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diff --git a/old/51343-8.txt b/old/51343-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9282104..0000000 --- a/old/51343-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4907 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Motor Matt's Reverse, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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/license - - -Title: Motor Matt's Reverse - or, Caught in a Losing Cause - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: March 2, 2016 [EBook #51343] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT'S REVERSE *** - - - - -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. 25 - AUG. 14, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - - MOTOR MATT'S - REVERSE - - OR CAUGHT IN - A LOSING CAUSE - - _BY THE AUTHOR - OF "MOTOR MATT"_ - - [Illustration: _"Are you hurt"? cried the girl, - as Motor Matt lifted himself - and looked toward her._] - - STREET & SMITH - PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -_Issued Weekly._ _By subscription $2.50 per year._ _Copyright, 1909, -by_ STREET & SMITH, _79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y._ - - =No. 25.= NEW YORK, August 14, 1909. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - -MOTOR MATT'S REVERSE; - -OR, - -Caught in a Losing Cause. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. PLOTTERS THREE. - CHAPTER II. THE NEW AEROPLANE. - CHAPTER III. TREACHERY AND TRAGEDY. - CHAPTER IV. MURGATROYD'S FIRST MOVE. - CHAPTER V. A STARTLING PLAN. - CHAPTER VI. THE AIR LINE INTO TROUBLE. - CHAPTER VII. NOTHING DOING IN SYKESTOWN. - CHAPTER VIII. BROUGHT TO EARTH. - CHAPTER IX. THE COIL TIGHTENS. - CHAPTER X. THE DOOR IN THE HILLSIDE. - CHAPTER XI. A REVELATION FOR MATT. - CHAPTER XII. PECOS TAKES A CHANCE. - CHAPTER XIII. BESIEGED. - CHAPTER XIV. THE BROKER'S GAME. - CHAPTER XV. CANT PHILLIPS, DESERTER. - CHAPTER XVI. THE LOSING CAUSE. - THE DOCTOR'S RUSE. - STRANDED ON A CHIMNEY. - A SCRIMMAGE OF LIONS. - DREDGING FOR GOLD. - - - - -CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. - - - =Matt King=, otherwise Motor Matt. - - =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and - character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side. A - good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive. - - =Ping Pong=, a Chinese boy who insists on working for Motor Matt, and - who contrives to make himself valuable, perhaps invaluable. - - =Amos Murgatroyd=, an enemy of Motor Matt, and who cleverly - manipulates the various wires of a comprehensive plot only to find - that he has championed a losing cause. - - =Amy=, Murgatroyd's niece, who helps right and justice, turning - against a relative in order to befriend a stranger. - - =Siwash Charley=, a ruffianly assistant of Murgatroyd who proves to - be one Cant Phillips, a deserter from the army. - - =Pecos Jones=, who has no principles worth mentioning, plays a double - part with friend and foe, and abruptly vanishes. - - =Lieutenant Cameron=, an officer in the Signal Corps, U. S. A., who - proves to be the cousin of an old friend of Matt, and who nearly - loses his life when the aėroplane is tested. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -PLOTTERS THREE. - - -"There's no use talkin', Siwash," and Pecos Jones leaned disgustedly -back against the earth wall of the dugout; "he's got one o' these here -charmed lives, that feller has, and it ain't no manner o' use tryin' to -down him." - -Siwash Charley was cramming tobacco into the bowl of a black pipe. He -halted operations long enough to give his companion an angry look out -from under his thick brows. - -"Oh, ye're the limit, Pecos!" he grunted, drawing a match across the -top of the table and trailing the flame over the pipe bowl. "The cub's -human, an' I ain't never yet seen a human bein' that couldn't be -downed--purvidin' ye went about it right." - -Pecos Jones scowled discontentedly. - -"Then I opine," said he, "ye ain't got sense enough to know how to -go about it. That last attempt at Fort Totten wasn't nothin' more'n -a flash in the pan. What did ye accomplish, huh? Tell me that. Here -y' are, holed up in this dugout an' not darin' to show yer face where -it'll be seen an' reckernized. The sojers want ye, an' they want ye -bad. Ye come purty nigh doin' up a leftenant o' the army, an' that's -why the milingtary is on yer trail, but if they knowed as much o' yer -hist'ry as I do, they'd be arter ye a lot worse'n what they----" - -"Stow it!" roared Siwash Charley, leaning toward his companion and -bringing a fist down on the table with force enough to make the flame -leap upward in the chimney of the tin lamp. "Ye'll hush arbout my past -hist'ry, Jones, or thar'll be doin's between you an' me." - -The place where this conversation was going forward was a hole in the -hillside--an excavation consisting of a single room with a door and a -window in the front wall. A shelf of earth running around three walls -offered a place to sit, as well as a convenient ledge for the stowage -of food supplies and cooking utensils. - -The window was darkened with a blanket, so that the light would not -shine through and acquaint any chance passers with the fact that the -interior of the hill was occupied. - -Pecos Jones was a little ferret of a man. His face had "undesirable -citizen" written all over it. - -Siwash Charley was larger, and on the principle that there can be more -villain in a large package than in a small one, Siwash was the more -undesirable of the two. - -He banged the table and scowled so savagely that Pecos Jones pulled -himself together with a startled jerk. Before he could say anything, -however, a set of knuckles drummed on the door. - -Pecos gasped, and stared in affright at Siwash. The latter muttered -under his breath, grabbed up a revolver that was lying on the table and -stepped to the door. - -"Who's thar?" he demanded huskily. - -"Murg," came a muffled reply from the other side of the door. - -Siwash laughed, shoved a bolt, and pulled the door wide. - -"Come in, Murg," said he. "I was sorter expectin' ye." - -A smooth-faced man, wearing gauntlets, a long automobile coat, and with -goggles pushed up above the visor of his cap, stepped into the room. He -carried a rifle over his arm, and for a moment he stood blinking in the -yellow lamplight. - -Siwash Charley closed the door. - -"Got yer ottermobill fixin's on, eh?" said he, facing about after -the door had been bolted; "an' by jings, if ye ain't totin' of er -Winchester. Them fellers at Totten arter you, too, Murg?" - -Murgatroyd's little, gimlet-like eyes were becoming used to the -lamplight. They shot a reproving glance at Siwash, then darted to Pecos -Jones. - -"Who's that?" he asked curtly. - -"Him?" chuckled Siwash. "Oh, he's the Artful Dodger. I reckon he does -more dodgin' across the international boundary line than ary other -feller in the Northwest. Whenever things git too hot fer Pecos Jones -in North Dakotay, he dodges inter Manitoby, and vicer verser. Hoss -stealin' is his line." - -"Never stole a hoss in my life!" bridled Pecos Jones. - -"Thunder!" snickered Siwash. "Why, I've helped ye." - -"How does Pecos Jones happen to be here?" demanded Murgatroyd. - -"He got ter know this place o' mine while we was workin' tergether. -Arter that flyin' machine was tried out at Fort Totten, o' course I had -ter slope ter some quiet spot whar I could go inter retirement, an' -this ole hang-out nacherly suggested itself. When I blowed in hyer, lo! -an' behold, hyer was Pecos." - -Murgatroyd appeared satisfied. Standing his rifle in one corner, he -pulled off his gauntlets and thrust them in his pockets, sat down on -the earth shelf, and hooked up one knee between his hands. For a while -he sat regarding Siwash reflectively. - -"Is Pecos Jones known at Fort Totten?" he asked. - -"Bet yer life I ain't," said Pecos for himself. "What's more," he -added, nibbling at a slab of tobacco, "I don't want ter be." - -"He works mostly around Turtle Mounting," explained Siwash Charley. -"Why?" - -"I think he can be useful to us," answered Murgatroyd. "Those other two -fellows who helped you at Totten--where are they, Siwash?" - -"They was nigh skeered ter death, an' made a bee line fer Winnipeg." - -"That was a bad bobble you made at Totten," resumed Murgatroyd. "Motor -Matt, in spite of you, put Traquair's aėroplane through its paces, met -the government's requirements in every particular, and the machine was -sold to the war department for fifteen thousand dollars." - -"Things didn't work right," growled Siwash. "I tampered with that thar -machine the night before the trials--loosened bolts an' screws an' -filed through the wire guy ropes--but nothin' happened till the flyin' -machine was done sailin' an' ready ter come down; then that cub, Motor -Matt, got in some lightnin' headwork an' saved the machine, saved -himself, an' likewise that there Leftenant Cameron of the Signal Corps." - -"The boy's got a charmed life, I tell ye," insisted Pecos Jones. "I've -heerd talk, up around Turtle Mounting, about what he's done." - -"Think of a full-grown man like Pecos Jones talkin' that-a-way!" -exclaimed Siwash derisively. - -"Motor Matt is clever," said Murgatroyd musingly, "and I made a mistake -in sizing him up. But there's a way to get him." - -"What do you want to 'get' him fer?" inquired Pecos Jones. - -Murgatroyd drew three gold pieces from his pocket and laid them in a -little stack on the table, just within the glint of the lamplight. - -"Pecos Jones," said he, "Siwash, here, has vouched for you. In the -little game I'm about to play we need help. You can either take that -money and obey orders, or leave it and get out." - -There was a silence, while Pecos eyed the gold greedily. After a -little reflection he brushed the coins from the table and dropped them -clinking into his pocket. - -"I'm with ye," said he. "What's wanted?" - -"That's the talk," approved Murgatroyd. "Our plans failed at the -aėroplane trials,[A] but I've got another scheme which I am sure will -win. You know, Siwash, and perhaps Pecos knows it as well, that Motor -Matt was demonstrating that aėroplane for Mrs. Traquair, who lives in -Jamestown. Motor Matt came meddling with the business which I had with -the woman, and the fifteen thousand, paid by the government for the -aėroplane, was divided between Mrs. Traquair and Matt. Half----" - -[A] What Murgatroyd's plans were, and why they failed, was set forth in -No. 24 of the MOTOR STORIES, "Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for -Fame and Fortune." - -"We know all that," cut in Siwash. - -"Well, then, here's something you don't know. Mrs. Traquair has a -quarter section of land near here, on which her husband borrowed one -thousand dollars of me while perfecting his aėroplane. After Traquair -was killed by a fall with his flying machine, I felt sure I could -get that quarter section of land on the mortgage. Now Motor Matt, by -helping Mrs. Traquair, has made it possible for her to pay off the -mortgage. She hasn't done it yet, because I haven't been in Jamestown -since your failure to wreck the aėroplane at Fort Totten. I've been -traveling around in my automobile with my niece, who is in poor health. -She is in Sykestown now, while I am making this night trip out here. I -visited this place once before, you remember, and I kept its location -so well in mind that I was able to find it without much trouble. I felt -fairly certain, Siwash, that you would be here, so----" - -"Well, what's your scheme?" interrupted Siwash Charley. - -"I'm getting to that," went on Murgatroyd. "Motor Matt and his friend -Joe McGlory, together with the Chinese boy, Ping Pong, have been at -Fort Totten ever since the aėroplane was sold to the government. The -war department will take another of the Traquair aėroplanes at the same -price paid for this one in case it can be finished and delivered by the -first of the month, in time to go to Washington for trials of dirigible -balloons and other devices at Fort Myer. Motor Matt is building an -aėroplane for this order, and it is nearly completed. I don't care -anything about that. What concerns me is that quarter section of land. -For reasons of my own, I want it--and I am going to have it, if not in -one way, then in another." - -"What's yer scheme?" asked Siwash Charley impatiently. - -"My scheme is to give Motor Matt such a reverse that Mrs. Traquair will -have to come to his rescue and buy his safety with the quarter section." - -"Ye never kin do it!" - -"I believe that I can." Murgatroyd took a letter from his pocket and -laid it on the table. "That," said he, nodding toward the letter, "is -to be delivered to Motor Matt at Fort Totten by Pecos Jones, and Jones -is to tell a story which will run substantially like this." - -Thereupon Murgatroyd entered into a more lengthened review of his -crafty scheme, Siwash Charley's eyes gleaming exultantly as he -proceeded. - -"It's goin' ter win!" declared Siwash, thumping a fist down on the -table to emphasize his declaration. "I've got ter saw off even with -that young cub, an' I'm with ye, Murg, chaps, taps, an' latigoes! So's -Pecos. Ye kin count on the two of us." - -"Very good," responded Murgatroyd, getting up and drawing on his -gauntlets. "Succeed in this, Siwash, and I'll not only secure the -quarter section, but you and Pecos will get more money and, what's -better, a promise from the government not to trouble you because of -what happened at Fort Totten--or what's going to happen. You understand -what you're going to do, so no more need be said. I'll get away before -my absence from Sykestown arouses any remarks. So long." - -The door closed, and presently the two in the dugout heard the muffled -"chugging" of a distant motor car fading into silence in the direction -of Sykestown. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE NEW AEROPLANE. - - -Motor Matt was as happy as the proverbial bee in clover--and fully as -industrious. - -A quarter of a mile below the post trader's store, on the Devil's Lake -Indian Reservation, a tent, with its sides rolled up, was being used -as a workshop. Outside the tent there was a portable forge, anvil, and -full outfit of blacksmith's tools. Inside there was a bench with an -ironworker's vise, and also a carpenter's bench and well-equipped chest. - -For two weeks Matt had been laboring about Camp Traquair, as the little -rendezvous was called, assisted in his work by his cowboy chum, Joe -McGlory, and with the Chinese boy, Ping, in charge of the culinary -department. - -Immediately after Matt had finished the aėroplane trials, with so much -credit to himself, an order had been given for a new aėroplane at the -same price the government had paid for the first one, providing only -that it should be finished and tried out by the first of the month. -This would enable the machine to be taken apart, crated, and forwarded -to Fort Myer for a competitive test in an event that was to determine -the abilities of an aėroplane for signal corps' services, as against -other types of machines, such as dirigible balloons. - -Matt and his two friends had plunged zealously into the work. While -McGlory and Ping were erecting the work tent, and furnishing it with -wood and iron-working tools, Matt had made a trip to Jamestown for a -talk with Mrs. Traquair, and then to St. Paul after materials. - -The tough spruce needed for the wings, or "planes," every bolt, screw -and wire guy, and the motor, Matt had secured in St. Paul. At a large -cost for expressage these materials had been shipped direct to Fort -Totten and had arrived there on the same day that witnessed Matt's -return. - -Then began a season of feverish activity, during which Lieutenant -Cameron and others from the post had watched the king of the motor boys -with wonder and admiration. - -That Motor Matt was possessed of mechanical skill the officers at the -post had long known, but that his genius in construction was fully -equal to his ability as an aviator became evident from day to day, and -was in the nature of a revelation. - -"You're the best all-around chap at this business I ever saw in my -life," Lieutenant Cameron had declared. - -Matt laughed. - -"Why, Cameron," he answered, "I used to work in a motor plant, in -Albany, New York." - -"That may be, Matt, but building a motor is a different proposition -from building a flying machine." - -"Traquair laid down the plans. All I have to do is to follow them. -It's really very simple. An aėroplane, you know, is nothing more than -two oblong pieces of canvas, fastened together one above the other and -pushed against the air by a motor and propeller. If the motor drives -the wings fast enough, they're sure to stay up." - -But Cameron shook his head and continued to believe that Motor Matt was -something of a phenomenon, whereas Matt knew that he had merely the -"knack" for the work, just as he had acquired the "knack" for using the -aėroplane in the first place. - -"The machine," he declared to Cameron, "is only a big toy." - -"Toy?" echoed Cameron. "It's more than that, Matt." - -"For the army and navy, yes. Aėroplanes can be used for scouting -purposes and for dropping bombs down on hostile armies and war -ships--providing they can keep clear of bullets and shells fired from -below; but, even for such work, the aėroplane has its limitations." - -"The government," laughed Cameron, "is buying these Traquair aėroplanes -in spite of their limitations." - -"Our war department," answered Matt, "has got to keep abreast of other -war departments, and poor Traquair has given you fellows the best -aėroplane so far invented." - -"Don't you think the Traquair machine will ever be used for commercial -purposes? Won't there be fleets of them carrying passengers and -merchandise between San Francisco and New York and making the trip at -the rate of sixty or one hundred miles an hour?" - -"That's a dream," averred Matt; "still," he added, "dreams sometimes -come true. My old dirigible balloon, the _Hawk_, was a wonder. She -could be sailed in a pretty stiff wind, and a fellow didn't have to use -his head and hands every blessed second to keep a sudden gust of air -from turning his machine upside down. I traveled thousand of miles in -the _Hawk_, but there was always a certain amount of worry on account -of the gas. If anything happened to the silk envelope, no amount of -work with your head and hands could keep you from a tumble." - -"Well, anyway, you're in love with air ships." - -"I'm in love with this," and Matt's gray eyes brightened as he touched -the motor which he was at that moment installing in the new aėroplane, -"and I'm in love with every novel use to which a motor can be put. -Explosive engines will furnish the power for the future, and every -new way they're used helps that coming time along. But I'm giving a -lecture," he smiled, going back to his work, "and I couldn't tell you -exactly how I feel on this gas-engine subject if I talked a thousand -years. The motors have got a strangle hold on me--they're keeping me -out of college, keeping me from settling down, and filling my life with -all sorts of adventures. But I can't help it. I'm under the spell of -the gas engine, and that's all there is to it." - -It was during this talk of Matt's with Cameron, along toward the last -days of the busy two weeks, that Ping came into Camp Traquair with a -dagger. - -"You savvy knife, Motol Matt?" asked Ping, offering the dagger for -inspection. - -Matt dropped his wrench and took the weapon from the Chinaman. - -It was not more than seven inches in length from the end of the handle -to the tip of the blade. The blade was badly rusted, and the handle was -incrusted with earth. - -"Where did you get this, Ping?" inquired Matt, beginning to clean the -dagger with the edge of a file. - -"My makee find in woods. You savvy place Siwash cally Ping one piecee -night he fool with Flying Joss?" - -"Flying Joss" was Ping's name for the aėroplane. His heathen mind -made a joss of things he could not understand, and this machine of -Traquair's had impressed him more than anything else he had ever -encountered. - -"I remember," answered Matt. "Siwash Charley carried you off into the -timber, near the lake shore. You found the dagger there?" - -"All same." - -"Some Indian must have dropped it," put in Cameron. "From the way it's -rusted, it looks as though the redskin must have dropped it a hundred -years ago." - -"Hardly as long ago as that," returned Matt. "It's a pretty dagger, as -daggers go, although I don't admire things of the kind. The blade is -of mighty fine steel, and the handle is of sterling silver, set with a -ruby, or a piece of colored glass to represent a ruby, at the end. And -here are some initials." - -A little scraping with the file had bared a flat plate in the handle. -Matt studied the initials. - -"No," he remarked, "this couldn't have belonged to an Indian, Cameron. -Redskins are not carrying silver, ruby-mounted daggers with initials -engraved on them." - -"Some red may have traded pelts for it," suggested the lieutenant. - -"Possibly." - -"What are the initials? Can you make them out?" - -"There are two letters, sort of twined together," answered Matt. "I -make them out to be 'G. F.,' although I----" - -An exclamation escaped Cameron. - -"Let me see it!" he cried, stepping forward and showing an astonishment -and eagerness which bewildered Motor Matt. - -For several minutes Cameron turned the blade around and around in his -hands, staring in amazement and muttering to himself. - -"Will you let me have this for a little while, Matt?" asked the -lieutenant when he had finished his examination. "This may be a most -remarkable find--remarkable as well as of tremendous importance. I -can't tell about that, though, till I have a talk with some of the -others at the post." - -"Of course you can take it," said Matt. "But what makes that rusty -piece of steel so important?" - -"I'll tell you--later." - -Thereupon the lieutenant whirled in his tracks and made off at speed in -the direction of the post. - -McGlory had been under the aėroplane fitting in the pipe that led from -the tank to the carburetor. He had overheard the talk, however, and had -caught a glimpse of the dagger while the lieutenant was examining it. - -"Tell me about that!" he exclaimed, crawling out from under the -aėroplane. "There was something about that rusty old knife that knocked -Cameron slabsided. What do you think it was?" - -"Give it up, Joe," answered Matt. "How much too long is that pipe?" - -In this offhand way Matt dismissed the dagger from his thoughts--but -not for long. An hour later, Cameron could be seen chasing down the -road from the post trader's, wildly excited. - -"I've got to talk with you, Matt," said he breathlessly, as he reached -the side of the aėroplane. "You'll have to give me some of your time, -and no two ways about it. There's a tragedy connected with this -knife--tragedy, and a whole lot of treachery. It's more than likely, -too, that Siwash Charley is mixed up in the whirl of events that have -to do with the dagger. Come into the tent with me for a little while." - -Matt gave a regretful look at the motor. He would rather have kept busy -with that than listen to the most absorbing yarn that was ever told. -Nevertheless, there was no denying the lieutenant, and the king of the -motor boys, accompanied by McGlory and Ping, followed Cameron into the -shade of the tent. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -TREACHERY AND TRAGEDY. - - -"I'm no hand at spinning yarns," remarked Cameron after he and the -rest had seated themselves comfortably in canvas chairs, "but this is -no yarn. It's history, and has to do with the dishonor of a brother -officer, one Captain Goff Fortescue, of the --th Infantry, who, two -years ago, was stationed at Fort Totten. It isn't pleasant for me to -tell of a brother officer's disgrace, but the story will have to be -repeated or you won't be able to understand what the finding of this -dagger means." - -"The knife belonged to Captain Goff Fortescue?" asked Matt, remembering -the initials on the handle. - -"Yes. There now appears to be not the least doubt of that. I went up to -the post and showed the knife to a member of the Signal Corps who used -to belong to Fortescue's company. He declares that he has seen that -dagger in Fortescue's possession a dozen times. Fortescue picked it up -in Italy once while he was abroad--in Italy, the home of the stiletto. -He was very proud of it, and always had the weapon about him, in a -small sheath." - -Cameron was silent for a little, examining with pensive eyes the rusted -dagger which he had laid on a table in front of him. - -"Fortescue came to Totten from the Presidio, at San Francisco," he -finally went on. "I presume you have heard how eager one nation is to -secure the plans of another nation's defenses----" - -"I know a good deal about that," interjected Matt grimly. "Other -nations are just as eager to find out about submarine boats belonging -to another nation--and to destroy them, if possible. When your cousin, -Ensign Glennie, went around South America with me in the submarine -_Grampus_, we had our hands full keeping clear of the Japs." - -"Exactly," said Cameron. "I know about that. Well, our defenses in and -around San Francisco Bay, their strength as to guns and calibre of the -guns, the situation and power of the disappearing cannon, and all that, -might become of importance to several nations. Such information, if -it can be secured, is well paid for. That is the pit into which poor -Fortescue dropped--killing as bright a prospect as ever lay before any -officer in the service. - -"While Fortescue was stationed at Totten, he went across to Devil's -Lake City on a week's leave. His excuse was that he had to make a -business trip to St. Paul, and when he went he carried a suit case with -him. The eastbound train was late, and Fortescue checked his suit case -at the hotel and went to pass an hour or two with friends. In some way, -the clerk at the hotel mixed the checks, and a commercial traveler from -Omaha got Fortescue's grip by mistake, while Fortescue was visiting his -friends. - -"Both grips, it transpired, looked exactly alike--you've seen suit -cases that way, I guess--and when the drummer took the grip to his -room he was surprised to find that his key wouldn't unlock it. It -was necessary for the drummer to get into the case, and he broke the -lock. Instead of finding what he was looking for, he discovered a mass -of plans and blue-prints, with sheet after sheet of memoranda, all -descriptive of our defensive works in and around San Francisco! - -"Naturally, the drummer was astounded. Then, for the first time, he -looked at the lettering on the end of the suit case. Just as you found -on that dagger, he discovered on the suit case the initials, 'G. F.' -While he was looking over the documents Fortescue burst wildly into -the room and demanded his property. Of course, the drummer gave up the -suit case and the papers. He thought no more of the matter just then, -for Fortescue was an officer of the army and, the drummer believed, -entitled to the documents. - -"Three days later Fortescue was discovered dead in the woods not far -from the place where Ping was found by the Indian the afternoon of the -aėroplane trials. He had been slain by a dagger thrust and stripped -of all his personal possessions. There was no marks of a scuffle, -and the affair became a great mystery, for Fortescue's dagger--that -dagger--was missing, although the sheath was still in Fortescue's -breast pocket. - -"The news got out. The drummer, who was at Grand Forks, read an account -of the affair in a newspaper, and immediately started for Totten. -He told what he knew about the plans in Fortescue's satchel. This -information pointed to shame and disgrace, in the matter of Fortescue, -but every one reserved judgment, not wishing to judge the captain until -more concerning the affair had come out. - -"Fortescue had started for St. Paul. Why had he not gone there? -Instead, he was found south of the lake, in the woods, dead from a -dagger thrust. - -"Why had he the plans and memoranda in his possession? And where were -the suit case and the plans?" - -"Some thought he had been going to sell the plans to the agent of -some foreign nation, that he was afraid the commercial traveler would -tell of the mistake made in the hotel, and that he had got rid of the -satchel and taken his own life. The bottom of the lake, just off the -place where Fortescue was found, was dragged, but the satchel could not -be found. Nor has it been found to this day." - -Cameron paused. - -"That's what happened, Cameron," said Matt. "Fortescue was treacherous. -When he saw he had been discovered, his treasonable designs so worked -upon him that he probably destroyed the satchel and the plans and -killed himself." - -"Wait, Motor Matt," proceeded Cameron; "there's more to it. The same -day Fortescue started across Devil's Lake to take the train east, a -soldier named Cant Phillips deserted from Fort Totten. This Phillips -also came from the Presidio, and belonged with Fortescue's company. -The soldier was never found--and this, you will remember, happened two -years ago." - -"But what has Phillips to do with Fortescue and the plans?" - -"Here is where guesswork comes in. Ping found the knife on the spot -where Siwash Charley and two of his villainous comrades carried the boy -the night the aėroplane was tampered with. Suppose Siwash Charley had -dropped the knife?" - -"More likely," returned Matt, "Fortescue dropped it after he stabbed -himself." - -"No. The ground was searched all around in that vicinity, and the knife -could not be found. If Fortescue gave himself a mortal wound, he would -have had to drop the knife on the spot. It wasn't there at that time. -The knife, as a matter of fact, hasn't laid so long in the woods as -its appearance would indicate. The rust is only on the surface of the -steel, and fifteen minutes' work will clean the dagger so that it will -be almost as bright as ever. I don't think it has been in the woods -more than two weeks. In short, it's my notion that Siwash Charley -dropped it when he and his pals carried Ping to the place where he was -left." - -This was rather startling, but still Matt and McGlory were unable to -puzzle out the point Cameron was driving at. - -"How could Siwash Charley get hold of the knife?" asked Matt. - -"Siwash Charley appeared in this part of the country, from nowhere -in particular, some year and a half ago. He was accused of stealing -horses, but the crime was never proved against him." - -"I'm a Piute," breathed McGlory, "if I can see what Siwash has to do -with this Fortescue party." - -Without seeming to notice the comment, Cameron went on: - -"Cant Phillips may have been concerned in the treachery that has to do -with Fortescue's plans. Possibly he met Fortescue in the woods, here -to the south of the lake, the day he deserted; that he and Fortescue -quarreled; that Phillips felled Fortescue with a blow of the fist and -then took the dagger from Fortescue's pocket and completed his work; -and then, following that, Phillips may have skipped out with the suit -case, the plans--and the dagger." - -"But how," said Matt, still puzzled, "could Siwash Charley get the -dagger from this man Phillips, assuming that what you guess about the -affair is true?" - -"I believe," and here Cameron leaned forward and spoke sternly and -impressively, "that Cant Phillips and Siwash Charley are one and the -same!" - -Matt, McGlory, and even Ping were profoundly stirred by this -announcement. - -"But," cried Matt, "does Siwash Charley look like Cant Phillips?" - -"Not much, so far as I've been able to discover. Still, two years will -make a big change in a man--especially if the man does what he can to -help on the change. Fortescue killed himself two years ago, and it was -a year and a half ago that Siwash Charley appeared in this part of the -country. At times there is a soldierly bearing about Siwash Charley -which may have been the result of training in the army. Besides, he -is about the height and build of Phillips. A soldier looks vastly -different out of his uniform and in rough civilian clothes." - -"Then," observed Matt, watching through the open side of the tent as a -horseman came galloping down the road from the direction of the post -trader's, "the military have a double purpose in capturing Siwash -Charley." - -"They will have," declared Cameron grimly, "as soon as I air my -suspicions. For the present, though, keep what I have said to yourself. -Ah," he finished, as the horseman drew up beside the tent, "a visitor, -Matt, and rather a rough one, at that." - -Cameron excused himself, picked up the fateful dagger, and started -back toward the post. Matt stepped out to pass a few words with the -horseman, while McGlory went to his work on the aėroplane. - -"My name's Hackberry," said the horseman, a wiry, ferret-like figure of -a man, "an' I got a letter here fer Motor Matt. Which is him?" - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -MURGATROYD'S FIRST MOVE. - - -Motor Matt was a keen reader of character. At first glance, and from -a distance, he had not liked Hackberry's appearance any too well; and -now, at closer view, he liked it less. - -"I am Motor Matt," said he. - -"Sho," muttered the horseman; "hit it first clatter out o' the box, -didn't I?" - -After a cautious look around, he dismounted and thrust his arm through -the loop of the bridle. - -"What I got to say is private," said he, "an' I guess we better go off -some'r's by ourselves." - -"We couldn't talk with any more privacy if we were a hundred miles -away. Where are you from, Mr. Hackberry?" - -"From over in Wells County. Ye see, I got a claim over there, an'---- -But say, are ye plumb sure it's safe fer us ter talk? I was warned ter -look out fer Siwash Charley an' his friends, and fer any other tinhorns -that might be workin' fer Murgatroyd." - -"Who warned you?" - -"Mrs. Traquair." - -"Then you're from Jamestown?" - -"Not much I ain't! Mrs. Traquair ain't in Jimtown. Say, what sort of a -lookin' feller is this Siwash Charley?" - -"Never mind about that just now. Siwash Charley isn't around here, nor -are any other of Murgatroyd's friends. Tell me how you came to have a -talk with Mrs. Traquair?" - -"Well, as I was sayin', I got a claim over t'other side o' Sykestown. -It jines corners with a homestead Harry Traquair took up--the same -Harry Traquair what mortgaged his quarter section fer enough ter go ter -Jimtown an' build a flyin' machine. Well, I haven't put down a well on -my claim yet, so I gits my drinkin' water from Traquair's claim, that -bein' the nighest. There ain't been any one livin' in Traquair's shack -fer a year, an' I was kinder surprised, t'other day, when I seen a man -movin' around the place. I talked with the feller while I was gittin' -a bucket o' water, an' he says he's come there ter take keer o' the -crops. He was a tough-lookin' chap, an' I didn't like his looks any too -well, but if Mrs. Traquair had sent him, and he suited her, why, he ort -ter suit me, too. - -"While I was talkin' with the man, me by the pump an' facin' the side -of the house, an' him standin' with his back to the wall, a piece of -paper was pushed out from between the boards an' dropped down on the -ground. - -"At first I was goin' ter tell the man about it, an' then I allowed -it was purty queer--that shack leakin' a piece o' paper through the -side that way, an' I held in about it. You know how these claim shacks -is built--some of 'em jest throwed tergether, with cracks between the -boards big enough ter heave a dog out of. - -"Bymby the feller I was talkin' to excused himself an' went inter the -house. The road I took carried me along the wall, an' as I went by I -stooped down an' picked up the paper. There was writin' on it, an' I -wah plumb surprised when I read that writin'. Here, I'll let ye see it -fer yerself." - -Hackberry dug up a three-cornered scrap of brown paper from the depths -of his pocket, shook some loose tobacco out of it, and handed it to -Matt. - -Matt managed to make the following out of the hastily written scrawl: - - "I have been waiting, Mr. Hackberry, and trying to get word to you. - If you see this, and pick it up, it will inform you that I was lured - to this place from Jamestown, that I am being kept a prisoner here, - and that I must talk with you as soon as possible, or the homestead - will be taken away from me. Come quietly to the side of the house, - where you picked up this paper, at night. I can whisper to you what I - want, and the man who is keeping me a prisoner will never know. You - used to be a friend of poor Harry's, so I hope you will help me. - - "MRS. TRAQUAIR." - -It would have been hard to describe Matt's feelings as he read this -penciled scrawl. It had been a week since he had received a letter from -Mrs. Traquair, and the cunning Murgatroyd might have carried out many -underhand plans in a week! - -"Did you go to the house that night, Mr. Hackberry?" asked Matt. - -"Did I? Why, o' course I did. Bein' such a friend o' Harry Traquair's, -why shouldn't I try ter help his wife? They was allus good neighbors." - -"What did Mrs. Traquair say to you?" - -"What we said was all whisperin' an' through a knot hole that was broke -out in the wall. She said a feller named Murgatroyd had wanted ter -git the homestead away from her, an' that he wasn't goin' ter let her -go back ter her children until she give him a quitclaim deed ter the -hundred an' sixty. I told her ter let me go ter Sykestown an' git the -deperty sher'ff, an' that him an' me 'u'd snake her out o' that shack -too quick. But she wouldn't allow that. 'No,' she says, an' her voice -was that sobbin' an' plaintive it would have moved a heart o' stone; -'no,' she says, ''cause then Murgatroyd might hear what was goin' on -an' have me took away ter some other place.' She d'ruther have me, she -says, come ter Fort Totten an' give a letter ter Motor Matt. 'He'll -know what ter do,' she says, 'an' he's a lad o' fine sperrit, an' I owe -him a lot.' So she poked out this letter, an' I've rid hossback all the -way from my shack, an' I been all o' two days makin' the trip." - -As he finished, Hackberry dug up the letter from another pocket. It was -inclosed in a soiled yellow envelope and was addressed to "Motor Matt, -Fort Totten." - -Matt tore off the end of the envelope, and drew out a sheet of paper -of the same color as that which Hackberry had already shown him. The -letter was short, but sufficiently startling. - - "MY DEAR FRIEND: I have fallen into the hands of Murgatroyd--Mr. - Hackberry will tell you where I am. Murgatroyd seems determined - to get the homestead. I know you will come to my rescue, but come - quickly. - - "MRS. TRAQUAIR." - -"Anythin' else you want ter know?" asked Hackberry. - -"This is terrible!" exclaimed Matt. "I can hardly think even Murgatroyd -would do such a thing." - -"I don't know nothin' 'bout that. I ain't acquainted none with this -Murgatroyd, but I can tell ye there's some mighty tough citizens in -this here State." - -"How in the world could Murgatroyd lure Mrs. Traquair away from -Jamestown?" - -"Ye got me. Mrs. Traquair didn't say. We didn't talk much more'n we had -to, seein' as how the feller that had charge o' the shack might come in -on us at any minit." - -"And how," went on Matt, "can Murgatroyd hope to make Mrs. Traquair -give up the claim?" - -"I guess he expects ter keep her a pris'ner until she signs the -quitclaim." - -"A quitclaim deed, secured like that, wouldn't hold in law for a -minute! Murgatroyd has loaned enough money to understand that." - -"Like enough, but it's some sich game he's tryin', jest the same." - -Motor Matt was puzzled. Hackberry's story seemed straight enough, but -there were points about it that made him incredulous. - -"What ye goin 'ter do, Motor Matt?" asked Hackberry. - -"I'm going to look after Mrs. Traquair," declared Matt. - -"Sure! That's what she said ye'd do. Better git a hoss an' ride back -with me." - -"It has taken you two days to come, Hackberry. Why didn't you come by -train?" - -"Fer one thing, I didn't have no money. Fer another, I was afeared -Murgatroyd might have some spies hangin' around Sykestown, so I dodged -the place by comin' cross-kentry. I reckon we'd better go back the same -way I come, hey?" - -"No, it's too slow. I'll go by train." - -Hackberry appeared disappointed. - -"What'll I tell Mrs. Traquair?" he asked. - -"You'll not be able to tell her anything--I'll get to her homestead -long before you do. Where is it?" - -"Eighteen mile due west o' Sykestown; anybody kin tell ye the place -when ye git started from Sykestown on the main road. I won't be able -ter go with ye, seein' as how I got my hoss ter git back." - -"Well, Hackberry, you follow Mrs. Traquair's instructions and say -nothing to any one. She evidently knows what it is best to do. I'll -look after her, and after this man Murgatroyd, too. Mrs. Traquair has -money, and you'll be well repaid for your trouble." - -"Money 'u'd come handy ter me, an' that's a fact," said Hackberry, -"though I'd have done this fer Mrs. Traquair if there hadn't been a -cent comin'. When'll ye start?" - -"Just as soon as I can." - -"Ye'll go by the way of Sykestown?" - -"There's no other way if I go by railroad." - -"All right, then. The responsibility is off'n my shoulders an' onter -yourn. Good-by." - -Hackberry rode off along the road in the direction of the town of -Lallie, which lay on his homeward route. Matt, as soon as the messenger -had started, hurried up to the post. - -There was a telegraph office there and he sent a couple of messages. -One was to Mrs. Harry Traquair, Jamestown, North Dakota, and asked if -she was well and at home. The other was to a lawyer in Jamestown named -Matthews, with whom Matt had some acquaintance, and requested the -lawyer to let him know, at once, whether Mrs. Traquair and Murgatroyd -were in Jamestown. - -Matt was suspicious of Hackberry, and wanted to be sure of his ground -before he made any move. At the same time, Matt realized that there -was not a moment to be lost if Mrs. Traquair was really being held a -prisoner in the shack on her homestead. - -In order to get to Sykestown by train, Matt would have to go to -Carrington, change cars, and proceed on the branch to his destination. -At the post he learned that there was a train on the branch only -every other day. More than that, the train south from Minnewaukon had -left for that day and there would not be another until the following -morning. If he waited until morning and took the train, he would be set -down in Carrington on one of the days when the train was not running on -the branch. It seemed as though he was bound to lose at least two days -before he could get to Sykestown, and that it might have been better, -after all, if he had gone with Hackberry on horseback. - -Greatly disturbed, he went back to Camp Traquair and told McGlory the -latest news. - -"It's a scheme o' some kind," averred the cowboy. "I'll bet money, -pard, you get a telegram from Mrs. Traquair saying she's all right." - -But Matt received no message from Mrs. Traquair. He did get one from -Matthews, however, and Cameron brought it down from the post. - -Hastily Matt tore open the message and read it. - - "Murgatroyd not in town for two weeks; Mrs. Traquair not in town for - a week. Can't find where either has gone. MATTHEWS." - -Matt believed, then, that Hackberry had told the truth and that the -letter was genuine. And so it happened that Murgatroyd's first move in -his rascally game was attended with success. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A STARTLING PLAN. - - -"What's up, Matt?" asked Cameron. "You've been sending telegrams from -the post, and here's an answer to one of them." - -Matt repeated Hackberry's story, then showed the lieutenant the ragged -note and the letter. - -"It's a fishy yarn," mused Cameron. "For a clever man of business, like -Murgatroyd, to extort a quitclaim deed from a woman in that way is rank -foolishness, say nothing of the criminal part of it, which is very apt -to get the scoundrel into trouble. No, I can't believe Murgatroyd would -do such a thing. Who is this fellow Hackberry?" - -"He says he has a claim joining Traquair's on the----" - -"Yes, I know what he says, but where is the proof that what he says is -true? This villain, Siwash Charley, is a bitter enemy of yours, Matt, -and he isn't likely to stop at anything." - -Matt told Cameron of the messages sent to Mrs. Traquair and to Matthews. - -"I haven't heard from Mrs. Traquair," he finished, "but here's the -message from Matthews." - -Cameron read it over, his brow clouding. - -"Do you know Matthews very well, Matt?" he inquired. - -"Yes. He's a friend of Mrs. Traquair's and no friend of Murgatroyd's." - -"Then his word, in this matter, ought to be as good as his bond. But, -how in Heaven's name, was it possible for Mrs. Traquair to let herself -be spirited away?" - -"Murgatroyd is a loan shark," explained Matt, "and he is full of -plausible tricks. He's not in Jamestown, and Mrs. Traquair isn't there. -Hackberry's story, hard as it is to believe, in some respects, is -beginning to prove itself." - -"I don't like it, anyhow," and Cameron shook his head forebodingly. - -"That's the way I stack up," declared McGlory. "I've got a hunch that -there's a screw loose in all this crossfire of talk and letters--talk -through knot holes and letters pushed through the walls of houses. -Rot!" he grunted disgustedly. - -"Maybe there's nothing in Hackberry's yarn," said Matt decisively, "but -I can't turn my back on it. If Mrs. Traquair is in trouble, I must do -what I can to help her out." - -"Sufferin' brain twisters!" cried McGlory. "Why didn't she let -Hackberry bring the deputy sheriff from Sykestown? But, no. She had to -send Hackberry over here, using up two valuable days, just to get you." - -"Murgatroyd might have spies in Sykestown watching the deputy sheriff," -replied Matt. "It would be easy for the spy to carry a warning to the -Traquair homestead and have the man in charge of the shack remove Mrs. -Traquair to some other place." - -"Gammon!" snorted McGlory. "Somebody's playin' lame duck, you hear me." - -Cameron brightened suddenly. - -"You got a letter from Mrs. Traquair the other day, didn't you, Matt?" -he asked. - -"That was a week ago," answered Matt. - -"How does the handwriting compare? Is it the same in the letter as it -is in these two scraps brought in by Hackberry?" - -Matt rummaged through his satchel and brought out Mrs. Traquair's -letter. Then they all, even Ping, began comparing the writing. - -"I give up," said Cameron. "The writing's the same. Suppose we take -the train for Sykestown to-morrow, Matt, and go to the rescue of Mrs. -Traquair?" - -"There's no train out of Carrington until day after to-morrow," said -Matt. - -"Let's get a hand car, or one of these gasoline speeders, and go over -the branch to Sykestown," suggested McGlory. - -Matt's eyes sparkled at mention of the gasoline speeder, for as yet he -had had no experience with one of them. - -"We wouldn't be liable to find such a thing as a 'speeder' in a small -place like Carrington," said he. - -"Then we'll get an automobile from Devil's Lake City," put in Cameron. -"By Jupiter, Matt, I'm pretty nearly as warm about this business as you -are. An automobile, that's the thing!" - -"It might be hard to get one," continued Matt. "You fellows can come in -an automobile, but I think I'll go by air line." - -"Air line?" echoed the lieutenant, puzzled. - -"Yes," was the quiet reply. "Two hours' work will finish the aėroplane, -and----" - -"Great Scott!" exclaimed the lieutenant, aghast; "it's a new and -untried machine. You don't know whether it will fly or not." - -"If it won't fly, then the government won't buy it, and it will be a -good thing for us to know that as soon as possible. But it will fly, -Cameron." - -"But, listen," proceeded Cameron gravely. "You're proposing a -two-hundred-mile flight, straight away--something unheard of in the use -of aėroplanes. Heavier-than-air machines have only been tried over a -prescribed course, up to now--from the starting point, through the air, -and then back to the starting point again. This plan of yours, Matt, -looks like madness to me." - -"It would be a fine introduction of the machine to the tests at Fort -Myer if it could be said that the aėroplane sailed for two hundred -miles over a straight-away course!" - -Matt's face glowed at the thought. To do something different, something -daring that would advance the science of aviation, _that_ would -certainly be worth while. - -"Besides this," pursued Matt earnestly, "I'll have an advantage over -Murgatroyd and his villainous helpers. They will not be expecting a -rescue through the air, while they may be prepared to ward off one -by automobile. It is not impossible," he finished, with a trace of -enthusiasm, "that I may be able to pick Mrs. Traquair up and bring her -to Fort Totten in the aėroplane. Think of that! She would be rescued by -her husband's invention." - -"You wouldn't get her to ride in that aėroplane in a thousand years," -declared McGlory. "She's scared of it, and has been even before her -husband was killed. Shucks! Give it up pard, and go with us in the -automobile." - -Matt shook his head. - -"I'm going in the machine," he answered. "You fellows can follow in the -automobile." - -"Follow! Speak to me about that. Why, pard, if the automobile is any -good at all we'll lead you all the way to Wells County." - -"Not if there's no wind, or only a very little. I figure that the new -aėroplane can do better than sixty miles an hour. But let's get busy, -Joe; there's more work to be done." - -Cameron left at once to go across the lake and secure an automobile, -Ping proceeded to get supper, and Matt and McGlory put their finishing -touches on the aėroplane's motor. - -"Here's a thing you haven't thought of, pard," remarked McGlory, when -the last bolt had been tightened, "and that's about sending this -machine to Washington. If anything happens to it, or if you're delayed -in Wells County, there's fifteen thousand gone up the spout." - -"The money is not to be considered if there's a chance of helping Mrs. -Traquair," returned Matt. - -But the possibility opened up by McGlory filled the king of the motor -boys with regret. He had set his heart on building the new aėroplane, -putting it to the test and then selling it to the government just as he -had sold the first one. This particular machine was the work of his own -hands, while the other had been Traquair's. He was proud of it, and it -struck a pang to his heart to think there was even a bare chance of his -not being able to turn the machine over to the government, now that it -was built. However, he put his regret resolutely behind him. - -"I'm not looking for a reverse, Joe," said he, "at this stage of the -game. Luck's been on my side for quite a while, and I don't believe it -will go back on me. I have yet to be caught in a losing cause--and this -won't be a losing cause if we can find and rescue Mrs. Traquair." - -At that moment Ping showed himself around the lower end of the tent and -shouted, in his high cackle, "Suppa' leddy!" - -The boys ate supper. There was not much talk during the meal, for all -were thoughtful, and McGlory, at least, was troubled with forebodings. - -The meal over, Matt and McGlory tried the motor. It failed to work -as it should, and Matt kept at it until it was going properly. Then, -cautiously, he turned the power into the propeller. The machine, -when started according to custom, got its initial impetus by having -the power applied to a set of bicycle wheels. The blades of the -propeller, slapping the air, however, developed a force that started -the aėroplane, and Matt had to shut off the power in a hurry. - -"Sufferin' race horses!" murmured the astonished McGlory. "Who ever -heard of the like of that?" - -"Mr. Maxim discovered it first," replied Matt. "Why, he drove a boat -through the water, at the rate of six miles an hour, merely by having a -propeller turn in the air! But let's go to bed; we've a lot on hand for -to-morrow." - -If the intrepid king of the motor boys had only guessed what was -waiting for him in Wells County, his sleep would probably not have been -so sound or so peaceful as it was. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE AIR LINE INTO TROUBLE. - - -Motor Matt had the Wells County country firmly fixed in his mind. He -had never been over it, but he had studied the map and secured a fairly -good theoretical knowledge. Sykestown was at the end of the branch -road, the railroads east and west, and north and south, forming a right -angle with respect to Fort Totten. Carrington, the junction point, was -at the corner of the angle. - -By using the aėroplane, Matt believed he could fly straight across the -gap between Fort Totten and Sykestown, giving Carrington a wide berth. -There were some hills, but what were hills and roads to him while in -the air? Rough country would bother the automobile--it could not affect -the aėroplane. - -Aėroplanes, Matt had gathered from his reading on the subject, were -peculiar in this, that no two machines ever conduct themselves exactly -the same in flight. A pair of "flyers" may be built exactly on the -same model, with all dimensions and power equipment identical, and yet -the moment they leave earth and launch themselves into the blue each -develops eccentricities peculiar to itself. In a great measure, every -machine has to be "learned." - -This was the one point that bothered Matt. Would the new aėroplane be -easy or difficult to learn? If difficult, he might have to make a few -trial flights at Camp Traquair before setting off for Sykestown. - -Morning dawned propitiously. The sun was bright, the day cloudless, and -only a breath of air stirring. - -While the boys were at breakfast, Cameron came chugging into camp -with a powerful touring car--a six-cylinder, sixty horse, so trim and -"classy"-looking that Matt had to smother a fierce desire to drop into -the driver's seat and change his plans. - -Soldiers, under Sergeant O'Hara, were to strip the camp while the boys -were away, removing everything to the post. - -In building the aėroplane, Matt had made a number of departures from -Traquair's original designs. One of these was the equipping of the -flying machine with two gasoline tanks instead of one, the supply of -fuel being taken from either at will. - -With tanks full and oil chambers brimming, McGlory and Cameron pushed -the aėroplane into the road. Just before Matt took his seat the -lieutenant tried to force upon him a loaded six-shooter. - -Matt waved it away with a laugh. "I'd rather trust to my heels, -Cameron," he said, "than to one of those things." - -"But you might need it," insisted Cameron. - -"Couldn't use it if I did. When a fellow's up in an aėroplane both -hands are occupied." - -"We'll keep up with you, pard," said McGlory. - -"I don't think you will, Joe, if everything works as I hope and expect. -I'm going in an air line, while you fellows will have to follow the -road. Where'll we meet in case we get separated?" - -"Sykestown, to-morrow morning," suggested Cameron. - -"All right," Matt answered as he took his seat on the lower plane and -swung his feet to the foot rest. "Don't run with her to give her a -start--let's see if I can't get her off without any help." - -McGlory, Cameron, and Ping drew away and watched. The motor began to -pop, and then to settle into a steady hum. A pull at a lever sent the -power into the bicycle wheels. The aėroplane leaped off along the -hard road, gradually increasing its speed as the air under the wings -continued to lighten the weight on the wheels. At a distance of a -hundred feet the aėroplane soared into the air, under perfect control. - -Those on the ground, as well as the soldiers engaged in stripping the -camp, gave three hearty cheers. - -"Hoop-a-la!" chattered Ping. "Him plenty fine Cloud Joss." - -"Matt's aėroplane is a better one than that of Traquair's--it flies -steadier," averred Cameron, enthusiastically. - -"Speak to me about this!" muttered the cowboy, his eyes on the great -white machine as it swooped upward and onward toward the west. "Let's -dig out, pards," he added, suddenly starting toward the automobile. -"We've got to put in some mighty good licks if we keep up with -Mile-a-minute Matt." - -Ping had already thrown a bag of rations into the tonneau of the motor -car, and Cameron sprang around in front and began cranking. Just as the -engine took up its cycle, and Cameron was starting to take his seat at -the steering wheel, McGlory called his attention to a trooper who was -galloping down from the direction of the post trader's. - -"What do you suppose that swatty is after, Cameron?" the cowboy asked. -"He's coming this way just a-smoking, and look how he's waving his -arms. Something's up." - -"We've got to wait for him," growled the lieutenant, "and that means we -lose a couple of minutes. And we haven't got many minutes to waste," -he added, with a look at the swiftly diminishing white speck in the -western sky. - -"Telegram for Motor Matt, leftenant," cried the trooper, reining in his -horse and jerking a yellow envelope from his belt. - -"You're too late, Latham," said Cameron. "Motor Matt's swinging against -the sky, a mile away." - -"The operator says it's important," insisted Latham. - -"I hate to tamper with Pard Matt's telegrams," remarked McGlory, "but I -reckon I'd better read this one. What do you say, Cameron?" - -"Read it--and be quick. I'll start, as I don't think there'll be any -answer to send back. Anyhow, if there should be an answer we'll forward -it from Minnewaukon." - -The fretting motor had its power thrown into the wheels. As it glided -away at steadily increasing speed, McGlory tore the end off the -envelope and drew out the inclosed sheet. The next moment he gave a -wild yell. - -The cowboy was on the seat beside Cameron, and the latter caught his -breath and gave him an amazed sidelong look. McGlory's face had gone -white under its tan and he had slumped back in his seat. - -"What in Sam Hill is the matter, McGlory?" cried Cameron. - -The cowboy jerked himself together and leaned toward the lieutenant. - -"Overhaul the flyin' machine!" he shouted hoarsely. "You've got to! If -we don't get a word with Matt something's sure going to happen to him." - -"How's that?" asked the startled Cameron. - -Ping, catching the general alarm, leaned over the back of the seat. - -"Telle pidgin!" he implored. "What tleleglam say, huh?" - -"It's from Mrs. Traquair," replied McGlory. - -"From Mrs. Traquair?" echoed Cameron. "Then she's got away from -Murgatroyd and his rascally hirelings." - -"Got away from 'em?" bellowed McGlory. "Why, they never had her at -that homestead! The whole blooming business is a frame-up, just as I -thought, all along. Murgatroyd and Siwash Charley are trying to play -even with Matt. Hit her up, can't you, Cameron? For Heaven's sake, let -her out! If you don't Matt will get away from us and drop right into -the hands of those scheming scoundrels." - -Cameron pushed the automobile for all it was worth. The ground raced -out from under the flying wheels. The road was like asphalt, and the -speedometer indicator ran up and up until it pointed to fifty miles an -hour. - -"Do better than that!" cried McGlory, his wild eyes on the white speck -in the sky. "You've got to do better than that, Cameron. Matt said he -could do sixty miles. If you can't equal that, Murg and his men will -beat us out." - -Cameron had sixty horses under the touch of his fingers, but there was -nothing he could do to send the automobile at a faster gait. - -"Where did the telegram come from?" he shouted, bending over the wheel -and watching the road as it rushed toward the swaying car. - -"From Jamestown," yelled McGlory. - -They had to talk at the top of their voices in order to make themselves -heard in the wind of their flight. - -"What does it say?" - -"It says that Mrs. Traquair has been making a little visit with -friends in Fargo; that she has just got back and found Matt's -telegram; and that she is well. That proves that this whole game is a -trap--Hackberry, Hackberry's letters, and all. Oh, sufferin' tinhorns! -I'm crazy to fight, crazy to do something to stop Matt and to put a -crimp in in that gang of sharks and double-dyed villains. Can't you do -any better than this, Cameron?" - -Cameron was doing all that he possibly could. The aėroplane was a mere -speck against the blue of the sky, steadily increasing the distance -that separated it from the racing automobile. - -"We no ketchee!" panted Ping. "By Klismus, Motol Matt all same eagle -bird. Woosh! No ketchee!" - -"The Chink's got it right, McGlory," cried Cameron. "Unless something -happens to the aėroplane we'll never overhaul it. Matt's gaining on us -right along." - -"And all we can do is to watch and let him gain," fumed the cowboy. "I -feel like I did, once, when I was tied hand and foot and gagged while a -gang of roughs were setting fire to a boathouse in which Pard Matt lay -asleep. Oh, speak to me about this!" - -Then, all at once, the motor went wrong, and the car lost speed until -it came to a dead stop. McGlory groaned. - -"Of course this had to happen," he stormed. "If you're ever in a hurry -something is bound to go wrong with these blooming chug carts. We're -out of the race, Cameron. Take your time, take your time. Hang the -confounded luck, anyway." - -Cameron got down and went feverishly to work locating the trouble. Ping -tumbled out of the tonneau and fluttered around, dancing up and down in -his excitement and anxiety. - -McGlory did not get out of his seat. Gloomily he kept his eyes on the -fading speck in the heavens until he could see it no more. - -"It's out of sight," he muttered heavily. - -"The aėroplane?" asked Cameron, fumbling with the sparking apparatus. - -"What else do you think I mean?" snapped the cowboy, in his worst -humor. "Matt's done for, and all we can do is sit here and let him rush -on at the rate of a mile a minute straight into the trap that has been -set for him. Sufferin' snakes! Did you ever run into anything like this -before?" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -NOTHING DOING IN SYKESTOWN. - - -Cameron, by a happy blunder, finally located the trouble, and repaired -it. McGlory had a little knowledge of motors and he might have helped, -but his dejection was so profound that all he could do was to sit in -the car, muttering to himself. - -"Buck up, McGlory," said Cameron, jerking the crank and noting that the -motor took up its humming tune as well as ever. "While there's life -there's hope, you know. We'll be able to do something yet." - -"Oh, yes," gibed McGlory. "With a car going fifty miles we'll be able -to overhaul a flying machine doing sixty." - -"Of course," went on Cameron, getting into the car and starting, "we -can't expect to overtake Matt unless something should go wrong with the -aėroplane, but----" - -"If anything goes wrong with the aėroplane then Matt breaks his neck. -That won't do." - -"I was going to say," proceeded the lieutenant as he teased the car to -its best pace, "that we're to meet Matt at Sykestown in the morning. If -anything is to happen to him, McGlory, it will be on the other side of -Sykestown. Calm down a little, can't you? We'll reach the meeting point -by morning, all right, and then we can tell Matt about the message from -Mrs. Traquair." - -The cowboy had not thought of this point, and yet it was so simple that -it should have occurred to him before. Instantly his worry and alarm -gave way to hope. - -"Right you are, Cameron," said he. "When I go into a taking I always -lose my head and slip a cog. We can't catch up with Matt. That's out -of the question. As you say, though, we can sure find him in Sykestown." - -The car swung into Minnewaukon, and there was a momentary pause for -counsel. - -"If Matt's taking the air line, as he said he was going to do," -remarked Cameron, "then he'll be cutting the corner between here -and Sykestown. There are poor roads and bad hills on that lap, and -we'll make better time by taking the longer way round and going by -Carrington." - -"Maybe he didn't go that way," said McGlory. "If he has to come down -for anything he'll have to have a fairly good stretch of trail in which -to get a start before the flying machine can climb into the air. Like -as not he went by way of Carrington, himself." - -"We'll soon settle that," and Cameron made inquiries of a man who was -standing beside the car. - -Yes, the man had seen the aėroplane. It had passed over the town and -went southwest. - -"That settles it, McGlory," said Cameron. "Matt cut the corner. If he'd -gone by way of Carrington he'd have started south." - -"He's taking a big chance on his machine going wrong," muttered the -cowboy, "but Matt can take more chances and come out right side up than -any fellow you ever saw. It's Carrington for us, though." - -Cameron headed the machine southward and they flickered out of -Minnewaukon like a brown streak. Nothing went wrong, and they hit a -steady, forty-mile-an-hour gait and kept it up through Lallie, Oberon, -Sheyenne, Divide, and New Rockford. Here and there was an occasional -slough which they were obliged to go around, but the delay was -unavoidable. - -It was three o'clock in the afternoon when they reached Carrington, and -they congratulated themselves on the ease with which they had covered -so much of their journey. - -They halted for an hour in Carrington, Cameron and McGlory going over -the machine and replenishing the gasoline and oil. At four they pulled -out for Sykestown, and had barely crossed the Carrington town line -before accidents began to happen. - -First, a front tire blew up. A flying stone gouged the shoe and the -inner tube sprung a leak. - -An hour was lost repairing the damage. Nevertheless, the cowboy kept -his temper well in hand, for they had not planned to reach Sykestown -and meet Matt before morning. - -A mile beyond the place where the tire had blown up the electricity -went wrong; then the carburetor began to flood; and last of all the -feed pipe became clogged. - -"Let's leave the old benzine-buggy in the road and walk the rest of the -way," suggested McGlory. "A pair of bronks and a wagon for me, any old -day." - -It was eleven o'clock at night when they got into Sykestown and pulled -to a halt in front of the only hotel in the place. There was no garage, -and Cameron backed the car under an open shed in the rear of the hotel. - -While he was doing this, McGlory was making inquiries regarding Motor -Matt. - -"Nothing doing, Cameron," announced the cowboy, meeting the lieutenant -as he came into the hotel. - -"Matt hasn't got here yet?" - -"He hasn't been seen or heard of. That's some queer, I reckon. He took -a crosscut. Coming at sixty miles an hour, barring accidents, he ought -to have reached Sykestown by noon." - -"Well," said the optimistic lieutenant, "it's a good thing to know -he hasn't got here and gone on without waiting for us. Matt knows we -were not to meet until morning. He may be waiting at some farmer's -shack, somewhere out of town. Let's get a hand-out and then go to bed. -Wrestling with a refractory motor is tiresome work." - -This was sensible advice, and the cowboy, although he did not accept -Cameron's explanation of Matt's absence, concluded to accept it. - -McGlory was up at dawn, however, inquiring anxiously for news. There -was none. Taking a chair out in front of the hotel he sat down to wait. - -An hour later, Ping came scuffling around the corner of the hotel. - -"Where have you been, Ping?" McGlory asked. - -"My makee sleep in choo-choo car," replied the Chinaman, taking an -upward squint at the sky with his slant eyes. "Cloud Joss no makee -come, huh?" - -"Nary, Ping. I'm which and t'other about this, too. We're up against a -rough game of some kind, and I'd give my eyeteeth to know what it is." - -"Plaps Motol Matt makee lescue Melican lady all by himself." - -"There's no Melican lady to rescue, and that's the worst of it." - -At this moment Cameron issued from the hotel. He had his khaki jacket -over his arm and the handles of a brace of six-shooters showed above -the tops of his hip pockets. - -"No sign of Matt yet, eh?" he asked cheerily. - -"Nary a sign, Cameron," replied McGlory. "Unless something had gone -crossways, he'd have been on here early this morning." - -"I don't believe in crossing bridges until you get to them," said -Cameron, dropping down on a bench. "You know Motor Matt better than -I do, McGlory," he went on, "but I'm well enough acquainted with him -to know that he keeps his head with him all the time and never gets -rattled." - -"He's the boy on the job, all right," averred the cowboy, with a touch -of pride. "But what good's a cool head and plenty of pluck if a flying -machine up-ends with you a couple of hundred feet in the air?" - -Cameron grew silent, and a little bit thoughtful. - -"There was a still day yesterday," said he, at last, "and only a bit of -a breeze this morning. It's not at all likely that any accident of that -kind happened." - -"I'm not thinking of that so much as I am of Murgatroyd and his gang," -went on McGlory. "That bunch of tinhorns may have laid for Matt -somewhere between Sykestown and Minnewaukon." - -"Hardly. They wouldn't be expecting him by air ship, and across -country, the way he started." - -"Hackberry, you remember, wanted him to get a horse and ride cross -country." - -"But Matt told Hackberry he expected to reach Sykestown by train. -Because of that, no matter what the plans of Murgatroyd and his men -were, they'd have to give over their designs and lay for Matt somewhere -between here and the Traquair homestead." - -"That's where you're shy some more," said McGlory. "Hackberry, coming -on horseback from Minnewaukon, hasn't got to where Murg is, yet, so -he can't have told him what Matt was expecting to do. Take it from -me, Cameron, there was a gang on that cross-country road, last night, -layin' for our pard." - -"Well, if there was," returned Cameron easily, "then Motor Matt sailed -over their heads. But all this is mere guesswork," he added, "and -mighty poor guesswork, at that. We'll just wait here until Matt shows -up." - -There was a silence for a while, Ping getting a crick in his neck -holding his head back and watching the sky toward the north and east. - -"No makee see Cloud Joss," he murmured. - -Neither McGlory nor Cameron paid much attention to the report. If Matt -had been coming in the aėroplane the excitement in the town would -quickly have apprised them of the fact. - -"I can't understand," said Cameron musingly, "what this Murgatroyd -hopes to accomplish by all this criminal work." - -"You can't?" echoed McGlory. "Well, Matt butted into Murgatroyd's game -and knocked his villainous schemes galley-west. That don't make Murg -feel anyways good, does it? Then there's Siwash Charley. He's a tinhorn -and _mucho malo_, and there's no love lost between him and the king of -the motor boys. What's the result if Murg and Siwash get Matt in their -clutches?" The cowboy scowled and ground his teeth. "You ought to be -able to figure that out, Cameron, just as well as I can." - -"Murgatroyd isn't anybody's fool," said Cameron. "He's not going to go -to any desperate length with Matt and run his neck into a noose." - -"Murg won't, but what does Siwash Charley care? He's already badly -wanted, and he's the sort of cold-game gent who does things when he's -crossed. Murg will play safe, but Siwash is apt to break away from -Murg's plans and saw off with Matt in his own way. What that way is I'm -afraid to think about, or----" - -The noise of a motor was heard up the road, accompanied by the hollow -rumble of a car crossing the bridge over Pipestem Creek. - -"Another car coming this way," remarked Cameron, looking in the -direction from which the sound came. - -Buildings intervened between the front of the hotel and the bridge, -effectually shutting off the view. - -A moment after Cameron had spoken, however, a big car came around a -turn in the road and headed for the hotel. - -The car carried two passengers--a man and a woman. The moment the car -hove in sight, the proprietor of the hotel came out and leaned against -the wall of the building near the door. - -"I don't know what's to be done now," muttered the proprietor. "There's -only room in that shed o' mine for one automobile, an' your machine is -there. What'll Mr. Murgatroyd do with his car?" - -"Murgatroyd!" exploded Cameron, jumping to his feet. - -"Murgatroyd!" cried McGlory. - -"Woosh!" chattered Ping. "We no ketchee Matt, mebbyso we ketchee Murg, -huh?" - -Up to that moment there had been nothing doing in Sykestown; but now, -with startling suddenness, there seemed to be plenty on the programme. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -BROUGHT TO EARTH. - - -If McGlory, Cameron, and Ping were delighted with the start of the new -aėroplane, Motor Matt was doubly so. Matt was "at the helm" and capable -of appreciating the machine's performance as his friends could not do. - -Preserving an equilibrium, and riding on a more or less even keel, is -the hardest point to be met in navigating an aėroplane. The centre of -wind pressure and the centre of gravitation is constantly changing, and -each change must be instantly met by manipulating the wings. In the -Traquair machine, equilibrium was preserved by expanding or contracting -the wing area, giving more resistance to the air on one side and less -on the other, as necessity demanded. - -Matt, facing westward in the direction of Minnewaukon, could give no -attention to his friends, every faculty being required for the running -of the flying machine. Every condition that had so far developed the -aėroplane was meeting wonderfully well; but new conditions would -constantly crop out and Matt was still in doubt as to how the great -planes and the motor would take care of them. - -At a height of a hundred feet he steadily opened up the throttle. -Faster and faster whirled the propeller, and below the machine the -prairie rolled away with dizzy rapidity. Almost before Matt realized it -he was over the town of Minnewaukon, with the jubilant cheers of the -citizens echoing in his ears. - -He made a half turn to lay the machine on her new course. The inner -wing dipped as the aėroplane came around, but the expanding and -contracting device kept the craft from going to a dangerous angle, and -it came level again on the straightaway course. - -Even on a day that seems still and quiet the air is a veritable -maelstrom of conflicting currents close to the earth's surface. Barns, -houses, hills, trees deflect the streams of air and send them upward -to churn and twist in numberless whirlpools. To get out of this unruly -atmosphere an aėroplane must mount. - -Having made sure of the machine's performance at a lower altitude, Matt -climbed higher. Three hundred--four hundred--five hundred feet upward -he went soaring, then rounded gracefully into a level course and was -off at speed along the air line. - -It would be hard to describe the exultation that arose in the breast of -the king of the motor boys. It was not alone that he was doing with an -aėroplane something which had not before been attempted--striking out a -new line for the air navigators of the world--but it was the joy of a -new sensation that thrilled him, spiced with the knowledge that he was -rubbing elbows with death every instant the machine was aloft. - -On his clear brain, his steady eye, and his quick hand hung his hope -of life. A wrong twist of the lever at a critical time would overset -the machine and fling it earthway, a fluttering mass of torn canvas, -twisted wire ropes, and broken machinery, himself in the very centre of -the wreck. - -Higher above the earth the wind was stronger, but steadier, and the -motor hurried the aėroplane along at its top speed. - -It was difficult for Matt to estimate the rate at which he was -traveling. There were no landmarks to rush past him and give him -an inkling of his speed. Once, however, he saw a farmhouse in the -distance ahead; and he barely saw it before it was swept behind and -lost to his eyes under the lower plane. - -Wherever he saw a road he followed it. If anything happened, and he -was obliged to descend, a flat stretch of hard earth would help him to -remount into the air again. - -Matt had secured his watch on the seat beside him so that he was able -to glance at its face from time to time. He had started from Camp -Traquair at eight o'clock. When the hands of the watch indicated -nine-thirty, he made up his mind to descend at the most favorable point -on the surface below him. - -He presently found the place he wanted, hard by a farmhouse, shut -off the power and glided downward. A kick at a footlever dropped the -bicycle wheels into position, and the aėroplane brushed against the -earth of a hard road, moved a little way on the wheels, and then came -to a stop. - -A man and a boy, who had been watching the strange sky monster from -a wheatfield, hurried toward the machine as soon as it had come to a -stop. They were full of excitement, and asked many questions, to all of -which Matt patiently replied while looking around to see that wings, -rudders, and motor were still in perfect condition. - -"How far is it to Sykestown?" Matt asked, as soon as his examination -was finished. - -"About a hundred miles," answered the man. - -"And how far are you from Minnewaukon?" - -"Eighty miles." - -"Great spark plugs!" laughed Matt, resuming his seat in the machine; -"I'm traveling some, all right. I've been only an hour and a half -coming from Totten." - -"Do tell!" gasped the man, in wonder. "Why, neighbor, them there -hossless wagons couldn't travel much quicker'n that!" - -"I should say not! I've some friends following me in an automobile, but -they're nowhere in sight." - -Matt got the bicycle wheels to turning. When they were carrying the -aėroplane at the rate of thirty miles an hour the planes took the lift -of the air and swung upward clear of the earth. - -A pull at the gear turned the power into the propeller, and away rushed -the machine like a new style of comet. - -"I'm going to reach Sykestown in time for dinner," thought Matt, "and -McGlory and Cameron are not expecting to meet me there until to-morrow -morning. I'd have time to go to the Traquair homestead to-night -and perhaps get Mrs. Traquair out of the shack and carry her in to -Sykestown." - -The idea appealed to Matt. Talk about a test for an aėroplane! A -manoeuvre of that sort would put the Traquair machine far and away -ahead of any air craft so far invented. What heavier-than-air machine -was there that could travel away from its starting point and keep -going, asking no odds of anything but gasoline and oil and a firm -surface for launching into the void? - -This demonstration of the new aėroplane was succeeding beyond Motor -Matt's wildest dreams. - -"We'll not take her apart and put her in a crate to send her to -Washington," thought the jubilant young motorist. "I'll fly her there. -I didn't think the machine could travel and hold her own like this!" - -Having plenty of time at his disposal, he began manoeuvring at various -heights, slowing down and increasing his speed, and mounting and -descending. - -In the midst of this fascinating work, he caught sight of an automobile -in the road below him. The car contained only two passengers--a man and -a woman--and was proceeding in the direction Matt was following. - -The car was traveling rapidly, but not so rapidly as the aėroplane. - -Matt decided to swing the aėroplane to a point alongside the automobile -and not more than a dozen feet above the ground, traveling in company -with the car and making inquiries of the man in the driver's seat. - -If he carried out his plan to go to the Traquair homestead that night, -it would be well to learn something about the location of the farm, and -the man in the automobile might be able to give him the information he -required. - -No sooner had he made up his mind what he was going to do than he -proceeded to put the plan into execution. Hovering over the automobile, -he slowed down the engine, turned the small steering planes in front -and slipped down the slope of air as easily as a hawk coming to earth. - -Some fifteen feet above the prairie, just far enough to the right of -the automobile so that the left-hand wings cleared the car safely, Matt -struck into a horizontal course. - -He had not had a good look at the man in the car, as yet, although -both the man and the girl were watching his movements with the utmost -curiosity. - -"Hello!" called Matt, still keeping his eyes ahead and holding his mind -to the work of attending to the air ship. - -There was no answer, or, if there was, Matt did not hear it. - -"Are you acquainted with the country around here?" Matt went on. - -"A little," came the response from the man. - -"Could you tell me where Harry Traquair used to live?" - -"You'll have to bear off to the right if you go there. The Traquair -homestead is twenty miles from----" - -Something in the voice drew Matt's eyes quickly to the man. - -"Murgatroyd!" cried the young motorist. "Great spark plugs!" - -A twist of the rear rudder sent the aėroplane away from the road; -a touch of the lever increased the machine's speed; then, the next -moment, he would have mounted high into the air--had not something -happened. - -The crack of a rifle came from below, followed by the crang of a bullet -on metal, a woman's scream, and a sickening lurch of the aėroplane. - -Matt tumbled from the lower wing, and then experienced a shock that -almost drove his spine up through the top of his head. - -Dazed and bewildered, he lay where he had fallen. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE COIL TIGHTENS. - - -Matt's brain was a jumble of vague and half-formed ideas. He did not -seem able to grasp any notion firmly, or hold to it realizingly. As his -brain began to clear, its first lucid thought had to do with the rifle -shot and the man in the automobile. Instinctively he turned his head so -that he could have a view of the road. - -The automobile had come to a halt a little distance away. The woman, -who had been riding in the tonneau and who must have given the scream -which was still echoing in Matt's ears, had thrown open the car door -and stepped down from the machine. - -She was young and pretty, wore a long dust-coat and had the ends of a -veil flying out behind her well-shaped head. - -Matt shifted his eyes to Murgatroyd. The latter was coolly getting out -of the car. Reaching back, as soon as his feet had touched ground, he -pulled a rifle from one of the seats, turned and walked a little way -toward Matt, halted and leaned on the gun. He did not speak, but his -dark, piercing eyes roved over Matt and then leaped on beyond, to where -the aėroplane was lying. - -Matt withdrew his gaze to give it to Murgatroyd's fair companion. - -"Are you hurt?" cried the girl, as Motor Matt lifted himself and looked -toward her. - -"What is it to you, or that scoundrel with you, whether I am hurt or -not?" he answered angrily. - -A hurt look crossed the girl's face. She had been hurrying toward Matt, -but she now paused and drew back. - -"Your business is with me, Motor Matt, and not with my niece," snapped -Murgatroyd sharply. "She doesn't know anything about our affairs, and -is undoubtedly feeling hard toward me because I fired that shot and -brought you down." - -"Why did you do that, Uncle Amos?" demanded the girl shrilly. "You -might have killed him!" - -"No danger of that, Amy," was the cool answer. "I shouldn't have tried -to bring him down if he had been high enough in the air for the fall to -hurt him." - -"Why did you try to bring him down, anyhow?" - -The girl's alarm was merging rapidly into indignation and protest. - -"Well," said Murgatroyd, "I wanted to talk with him, and he didn't seem -at all anxious to stay alongside the automobile." - -"So you ruined his flying machine and took the chance of hurting him!" - -"Get back in the car, Amy," ordered Murgatroyd sharply. "You don't -understand what you are talking about. This young rascal deserves all -he receives at my hands, and more." - -"He doesn't look like a rascal, or----" - -"Will you mind?" - -Murgatroyd turned and pointed toward the car. The girl hesitated a -moment, then walked slowly back to the automobile and climbed into the -tonneau. - -Matt, meantime, had picked himself up, glad to find that he had no -broken bones. He was bruised and sore, and his coat was torn, but he -did not care for that. He had had a lucky escape, and just at that -moment was more concerned about the aėroplane than he was about himself. - -The flying machine, so far as Matt could see, did not appear to be very -badly broken. - -"I'll hold you responsible for this, Amos Murgatroyd," said Matt, -turning on the broker. "It was an unprovoked attack." - -"You've given me plenty of cause to lay violent hands on you," -answered Murgatroyd. "What are you doing in this part of the country?" - -"That's my business, not yours." - -A snaky, malevolent smile crossed Murgatroyd's smooth face. - -"It may be my business, too," said he. "You asked for the Traquair -homestead. Is it your intention to go there?" - -"I don't care to discuss that point with you. Just understand that -you'll be called on to answer for all the trouble you have caused me -and also Mrs. Traquair. This scoundrelly attack on my aėroplane will -come in for part of the accounting." - -"Yes?" was the sarcastic response. "The machine, to look at it from -here, hasn't the appearance of being very badly hurt. Suppose we give -it a closer inspection?" - -Matt wondered at the man's desire to learn more about the damage to the -aėroplane. It was an hour or so before the reason was made clear to him. - -Keeping a wary eye on Murgatroyd's rifle, Matt stepped over to the -aėroplane. - -The bullet had struck one of the propeller blades, snapping it off. The -blade, in turn, had struck and cut through one of the small wire cables -that formed a stay for the rear rudder. - -"You've put the machine out of business," said Matt. "The fall, too, -may have damaged the motor pretty seriously. I can't tell that until I -make a closer examination." - -"It will take you an hour or two, I suppose, to get the machine -repaired?" - -"An hour or two!" exclaimed Matt. "I shall have to get some farmer to -haul it to the blacksmith shop, in Sykestown." - -A guileful grin swept like an ill-omened shadow across Murgatroyd's -face. Without another word he went to the automobile, climbed to the -driver's seat, leaned the rifle against the seat beside him, and -started the car. He did not continue on toward Sykestown, but made a -turn and went back over the course he had recently covered. - -"The scoundrel!" cried Matt. "He knew I was here to do what I could -for Mrs. Traquair--that question I asked him about the homestead would -have proven that, even if he had not guessed it from the mere fact of -my being in this section. He injured the aėroplane to keep me from -carrying out any plan I might have for the rescue of Mrs. Traquair. He -knows it will take me some time to get the aėroplane fixed, and while -I'm doing that he'll be moving Mrs. Traquair from the homestead to some -other place. That's why he was so anxious to find out how badly the -machine was damaged. If it hadn't been seriously broken, no doubt he'd -have put another bullet into it. He'll pay for this if I've anything to -say about it." - -For a few moments Matt sat down on the prairie and looked ruefully at -the helpless aėroplane. - -This reverse meant much to Motor Matt. Quite likely it would prevent -the sale of the machine to the government, for it was now practically -certain the aėroplane could not be repaired and turned over to the -government for shipment east by the first of the month. This would -have been impossible, even if Matt had had leisure to repair the -damage--which he did not have on account of the necessity he was under -of helping Mrs. Traquair. - -How far back on the road the last house was situated Matt could not -remember. He would have to go there, however, and hire the farmer to -transport the aėroplane to Sykestown. The quicker this was done, and -the sooner the damage was repaired, then the more speedily he could use -the machine in helping Mrs. Traquair. - -If repairs were going to consume too much time, then he could join -Cameron, McGlory, and Ping and go to the Traquair homestead in the -lieutenant's borrowed motor car. - -Greatly cast down by his reverse, yet firmly determined to carry out -his original purpose at any cost, Matt set his face back along the road. - -He was guessing good and hard about the young woman who was in the -automobile with Murgatroyd. She was the broker's niece, but she was -not in favor of any of his villainous designs--that fact was beyond -dispute. If the girl felt in this way, why had Murgatroyd had her along -while pursuing his dark schemes against Mrs. Traquair? - -It was an enigma that baffled Matt. He gave up trying to guess it, and -began reproaching himself for becoming so easily entangled with the -motor car and its scoundrelly owner. He should have made sure that the -man was not an enemy before bringing the aėroplane so close. - -It is always easy to look back over our conduct and discover the -mistakes. In the present case, Matt was blaming himself when there was -really no cause for it. If anything was at fault it was fate, which had -brought the disastrous encounter to pass. - -Every step Matt took reminded him of his bruises. His head throbbed and -every bone in his body seemed to ache. He continued to stride rapidly -onward, however, keeping his eyes constantly ahead in the hope of -discovering a farmhouse. - -Suddenly he saw a fog of dust rising from the trail in the distance. -The cloud was moving toward him and he had a quick thought that it -might be the automobile. The next moment the dust was whipped aside by -the rising wind, and he was sure of it. - -The car was coming, but there was only one man in the driver's seat. -The girl had vanished from the tonneau. - -"Murgatroyd took her to some farmhouse," ran Matt's startled thought, -"and he is coming back to try some more villainous work." The young -motorist's fists clinched instinctively, and a fierce gleam darted into -his gray eyes. "We'll see about that," he muttered, between his teeth. - -The automobile came on swiftly, and Murgatroyd brought it to a -standstill close beside Matt. - -"Get in here," the broker ordered, nodding his head toward the tonneau. - -"I've got other business on hand," answered Matt. "If you're going on -to finish wrecking the aėroplane----" - -"Don't be a fool!" snarled the broker, standing up and lifting his -rifle. "I've invited you to get into the car, but I can _order_, if you -force me to do that, and back up the order with this gun." - -"You've used that gun once to-day, Murgatroyd," said Matt, giving the -broker a defiant look, "and I guess you'll find that's enough." - -He passed on along the roadside close to the side of the automobile. -The door of the tonneau was open. As he came abreast of it, a form that -had been hiding in the bottom of the car leaped out. - -Matt, taken by surprise, tried to leap away. Before he could do so, -however, he was in the grip of a pair of strong arms, and the face of -Siwash Charley was leering into his. - -"This hyer's once things didn't come yer way, my bantam!" gritted -Siwash Charley. "Stop yer squirmin', or I'll give ye a tap on the head -that'll put ye out o' bizness." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE DOOR IN THE HILLSIDE. - - -In spite of Siwash Charley's threat, Matt struggled as fiercely as he -could. With a muttered curse, the ruffian drew back one fist. - -"Steady there, Siwash!" cried Murgatroyd. "Don't be any rougher with -him than you can help. Wait! I'll come down there and lend a hand while -we get a rope on him." - -Murgatroyd picked up a rope from the bottom of the car, jumped to the -ground and came rapidly up behind Matt. Between the two of them, the -scoundrels succeeded in bearing the young motorist to the ground and -putting lashings on his hands and feet. - -Siwash Charley lifted himself scowling and drew his shirt sleeve across -his damp forehead. - -"He's a fighter, all right," he muttered, "but he kin gamble on it that -we've got the upper hand o' him now." - -"You took the girl away and got Siwash Charley, eh, Murgatroyd?" asked -Matt. - -"You're a young man of rare perception," was the broker's sarcastic -response. - -"You'll both pay for this," went on Matt steadily. - -"Who'll make us pay?" grunted Siwash Charley. "Not you, my bantam. I've -got inter enough trouble on your account, an' I ain't intendin' ter git -inter any more." - -This was a luminous remark of Siwash Charley's. Matt would have liked -to ask him how he expected to keep out of trouble by continuing his -lawless work, but there was not time. Lifting the prisoner roughly -Siwash Charley heaved him onto the seat in the tonneau, and slammed the -door; then Siwash got up in front. Murgatroyd was turning the engine -over. When he was done, he climbed to the driver's seat and started the -car. He did not go on toward Sykestown, but, as before, made in the -opposite direction. - -"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Matt. - -"Ye'll know," answered Siwash Charley, turning around savagely, "when -ye find out--an' not afore." - -"Where are you taking me?" persisted Matt. - -"Ye'll find that out quicker'n ye'll find out the other." - -There was clearly no satisfaction to be got out of Siwash Charley. - -"Something will happen to that aėroplane," said Matt, "if it's left -alone on the prairie." - -"Don't worry erbout that thar flyin' machine. We're goin' ter take keer -o' it." - -"Murgatroyd," cried Matt, "if you do any more injury to that machine, -you'll have to pay for it." - -"Sing small," answered the broker, giving all his attention to his -driving; "you'll be a whole lot wiser before I'm done with you." - -"That machine," went on Matt, "is to be delivered to the government, -at Fort Totten, on the first of next month. If it isn't, I'll lose the -sale of it. If you keep me from making the sale, you'll have to pay the -government price--fifteen thousand dollars." - -Siwash Charley lay back in his seat and guffawed loudly. - -"Talks big, don't he, Murg?" said he. - -"Talk's cheap," was the laconic answer. - -Owing to his bonds, Matt had difficulty in keeping himself upright on -the seat while the automobile pitched and slewed along the road. - -When two or three miles had been covered, Murgatroyd turned the machine -from the road and drove toward a range of hills, or coteaus, that -fringed the horizon in the northwest. - -Over the crisp, crackling grass the heavy car passed, now and then -chugging into a gopher hole and slamming Matt around in the tonneau. - -When they had reached the foot of the hills, Murgatroyd followed along -the foot of the range and finally halted. - -"This will do," said the broker. "Take the ropes off his feet, Siwash, -and make him walk. I guess he won't try to get away. You can keep a -grip on him and I'll trail along with the rifle." - -"Oh, I guess he won't try any foolishness with me," cried Siwash, -swinging down from the car, "not if he knows what's best fer him." - -Opening the tonneau door, Siwash Charley reached in and removed the -rope from Matt's ankles. - -"Come out here," he ordered. - -Murgatroyd stood up in front, rifle in hand, and watched to see that -the order was obeyed. Matt supposed that all this was to keep him from -going to Traquair's homestead and helping Mrs. Traquair. But, bound as -he was, and with two desperate men for captors, he was helpless. - -Without a word he got up and stepped out of the car. Siwash Charley -caught his arm and led him toward a steep hillside, Murgatroyd -following with the rifle. At the foot of the almost perpendicular wall -of earth they stopped. - -"Hold the gun on him, Murg," said Siwash, "while I fix the winder so'st -ter throw a little light inter the dugout." - -"Go ahead," answered the broker curtly. - -Siwash stepped apart. Matt, with ill-concealed astonishment, saw him -push a hand along the hillside and push back a square curtain of -canvas painted the color of the yellowish brown of the dried grass. A -small window was revealed. To the right of the window another curtain -was lifted, disclosing a door. Siwash opened the door and stepped back -with an ill-omened grin. - -"Conduct the gent inter the hang-out, Murg," he leered. - -"Go on," ordered Murgatroyd, touching Matt with the muzzle of the rifle. - -"What kind of a place is this?" asked Matt, hesitating. - -"Look at it from the inside an' mebby ye'll have a better notion of -it," answered Siwash, grabbing Matt's arm and hustling him through the -doorway. - -Motor Matt's heart sank when he looked around at the earthen walls of -the excavation. It looked like a prison, and undoubtedly it was to be a -prison for him. - -"I'll make him lay down on the shelf," observed Siwash, "an' tie him -thar." - -"Put him in a chair and tie him to that," said Murgatroyd. "He'll have -to lie down at night, and change of position will be something of a -rest for him. I don't want to be any rougher than we have to." - -"Bah!" snorted Siwash. "From the way ye talk, Murg, a person 'u'd think -ye had a weak heart. But I know diff'rent. I shouldn't think ye'd be so -onreasonable when ye stop ter think o' the hole this feller's got us -both inter." - -"He's going to get us out of the hole, and give me something I've set -my heart on, besides. I reckon he's entitled to all the consideration -we can give him." - -Siwash kicked a chair forward and pushed Matt into it; then, with -another rope, he tied the prisoner with coil on coil, drawn taut about -his legs, waist, and shoulders. When Siwash was done, Matt could hardly -shift his position an inch. - -"Now," proceeded Murgatroyd briskly, "we'll have to hurry. I left my -niece at a farmhouse, and I want to get back there and make sure that -she doesn't cause any trouble." - -"Trouble? What kind o' trouble kin she make?" - -"She's not used to this sort of work, and it was tough luck that she -was in the car when Motor Matt came along in that flying machine. She's -very much put out with me because I fired a bullet into the aėroplane -in order to stop Motor Matt. She's a girl of spirit, and I must talk -with her to make sure she doesn't do something that will play hob with -my plans." - -"Wimmen ain't no good, anyhow," growled Siwash Charley. "Will ye go -right on ter Sykestown ter-night?" - -"I think not. It will be best to stay at the farmhouse until I make -sure whether my talk will do any good. If I think Amy will leave my -hands free, we'll make for town in the morning." - -Murgatroyd turned to Matt. - -"Where's McGlory?" he asked. - -"I don't know," Matt answered. - -"Was he to meet you in Sykestown?" - -Matt was silent. - -"Ye kin gamble, Murg, that cowboy feller was ter meet him some'r's. -Wharever ye find one of 'em ye're purty sure ter find t'other. I'm -wonderin' why McGlory wasn't in the flyin' machine along with Motor -Matt." - -"If they were to meet anywhere," said Murgatroyd, "it was in Sykestown. -Motor Matt would hardly try to rescue Mrs. Traquair alone." - -A snaky smile accompanied the last words. Siwash Charley chuckled. - -"It worked like a house afire," the latter muttered. - -"Bring writing materials, Siwash," said the broker. - -The other went to a box cupboard, swinging against the wall, and -brought out some paper and envelopes, a bottle of ink and a pen. These -he placed on the table in front of Murgatroyd. - -"How many letters ye goin' ter write, Murg?" queried Siwash, hanging -expectantly over the table. - -"Three," replied the broker. "One letter will be sent to Lieutenant -Cameron, another to Joe McGlory, and another to Mrs. Traquair." - -Matt could not understand these allusions to Mrs. Traquair. If she was -a prisoner at the homestead, why was Murgatroyd writing a letter? - -It required an hour's time to write the three letters. Murgatroyd -allowed Siwash to read each one as soon as it was finished. - -Siwash became jubilant as the reading progressed. When the last letter -had been gone over, he brought his fist down on the table with a -smashing blow. - -"They'll do the trick, by jinks!" he declared. "Ye'll git what ye're -arter, Murg, an' so'll I. Thunder, but I wisht I had your head!" - -"It takes something of a head to make money and keep out of jail, these -times," laughed Murgatroyd, getting up. - -The letters were folded and put in the addressed envelopes, and -Murgatroyd slipped the three missives into his pocket. - -"I'm off, now, Siwash," said he, stepping toward the door. "It may take -a week to wind up this business, and it may not take more than three -days. See that the prisoner don't get away, whatever you do." - -"Waal, ye kin bank on me from the drap o' the hat!" cried Siwash -Charley effusively. "Blamed if I ever had anythin' ter do with sich a -slick game as this afore, an' it does me proud ter have a hand in it. -Count on me, Murg, count on me!" - -With a derisive grin at Motor Matt, Murgatroyd stepped through the door -in the hillside. A few moments later Matt could hear his automobile -gliding off across the prairie. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -A REVELATION FOR MATT. - - -Motor Matt, in spite of his helpless situation, was not at all worried -about his own safety. What did alarm him, though, was the plot which -Murgatroyd seemed to be putting through with so much success. - -Why had the broker written the letters to Cameron, McGlory, and Mrs. -Traquair? What did they contain? And why should a letter be written to -Mrs. Traquair when she, like Matt, was supposed to be a prisoner of -Murgatroyd's? - -These were all matters of grave import, and the king of the motor boys -turned them over and over in his mind. - -He knew that Murgatroyd, for some reason of his own, was intensely -eager to secure the Traquair homestead. Probably he could have bought -it for a fair amount, but that was not the broker's way. He had made -his money by lending on mortgages, and then foreclosing, thus securing -property for a fraction of its value. This seemed to be his desire in -the present instance, and he was taking long chances to put his plans -through. - -Siwash Charley, after the broker was gone, was in great good humor. He -gave Matt a drink of water from a pail on the earthen shelf, and then -filled and lighted his pipe and dropped down on a cot. For purposes of -ventilation the door was left open, and Matt, his brain puzzled and -bewildered, watched the sun sinking into the west. - -The afternoon was drawing to a close. Somewhere, along the road to -Sykestown, McGlory, Cameron, and Ping were making their way in the -borrowed motor car. During the night, if all went well, the party -should reach Sykestown. Matt would not be there to meet them in the -morning: but Murgatroyd would be there, and would scarcely be able to -evade Cameron and McGlory. - -What Matt's friends would do when they encountered the broker was -problematical. Matt had abundant faith in Cameron's good judgment, and -in his cowboy pard's courage and determination. Something of importance -would happen, the king of the motor boys was sure, and that something -would be of help to Mrs. Traquair. - -"What's Murgatroyd up to, Siwash?" asked Matt. - -"He knows, an' I know, but you don't," answered Siwash, "an' what's -more, ye ain't a-goin' to. So stop yer quizzin'." - -"Why is he writing to Mrs. Traquair if she's a prisoner of his, out on -the Traquair homestead?" - -Once more Siwash enjoyed himself. - -"He's goin' ter send the letter out thar," replied Siwash. "Now stop -askin' questions. Ye'd better be congratulatin' yerself that we're -handlin' ye so keerful. Arter what ye've done ter Murg an' me, knockin' -ye on the head an' drappin' ye inter some slough wouldn't be none too -good. Howsumever, ye're wuth more ter us alive than ye air with yer -boots on--which is mainly whar yer luck comes in. Hungry?" - -"Yes." - -"Then I'll git ye a snack." - -Siwash went to the cupboard from which he had brought the writing -materials and secured some dried beef and crackers. Removing a knife -from his pocket, he began cutting the dried beef into small pieces. - -There was something about the knife that reminded Matt of the rusty -dagger Ping had found in the woods, and recalling the dagger brought -Cameron's story of Goff Fortescue abruptly to Matt's mind. - -The prisoner eyed Siwash sharply. There was that about the ruffian that -suggested the soldier--a certain precision of movement acquired in the -ranks. Matt began to whistle softly. - -For a moment Siwash Charley paid no attention; then, as the air Matt -was whistling came to him, he lifted suddenly and glared. - -"Stop yer whistlin'," he snapped. - -"Do you know what that is, Siwash?" he asked. - -"No!" almost shouted the scoundrel. - -"They call it reveille up at the post. Here's 'stable call'----" - -Siwash made one spring at Matt, the knife still gripped in his fist. He -flashed the blade in front of Matt's eyes. - -"If I thought--if I thought----" - -Siwash breathed the words hoarsely and stared menacingly at Matt. There -followed an awkward silence. Presently Siwash turned away and went on -carving the dried beef. - -"I don't want ter hear 'stable call' nor nothin' else," he snarled. -"Don't like whistlin' nohow. Shut up, or I'll put a gag between yer -jaws." - -Matt deemed it best to keep silent after that. Nevertheless, it seemed -to him as though he had touched a raw spot in Siwash Charley's past -history. Had Cameron got the matter right? Was Siwash Charley really -the deserter, Cant Phillips? - -When the food was ready, Matt asked Siwash to release his hands so -that he could help himself. But Siwash refused, and the prisoner was -compelled to take his food from the ruffian's hairy paws. - -A change appeared to come over Siwash Charley. He was moody and -reflective, and kept his pipe going continuously. - -Leaning back against the earthen wall of the room, he surrounded -himself with a fog of vapor, which, because of the poor ventilation of -the dugout, almost stifled Motor Matt. - -The sun went down in a blaze of red, night fell, and Siwash closed the -door and lighted the lamp. He neglected to curtain the window, however, -which may have been an oversight on his part. - -Matt fell to musing upon the aėroplane, and about the watch which he -had left on the aėroplane seat. - -Would anything happen to the machine while he was a prisoner in the -hands of Murgatroyd and Siwash? He roused up suddenly. - -"Siwash," he asked, "what's going to be done with that flying machine?" - -"I've had all I want out o' you," growled the ruffian, with savage -emphasis. "If ye know when ye're well off, ye'll hush." - -Matt "hushed." Frogs began to croak, and their husky voices came -faintly to the prisoner's ears. Somewhere inside the dugout a cricket -chattered. A rat ran over Matt's feet and a lizard crawled slowly along -the earthen shelf at his side. - -"A pleasant hole, this," muttered Matt grimly; then, again and again, -thoughts of those three letters recurred to his puzzled mind. - -Siwash fell asleep in his chair, and his snores were added to the weird -sounds that drifted in from the prairie. - -Matt's limbs, bruised and sore from the fall out of the aėroplane, felt -numb from the bonds. His whole body was aching, and his head throbbed -as though a thousand demons were pounding it with hammers. But, in -spite of his pain and discomfort, he fell to wondering if there was not -some way by which he could free himself from his bonds. - -He had an invincible nature, and never gave up a fight so long as there -was breath in his body. Slowly he began an effort to free himself. It -was a fruitless attempt, doubly bound as he was, and his desperate -labors caused the chair to overturn and land him sprawling on the clay -floor. - -The noise awoke Siwash Charley. - -"Tryin' ter git loose, hey?" he cried with an oath. "I ought ter make -ye sit up all night fer that, an' I got a blame' good notion." - -Roughly he jerked the chair upright and began removing the coils of -rope. When they were off, he examined the cords at Matt's wrists. - -"Go over an' lay down on the cot," he ordered. - -Matt's feet were free, and, had the door been open, he would have been -tempted to make a dash through it and try to lose himself from his -captor in the darkness of the open prairie. - -Passing over to the cot he dropped down on it, and Siwash tied him -there with more coils of rope, passing them around and around the side -pieces of the cot, under and over it. - -The change of position was a rest, in a measure, although the tight -wrist cords kept Matt's arms numb clear to his shoulders. It had been a -trying day, and Matt presently dropped off to sleep. The hour was late -when he closed his eyes. Although he had no means of telling the exact -time, yet he knew it could not be far from midnight. - -A mellow chink as of metal awoke him. He opened his eyes and saw -daylight shining through the window. - -Siwash was at the table, humped over it and counting a small store of -yellow gold. An old leather pouch lay on the table beside the coins. - -Matt, cramped and in an agony of discomfort, was on the point of crying -out and asking to be untied from the cot and put back in the chair, but -he saw a head push across the window on the outside of the dugout, and -the call died suddenly on his lips. - -It was the face of Hackberry! - -Hope arose in Motor Matt's breast. Hackberry was a friend, in some -manner he had learned where Matt had been taken, and he had come to his -rescue! - -Scarcely breathing, Matt watched the face of the man at the window. - -Hackberry was not looking at Matt, but had centred his attention on -Siwash. The latter, finishing his count of the gold pieces, swept them -from the table and into the pouch; then, crossing to the wall by the -cupboard, he knelt down, removed a flat stone, and pushed his yellow -wealth into its cache. After placing the stone in position once more, -Siwash Charley got up and stepped toward the door. - -Before he could open it, the door was pushed ajar in his face. - -"Pecos!" exclaimed Siwash, startled. - -"Shore," laughed Pecos. "Ye didn't think it would take me more'n a day -and a night to git back from Totten, did ye? The hoss is plumb tired, -an' I've jest picketed him close to water an' grass. And the scheme -worked, hey?" he went on, with a grin at Matt. "I reckoned I'd put up a -purty good bluff." - -Here was a revelation for Matt, a revelation that broke over him in a -flash and brought with it a grievous disappointment. - -A clever trap had been laid by Murgatroyd, and, in spite of all his -precautions in testing Hackberry's story, Matt had walked into it! - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -PECOS TAKES A CHANCE. - - -"Was that story of yours a lie?" demanded Motor Matt. - -"Well," drawled Pecos, "it wasn't exactly the truth, not as anybody -knows of. I gave it to you jest as Murg give it to me, an' it certainly -took fine!" - -The astounded expression on Matt's face caused Siwash Charley to go -into another roar of mirth. It was a very good joke--to Siwash and -Pecos Jones. Pecos, riding over to Fort Totten, had claimed to be an -honest homesteader, doing his utmost to help a neighbor in distress. -The idea of Pecos Jones posing as an honest homesteader still further -added to Siwash Charley's enjoyment. - -"Isn't Mrs. Traquair at the homestead?" inquired Matt. - -"Not onless she went thar o' her own accord--which I don't reckon -possible." - -"And your claim doesn't join the Traquair quarter section?" - -"Oh, but that's rich!" whooped Siwash Charley, wiping his bleared eyes. - -When Matt's amazement left him he felt a sense of relief. It was -something to know that Mrs. Traquair wasn't in danger, something to -feel that he had now only himself to think about. - -"I'm hungry," said Pecos Jones, throwing himself down on the shelf. -"Got any grub, Siwash?" - -"Don't I allers have grub?" returned Siwash. "It's thar in the -cupboard, Pecos. Help yerself." - -Pecos helped himself to a chunk of beef and a handful of crackers. - -"I reckon," he observed as he ate, "I ought ter have a good bit o' -money fer what I done, eh, Siwash?" - -Siwash Charley immediately grew cold and formal. - -"Why, you little wart," he answered, "how much pay d'ye want fer goin -'ter Totten an' back? Ain't sixty dollars enough?" - -"It was my work as done the trick," protested Pecos. "I'll bet Murg is -givin' you a hull lot more'n sixty cases." - -"That's my bizness an' Murg's. Sixty you got, an' sixty's all ye git." - -Pecos looked at his diminishing piece of beef reflectively. - -"Well," he remarked, "you an' me's allers been good friends, Siwash, so -I reckon we needn't ter quarrel. Oh, I come purty nigh fergittin'. On -my way here I rode past Jessup's shack. Murg come out an' hailed me an' -said he wanted ye ter come over there, right away." - -"Thunder! Why didn't ye tell me afore?" - -"Ye ain't lost much time. Take yer own hoss, don't put a bridle on -mine. My critter's all tired out. How long'll ye be?" - -"It won't take me more'n an hour ter go an' come," answered Siwash, -picking up his hat. "If Murg don't keep me long, I reckon I'll be back -in an hour an' a half. What d'ye think he wants me fer?" - -"Give it up. He ain't tellin' me any more o' his bizness than what he -has ter." - -"No more he ain't, an' I reckon it's a good plan, too. I suppose it's -somethin' about that niece o' his. Don't let Motor Matt bamboozle ye. -If he gits contrary, thar's Murg's rifle leanin' in the corner." - -"I don't need no rifle while I got these," and Pecos patted the handles -of two revolvers that showed at his hips. - -"Waal, so long, Pecos," said Siwash, moving toward the door. "The ole -man may be in a hurry, so I'll tear away." - -He disappeared, and Pecos continued to munch his bread and crackers. -A few minutes later, through the open door, Matt and Pecos saw Siwash -pounding away across the prairie. - -Immediately Pecos Jones' manner underwent a change. Stuffing what -remained of his crackers and dried beef into his jacket pockets, he ran -to the door and watched. - -"He's gone," murmured Pecos, "an' I got an hour, anyway. Sixty cases, -eh?" he snarled. "What I done's wuth more, an' if Murg won't give it I -take it, anyhow." - -Without paying the least attention to Matt, who was watching -proceedings in amazement, Pecos ran to the wall and dropped down on his -knees. Removing the big, flat stone, he threw it to one side and pushed -his hand into the secret cache. Presently he drew out the leather pouch -and gave a croaking laugh as he shook it over his head and listened to -the jingle of gold. - -"I'll l'arn 'em ter beat me out o' what's my due!" he cried. "I'll git -on my hoss an' dodge away inter the hills. If Siwash kin find me, then -he's welcome ter take his money back. Wonder if there's anythin' else -in there?" - -Again Pecos bent down, thrust his arm into the hole, and drew out a -suitcase, mouldy and stained. Pecos weighed it in his hands, shook it, -then cast it from him. - -"Nothin' there!" he grumbled, and got to his feet. - -A thrill shot through Matt. Pecos had seen Siwash counting his money -and putting it away in the secret cache. Being a man of no principle, -and believing that he had been poorly paid, he had made up his mind to -steal all he could get his hands on and leave while Siwash was away at -Jessup's. - -While he was handling the suitcase Matt had seen, on one end of the -mouldy piece of luggage, the letters, "G. F." - -There was no doubt but that Siwash Charley was Cant Phillips! No doubt -but that this satchel, drawn out of the earthen cache by Pecos, was the -dishonored officer's luggage--the very receptacle which had contained -the San Francisco plans! - -"Pecos!" cried Matt, as the thief darted toward the door. - -The man paused. - -"I ain't got no time ter bother with you," he answered. - -"You got me into this," begged Matt, "and why not set me at liberty?" - -"I'm takin' enough from Siwash, I reckon," said Pecos. - -"But if it hadn't been for you I wouldn't be where I am now." - -"An' if ye wasn't where ye are now," answered Pecos, by a strange -process of reasoning, "I wouldn't be entitled ter this!" He shook the -jingling pouch. - -"I've got money in my pocket----" - -"Oh, ye have!" cried Pecos, with a complete change of front. "That's -diff'rent." - -He pushed the pouch into the breast of his coat and came to the side of -the cot. - -"I'll give it to you," said Matt, "provided you take the ropes off my -hands." - -"Ye don't have ter give, my buck, so long as I kin take! I'll not let -ye go, but I'll take what ye got an' save Siwash the trouble." - -Matt's personal property had not been tampered with by his -captors--probably on orders issued by Murgatroyd, who seemed to have -his own ideas about how the prisoner should be treated. - -Pecos, in feverish haste, bent over Matt and tried to get at his -pockets. The tightly drawn coils of the rope interfered. Swearing -volubly, he grabbed up Siwash Charley's knife from the table and hacked -one of the coils in half. - -This cutting of one coil released all the others, and Pecos was free -to pursue his search unhindered. With a grunt of exultation he drew a -small roll of bills from Matt's pocket, stuffed it into his trousers, -and was away like a shot. - -Matt had the use of his feet, and, now that the coils securing him to -the cot had been severed, he was able to rise to a sitting posture. - -For a few moments his brain whirled dizzily. Just as it began to resume -its normal condition, a thump of galloping hoofs sounded outside the -door, and Matt struggled erect and reeled to the opening. - -Pecos Jones was putting his tired horse to its best pace. Odd as it -seemed to Matt, he was hurrying in the direction of Sykestown. - -Perhaps that was the best course for Pecos to take if he wanted to -avoid Siwash. He would not go into the town, but could give it a wide -berth, and make for regions to the southward. - -Weak and tortured with his numbed limbs, Matt sank down on the earthen -shelf. - -Bound though he was, Matt knew he could escape. Siwash, as yet, had not -been gone half an hour. He would certainly be back in an hour, full of -wrath and eager for revenge. - -Matt did not believe that Murgatroyd had sent for Siwash, but that -Pecos had told the story simply to get the other out of the way while -the robbery was being perpetrated. If this was true--and Matt felt -positive that it was--the fury of Siwash would pass all bounds. - -It would be better for Matt not to be there when Siwash returned, but -there was Goff Fortescue's suit case. Matt felt that he was in duty -bound to take it with him, and this he could not do unless he had the -use of his hands. - -How was he to free himself? The knife lay on the floor where Pecos had -dropped it--and the knife suggested possibilities. - -Getting up from the shelf, he walked over to the knife and knelt with -it between his feet; then, with his numbed fingers, he fumbled for the -blade, lifted it upright, and shoved his feet together with the knife -between his heels, edge side out. - -This manoeuvre took time, for Matt had to try again and again, but at -last the blade had a fairly rigid support, with the handle between his -heels and the back of the knife against his body. - -After resting a moment--for the work, so trifling in the telling, had -brought into torturing play every muscle--he pushed the wrist cords up -and down the sharp edge. He cut himself slightly--it was impossible to -avoid that--but the cords were severed, and, with a groan of relief, he -drew his swollen hands around in front of him. - -Almost fagged, he fell over upon the floor, feebly rubbing his arms -to restore circulation. While he was thus engaged, the beat of hoofs, -coming swiftly and the sound rapidly growing in volume, reached him. - -Siwash Charley! was the thought that darted through his brain. It did -not seem possible that the man had been gone an hour. - -It was too late, now, to leave the dugout, and Matt got up and -staggered to the door. For a moment he stood there, looking. He was -seen, and a furious yell came echoing across the prairie. There was no -doubt of the approaching horseman being Siwash Charley. - -The crack of a revolver was heard, and a bullet thumped spitefully into -the woodwork of the door frame. - -Matt drew back, closed the door, and shoved the bolt. - -Right then and there he and Siwash Charley would have out their little -differences. But Siwash was not the only one of the two who was armed. - -Matt remembered the rifle which belonged to Murgatroyd, and to which -Siwash had called Pecos Jones' attention. Pecos, in his haste, had left -without it, and Matt now hurried to the corner and picked it up; then, -returning to the door, he crouched there and waited. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -BESIEGED. - - -The king of the motor boys hated the very touch of a firearm. He had -seen so much wanton use of such weapons when in the Southwest, that he -had become imbued with horror and disgust for anything that carried -powder and ball. - -But here he was forced to fall back on whatever he could find in order -to withstand the attack of a frenzied and desperate man. - -Counting out the rage Siwash must feel over the trick that had taken -him away from the dugout, if he once broke into the room, found his -money gone, and the satchel in Matt's possession, there was no telling -what demons would be turned loose in him. - -Having discovered the satchel, Matt was determined to turn it over to -Cameron. It was this resolve that had held Matt to the spot, and now -forced him to brave the wrath of Siwash Charley. - -Bang! bang! bang! - -Leaden hail rattled on the door, but the door was of stout plank and -the metal could not penetrate it. The barrier Siwash Charley had -constructed for his own preservation, in time of possible stress, now -proved a good shield for Motor Matt. - -Having announced himself, in this violent fashion, Siwash dismounted -and tried the latch. The door, of course, refused to yield, and Siwash -hurled himself against it. The stout planks trembled, and the earthen -wall quivered. - -"Steady, there, Siwash Charley!" cried Matt. "I've got Murgatroyd's -rifle, and I don't intend to let you come in here." - -This announcement seemingly carried an effect. The attack on the door -ceased and Siwash began a parley. - -"Did that coyote of a Pecos Jones set ye loose?" he demanded. - -"No." - -"How'n thunder did ye make it, then?" - -"Pecos Jones robbed me--cut the ropes that tied me to the cot so he -could get at my pockets. You had left my feet unbound, and I managed to -juggle a bit with a knife that lay on the floor." - -"Waal, it won't do ye no good. Ye're in thar, an' I'm out hyer, ye've -got a rifle an' I've got a brace o' Colts, an' on top o' that ye've -got the use o' yer hands, but that don't mean that ye're goin' ter git -away. I ain't wantin' ter harm ye--ye heerd what Murg said when he -left--so ye might as well open the door an' let me in." - -"I'll not do that," answered Matt firmly. - -"Why won't ye?" - -"Because, now that I'm free, I'm going to stay that way." - -"Ye ain't free! All the freedom you got is ter run eround that -two-by-twice hole in the ground an' dodge bullets. Whar's that coyote? -I got a bone ter pick with him." - -"He's not here." - -"I know that, kase I seen that his hoss wa'n't down by the spring whar -he picketed him. Whar'd he go?" - -"I don't know." - -"What did he play that bloomin' trick on me fer? Murg wasn't at -Jessup's--he an' the gal had been gone from thar fer two hours." - -Here was Matt's chance to laugh, but he was not in a mood to take -advantage of it. - -"Do you remember counting your gold this morning, Siwash?" asked Matt. - -A startled exclamation broke from the ruffian. - -"Did ye see that?" he returned. "I thought ye was asleep." - -"I wasn't the only one who saw it. Pecos Jones was looking through the -window. Pecos not only saw you counting the money, but he also saw -where you put it." - -A bellow of fury broke from Siwash. - -"Why didn't ye tell me he was at the winder?" he fumed. - -"Why should I?" returned Matt. "You fellows had led me to believe that -Pecos Jones' name was Hackberry, and that he was a friend of mine. I -had an idea that he was coming here to rescue me, and that's the reason -I kept quiet." - -Matt could hear Siwash tramping about and easing his wrath as this shot -went home. - -"What did that coyote do?" roared Siwash. "Tell me that." - -"He took your money and ran away with it." - -"Did--did he take anything else?" - -"Well, some of my money that I had in a vest pocket." - -"Anything else?" - -"No." - -"Ye know whar that cache is?" - -"Of course. How could I help knowing when Pecos Jones rifled it under -my eyes?" - -"I'm suspicionin' you," yelled Siwash, "with yer whistlin' o' reveilles -an' stable calls! Ye kain't fool me, not fer a minit." - -Matt had been afraid of this discovery, but there had been no way of -preventing it. He had told Siwash about Pecos in the hope of having the -ruffian trail away in pursuit of the thief. - -"Why don't you take after Pecos, Siwash?" asked Matt. - -"Kase it's wuth more ter me ter plant myself right hyer an' look arter -you. Open this door, 'r I open up on ye, rifle or no rifle." - -"I'll not open the door," answered Matt firmly, "and if you try to -break it down I'll send some bullets through it. The planks can turn -a revolver bullet, but a slug from a rifle will go clean through the -wood. Get away from here, Siwash. Your cue is to take after Pecos -Jones." - -The words ended amid a crash of broken glass. Siwash Charley was -shooting through the window. Four shots had already been fired. Matt -counted three more. These made seven, and five more shots would empty -the ruffian's revolvers. - -If he had no more cartridges, he would be helpless. But this was -something on which Matt could not count with certainty. - -"Keep away from that window, Siwash!" cried Matt, pressing close to -the door. "Show yourself there and I'll fire!" - -Bang! bang! bang! - -"Seven and three are ten," computed Matt. "He'll soon have those -weapons emptied. I don't believe he'll show himself at the window, but -perhaps I can coax him to shoot again." - -Dropping down on hands and knees, Matt crept to a point directly under -the window. Having reached this spot, he placed his cap on the muzzle -of the rifle and lifted it. - -Bang! - -"Eleven," thought Matt. - -Then he gave a loud cry and allowed the cap to waver back and forth. - -Bang! - -"Twelve!" exulted Matt. "Now, if he hasn't any more cartridges, I'll be -safe." - -Matt had allowed the cap to drop at the last shot. Outside he could -hear a tramp of running feet. - -"I told the cub," came the voice of Siwash. "He ought to've knowed -better than ter----" - -Siwash Charley's head was thrust in at the opening, rimmed with its -jagged points of glass. The scoundrel's words died on his lips, for his -eyes were blinking into the muzzle of the rifle. - -"Clear out, Siwash!" said Matt calmly. "I don't like guns, and I don't -like shooting, but I dislike your society more than either one. Go away -from here, and go quick." - -What Siwash said Matt could not hear, but he vanished from the window -as if by magic. - -There was no more firing. In order to test his theory regarding Siwash -Charley's ammunition, Matt showed himself boldly at the broken window. - -The ruffian was not more than twenty feet away. Quick as a flash he -raised one of his weapons and pulled the trigger. There was only a -metallic click, which made it manifest that Siwash had not kept such -close track of the ammunition as Motor Matt had done. - -"Go away, I tell you," ordered the king of the motor boys. "I've had -enough trouble with you, and I intend to get to Sykestown in time to -prevent Murgatroyd from carrying out his plans. If----" - -Matt paused, aghast. Across the prairie he could see a swiftly moving -blot--a motor car, he was sure, and undoubtedly Murgatroyd's. - -Siwash Charley was likewise looking at the approaching car. - -"Oh," he yelled, "I reckon ye ain't got everythin' your way, arter all. -Hyer comes Murg, an' ye kin bet Murg ain't out o' ammunition even if I -am!" - -Matt's heart went down into his shoes. Wasn't luck ever to turn for -him? Was there to be no end to this reverse which had come his way? - -As he continued to gaze at the approaching car, it grew plainer to his -eyes. There was more than one man aboard, he could see that, and the -car didn't look like Murgatroyd's, but of a different color. This car -was brown! - -As Matt's hopes arose, Siwash Charley's began to sink. A moment later, -Siwash rushed for his horse. - -"Cameron!" cried Matt, hardly able to believe his eyes; "Cameron and -McGlory!" - -Turning from the window he ran to the door, flung it open and leaped -outside. - -Yells came from the car, and some one stood up in front and waved his -hat wildly. - -Matt, pointing to the fleeing Siwash, shouted at the top of his voice: - -"Capture that man, Cameron! He's Phillips, the deserter! He is armed, -but his revolvers are empty! Capture him!" - -If Matt's words were not heard or understood, at least his gestures -were. The car turned and darted after Siwash Charley. - -The king of the motor boys, leaning against the front wall of the -dugout, watched the race. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE BROKER'S GAME. - - -The remarks of the landlord, in front of the hotel, had given McGlory -and Cameron a clue of which they were not slow to take advantage. - -Here was Motor Matt's enemy, the very man who had set in motion the -plot which, through Hackberry, had lured the king of the motor boys -into Wells County on a useless quest. - -Coolly enough Murgatroyd brought his car to a stop in front of the -hotel and faced the angry lieutenant and cowboy. - -"Your name Murgatroyd?" demanded Cameron. - -"My name, yes, sir," answered the broker, half turning in his seat so -as to command a better view of the lieutenant. "But," he added quietly, -"I believe that you have the advantage of me." - -"Cameron's my name." - -"Ah!" A flash crossed Murgatroyd's face. "I might have known who you -were, just by seeing you with McGlory there. This is a fortunate -meeting." - -"Fortunate!" cried McGlory, dancing around the front of the car. "Speak -to me about that! I should say it was fortunate, you old tinhorn--for -us, if not for you. What's this game you've put up on Motor Matt?" - -"If we do any talking," said the broker mildly, "you'll have to express -yourself in terms that I can understand." - -"You'll savvy a heap before we're done with you." - -"Just a minute," went on Murgatroyd. "My niece is in the car with me, -and I think it well that she should not listen to your violent talk." -He looked around. "Amy----" - -The girl was white, but she made no attempt to get out of the tonneau. - -"I'm not going to leave, Uncle Amos," said she. "I want to hear more of -this talk." - -"You will please obey me, Amy, and leave the car." - -"It is your car," she answered, "and I haven't any right to stay in it -if you don't want me to." - -Cameron opened the door for her and held out his hand to help her down. -She paid no attention to the extended hand, but passed into the hotel. - -"Before we begin," proceeded Murgatroyd, "let me ask you if you -recognize this watch." - -He offered the timepiece as he finished. - -"It's Matt's!" exclaimed McGlory, snatching the watch. - -"Him Motol Matt's clock, allee light," breathed Ping. The hotel -proprietor was the only person, besides Cameron, McGlory, and Ping, -within reach of the broker's words. - -"This conversation is of a private nature, Brackett," said Murgatroyd -significantly, "even though it is taking place in the street in front -of your hotel." - -Brackett excused himself and passed around the corner of the building. - -"That watch," proceeded the broker, "will prove to you that your friend -is in my hands. He is being kept safely in a place which you will not -be able to find. I have written three letters, one to you, Lieutenant -Cameron, one to McGlory, and one to Mrs. Traquair. It will not be -necessary to post two of them, for I can tell you, face to face, what -the letters contain. - -"The one to you, Cameron, has to do with some little unpleasantness -connected with the aėroplane trials recently held at Fort Totten. -Siwash Charley and, through him, myself were wrongly suspected of -complicity in an accident connected with the flying machine. This has -been very annoying to me. Your letter contained the information that, -other matters being satisfactorily adjusted, your friend Motor Matt -would be released under written promise from the authorities at Fort -Totten to give over persecuting me and Siwash Charley for a crime of -which we are entirely innocent." - -McGlory, to put it figuratively, immediately "went up in the air." -Before he could air his views, however, Cameron silenced him with a -look. - -"Motor Matt, according to your proposition, as I understand it," -returned the lieutenant calmly, "is to be released providing the -military authorities promise you and Siwash Charley immunity?" - -"That is one of the conditions governing the release," answered -Murgatroyd. - -"What are the other conditions?" - -"Well, the letter to McGlory contained that. Mrs. Traquair, as -satisfaction for the mortgage which I hold against the Traquair -homestead, west of here, is to turn over the quarter section to me. -That is all. My letter to Mrs. Traquair contains that proposition, and -my letter to McGlory requests him to write Mrs. Traquair that what I -say, regarding the capture of Motor Matt, is true. McGlory is also to -advise her to accept my terms. If those terms are accepted, and if -the authorities at Fort Totten agree not to persecute me, or Siwash -Charley, any further, Motor Matt will be released." - -The cowboy was so full of language that he could hardly restrain -himself. Cameron laid a hand on his arm and pushed him away. - -"Murgatroyd," said the lieutenant, "you have just made the most -impudent and brazen proposition I ever heard. You deliberately plan and -commit a crime, and then plan and commit another to save you from legal -responsibility for both." - -"You look at it in a prejudiced way," returned the broker, apparently -not in the least ruffled. "What is your answer?" - -The lieutenant was thoughtful for a space. - -"I have no power to promise you immunity," said he. - -"You will take it up with your superior officer at Fort Totten?" - -"I won't say that, but I will say that I will think it over." - -"That is all I can ask. How about you, McGlory?" - -"Sufferin' wildcats!" gurgled McGlory. "Have I got to answer that? Have -I----" - -"He'll think it over, Murgatroyd," broke in Cameron, "just as I intend -doing. Where is Motor Matt?" - -"That is my secret," and the wily broker actually smiled. - -"Is he far from here?" - -"Another secret. While you are thinking the matter over, I will hunt -for a place to stow my car." - -He got out to use the crank, and Cameron caught McGlory's arm and led -him into the hotel. - -"Why didn't I hit him?" the cowboy was murmuring dazedly. "Why didn't -you let me hit him, Cameron, or else hit him yourself?" - -"Because, McGlory, we've got to talk this over and---- Ah!" The -lieutenant broke off as a slender form swept toward him across the -office. "This is the young lady, I believe, who was in the car with Mr. -Murgatroyd?" - -The girl was still pale, but there was resolution in her face and -manner. - -"I have not much time to talk," said she, "for what I say must be said -before my uncle comes in. Mr. Murgatroyd is my uncle. I am a school -teacher and live in Fargo with my mother. For some time I have been -in poor health, and Mr. Murgatroyd suggested that I take an automobile -trip with him through this part of the country, where he was coming -to look up some of his investments. For a few days our headquarters -have been here. Yesterday afternoon we were riding to the north and -west of Sykestown when an aėroplane came sailing toward us, dropped -down close to the automobile, and a young man whom I afterward learned -was Motor Matt hailed my uncle and asked him some question. When my -uncle answered, Motor Matt seemed to recognize him, and tried to turn -the air ship away. My uncle had a rifle near him, and he fired at the -aėroplane, injuring the machinery so that it fell and---- - -"No," the girl broke off, seeing the look of alarm that crossed the -faces of her auditors. "Motor Matt was not seriously injured, but the -aėroplane was damaged. This happened about ten miles out, on the road -to Jessup's. My uncle turned around and took me to Jessup's, where he -left me. I am very sure that he then went some place, secured Siwash -Charley to help him, and made a prisoner of Motor Matt. I do not know -where your friend was taken, but it could not have been a great way -from Jessup's home--west of the road, I think, and along the base of -the hills, for that is the way my uncle came when he returned to the -farmhouse. We stayed at Jessup's all night and came here this morning. -On the way, we passed the aėroplane, and my uncle got out, looked the -machine over, and came back with that watch. - -"That is all I can tell you. Do not try to keep me any longer, or to -ask me any questions. I shall go back to Fargo by train, for I do not -like the way my uncle is doing. I--I hope that you will find your -friend and that--that no harm has happened to him." - -The girl had spoken rapidly, and with nervous impatience, continually -watching the door. When she finished, she turned away and passed -hastily up the stairs leading to the second floor. - -The amazing news she had given held McGlory, Cameron, and Ping -spellbound. While they stood, gazing at each other, Murgatroyd entered -the office. - -"As soon as you have come to a decision," said he, "let me know." - -Then he, too, passed up the stairs. - -Cameron was the first of the three to recover his wits. - -"Quick!" said he, catching McGlory's arm, "there's no time to be lost. -Run over to the railroad station and send a telegram to Mrs. Traquair, -McGlory. Tell her to pay no attention to any letter she may receive -from Murgatroyd. While you're doing that, I'll get out the car and -we'll make a run out on the road to Jessup's." - -McGlory, inspired with the necessity for rapid work, hustled for the -telegraph office. Cameron hurried to the shed after the car. While he -was getting the machine ready, Ping mysteriously disappeared. - -As the lieutenant pulled out of the shed, he looked for the cowboy and -the Chinaman. Neither was in sight. - -Two minutes later McGlory appeared, and crossed from the railroad -station to the car on a run. - -"Where's Ping?" demanded Cameron. - -"That's too many for me," said McGlory. "I thought he was with you." - -"And I had the idea that he had gone with you. Well, we can't wait for -him," and Cameron drove the car around to the front of the hotel. - -A man was crossing the street. Cameron hailed him. - -"Which is the road to Jessup's?" he asked. - -The man pointed it out. Barely had he given the directions when -Murgatroyd ran out of the hotel and vanished around the corner of the -building. - -"He's after his car!" murmured McGlory. - -Some one jumped to the footboard and scrambled into the tonneau just as -Cameron threw in the switch. It was Ping. He was breathing hard, and -his yellow face was as near white as it could possibly be. - -"What's the matter with you, Ping?" asked McGlory. - -The Chinaman held up one hand. As the flowing sleeve fell away his -yellow fingers could be seen gripping a switch plug. - -"Murg forgettee plug," chattered Ping. "My findee car, takee plug----" - -Cameron let off a shout as he coaxed the automobile into a faster pace. - -"That knocks out Murgatroyd, so far as chasing us is concerned," said -he. "Shake hands with the chink for me, McGlory. I'm too all-fired -busy." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -CANT PHILLIPS, DESERTER. - - -The car slammed its way across the bridge over the Pipestem and hustled -at a fifty-mile-an-hour clip in the direction of Jessup's. - -"There's a schoolma'm that's worth her weight gold bullion," remarked -McGlory. "Her uncle must have found out that she told us something, or -he wouldn't have scattered after his car like he did." - -"Much good it will do him now," chuckled Cameron, "since Ping has -robbed the machine of the important plug. For once the broker was -careless." - -"And to think of him putting a bullet into the aėroplane and bringing -it down!" said McGlory through his teeth. "I reckon that spoils the -sale to the government." - -"It may," returned Cameron, "but all I can say is I'm sorry if it does." - -"How we're to find Matt is a conundrum," went on the cowboy. "Turn west -from the road to Jessup's and follow the hills. That may be all right, -and it may not. Sufferin' horned toads, but all this is gettin' on my -nerves." - -"Siwash Charley is taking care of Matt----" - -"Taking care of him! I can imagine how the tinhorn is doing that. I -hope Pard Matt is able to stand it." - -Ten miles were covered in short order, and those in the flying car had -a glimpse of the aėroplane beside the road. - -"It doesn't seem to be hurt much," remarked Cameron. - -"It must be damaged considerable, for all that," said the cowboy. "If -it hadn't been, Matt would have got away before Murgatroyd could take -the girl to Jessup's, pick up Siwash, and then come back and lay him by -the heels." - -Cameron brought the car to a halt, jamming down on both brakes. - -"Ping," said he, "go back and watch the aėroplane. Here's a revolver. -Don't let any one tamper with the machine. We'll be along after a -while." - -Ping was accustomed to obey orders. Without a word he took the weapon -Cameron handed to him and got out of the car. The lieutenant threw in -the switch and away they went again. - -"There's the hills," announced McGlory, after a period of speeding, -pointing to the misty blue line of uplifts. - -"I believe I'll break from the trail and head straight for them," said -Cameron. - -"Might as well," assented McGlory. "It's all a guess, anyhow, and that -move is as likely to be right as any other we can make." - -There were broad marks of automobile tires in the dust. Cameron had -been watching them. Although he said nothing about it to the cowboy, -yet he turned from the road at a point where another car had made the -turn. - -Straight for the hills the lieutenant headed, and as they came closer, -McGlory suddenly dropped a hand on Cameron's arm. - -"Do you hear it?" asked the cowboy excitedly. - -"Hear what?" - -"Firing. There it goes again." - -Cameron heard it, but it was very faint. - -"That sounds as though we were going to get next to something," said -McGlory. - -"And looks like it, too. Isn't that a horse I see against the -background of a hill, over there?" - -The cowboy looked straight ahead. - -"You're right!" he cried. "There's a horse there, and a man farther -along. The man's shooting at the face of the uplift. There! Hear that, -Cameron? What's he wasting ammunition like that for?" - -Cameron did not answer; he was busy looking and listening and running -the car. - -"Thunder!" exclaimed McGlory, as the scene opened clearer and clearer -before his eyes, "there's a hole in the hillside--two holes, or I'm a -Piute, for another just opened up." - -"And the man's mounting the horse," said Cameron. - -"And some one is coming through that hole in the hill. Sufferin' -surprises! Why, it's Matt! Look, Cameron! He's pointing toward the man, -and saying something. I can't hear what he says, but it's a cinch he -wants us to follow the man." - -"And it's a cinch we'll do it, too!" cried Cameron. "Pull that other -revolver out of my hip pocket, McGlory. Don't use it, though, till I -tell you to. The bare sight of it may be enough to bring the man to a -halt." - -Cameron had turned the car and was plunging across the prairie in hot -pursuit of the fleeing horseman. The car was going five feet to the -horse's one, and the pursuit was drawing to a rapid close. - -"It's Siwash Charley!" announced McGlory. - -"I'd about made up my mind to that," said Cameron. "He was shooting at -Matt. It looks as though we had arrived just in time, McGlory." - -As the car leaped and swayed across the prairie, the cowboy stood up, -hanging to Cameron with one hand and waving the revolver with the other. - -"Halt!" he shouted. - -Siwash Charley turned in his saddle and shook his fist defiantly. - -"He's going to fight," said Cameron. "Look out for a shot when we come -close. But don't fire yet, McGlory." - -"What's the use of waiting?" demurred the cowboy. "It's a wonder Siwash -hasn't opened up on us before now." - -"We'll run him down in a minute. His horse---- Ah, ha! See that." - -Siwash had been giving rather too much attention to the pursuing car -and too little to his horse. The animal dropped a foot in a gopher hole -and turned a somersault on the dried grass. Siwash shot out of the -saddle as though he had been fired from a cannon, caromed across the -prairie, and then lay still. - -Cameron nearly ran over the scoundrel before he could shut off and -clamp on the brakes. The horse, escaping a broken leg by almost a -miracle, scrambled to its feet, gave a frightened snort, and dashed on -at full speed, stirrups flying. - -"Never mind the horse," said Cameron. "Let Jessup have the brute. -Siwash is the one we're after." - -"He's coming easy," returned McGlory, dropping the revolver on the seat -and following the lieutenant out of the car. - -Siwash was lying silent and motionless on the ground. Cameron knelt -beside him and laid a hand on his breast. - -"Is he done for?" asked McGlory. - -Cameron shook his head. - -"Stunned, that's all. If we had a rope----" - -"The only thing we've got in the way of a line is the piece of string -Ping tied around our lunch bag," broke in McGlory, picking the weapons -out of Siwash Charley's pockets. "These are no good," he added, after -a brief examination. "Every cartridge has been used. Let's load Siwash -into the tonneau, Cameron, and I'll agree to keep him quiet until we -can get to where Matt is waiting for us." - -Between them Cameron and McGlory lifted the huge bulk of the -unconscious ruffian and deposited him, none too gently, in the rear of -the car. The cowboy climbed in beside him, and the lieutenant cranked -up, took his seat, and started back along the foot of the hills. Matt -greeted them cheerily as they drew up at the door of the dugout. - -"How are you, pard?" whooped McGlory. - -"Bruised a little and mighty hungry, but otherwise all right. How's -Siwash?" - -"In need of a rope, Matt," said Cameron. "Have you got one handy?" - -Matt ran into the dugout and picked up part of the rope that had been -used to secure him to the chair and the cot. With this Cameron and -McGlory made Siwash Charley secure before his wits returned, thus -avoiding a possible struggle. - -As soon as this part of the work was finished, the cowboy sprang from -the car and gripped Motor Matt by the hand. - -"You've had a rough time, pard," said he, "and something of a reverse, -if what we've learned is true, but you're stacking up pretty well for -all that. What sort of a place is this, anyhow?" - -"It's Phillips' old rendezvous," said Matt. - -"Phillips?" echoed Cameron. "Do you mean Siwash Charley, Matt?" - -"No one else." - -"Have you any proof of it?" - -"Wait a minute." - -Matt ran into the dugout and presently reappeared with the suit case. - -"Chance threw that in my way," said he, "and, by trying to save it for -you, Cameron, I very nearly got myself into more trouble than I could -manage. Look at these initials." Matt pointed to the letters "G. F." on -the end of the stained and mouldy grip. "This must be the very satchel, -don't you think," he added, "that the drummer received by mistake, over -in Devil's Lake City?" - -Cameron was so amazed he could not speak. Taking the suit case from -Matt, he opened it up on the ground. It was not locked and opened -readily. - -There were stained and mouldy documents inside--blue-prints, tracings, -and pages of memoranda. - -Cameron rose erect and stared down at the satchel's disordered contents. - -"There's no doubt about it," he muttered. "This is the identical suit -case that Captain Fortescue carried across the lake with him that day -it was supposed he started for St. Paul, and----" - -A call came from the wagon. - -"What you fellers roughin' things up with me fer? Murgatroyd has got -somethin' ter say ter you. When you hear that you'll be lettin' me go." - -"He's still hazy," said Matt. "He doesn't remember what's happened." - -They all stepped to the side of the car and looked down at Siwash -Charley where he lay helpless on the tonneau seat. - -"Murgatroyd," said Cameron sternly, "has already told us what he had to -say." - -"Ye kain't do nothin' ter me fer takin' keer o' Motor Matt," rambled -Siwash Charley. "I treated him white, an' he'll tell ye the same thing." - -"That's not what we've captured you for," went on Cameron. "You're a -deserter, and your name isn't Siwash Charley, but Cant Phillips. You're -for Totten, my man, and a court-martial that will probably land you -where you won't be able to break the law for a long time to come." - -Then, for the first time since his senses had returned, Siwash Charley -appeared to understand all that his capture meant. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE LOSING CAUSE. - - -Murgatroyd must have had an extra switch plug with him, for Brackett, -proprietor of the hotel, was authority for the assertion that he -left town shortly after Cameron, McGlory, and Ping had taken their -departure. Murgatroyd, however, went east, while the other car took a -western trail. - -What became of Murgatroyd was for some time a mystery. He was not met -along the road between Sykestown and Carrington, and he was not seen in -the latter town. - -His niece likewise vanished, taking the train--this, also, on the -authority of Brackett--and presumably returning to Fargo. For her, -Motor Matt and his friends always thereafter treasured a warm regard. -She had turned resolutely against a relative in order to make sure that -right and justice were meted out to a stranger. - -Cant Phillips, alias Siwash Charley, was removed to Fort Totten. After -a trial, during which it could not be proved that he had lost the -dagger which Ping had found in the woods, or that he had met Captain -Fortescue by agreement or otherwise and dealt foully with him, or -that he had stolen the suit case and the plans, he was sent to the -government prison at Leavenworth to serve a long term. - -Phillips' story was to the effect that he had deserted to go into the -"business" of stealing horses with Pecos Jones, and that the suit case -and the plans were in Jones' possession when he--Phillips--joined him. - -But Phillips could not deny his identity, nor the evident fact that -he was a deserter. For this he received a sentence that was the limit -for desertion, lengthened somewhat by the belief of those presiding at -his trial that he had at least a guilty knowledge of the other crimes -imputed to him. - -Mrs. Traquair was very much wrought up when she discovered how -Murgatroyd, using her name, had beguiled the king of the motor -boys into a trap destined to free the broker and Siwash Charley of -"persecution" by the military authorities, and, at the same time, to -secure for the broker himself the Traquair homestead. - -It was an audacious plan, and a foolish one, but the several steps by -which it was worked were covered in rather a masterly way. - -Mrs. Traquair had departed suddenly for a visit with friends in -Fargo. Learning of this, and from this one insignificant fact alone, -Murgatroyd had built up the whole fabric of his plot. It was a losing -cause, and Matt had been caught in it, for, if the audacious scheme was -to be successful, the king of the motor boys would be the one factor -that made it so. Everything hinged on him. - -The aėroplane was guarded by Ping until Matt, Cameron, and McGlory -reached Sykestown over the trail to Jessup's and sent a team and wagon -back to bring the damaged machine into town. The same wagon that hauled -it into Sykestown likewise hauled it across country and back to Fort -Totten. - -Matt, McGlory, and Cameron, before leaving the dugout to return to -Sykestown with their prisoner, lingered to talk over recent events, -hear each other's account of what had happened, and to make a further -examination of the earthen room. - -Nothing of any importance was found, save a slender supply of food in -the box cupboard, which was promptly confiscated. When the friends -left, they closed the door, allowed the painted screens to fall into -place over the door and the broken window, and then marked with -astonishment how, at a little distance, even they were at a loss to -mark the particular place of that lawless retreat. - -"It's a regular robbers' roost," declared McGlory, looking back as the -car carried them toward the road. - -"It ought to be destroyed," said Cameron. "A knowledge of its presence -is an invitation for some other lawless men to make use of it." - -"Pecos Jones, for example," added McGlory. "How much money did that -fellow get from you, Matt?" - -"Twelve dollars," answered Matt. "If he hadn't been in such a hurry, -he might have found my money belt and secured three hundred more." - -"You got off easy," said Cameron. - -"Not so easy, after all, lieutenant. I wouldn't go through that set-to -with Siwash Charley again for all the gold that was ever minted. I -don't like guns, anyway." - -"Somethin' queer about that, too," observed McGlory. "Explosive engines -are Matt's hobby, but set off an explosion in a steel tube, with a -piece o' lead in front o' it, an' he shies clear off the road." - -The next day, after the aėroplane had been brought in and sent on to -Fort Totten, and the boys had learned various things from Brackett -concerning Murgatroyd and his niece, the little party moved on toward -Devil's Lake in the car, taking Cant Phillips with them. - -When the post was reached there was a disagreeable surprise awaiting -Matt. It came in the shape of a telegram from headquarters, announcing -that the trials at Fort Myer had been indefinitely postponed, and that, -therefore, another of the Traquair aėroplanes would not be needed. - -"Bang goes fifteen thousand!" mourned McGlory. - -"The department may change its mind," suggested Cameron, "when it hears -about that straight-away flight of the aėroplane into Wells County." - -"While the war department is changing its mind," said Matt, smothering -his disappointment with a laugh, "McGlory and I will get busy putting -the aėroplane into shape and then look for fresh fields and pastures -new." - -"That hits me, pard," said McGlory. "I've been pining for a change of -scene, but I hate to leave this vicinity while Murgatroyd is at large." - -"Forget Murgatroyd, Joe," counseled Matt. - -"If he'll forget us, yes, but I don't think he will." - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (26) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt's "Make and Break" - -OR, - -Advancing the Spark of Friendship. - - The Skeleton in the Closet--What Next?--Bringing the Skeleton - Out--Marking Out a Course--The Start--A Shot Across the Bows--The - Man Hunters--Fooling the Cowboys--The Trailing Rope--A Bolt from - the Blue--"Advancing the Spark"--The Trail to the River--Unwelcome - Callers--An Unexpected Turn--A Risky Venture--Conclusion. - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, August 14, 1909. - - -TERMS TO MOTOR STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS. - -(_Postage Free._) - -Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each. - - 3 months 65c. - 4 months 85c. - 6 months $1.25 - One year 2.50 - 2 copies one year 4.00 - 1 copy two years 4.00 - -=How to Send Money=--By post-office or express money-order, registered -letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent by -currency, coin, or postage-stamps in ordinary letter. - -=Receipts=--Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper change -of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly -credited, and should let us know at once. - - ORMOND G. SMITH, } - GEORGE C. SMITH, } _Proprietors_. - - STREET & SMITH, Publishers, - 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City. - - - - -THE DOCTOR'S RUSE. - - -One morning in September, 190-, there came to the office of Doctor -Frederic Curtin, a young English physician in Hongkong, a native -junkman from the Chinese city of Swatow, about two hundred miles -northeast of the English city. The junkman brought a letter to the -doctor from an old acquaintance, the Rev. James Burren, a missionary -in the vicinity of Swatow; and the letter begged Curtin to come and -attend the missionary's young son, who was suffering from a puzzling -and lingering illness. - -As none of his patients in Hongkong demanded his immediate attention, -Curtin was free to respond to the call. The _Silver Moon_, the trading -junk that had brought the letter of appeal, was to leave on the return -voyage the next day at noon; and as this junk offered the only means -of reaching Swatow for several days, Curtin engaged passage on the -slow-sailing, clumsy vessel. - -There had been much activity that summer among the native pirates that -infest the coast waters of the China Sea; and although the doctor did -not expect to encounter any of these gentry, he took the precaution -of placing in his valise two heavy navy revolvers and a quantity of -cartridges. - -The _Silver Moon_ sailed on the morrow at midday, as scheduled, and, -driven by a wide spread of canvas, slipped through the deep-blue, -lapping water of this Eastern sea at a much better speed than the -doctor expected. That evening a nearly full moon floated in the -clear sky, and gave a glory to the ocean that Curtin had never seen -surpassed. He sat on deck until late, and when he did go down to his -cramped berth in the cabin below, he dropped into a sleep so profound -that his first intimation of danger was when he was awakened by fierce, -wild cries and the scurrying and trampling of many feet on the deck -overhead. - -He sprang to get his revolvers. But while he fumbled with the catches -of the case, there was a rush of footsteps down the passageway outside; -and the next moment the frail door burst in with a crash before the -attack of half a dozen nearly naked Chinamen, who had revolvers and -short curved swords. The _Silver Moon_ had fallen a prey to pirates, -and Curtin calmly submitted himself to the invaders. - -He was allowed to dress. In the meantime the pirates rummaged through -his baggage, including the rather portly black leather case in which he -carried his medicines and surgical instruments. When he was hustled -on deck a few moments later he found lying alongside the _Silver Moon_ -a huge junk, and swarming over the captured vessel a motley horde of -evil-looking barbarians. - -The crew of the _Silver Moon_, awed and cringing, was huddled forward -under guard. - -But Curtin was not placed with the other captives. At a word from -the thin, wiry man who appeared to be the leader, two of the pirates -marched the doctor straight aboard the strange junk, where they -proceeded to bind his arms and legs with ropes, and left him near the -foremast, to sprawl or sit on the hard deck, as he chose. - -Then as soon as everything of value on the _Silver Moon_ had been -transferred to the robber junk, the crew returned to their own vessel, -and cast off, leaving their countrymen to go their way in peace. The -pirate junk now headed to the northeast, following the coast. - -Curtin, sprawling on the bare deck in his bonds, could only conjecture -what was to be his fate. He knew that the native pirates often made -a practice of holding prisoners for ransom, and he fancied that his -captors intended to do so in his case, otherwise they would not have -singled him out from all those on the captured junk. It did not -reassure him to reflect that his bank account in Hongkong was an -extremely modest one, and that he had few friends in the city who could -place any large sum at his disposal. - -About the middle of the forenoon his attention was attracted to one -of the pirate crew--a big man who was restlessly pacing up and down -the sun-scorched deck not far away, apparently in intense agony. On -observing the fellow closely, the doctor saw that there was an angry, -unhealed wound in the muscles of his bare left forearm, and noted that -the arm itself was swollen to nearly twice its normal size. - -At once Curtin's professional instinct was stirred. On the impulse of -the moment he stood up awkwardly on his pinioned legs, and said in -Chinese: - -"That is a bad wound you have in your arm. I am an English doctor of -Hongkong. Perhaps if you will let me see your arm I can relieve the -pain." - -The big Chinaman stopped his uneasy striding to stand and look -doubtfully at the speaker. The pirate leader happened to be near, heard -what Curtin said, and, the wounded sailor continuing to hesitate, -signed him to allow the doctor to examine his arm. - -The sufferer obeyed stolidly, and one glance at the inflamed wound, -which evidently had been made by a sword thrust, was enough to tell -Curtin that he had to deal with a case of threatened blood poisoning. -But he thought that if the arm was immediately lanced the Chinaman -would have a good chance for speedy recovery. - -This he told the pirate captain, who had come over to stand beside -his fellow cutthroat. He said that if the black case that had been -seized among his other baggage that morning was brought and his arms -were released, he would at once treat the wound, although he would not -guarantee to cure the man. - -To the doctor's surprise, the captain answered that he had lived in -Hongkong, and knew of the skill of the English doctors, and that he -would be much gratified if Curtin could save the sailor, as the fellow -was one of his best men. - -The medicine case was quickly produced, and the doctor's hands -were untied. First ascertaining that the contents of the case were -undisturbed, he prepared the wounded arm by pouring a little alcohol -upon it. Then he took out his instruments and quickly performed the -operation. - -The look of relief that came into the sufferer's face was apparent, -but neither the captain nor the other members of the pirate crew, -who had gathered round to watch, made any comment. Curtin carefully -dressed and bandaged the wound, and as soon as he had finished, his -hands were rebound. His patient moved away without a word of thanks or -appreciation, yet the doctor did not neglect to say that as often as -was necessary he would attend the arm again. He was anxious to make -a friend of this Chinaman; for a friend, he felt, would not be a bad -thing to have among that barbarous crew. - -Shortly after sunset that evening the junk reached the mouth of a -narrow river, and a quarter of a mile from the entrance to this stream -the sails were lowered and anchor was dropped. Curtin gathered from the -talk of some of the crew who stood near him that the junk was to be -taken up this river to an outlaw retreat, but that they would not enter -the narrow channel until the high tide of the next morning. - -Not long after the evening meal was over the pirates began to turn in -for the night. Most of them merely threw themselves down on the hard -deck. By nine o'clock all were asleep, with the exception of a single -watchman, whom Curtin could see strolling back and forth across the -afterdeck. - -Hours passed, and as the doctor lay outstretched on the bare deck, he -tried to work his hands out of the hempen cord that bound them together -behind his back. He thought that if he could free himself from his -bonds, the watchman might nap, and thus give him opportunity to slip -over the side of the vessel into the sea and swim ashore. But he was -unable to release his hands. - -Not long after this, the watchman came forward and silently passed -close to Curtin, and he was rather surprised to see that the lone guard -was no other than the man whose arm he had lanced that morning. He -wondered idly if the fellow had been chosen for the post of watchman -for the reason that suffering had rendered him sleepless. - -Then suddenly, as he looked up at the big yellow man, a new idea -for escape germinated, grew to a hazy outline, and in a moment took -definite shape in Curtin's mind. - -In his medicine case was a vial containing a quantity of a certain -very powerful anęsthetic. He had told the pirate that he would dress -the wound again when necessary. If on this excuse he could get his -hands freed and the case in his possession, why would it not be easy -to administer a few drops of the drug by a hypodermic injection, and -almost immediately send the watchman into a coma that would last for -hours--render him unconscious before he could rebind his captive's -hands or think to make outcry? - -Curtin fully realized the danger attendant upon so audacious a scheme. -But he felt that as long as he was in the hands of these ruthless and -merciless men his life was not safe from one hour to the next. - -Immediately he hailed the watchman and asked him about his arm. The -tall pirate paused and replied that it still pained him considerably. -Curtin suggested that he should bring the medicine case and have his -arm treated there in the bright moonlight. - -The watchman was slow in answering. Curtin began to think that -the natural craftiness of his race had counseled him against the -proposition, when with a gesture of consent he went to the companionway -and disappeared. In a few moments he came back, carrying the familiar -case in his hand. Then the doctor's heart gave a joyous leap. - -As soon as his hands were loosened, he quickly opened the case and took -out the vial he needed and the hypodermic syringe. He poured into the -syringe a few drops of the colorless fluid from the vial. Next, with -hands that trembled with eagerness, he unwound the bandage from the -wounded arm. - -Curtin picked up the syringe nonchalantly, but it gave him a shock to -note at this instant that the huge pirate had his right hand resting on -the carved hilt of the short, naked sword slipped through his belt. - -However, the doctor did not hesitate. He resolutely grasped the -proffered arm, and carefully inserted the needle point of the -instrument into the flesh so far above the wound that the powerful drug -could have but little harmful effect upon the irritated region. Then, -with even pressure upon the plunger, he completely emptied the vial. - -He withdrew the syringe, and keeping a strong grip upon his victim's -arm, began to replace the bandage. - -He worked slowly, methodically, occupying as much time as possible in -each step of the operation. The Chinaman soon began to show signs of a -strange, unnatural drowsiness. His head nodded on his broad shoulders, -his eyes were half closed, and he opened them with difficulty. All at -once the doctor's vigilant eye saw a startled, apprehensive look flit -across the countenance of the pirate. The next instant the man gave a -half-inarticulate cry and snatched out his sword. - -Curtin threw up his hand to arrest the fall of the blade, but suddenly, -in the twinkling of an eye, the Chinaman wavered, the uplifted arm -dropped nerveless, the sword fell clattering to the deck from the -grasp of the relaxed fingers. As the watchman toppled over under the -influence of the drug, the doctor caught him in his arms and lowered -him to the deck. - -Then Curtin snatched up the sword, and, with one slash of the keen -blade, severed the ropes that bound his ankles loosely together. He -listened just a moment. All was still on the junk. He stooped down and -finished adjusting the bandage to the senseless outlaw's wounded arm. - -But he did not linger long on the pirate craft. Throwing a rope over -the side of the junk, he slid down into the water and swam away. - -No mishap occurred to him in the water, and soon he was following the -sands of the beach to the northeast. - -At daybreak he came upon a British gunboat lying a little way off the -shore, and in response to his signals, a boat put out and took him -aboard. That evening he was landed in Swatow. He found the missionary's -son very ill with a stubborn fever; but Curtin took up the battle just -in time, and at the end of a week had the satisfaction of witnessing -the boy's recovery. - - - - -STRANDED ON A CHIMNEY. - - -"Unravel your stocking, John; begin at the toe," was a sentence which -many an old-time schoolboy learned well, for it appeared in the -school readers of a generation ago. It was the solution found by a -quick-witted wife for the problem of rescuing her husband from the top -of a tall chimney. When he had let down an end of a raveling, she tied -a piece of string to it, and eventually sent him up a rope. - -Something of the same sort happened not long ago to two chimney -builders on Staten Island, N. Y. - -They were up on the top of a big new concrete chimney, over one hundred -and sixty feet tall, and started to complete their job by tearing away -the scaffolding on the inside as they worked down. There was a ladder -running all the way down. The men stood on some planks about ten feet -down from the top. They ripped up the planks one by one, and shot them -down inside the shaft. - -The next to the last one, however, went a little crooked, glanced from -the wall, hit the ladder, and in a twinkling tore several sections out -and left the men standing on a single plank, six feet long and two feet -wide, with no means of going up or down. - -It was then noon, and for more than four hours they alternately -whistled and shouted in a vain attempt to attract attention. It was -nearly five o'clock when another workman happened to come into the -chimney at the bottom and heard their cries. - -A crowd quickly gathered, and began to wonder what they could do to -help. Meanwhile, the prisoners had not been idle: they had torn their -flannel shirts to narrow strips and made a rope of them, and this they -sent down the chimney slowly. - -Firemen were soon at hand, and attached a light line to the improvised -rope, and sent it up. The chief's idea was that if they threw it over -the top of the chimney and let it down to the ground, he could anchor -it there, and they could safely slide down the inside. - -They threw it over the top, but there it stuck, fastened in the soft -concrete, and soon they could neither pull it toward them nor pay it -out; yet they dared not trust their weight on it. For some time the -rescue was halted, but at last another rope was secured, and with the -line already in hand this was hauled up and thrown over the chimney -rim. It went without sticking, and was secured on the outside. - -The scaffolding that had held in place was only about fifty feet below -the men, but they had used so much of their clothing in making ropes -that they were both badly burned in sliding that distance. - -However, they reached ground in safety, and in a few days were back at -work none the worse for the adventure. - - - - -A SCRIMMAGE OF LIONS. - - -Captive lions, like fire flames, are fine things when under control, -but when once they get the upper hand then indeed they are terrible. -In her book, "Behind the Scenes with Wild Animals," Ellen Velvin -describes a battle between a number of these brutes which took place in -a showroom at Richmond, Virginia. It came off at a rehearsal, so that -the public lost the chance to see it. - -Only one man was concerned in the fight. That was Captain Bonavita, who -had managed twenty-seven lions at one time. The cause of the fight was -the arrival of newcomers from their native jungles. - -When the arena was ready for the rehearsal, Bonavita had considerable -trouble in getting the animals out, and when the first one finally -appeared, it was not in the slow, stately manner in which he usually -entered, but in a quick, restless way, which showed that he was in an -excitable state. He was followed by seventeen others, all in the same -nervous condition. - -Instead of getting on the pedestals in their usual way, the lions, with -one exception, a big, muscular fellow, began to sniff at the corners of -the arena, where the newcomers had been exercising, and every moment -added to their rage. Their fierce natures were excited by jealousy, -so that when one lion presumed to go over to a corner and follow up -the sniffing of another, the first one turned upon him and bit him -savagely. The other promptly retaliated, and in the twinkling of an eye -they were fighting fiercely. - -The temper of the others flashed up like gunpowder, and almost -instantly seventeen lions were engaged in a wild, free fight. - -The one big fellow who had climbed on his pedestal when he entered -still sat there, but at this moment the remaining nine lions appeared -in the arena, followed by Bonavita. - -The animals rushed forward into the battle; the big lion with an ugly -snarl leaped from his pedestal into the thick of the fray, and in an -instant twenty-seven lions were fighting with teeth and claws. In the -midst of it all stood one man, calm, self-possessed, but with every -nerve and muscle at their highest tension, for he knew better than any -one else that his life hung in the balance. - -Bonavita vainly tried to regain mastery over the fighting beasts. The -lions were no longer the puppets of a show; they were the monarchs of -the wild, turbulent and savage. - -Seeing his power gone, Bonavita did his best to save his own life. He -succeeded in getting out, thanks to his wonderful nerve--for he had -to jump over the backs of the fighting animals, and in doing so he -received a deep wound in the shoulder. - -There was nothing to be done but to let the lions fight it out, which -they did. For nearly two hours that awful battle raged; but, when the -lions were exhausted, Bonavita, wounded as he was, went in and drove -them into their cages. - -Many of the lions after this terrible fight were seriously injured, -and had to be treated for wounds, cuts, and tears; but they had fought -themselves out, and the next week they went through their performances -as mildly as kittens. - - - - -DREDGING FOR GOLD. - - -The many varying conditions under which gold is found is not the least -interesting feature of the history of the yellow metal. In rock, sand, -and sea it has been discovered, and even in the deposit of hot springs -now in activity. Large nuggets have been discovered in dry gravels, -while prospectors have acquired much wealth by extracting gold from -river beds, by the process known as panning--i. e., separating the dirt -and mud from the metal by shaking the gold-bearing earth or gravel with -water in a pan. - -While, however, many rivers have been thus exploited, explorers and -scientists are agreed that there are still millions of dollars' worth -of gold waiting to be unearthed from the bottom of rivers in different -parts of the world. In New Zealand and South America, for instance, -convincing proof has been obtained that rich deposits of the precious -metal still lie at the bottom of many of the rivers of those countries. -The gold is usually found in the form of grains at some depth below the -surface, imbedded in mud and clay. - -There are only two ways of recovering it--namely, either the river bed -must be dredged by floating dredgers, or the river must be diverted -into another channel while its bed is being stripped. The former -method is the one generally adopted, dredgers having been used with -considerable success on the Pacific Slope. - -Attention has been attracted of late years to the possibilities of -recovering gold from the rivers of Peru. For ages the gold-laden quartz -of the land of the Incas--the people who covered the walls of their -temples with plates of gold and used the precious metal to fashion -cooking utensils--has been broken down by the denuding agencies of -frost, rain, and snow, and carried into rivers, where it has remained -undiscovered, until recent explorations revealed an astonishing source -of wealth. - -Take the River Inambari and its tributaries, for instance. An -examination of 30 miles of this river revealed the fact that it -contained gold to the average value of $1.75 per cubic yard, which -could be extracted at a cost of 12 cents only. The result of this -examination led to the formation of the Inambari Gold Dredging -Concessions, Limited. - -Sir Martin Conway some time ago explored upper Peru and the famous -gold-producing valleys from which the Incas gained most of their great -store of wealth. He came to the conclusion that in a certain area no -less than $10,000,000 profit was to be made by extracting gold from the -rivers, and in order to begin obtaining this gold it was only necessary -to have a dredge on the spot. The same hour in which the dredge first -begins to turn, gold will be won. - -The dredges used up to the present have been almost exclusively of the -endless-chain bucket or steam-shovel pattern. At one end of the boat -is a powerful endless-chain bucket-dredge, which scrapes the gravel -from the bottom and elevates it to a revolving screen in the boat. This -in turn sifts out the bowlders, which are at once thrown to the bank -of the river, while the fine material flows over tables covered with -cocoanut matting, which acts like fine riffles, catching the gold in -the interstices. The matting is periodically lifted up and thoroughly -rinsed off, the rinsings are panned for gold, and the matting returned -for another charge. - -In the case of the Inambari Gold Dredging Company, a modern steel -dredger has been made, which it is confidently estimated will work far -quicker and in a much more effective and inexpensive manner than any -other dredger which has yet been used. - - - - -LATEST ISSUES - - -BRAVE AND BOLD WEEKLY - -All kinds of stories that boys like. The biggest and best nickel's -worth ever offered. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. -Price, 5 cents.= - - 335--Three Brave Boys; or, Adventures in the Balloon World. By Frank - Sheridan. - - 336--Archie Atwood, Champion; or, An All-around Athlete's Career. By - Cornelius Shea. - - 337--Dick Stanhope Afloat; or, The Eventful Cruise of the _Elsinore_. - By Harrie Irving Hancock. - - 338--Working His Way Upward; or, From Footlights to Riches. By Fred - Thorpe. - - 339--The Fourteenth Boy; or, How Vin Lovell Won Out. By Weldon J. - Cobb. - - 340--Among the Nomads; or, Life in the Open. By the author of - "Through Air to Fame." - - 341--Bob, the Acrobat; or, Hustle and Win Out. By Harrie Irving - Hancock. - - 342--Through the Earth; or, Jack Nelson's Invention. By Fred Thorpe. - - 343--The Boy Chief; or, Comrades of Camp and Trail. By John De Morgan. - - 344--Smart Alec; or, Bound to Get There. By Weldon J. Cobb. - - 345--Climbing Up; or, The Meanest Boy Alive. By Harrie Irving Hancock. - - 346--Comrades Three; or, With Gordon Keith in the South Seas. By - Lawrence White, Jr. - - 347--A Young Snake-charmer; or, The Fortunes of Dick Erway. By Fred - Thorpe. - - -MOTOR STORIES - -The latest and best five-cent weekly. We won't say how interesting it -is. See for yourself. =High art colored covers. Thirty-two big pages. -Price, 5 cents.= - - 11--Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen Brady. - - 12--Motor Matt's Peril; or, Castaway in the Bahamas. - - 13--Motor Matt's Queer Find; or, The Secret of the Iron Chest. - - 14--Motor Matt's Promise; or, The Wreck of the _Hawk_. - - 15--Motor Matt's Submarine; or, The Strange Cruise of the _Grampus_. - - 16--Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters. - - 17--Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos. - - 18--Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon. - - 19--Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn. - - 20--Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor Boys. - - 21--Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need. - - 22--Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right. - - 23--Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins. - - 24--Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune. - - -TIP TOP WEEKLY - -The most popular publication for boys. The adventures of Frank and Dick -Merriwell can be had only in this weekly. =High art colored covers. -Thirty-two pages. Price, 5 cents.= - - 684--Dick Merriwell at the "Meet"; or, Honors Worth Winning. - - 685--Dick Merriwell's Protest; or, The Man Who Would Not Play Clean. - - 686--Dick Merriwell In The Marathon; or, The Sensation of the Great - Run. - - 687--Dick Merriwell's Colors; or, All For the Blue. - - 688--Dick Merriwell, Driver; or, The Race for the Daremore Cup. - - 689--Dick Merriwell on the Deep; or, The Cruise of the _Yale_. - - 690--Dick Merriwell in the North Woods; or, The Timber Thieves of the - Floodwood. - - 691--Dick Merriwell's Dandies; or, A Surprise for the Cowboy Nine. - - 692--Dick Merriwell's "Skyscooter"; or, Professor Pagan and the - "Princess." - - 693--Dick Merriwell in the Elk Mountains; or, The Search for "Dead - Injun" Mine. - - 694--Dick Merriwell in Utah; or, The Road to "Promised Land." - - 695--Dick Merriwell's Bluff; or, The Boy Who Ran Away. - - 696--Dick Merriwell in the Saddle; or, The Bunch from the Bar-Z. - - 697--Dick Merriwell's Ranch Friends; or, Sport on the Range. - - -_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. - -To be Published on August 9th. - - 25--Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing Game. - -To be Published on August 16th. - - 26--Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing the Spark of - Friendship. - -To be Published on August 23d. - - 27--Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road With a Show. - -To be Published on August 30th. - - 28--Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's Vow. - - -PRICE, FIVE CENTS - -At all newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, by the publishers upon receipt -of the price. - - STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_, NEW YORK - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - - -Added table of contents. - -Italics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=. - -Converted oe ligatures to "oe" for this text version; ligatures -retained in HTML edition. - -Retained inconsistent hyphenation from original ("straightaway" vs. -"straight-away"). - -Page 9, changed "science of variation" to "science of aviation." - -Page 11, added missing apostrophe to "can't catch up." - -Page 14, changed "aim" to "air" ("high into the air."). - -Page 15, corrected "pratically" to "practically." - -Page 17, changed "waster" to "was ter" ("cowboy feller was ter"). - -Page 18, corrected "earthern" to "earthen" ("pail on the earthen -shelf"). - -Page 21, corrected "himstlf" to "himself" ("How was he to free -himself?"). - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Reverse, by Stanley R. 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