings, to take to the air before -the trees on the opposite side of the opening interfered?</p> - -<p>This was a momentous, nay, a vital, question, and -could only be solved by actual trial.</p> - -<p>Out of the tails of his eyes Matt saw Ben Ali rising -groggily to his feet. He flung up his arms and shouted.</p> - -<p>Crack!</p> - -<p>From behind came a bullet, ripping through the canvas -of the upper plane, but, fortunately, doing no damage -to the machinery. Aurung Zeeb was doing the firing.</p> - -<p>And this same Aurung Zeeb had failed Ben Ali once -in a dangerous pinch. This had caused a rupture of the -friendly relations between the two men, but their differences -had evidently been patched up. Now Aurung Zeeb -was doing his utmost to help Ben Ali—and, perhaps, to -land himself in the same trouble in which Dhondaram -had been entrapped.</p> - -<p>Another bullet was fired, but Aurung Zeeb must have -been shooting as he ran, for his aim was poor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> - -<p>Faster and faster raced the aëroplane, and Matt kept -measuring the distance between the machine and the -trees on the farther side of the opening. The Hindoo, in -the road ahead, was running out of the aëroplane's path -like a frightened hare.</p> - -<p>By then, Ben Ali had joined in the chase, but the -speed of the <i>Comet</i> was too great for the pursuers.</p> - -<p>They were close to the edge of the timber, very close, -when Matt felt the wings beginning to lift. A dozen -feet farther and they were in the air.</p> - -<p>In a flash the power was switched from the wheels to -the propeller. The aëroplane dropped a little before it -yielded to the thrashing blades of the screw; then it -picked up the lost headway and arose.</p> - -<p>The upward tilt was frightful, but necessary if a wreck -in the treetops was to be avoided.</p> - -<p>Never a word had come from Margaret Manners. -White as a ghost, she held to her place, swaying her -body to preserve a poise against the tilt and pitch of the -huge framework.</p> - -<p>The wheels brushed against the outer ends of the tree -limbs, but the machine continued to glide into the air, -walking upward as though climbing the rounds of a -ladder.</p> - -<p>If the motor had failed from any cause, there could -have been no harmless gliding back to earth. A sheer -drop downward would have been the result.</p> - -<p>But the motor performed its work, and the trees presently -hid the Hindoos and screened the <i>Comet</i> from any -further attack.</p> - -<p>Then, and not till then, did the king of the motor boys -draw a full breath.</p> - -<p>"Are you holding on, Miss Manners?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Yes," was the reply in a stifled voice.</p> - -<p>"You're not afraid?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Bravo! We'll soon be back at the show grounds. -You have seen the last of Ben Ali."</p> - -<p>High above the trees Matt brought the <i>Comet</i> to an -even keel, then laid out in a straightaway flight toward -the lake. This time he did not follow the Elgin road, -but struck across country the nearest way home.</p> - -<p>That was not the first time Margaret Manners had -had a ride in the aëroplane. Some time before, when, -under the name of Haidee, she had traveled with the -Big Consolidated, she had ridden on a trapeze swung -below the machine. It was against Matt's will, and only -a trick of Burton's had made it possible for the girl to -make the ascension. At the time she was under hypnotic -influence, and could not realize what she was doing. -So, it followed, this was really the first ride she had -ever taken in the aëroplane while mistress of her own -faculties and able to understand her situation.</p> - -<p>She behaved admirably, and did not even cry out when -the wings tilted sideways, or ducked forward with the -seeming intention of hurling her and Matt to the earth.</p> - -<p>There was no talk between the two. In silence Matt -attended to his work, drove the <i>Comet</i> at speed over the -show grounds, circled, and came down in the roped-off -space set apart for the machine.</p> - -<p>The crowds were still lingering, waiting for the aëroplane -to return. Cheering began as soon as the <i>Comet</i> -was in sight, and was kept up until she was safely on -the ground in the position from which she had originally -started.</p> - -<p>Carl and Ping were waiting, too, and the eyes of both -boys were big with astonishment when they saw and -recognized Margaret Manners.</p> - -<p>"Vell, py shiminy grickets!" exclaimed Carl.</p> - -<p>The girl smiled at him wanly as Matt helped her from -her seat.</p> - -<p>"You and Ping take care of the machine, Carl," cautioned -Matt, as he led Miss Manners to the guard ropes -and parted a course for her through the jostling mob.</p> - -<p>"Hurrah for Motor Matt!" shouted some one. "He -goes out alone and comes back with a passenger!"</p> - -<p>A laugh followed the cheer.</p> - -<p>"What's the price for a trip on the <i>Comet</i>?" called -some one else.</p> - -<p>"Where does your air-ship line run?"</p> - -<p>"Give me a ticket to San Francisco!"</p> - -<p>Matt met the joking good-naturedly and piloted Miss -Manners to the calliope tent. The girl was tired and -worn out.</p> - -<p>"You'd better get a little rest, Miss Manners," Matt -suggested. "What you have passed through this morning -would have shaken nerves much stronger than -yours."</p> - -<p>"I don't want to rest," she answered; "I want to talk. -You have saved me again, Motor Matt, but what is the -use of it all if I can't leave this country and go to England, -or back to India? Ben Ali will find me again."</p> - -<p>"You are through with him," said Matt, "just as I -told you. A man has come from the British legation -in Washington to get you and send you away by the -first boat leaving New York."</p> - -<p>"The man who came to Mrs. Chadwick's in Lafayette -said the same thing," answered the girl wearily. -"It seems as though there is no escaping Ben Ali."</p> - -<p>"Has he hypnotized you many times since he took you -from Mrs. Chadwick's?" asked Matt anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Only once. I gave up hope, and went with him -without trying to resist. He said he intended to send -me back to India, but not until the rajah had paid him -a lot of rupees."</p> - -<p>"He treated you well?"</p> - -<p>"He always treated me well—in his way—but the horror -of going into a trance and saying and doing things -I know nothing about is more terrible than ever to me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -It was the fear of a trance that made me promise not to -make Uncle Ben any trouble."</p> - -<p>"Who was the man who impersonated the agent of -the British ambassador?"</p> - -<p>"I had never seen him before."</p> - -<p>"I thought that perhaps he might have been the man -who sold tickets in the ticket wagon for Burton—the -one who was with the show when you and Ben Ali were -traveling with us."</p> - -<p>She shook her head.</p> - -<p>"I should have known that man if it had been he."</p> - -<p>"Where did the man take you?"</p> - -<p>"On the train somewhere. I thought we were going -to Washington until we got off the train at a little station -and met Uncle Ben. It was then he threw me into -a trance, and when he awoke me we were at a little -house near the place where we went this morning to -wait for Dhondaram. Aurung Zeeb was at the house, -and so was the other Hindoo—a man I had never seen -before. You are sure," the girl asked tremblingly, "that -this other agent of the British ambassador is really the -person he pretends to be?"</p> - -<p>The girl's lack of confidence was pitiable. She had -suffered so much that Matt could readily understand her -feelings.</p> - -<p>"I am positive, Miss Manners," he answered gently. -"You must rest now. I will have Mrs. Harris come and -stay with you for a while."</p> - -<p>The girl did not object, and Matt had soon found Mrs. -Harris and sent her to the calliope tent.</p> - -<p>Two hours later, while Matt was lounging around the -front of the animal tent, a tired party consisting of Burton, -Twomley, and McGlory arrived from the direction -of the street-car line.</p> - -<p>"You Matt!" cried McGlory. "Why didn't you wait -and give us a chance?"</p> - -<p>"If I'd waited much longer," answered Matt, "there -wouldn't have been a chance for anybody. Did you see -me coming back from the oak opening?"</p> - -<p>"Did we?" echoed Twomley, putting his monocle in his -eyes. "By Jove, I should say we did. Fancy! You -up aloft, sailing as nice as you please with Miss Manners -beside you, and Burton, McGlory, and me tramping -along the road."</p> - -<p>"What was the matter?" asked Matt.</p> - -<p>"Matter?" fumed Burton. "What's the matter when -you set out in an automobile and don't arrive where -you're going? The motor bucked, three miles out of -Grand Rapids, and you sailed right along and never paid -any attention to us. McGlory, Twomley, and I started to -walk the rest of the distance, when we saw the machine -couldn't be fixed up for an hour or so, and before we'd -gone a mile you sailed off in the direction of the show -grounds—and never looked our way! Oh, blazes! I'm -done with automobiles."</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> - -<p class="chaptitle">CONCLUSION.</p> - - -<p>Motor Matt's regret was keen over the failure to catch -Ben Ali, Aurung Zeeb, and the unknown Hindoo. It was -one of those cases, however, where it was best to be satisfied -with the work accomplished, and to forget the failure -whereby three miscreants escaped the consequence -of their evil deeds.</p> - -<p>And it was possible that Ben Ali was not long to enjoy -his freedom, for Twomley asserted that all the powers -of the United States Secret Service would be bent -toward accomplishing his ultimate capture.</p> - -<p>When it came to dealing legally with Dhondaram, a -serious question arose. If the Hindoo was to be punished -severely, it would be necessary to take him to Jackson, -where the worst of his crimes had been committed. -This would require the presence of complaining witnesses, -of which Burton was one. For a man traveling -from place to place constantly, as was Burton, such a -move could not be made without great sacrifices.</p> - -<p>It was deemed better, therefore, to have Dhondaram -brought to book for the lesser crime committed in the -house of the green shutters. "Assault with murderous -intent" was the charge, and a light sentence followed.</p> - -<p>Bill Wily, agreeably to promises given him, was released. -Whether he profited by his experience or not, -Motor Matt never afterward discovered. Such a lesson -as he had had, however, should have been enough for -any man. For a little matter of ten dollars, he had entered -blindly into the schemes of Ben Ali—and Ben -Ali's schemes left their mark on every person who had -anything to do with them.</p> - -<p>Twomley was a delighted Englishman, if there ever -was one. He had fulfilled the mission with which he had -been intrusted by Sir Roger, and he had done so after -discovering that his errand to Lafayette, so far as securing -Miss Manners was concerned, was useless.</p> - -<p>A Roman candle in the side-show tent had lent itself -to the perpetration of a practical joke; and out of that -joke had come the clue which had made possible the second -rescue of Margaret Manners.</p> - -<p>Carl was very much pleased to learn that so much -good had developed from a row in the freak tent, but -whether or not he forgave Ping for setting off the Roman -candle is open to question.</p> - -<p>Carl had declared that he would "play even" with -Ping for the candle episode, and those who knew Carl -best believed that he would prove as good as his word.</p> - -<p>Monday morning Twomley and Miss Manners took a -train for New York, but not until both the attaché and -the girl had expressed to Matt and the motor boys -their appreciation of all that they had done.</p> - -<p>It was somewhat indelicate of Carl, perhaps, to mention -the matter of his five thousand dollars before Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -Manners, but he was beginning to worry about the -money. As he expressed it, "Der longer vat der time iss, -der more vat I don'd seem to ged dot rewart. I peen -sefendeen years olt, und meppy I don'd lif more as sixdy -years from now."</p> - -<p>Twomley assured Carl that he would do whatever he -possibly could to hurry the money along. And with this -promise Carl had to be satisfied.</p> - -<p>With the turning over of Dhondaram to the police, the -liberating of Bill Wily, and the departure of Twomley -and Miss Manners, a series of thrilling incidents connected -with Motor Matt's show career came to a close.</p> - -<p>And Motor Matt's show experiences were likewise -drawing near an end. Just how close this end was he -did not dream that Monday morning when he and McGlory -accompanied the attaché and his charge to the -train.</p> - -<p>When the two boys got back to the show grounds, -however, Boss Burton had a telegram for Matt.</p> - -<p>Burton was frankly worried about that telegram. -Some other showman, he felt sure, was offering Matt a -bigger salary for his aëroplane performances.</p> - -<p>"Don't you forget for a minute," said Burton, watching -keenly as Matt opened the telegram, "that you're -hooked up with me on a contract for the season. You -can't break that contract, you know."</p> - -<p>"There were conditions, Burton," said Matt.</p> - -<p>"The only condition I remember was something about -the government buying the aëroplane—which is all a -dream. The government has bought one of the machines, -and that's enough. It takes a Motor Matt to -run one of those cranky Traquair air ships. It'll be a -long while before Uncle Sam buys another."</p> - -<p>Matt read the message through, gave a whoop of delight, -and passed the yellow slip on to McGlory.</p> - -<p>Then McGlory jubilated.</p> - -<p>"What's to pay?" demanded Burton.</p> - -<p>"Uncle Sam has done the trick!" crowed the cowboy. -"He takes the <i>Comet</i> at the same price he paid for the -<i>June Bug</i>—fifteen thousand spot—machine to be crated -and shipped immediately, if not sooner. Whoop-ya! -That settles the aëroplane business for King & McGlory. -The next game we get into will be something, I reckon, -that I can take a hand in, and not leave Pard Matt to -do all the work."</p> - -<p>Burton's face grew gloomy.</p> - -<p>"Let me look at that message," he requested.</p> - -<p>Matt handed it to him, and he read it over two or -three times, then dropped it savagely, and ground it under -his heel.</p> - -<p>"You don't <i>have</i> to sell," said he angrily. "You can -turn that offer down if you want to."</p> - -<p>"No, I can't," Matt answered. "The sale was virtually -made up in North Dakota weeks ago. Besides, I'm -not the only one interested in the deal."</p> - -<p>"Who else besides McGlory?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Mrs. Traquair, the widow of Harry Traquair, -who invented the extension wings and a few other things -that have made the aëroplane a success. Half of the fifteen -thousand the government pays for the machine goes -to Mrs. Traquair."</p> - -<p>"Oh, blazes!" growled Burton. "Don't tell the -woman anything about it. Send word back to the war -department you don't want to sell; then I'll make a new -contract with you for a thousand a week. In seven or -eight weeks you boys will receive all your share of what -the government pays for the <i>Comet</i>."</p> - -<p>Matt listened to the showman gravely.</p> - -<p>"You don't mean what you say, Burton," said he. "If -you think for a minute that I'd play crooked with Mrs. -Traquair, or with the government, then you've got pretty -far off your track. It's in our contract that, if the government -wants the machine, the contract terminates. -Here's where the motor boys' engagement with the Big -Consolidated comes to a close."</p> - -<p>"You'll make a couple of flights to-day, won't you?" -asked Burton, swallowing his disappointment.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'll do that much for you," Matt answered, "and -then, bright and early to-morrow morning, we begin -crating the machine for shipment."</p> - -<p>"Blamed if I don't sort of hate to see the machine go," -murmured McGlory. "Many a hair-raising old trip -you've had in the <i>Comet</i>, pard, with me below lookin' up -at you and almost kicking the bucket with heart failure! -Mainy a thriller the machine has given us, and—well, I -reckon it's done some good, too."</p> - -<p>"That's the best part of it, Joe," said the king of the -motor boys.</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="center medium">THE NEXT NUMBER (30) WILL CONTAIN</p> - -<p class="center huge">Motor Matt's Mandarin</p> - -<p class="center medium">OR,</p> - -<p class="center large">Turning a Trick for Tsan Ti.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<blockquote> - -<p>On the Mountainside—The Yellow Cord—The Glass -Balls—The Paper Clue—Putting Two-and-two -Together—A Smash—Nip and Tuck—Tsan Ti -Vanishes Again—Tricked Once More—The -Diamond Merchant—The Old Sugar Camp—A -Tight Corner—The Glass Spheres—A Master -Rogue—The Eye of Buddha—The Broken -Hoodoo.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> - - - - -<table summary="scaffold" class="bbox"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc huge">MOTOR STORIES</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr large" style="padding-right: .25em;">THRILLING ADVENTURE</td><td class="tdl large" style="padding-left: .25em;">MOTOR FICTION</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">NEW YORK, September 11, 1909.</p> - - -<p class="center"><b>TERMS TO MOTOR STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS.</b></p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center"><b>Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.</b></p> - -<table summary="Terms"> -<tr><td>3 months</td><td class="tdr">65c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>4 months</td><td class="tdr">85c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>6 months</td><td class="tdr">$1.25</td></tr> -<tr><td>One year</td><td class="tdr">2.50</td></tr> -<tr><td>2 copies one year</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -<tr><td>1 copy two years</td><td class="tdr">4.00</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><b>How to Send Money</b>—By post-office or express money-order, -registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent -by currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter.</p> - -<p><b>Receipts</b>—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper -change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly -credited, and should let us know at once.</p> - -<table summary="scaffold"> -<tr><td> -<span class="smcap">Ormond G. Smith</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">George C. Smith</span>, -</td> -<td style="font-size: 200%">}</td><td style="padding-right: 1em;"><i>Proprietors</i>.</td> -<td class="tdc"> -<b>STREET & SMITH, Publishers,<br /> -79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</b> -</td></tr></table> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="A_BRAVE_DEED" id="A_BRAVE_DEED">A BRAVE DEED.</a></h2> - - -<p>The mining town of Capelton was alive with excitement. -A long-looked-for event was about to take place. Mr. Hilton, -the owner of the mines and more than half the village, was -to give a ball in honor of his son's twenty-first birthday, and -also to celebrate the return of his only daughter from the -Parisian school to which she had been sent when but ten -years old.</p> - -<p>Carl Hilton was an only son, and because of his parents' -indulgence had become selfish and tyrannical. His father -idolized him, and was blind to his faults. He was to become -a partner in the mines on attaining his majority. As Mr. -Hilton had been out of health for more than a year, Carl -had attended to most of the business, and he had so tyrannized -over the miners that they one and all hated him; but -they loved and respected his father, and for his sake bore in -silence the abuse of the son.</p> - -<p>To this birthday ball all the miners and their families had -been invited, and the rumors of the great beauty of Nina -Hilton only added to the excitement and anticipation.</p> - -<p>I will not weary the reader by a description of the affair, -and no event of interest occurred until supper was announced. -It fell to the lot of Fred Chase, one of the foremen -in the mines, to escort the beautiful Nina, and so deeply did -they become engaged in conversation that it was some minutes -before Fred noticed that Carl sat directly opposite, and -was watching them closely. With an effort the young man -concealed his annoyance, and continued his attentions to -Nina.</p> - -<p>"I intend to visit the mines to-morrow," said the girl, in -tones loud enough to be heard by her brother. "I want to -descend the new shaft."</p> - -<p>"I shall be very happy to conduct you through the mines, -but you must not descend the new shaft, for it is not safe. I -have warned your brother that the roof of the mine is in -danger of falling, but he only laughs at me, and I fear some -terrible accident will be the result of his neglect."</p> - -<p>"You are a fool, Fred Chase! The shaft is safe enough; -if you talk like this, the men will all be afraid of it, and -refuse to work. I shall take Nina there myself to-morrow," -said Carl angrily.</p> - -<p>The young man's face flushed, but he controlled himself, -and answered coldly:</p> - -<p>"I spoke the truth; the shaft is not safe, and unless more -timber is put in to support the roof, you will soon have proof -that I am right. I only hope that no lives will be lost."</p> - -<p>"Pooh! You are a coward. I will show you to-morrow -how little faith I put in your words."</p> - -<p>The eyes of all present were drawn to the two by Carl's -excited tone, and Fred's reply was plainly heard.</p> - -<p>"Call me a coward, if you will, but time will prove the -truth of my assertion. Neglect for twenty-four hours to -order more timber to be placed in the new shaft for the support -of its roof, and you alone will be responsible for what -follows."</p> - -<p>Carl did not answer, but glanced angrily at Fred, who, -after a minute's pause, turned to Nina again, and changed -the subject of conversation.</p> - -<p>The following morning Carl started for the new shaft -alone. Nina refused to accompany him, and begged him to -delay his visit until the roof was made secure.</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, sis! It is safe enough. That fool, Fred Chase, -wanted to impress you."</p> - -<p>Carl believed what he said. He had not visited the shaft -for several weeks, and had not seen the timbers bend beneath -the weight of earth above them. He reached the shaft -just as half a dozen miners came from it, and in answer to -his inquiries, was told that Fred Chase and another man -had remained behind to finish filling the last car with ore.</p> - -<p>"I am going down," he said, and in a few minutes was -lowered to the bottom of the shaft. In the distance he could -see the lights of the two miners. He advanced toward them. -By the light of his own lantern he saw that some of the -beams were bent; all seemed weighted to their utmost capacity, -and he could not but own to himself that Fred Chase -was right. He involuntarily shuddered as, in passing one -large post, a slight crackling sound was heard; but it was -not repeated, and he went on, determined to again make light -of the matter.</p> - -<p>"You see, I am not afraid of your shaft," he said sneeringly, -as he reached the spot where the two men were standing -with the now loaded car beside them.</p> - -<p>"Only cowards need boast of their bravery," said Fred -sternly.</p> - -<p>"I am going on a short distance to look at the ore; you -may wait for me at the foot of the shaft, and we will all be -drawn up at once," continued Carl.</p> - -<p>He strolled on, while Fred and his companion returned, as -directed, to the entrance. They had barely reached it when -they heard a loud report behind; a cry of fear mingled with -the noise of falling rocks; then all was still.</p> - -<p>With pallid faces the men looked at each other, for each -knew what had happened. The roof had fallen, and Carl -Hilton was either crushed beneath the rocks or imprisoned -in the opening beyond.</p> - -<p>Only an instant did they stand motionless. Then Fred -grasped the rope and gave the signal to be hoisted to the -top.</p> - -<p>They told their sad story, and a messenger was dispatched -to Mr. Hilton's residence. Soon the entrance to the shaft -was a scene of wild excitement. The stricken relatives of the -buried man had reached the spot as soon as possible. The -father offered large rewards to any who would attempt the -rescue of his son; but not a man would volunteer.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hilton doubled and trebled his reward, but to no avail; -to his entreaties were added the frantic pleading of the -mother and Nina's distressed sobs.</p> - -<p>Fred had stood silent, with his eyes bent on the ground, -until the old man, in sheer despair, cried out:</p> - -<p>"I will give half of my fortune, and it is a large one, to -the men who will help me reach my boy!"</p> - -<p>Fred came forward with a look of resolve on his face. -"Mr. Hilton, not for your entire fortune would I enter that -mine to save your son; but for humanity's sake, I will do my -best to rescue him."</p> - -<p>A cheer from the miners greeted these brave words. With<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -a wave of his hand, Fred commanded silence, and running -his eye over the crowd, said slowly:</p> - -<p>"I must have three trusty men to help me. Who will go?"</p> - -<p>For an instant no one responded; then Charles Gray, -Fred's chosen companion, stepped to his side.</p> - -<p>"I will go, Fred," he said quietly.</p> - -<p>Two more men quickly followed the example of their brave -leader, and, armed with spades, bars, ropes, and a bottle of -brandy, they were lowered into the shaft.</p> - -<p>Then followed a time of anxious suspense to the waiting -crowd, who could only pray for the safety and success of the -rescuing party.</p> - -<p>The first act of the workers was to place extra beams, a -few of which were lowered down the shaft for the purpose, -as near as they could to the fallen roof, to help bear any -strain that might be resting on those already there. In a -few minutes they realized their wisdom, for a cracking sound -was heard which caused them to retreat toward the shaft; -but it was not repeated, and they returned to their work. At -the end of three hours of cautious digging they came to the -car which Fred and his companion had stayed behind to fill, -and they stopped for a few moments' rest.</p> - -<p>"He cannot be far from here, for we had barely reached -the shaft when the roof fell. Hark! What was that?"</p> - -<p>Fred stopped suddenly to listen.</p> - -<p>"It was a groan! He is alive! Let us get to work, for he -must be quite near," said Charlie Gray excitedly.</p> - -<p>With new zeal they worked on, and in half an hour they -had reached an opening caused by two large rocks, which -had fallen together in such a manner as to leave a space -between them. In that space lay Carl, with one arm doubled -under him, and one foot pinioned by a large stone. The poor -fellow was terribly bruised and cut, but conscious. Very -gently he was lifted by the men and borne to the foot of the -shaft. The signal was given, and they were carefully drawn -to the top, and when they laid Carl on the ground a shout -went up from the miners that echoed loudly over the hills.</p> - -<p>"God bless you, Fred, and your brave companions!" said -Mr. Hilton huskily, as he grasped the young man by the -hand. "From my heart I thank you."</p> - -<p>"No thanks are due. I could not bear to see a fellow -creature die without trying to save him."</p> - -<p>The crowd soon dispersed, and Carl was conveyed to his -home. After many weeks of suffering he recovered; but -the crushed foot was useless—he was a cripple for life.</p> - -<p>As soon as he was able to do so, Carl sent for Fred.</p> - -<p>"Forgive me, Fred," he said frankly. "I was wrong not -to heed your advice, but my punishment has been great. -Forget the past, and allow me to thank you for saving my -life."</p> - -<p>Fred could not refuse the apology thus offered, and the -two became fast friends.</p> - -<p>About a year afterward Mr. Hilton bestowed his daughter's -hand upon the brave young man who had saved his son's -life, and on his wedding day Fred became one of the owners -of the mines. He is now a wealthy and prosperous man, -and, with his beautiful wife, is almost worshiped by the -miners.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="A_LOCOMOTIVE_HERO" id="A_LOCOMOTIVE_HERO">A LOCOMOTIVE HERO.</a></h2> - - -<p>Well, boys, if you wish it, I'll tell you the story. When I -was a youth of eighteen, and lived with my parents, I had a -boyish ambition to become an engineer, although I had been -educated for loftier pursuits.</p> - -<p>During my college vacation, I constantly lounged about -the station, making friends with the officials, and especially -with an engineer named Silas Markley. I became much attached -to this man, although he was forty years of age and -by no means a sociable fellow.</p> - -<p>He was my ideal of a brave, skillful, thoroughbred engineer, -and I looked up to him as something of a hero. He -was not a married man, but lived alone with his old mother. -I was a frequent visitor at their house, and I think they both -took quite a fancy to me in their quiet, undemonstrative way.</p> - -<p>When this Markley's fireman left him, I induced him to -let me take his place during the remainder of my vacation. -He hesitated for some time before he consented to humor -my boyish whim; but he finally yielded, and I was in great -glee.</p> - -<p>The fact was that, in my idleness and the overworked -state of my brain, I craved for the excitement, and, besides, -I had such longing dreams of the fiery ride through the hills, -mounted literally on the iron horse. So I became an expert -fireman, and liked it exceedingly; for the excitement more -than compensated for the rough work I was required to do.</p> - -<p>But there came a time when I got my fill of excitement. -Mrs. Markley one day formed a plan which seemed to give -her a good deal of happiness. It was her son's birthday, and -she wanted to go down to Philadelphia in the train without -letting him know anything about it, and there purchase a -present for him. She took me into her confidence, and -asked me to assist her. I arranged the preliminaries, got her -into the train without being noticed by Markley, who, of -course, was busy with his engine.</p> - -<p>The old lady was in high glee over the bit of innocent deception -she was practicing on her son. She enjoined me -again not to tell Silas, and then I left her and took my place.</p> - -<p>It was a midsummer day, and the weather was delightful.</p> - -<p>The train was one which stopped at the principal stations -on the route. On this occasion, as there were two specials -on the line, it was run by telegraph—that is, the engineer -has simply to obey the instructions which he receives at -each station, so that he is put as a machine in the hands of -one controller, who directs all trains from a central point, -and thus has the whole line under his eye. If the engineer -does not obey to the least tittle his orders, it is destruction -to the whole.</p> - -<p>Well, we started without mishap, and up to time, and -easily reached the first station in the time allotted to us. -As we stopped there, a boy ran alongside with the telegram, -which he handed to the engineer. The next moment I heard -a smothered exclamation from Markley.</p> - -<p>"Go back," he said to the boy; "tell Williams to have the -message repeated; there's a mistake."</p> - -<p>The boy dashed off; in a few minutes he came flying -back.</p> - -<p>"Had it repeated," he panted. "Williams is storming at -you; says there's no mistake, and you'd best get on."</p> - -<p>He thrust the second message up as he spoke.</p> - -<p>Markley read it, and stood hesitating for half a minute.</p> - -<p>There was dismay and utter perplexity in the expression of -his face as he looked at the telegram and the long train behind -him. His lips moved as if he were calculating chances, -and his eyes suddenly quailed as if he saw death at the end -of the calculation. I was watching him with considerable -curiosity. I ventured to ask him what was the matter, and -what he was going to do.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to obey," he said curtly.</p> - -<p>The engine gave a long shriek of horror that made me -start as if it were Markley's own voice. The next instant -we slipped out of the station and dashed through low-lying -farms at a speed which seemed dangerous to me.</p> - -<p>"Put in more coal," said Markley.</p> - -<p>I shoveled in more, but took time.</p> - -<p>"We are going very fast, Markley."</p> - -<p>He did not answer. His eyes were fixed on the steam -gauge, his lips close shut.</p> - -<p>"More coal," he said.</p> - -<p>I threw it in. The fields and houses began to fly past -half-seen. We were nearing Dufreme, the next station. -Markley's eyes went from the gauge to the face of the timepiece -and back. He moved like an automaton. There was -little more meaning in his face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>"More!" he said, without turning his eye.</p> - -<p>"Markley, do you know you are going at the rate of sixty -miles an hour?"</p> - -<p>"Coal!"</p> - -<p>I was alarmed at the stern, cold rigidity of the man. His -pallor was becoming frightful. I threw in the coal. At least -we must stop at Dufreme. That was the next halt. The -little town was approaching. As the first house came into -view the engine sent its shrieks of warning; it grew louder—still -louder.</p> - -<p>We dashed over the switches, up to the station, where a -group of passengers waited, and passed it without the halt -of an instant, catching a glimpse of the appalled faces and -the waiting crowd. Then we were in the fields again. The -speed now became literally breathless, the furnace glared red -hot. The heat, the velocity, the terrible nervous strain of -the man beside me seemed to weight the air. I found myself -drawing long, stertorous breaths, like one drowning.</p> - -<p>I heaped in the coal at intervals as he bade me. I did it -because I was oppressed by an odd sense of duty which I -never had in my ordinary brainwork. Since then I have -understood how it is that dull, ignorant men, without a spark -of enthusiasm, show such heroism as soldiers, firemen, and -captains of wrecked vessels.</p> - -<p>It is this overpowering sense of routine duty. It's a finer -thing than sheer bravery, in my idea. However, I began to -think that Markley was mad—laboring under some frenzy -from drink, though I had never seen him touch liquor.</p> - -<p>He did not move hand or foot, except in the mechanical -control of his engine, his eyes going from the gauge to the -timepiece with a steadiness that was more terrible and -threatening than any gleam of insanity would have been. -Once he glared back at the long train sweeping after the -engine with a headlong speed that rocked it from side to side.</p> - -<p>One could imagine he saw a hundred men and women in -the cars, talking, reading, smoking, unconscious that their -lives were all in the hold of one man, whom I now suspected -to be mad. I knew by his look that he remembered that -their lives were in his hand. He glanced at the clock.</p> - -<p>"Twenty miles," he muttered. "Throw on more coal, Jack; -the fire is going out."</p> - -<p>I did it. Yes, I did it. There was something in the face -of that man I could not resist. Then I climbed forward and -shook him roughly by the shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Markley," I shouted, "you are running this train into the -jaws of death!"</p> - -<p>"I know it," he replied quietly.</p> - -<p>"Your mother is on board."</p> - -<p>"Heavens!"</p> - -<p>He staggered to his feet. But even then he did not remove -his eyes from the gauge.</p> - -<p>"Make up the fire," he commanded, and pushed in the -throttle valve.</p> - -<p>"I will not."</p> - -<p>"Make up the fire, Jack," very quietly.</p> - -<p>"I will not. You may kill yourself and your mother, but -you shall not murder me!"</p> - -<p>He looked at me. His kindly gray eyes glared like those -of a wild beast, but he controlled himself in a moment.</p> - -<p>"I could throw you off this engine, and make short work -of you," he said. "But, look here, do you see the station -yonder?"</p> - -<p>I saw a faint streak in the sky about five miles ahead.</p> - -<p>"I was told to reach that station by six o'clock," he continued. -"The express train meeting us is due now. I ought -to have laid by for it at Defreme. I was told to come on. -The track is a single one. Unless I make the siding at the -station in three minutes, we shall meet it in yonder hollow."</p> - -<p>"Somebody's blunder?" I said.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I think so."</p> - -<p>I said nothing. I threw on coal. If I had had petroleum, -I should have thrown it on; but I never was calmer in my -life. When death actually stares a man in the face, it often -frightens him into the most perfect composure. Markley -pushed the valve still farther. The engine began to give -a strange panting sound. Far off to the south I could -see the dense black smoke of a train. I looked at Markley -inquiringly. He nodded. It was the express. I stooped to -the fire.</p> - -<p>"No more," he said.</p> - -<p>I looked across the clear summer sky at the gray smoke -of the peaceful little village, and beyond that at a black line -coming closer, closer, across the sky. Then I turned to the -watch. In one minute more—well, I confess I sat down and -buried my face in my hands. I don't think I tried to pray. I -had a confused thought of mangled, dying men and women—mothers -and their babies.</p> - -<p>There was a terrible shriek from the engine, against which -I leaned, another in my face. A hot, hissing tempest swept -past me. I looked up. We were on the siding, and the express -had gone by. It grazed our end car in passing. In a -sort of delirious joy, I sprang up and shouted to Markley. -He did not speak. He sat there immovable and cold as a -stone. I went to the train and brought his mother to him, -and, when he opened his eyes and took the old lady's hand -in his, I turned hastily away.</p> - -<p>Yes, gentlemen, I have been in many a railway accident, -but I have always considered that the closest shave I ever -had.</p> - -<p>What was the blunder?</p> - -<p>I don't know; Markley made light of it ever afterward, -and kept it a secret; but no man on the line stood so high -in the confidence of the company after that as he. By his -coolness and nerve he had saved a hundred lives.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="GEESE_DROWN_A_SQUIRREL" id="GEESE_DROWN_A_SQUIRREL">GEESE DROWN A SQUIRREL.</a></h2> - - -<p>Jack, a big gray squirrel, who, with his mate, Jill, inhabited -the island in the duck inclosure in the Bronx Park Zoo, New -York City, sacrificed his life to his love of high living. It -was this way:</p> - -<p>Jack and Jill long ago discovered that by crossing over -the ten-foot-wide stream of water which separates the island -from the mainland on all sides they could reach a trough -filled with corn, which was replenished daily, for the ducks -and geese, which rightfully inhabit the pond and island. A -wire fence dividing the inclosure used by the mallard ducks -from that enjoyed by the Canada geese offered a means of -communication between the island and the corn trough, -and Jack and Jill long ago became expert in running along -the top of this ticklish pathway.</p> - -<p>Daily the two squirrels made pilgrimages to the corn -trough, eaten to repletion, and then returned to the island. -The ducks and the geese always swam close to the fence, -flapping their wings and uttering hoarse cries of rage, but -were never able to catch the nimble squirrels. Little by -little, however, Jack lost his native agility as he partook of -more and more of the rich food, and when he started back -from a particularly heavy feast he waddled slowly along the -top of the fence instead of hopping nimbly along as had been -his wont.</p> - -<p>One of the mallards saw him and realized that he was too -heavy and too well fed to move hurriedly. The duck sounded -a cry which brought all of its mates, and they attacked Jack -viciously. The squirrel tried to hurry, but at last was -pushed off the fence and fell into the pond.</p> - -<p>In an instant he was surrounded by big Canada geese. -Persons on shore saw him fight desperately for life, but -finally he was forced under water. The geese churned the -pond into a foam, and when they swam majestically away -there was nothing to be seen of Jack.</p> - -<p>Jill, who ran back and forth on the shore of the island -while Jack was fighting for his life, retired to a tree after -the tragedy, and has not been seen since. Keepers think -that she will not try to reach the corn trough any more.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2 class="huge bb"> -<a href="images/i1large.jpg"><img src="images/i1.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -<a name="LATEST_ISSUES" id="LATEST_ISSUES">LATEST ISSUES</a> -<a href="images/i2large.jpg"><img src="images/i2.jpg" width="48" height="23" alt="hand" /></a> -</h2> - - -<h3>MOTOR STORIES</h3> - -<p>The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it is. See for yourself. <b>High art -colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters.</p> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos.</p> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor -Boys.</p> - -<p>21—Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need.</p> - -<p>22—Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right.</p> - -<p>23—Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins.</p> - -<p>24—Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune.</p> - -<p>25—Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing Game.</p> - -<p>26—Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing the Spark of -Friendship.</p> - -<p>27—Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road With a Show.</p> - -<p>28—Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's Vow.</p> - -<p>29—Motor Matt's Make-up; or, Playing a New Rôle.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h3>TIP TOP WEEKLY</h3> - -<p>The most popular publication for boys. The adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell can be had only in -this weekly. <b>High art colored covers. Thirty-two pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>687—Dick Merriwell's Colors; or, All For the Blue.</p> - -<p>688—Dick Merriwell, Driver; or, The Race for the Daremore -Cup.</p> - -<p>689—Dick Merriwell on the Deep; or, The Cruise of the <i>Yale</i>.</p> - -<p>690—Dick Merriwell in the North Woods; or, The Timber -Thieves of the Floodwood.</p> - -<p>691—Dick Merriwell's Dandies; or, A Surprise for the Cowboy -Nine.</p> - -<p>692—Dick Merriwell's "Skyscooter"; or, Professor Pagan and -the "Princess."</p> - -<p>693—Dick Merriwell in the Elk Mountains; or, The Search for -"Dead Injun" Mine.</p> - -<p>694—Dick Merriwell in Utah; or, The Road to "Promised Land."</p> - -<p>695—Dick Merriwell's Bluff; or, The Boy Who Ran Away.</p> - -<p>696—Dick Merriwell in the Saddle; or, The Bunch from the -Bar—Z.</p> - -<p>697—Dick Merriwell's Ranch Friends; or, Sport on the Range.</p> - -<p>698—Frank Merriwell at Phantom Lake; or, The Mystery of the -Mad Doctor.</p> - -<p>699—Frank Merriwell's Hold-back; or, The Boys of Bristol.</p> - -<p>700—Frank Merriwell's Lively Lads; or, The Rival Campers.</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h3>NICK CARTER WEEKLY</h3> - -<p>The best detective stories on earth. Nick Carter's exploits are read the world over. <b>High art colored -covers. Thirty-two big pages. Price, 5 cents.</b></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>649—The Triangle Clue; or, Nick Carter's Greenwich Village -Case.</p> - -<p>650—The Hollingsworth Puzzle; or, Nick Carter Three Times -Baffled.</p> - -<p>651—The Affair of the Missing Bonds; or, Nick Carter in the -Harness.</p> - -<p>652—The Green Box Clue; or, Nick Carter's Good Friend.</p> - -<p>653—The Taxicab Mystery; or, Nick Carter Closes a Deal.</p> - -<p>654—The Mystery of a Hotel Room; or, Nick Carter's Best -Work.</p> - -<p>655—The Tragedy of the Well; or, Nick Carter Under Suspicion.</p> - -<p>656—The Black Hand; or, Chick Carter's Well-laid Plot.</p> - -<p>657—The Black Hand Nemesis; or, Chick Carter and the Mysterious -Woman.</p> - -<p>658—A Masterly Trick; or, Chick and the Beautiful Italian.</p> - -<p>659—A Dangerous Man; or, Nick Carter and the Famous Castor -Case.</p> - -<p>660—Castor the Poisoner; or, Nick Carter Wins a Man.</p> - -<p>661—The Castor Riddle; or, Nick Carter's Search for a Hidden -Fortune.</p> - -<p>662—A Tragedy of the Bowery; or, Nick Carter and Ida at Coney -Island.</p> - -<p>663—Four Scraps of Paper; or, Nick Carter's Coney Island -Search.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt of price, -5 cents per copy, in money or postage stamps, by</i></p> - -<p class="center large">STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><b class="medium">IF YOU WANT ANY BACK NUMBERS</b> of our Weeklies and cannot procure them from your newsdealer, they can be -obtained from this office direct. Fill out the following Order Blank and send it to -us with the price of the Weeklies you want and we will send them to you by return mail. <b>POSTAGE STAMPS TAKEN THE SAME AS MONEY.</b></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<table summary="form" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> - -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdr sig">________________________ <i>190</i></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6"><i>STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City.</i><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find</i> ___________________________ <i>cents for which send me</i>:</span> -</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td><b>TIP TOP WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BUFFALO BILL STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>Nos.</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>NICK CARTER WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td><b>DIAMOND DICK WEEKLY,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td class="br">______________________</td> -<td><b>MOTOR STORIES,</b></td><td class="tdc"><b>"</b></td><td>______________________</td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="6" class="tdc"> -<i>Name</i> ________________ <i>Street</i> ________________ <i>City</i> ________________ <i>State</i> ________________<br /> -</td></tr></table> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h2><a name="A_GREAT_SUCCESS" id="A_GREAT_SUCCESS">A GREAT SUCCESS!!</a></h2> -<hr class="full" /> -<p class="center huge u">MOTOR STORIES</p> - - -<p>Every boy who reads one of the splendid adventures of Motor Matt, which are making -their appearance in this weekly, is at once surprised and delighted. Surprised at the generous -quantity of reading matter that we are giving for five cents; delighted with the fascinating -interest of the stories, second only to those published in the Tip Top Weekly.</p> - -<p>Matt has positive mechanical genius, and while his adventures are unusual, they are, -however, drawn so true to life that the reader can clearly see how it is possible for the ordinary -boy to experience them.</p> - - -<p class="center"><i>HERE ARE THE TITLES NOW READY AND THOSE TO BE PUBLISHED</i>:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>1—Motor Matt; or, The King of the Wheel.</p> - -<p>2—Motor Matt's Daring; or, True to His Friends.</p> - -<p>3—Motor Matt's Century Run; or, The Governor's -Courier.</p> - -<p>4—Motor Matt's Race; or, The Last Flight of the -"Comet."</p> - -<p>5—Motor Matt's Mystery; or, Foiling a Secret -Plot.</p> - -<p>6—Motor Matt's Red Flier; or, On the High -Gear.</p> - -<p>7—Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto.</p> - -<p>8—Motor Matt's Triumph; or, Three Speeds -Forward.</p> - -<p>9—Motor Matt's Air Ship; or, The Rival Inventors.</p> - -<p>10—Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon -House Plot.</p> - -<p>11—Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange -Case of Helen Brady.</p> - -<p>12—Motor Matt's Peril; or, Cast Away in the -Bahamas.</p> - -<p>13—Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the -Iron Chest.</p> - -<p>14—Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the -"Hawk."</p> - -<p>15—Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise -of the "Grampus."</p> - -<p>16—Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in -Strange Waters.</p> - -<p>17—Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don -Carlos.</p> - -<p>18—Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon.</p> - -<p>19—Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn.</p> - -<p>20—Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory -for the Motor Boys.</p> - -<p>21—Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need.</p> - -<p>22—Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the -Right.</p> - -<p>23—Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck that Wins.</p> - -<p>24—Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame -and Fortune.</p> - -<p>25—Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing -Game.</p> - -<p>26—Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing -the Spark of Friendship.</p> - -<p>27—Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road -With a Show.</p> - -<p>28—Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's -Vow.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on September 6th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>29—Motor Matt's Make-up; or, Playing a New -Role.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on September 13th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>30—Motor Matt's Mandarin; or, Turning a Trick -for Tsan Ti.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on September 20th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>31—Motor Matt's Mariner; or, Filling the Bill for -Bunce.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center small">To be Published on September 27th.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>32—Motor Matt's Double-trouble; or, The Last of -the Hoodoo.</p></blockquote> - - -<p class="large center">PRICE, FIVE CENTS</p> - -<p class="center">At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt of the price.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<table summary="scaffold" style="width: 50%;"> -<tr class="medium"><td style="width: 33%">STREET & SMITH,</td><td class="tdc"><i>Publishers</i>,</td><td class="tdr" style="width: 33%">NEW YORK</td></tr> -</table> -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber's Notes:</a></h2> - - -<p>Added table of contents.</p> - -<p>Images may be clicked to view larger versions.</p> - -<p>Retained some inconsistent hyphenation; in many cases, words are hyphenated when used as adjectives but unhyphenated when used as nouns.</p> - -<p>Front and rear covers, accent is missing from "Role" in original; -retained inconsistency.</p> - -<p>Page 1, corrected ? to ! after "Howdy, Dutch!"</p> - -<p>Page 3, corrected "shimiiy" to "shiminy" in "Py shiminy grickets!"</p> - -<p>Page 4, corrected "Wiley" to "Wily" in "Go back to your job, Wily."</p> - -<p>Page 6, removed stray single quote after "going to keep it."</p> - -<p>Page 8, added missing quote before "I'm the one."</p> - -<p>Page 9, corrected typo "minues" in "Inside of five minutes."</p> - -<p>Page 11, removed unnecessary quote before "Yes, he decided." (Adding a quote after "Yes" would also have been an option; however, this series usually does not quote thoughts).</p> - -<p>Page 16, changed "doin 'a" to "doin' a."</p> - -<p>Page 18, changed "go" to "got" in "What have you got to do with this house?"</p> - -<p>Page 19, changed "he" to "the" in "the loss o' that Hindoostanee."</p> - -<p>Page 21, changed "foolishnes" to "foolishness."</p> - -<p>Page 22, changed "fair to asume" to "fair to assume." Changed "every" to "ever" in "on my mind ever since."</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Make Up, by Stanley R. 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