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diff --git a/old/52138-8.txt b/old/52138-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ce73c7e..0000000 --- a/old/52138-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5004 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Engagement, by Stanley R. Matthews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Motor Matt's Engagement - or, On The Road With A Show - -Author: Stanley R. Matthews - -Release Date: May 23, 2016 [EBook #52138] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR MATT'S ENGAGEMENT *** - - - - -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. 27 - AUG. 28, 1909 - - FIVE - CENTS - - - MOTOR MATT'S - ENGAGEMENT - - OR ON THE ROAD - WITH A SHOW - - _STREET & SMITH - PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK_ - -[Illustration: _Motor Matt, as he coaxed the last ounce of speed -from the motor, shouted encouragingly to the terrified girl on the -trapeze._] - - - - -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. 27. NEW YORK, August 28, 1909. Price Five Cents. - - - - -Motor Matt's Engagement; - -OR, - -ON THE ROAD WITH A SHOW. - -By the author of "MOTOR MATT." - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I. "ON THE BANKS OF THE WABASH." - CHAPTER II. IN THE CALLIOPE TENT. - CHAPTER III. AN EAVESDROPPER. - CHAPTER IV. QUEER PROCEEDINGS. - CHAPTER V. MOTOR MATT PROTESTS. - CHAPTER VI. ABLAZE IN THE AIR. - CHAPTER VII. WAS IT TREACHERY? - CHAPTER VIII. A CALL FOR HELP. - CHAPTER IX. BLACK MAGIC. - CHAPTER X. THE MAHOUT'S FLIGHT. - CHAPTER XI. THE PAPER TRAIL. - CHAPTER XII. CARL TURNS A TRICK. - CHAPTER XIII. THE LACQUERED BOX. - CHAPTER XIV. THE HYPNOTIST'S VICTIM. - CHAPTER XV. "FOR THE SAKE OF HAIDEE!" - CHAPTER XVI. THE RAJAH'S NIECE. - SAVED BY A FALLING TREE. - How They Captured the Python. - ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY. - - - - -CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. - - - =Motor Matt King.= - - =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=, a Chinese boy who insists on working for Motor Matt, and who - contrives to make himself valuable, perhaps invaluable. - - =Carl Pretzel=, an old chum who flags Motor Matt and more trouble - than he can manage, at about the same time. In the rôle of detective, - he makes many blunders, wise and otherwise, finding success only to - wonder how he did it. - - =Ben Ali=, an elephant driver; a Hindoo gifted in the arts for which - his country is famous and infamous. The uncle of Margaret Manners, he - revenges himself upon his brother, the rajah, in a way that proves - his own undoing. - - =Aurung Zeeb=, another elephant driver, and a friend of Ben Ali, - assisting in his scoundrelly work. - - =Haidee=, whose real name is Margaret Manners, a girl from India, who - becomes the hypnotic subject of Ben Ali, and is saved from him by - Motor Matt and Carl. - - =Boss Burton=, manager and proprietor of the Big Consolidated Shows. - A man who tries to be "square," in his own remarkable way. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -"ON THE BANKS OF THE WABASH." - - -Strange, how a few harmless ingredients, thrown together and mixed, -will set the trouble pot a-boiling. - -Saltpeter is an innocent and useful product, and so is charcoal and -sulphur; but seventy-five per cent. of the first, fifteen per cent. of -the second, and ten per cent. of the third, when properly mixed, will -make gunpowder--an explosive that has slain millions, made kingdoms -over into republics, and changed the map of the world again and again. - -So, on this beautiful morning, with the banks of the Wabash River for a -setting, fate was juggling with a few trifling elements for the purpose -of combining them and manufacturing trouble. - -The Big Consolidated Shows were pitching their tents near that part of -the river, and two of the ingredients that helped form the dangerous -mixture were connected with the "tented aggregation." - -One was the big elephant, Rajah, who had a tremendous thirst and was -wabbling along toward the river for a drink; the other was a Chinese -boy, dipping a couple of pails of water from the stream for the steam -calliope. The third element--the one having no connection with the -show--was a German youth with a weakness for bursting into song. - -The elephant, dryer than the desert of Sahara, was making big and rapid -tracks for the brightly gleaming water, the Chinaman was leisurely -filling his pails, and the German was strolling along the bank, dusty -from a long tramp and with a stick over his shoulder from which swung a -bundle bound up in a knotted handkerchief. - -If the German had known how to sing he would not have attracted the -attention of the Chinaman; and if the Chinaman had not looked and -grunted his disgust, the German would not have become hostile; and if -Rajah, the elephant, had not possessed such a playful disposition, the -German and the Chinaman would probably have separated with no more than -a few mongrel words of personal opinion. But fate was working overtime -that day, and had an eye for weird combinations. - - "Ach, der moon vas shining pright upon der Vabash, - From der fieldts dere comes some shmells oof new-mown hay, - Droo der candlelight der sycamores vas gleaming, - On der panks oof der Vabash, righdt avay!" - -This was the German's song, and it sounded as though it had been played -on a fish horn. The Chinaman could be seen to shiver as he deposited -a pailful of water on the bank, straightened erect, and looked at the -singer. There was that in his slant eyes which brought the German to a -halt. - -"Don'd you like der song, shink?" demanded the Dutchman, pushing out -his chin in an irritating way. - -"Woosh!" snorted the Chinaman, "you makee sing all same like poodle dog -makee howl." - -"Py shiminy," cried the Dutchman, "I fight pedder as I sing. I don'd -let no monkey mit a pigdail make some foolishness mit me." - -"Dutchy boy clazy," declared the Celestial. - -"I nefer liked der shinks anyways," went on the other, dropping his -stick and his bundle. "Dey vas sheap skates, you bet you, und vas -alvays taking avay goot shobs from American fellers. I vill tie you oop -in some bowknots mit your pigdail und trop you py der rifer. Yah, so." - -"Dutchy boy makee spell 'able,'" and the Chinaman, with supreme -contempt, picked up his empty pail. - -"You peen afraidt mit yourseluf!" shouted the Dutchman. - -"My plenty busy; makee cally water fo' calliope. No gottee time to -fight. Come 'lound after palade, China boy makee Dutchy boy suppa' fo' -lion." - -"Dot's me," breathed the Dutchman, picking up his stick and bundle. -"I'll be aroundt after dot barade, you bed my life, und I don'd make -some subber for der lion, neider." - -He started on slowly. - -Unnoticed by either of the boys, the mahout on Rajah's neck had kept -the elephant close to the river bank. The mahout was dozing, and Rajah -was filling the piece of hose, more generally known as his trunk, with -Wabash water and squirting it into his open mouth. - -Now, Rajah was an eccentric elephant. There were times when he was full -of mischief and playful, and other times when the wild jungle blood got -the upper hand of him and he became dangerous. - -On two or three occasions, when Old Ben, the African lion, had tried -to mix things with the royal Bengal tiger, Rajah had been called in to -separate the fighters with a well-directed stream, hurled with catapult -force from his trunk. - -Rajah's cunning little eyes had been taking in the quarrel between the -Dutchman and the Chinaman. Something prompted him to elevate his trunk -and throw a stream after the retreating Dutch boy. - -The lad was knocked off his feet, his stick going one way and his -bundle the other. He jumped to his feet, spluttering, and whirled -around. - -Rajah was innocently squirting a dozen or more gallons of the river -into his capacious throat, but the Chinaman, the empty pail still in -his hand, was laughing so that he almost fell off the bank. - -It was the most natural thing in the world for the Dutch boy, in the -excitement of the moment, to lay the whole blame on the Chinese boy's -shoulders. - -The Dutchman had not seen Rajah use his trunk, and the Chinaman had. It -was very laughable, and the Chinaman's cackling mirth was unrestrained. - -The Dutchman saw only the empty bucket in the Chinaman's hand, and it -seemed certain the deluge of water had come from the bucket. - -"I gif you fits for dot, py shiminy!" whooped the Teuton. - -"No can do!" declared the Celestial. - -The Dutchman came on with a bound, his dripping clothes sprinkling -everything in his vicinity. - -The Chinaman threw the bucket. The other dodged. The bucket sailed on -through the air and struck Delhi, Rajah's mate, a sharp rap on her big, -fanning ear. Delhi trumpeted loudly and started furiously after the -boys. - -Both the Chinaman and the Dutchman, their faculties completely wrapped -up in their quarrel, gave no attention to the elephants. Coming -together like a thousand of brick, they clinched and wrestled back and -forth on the bank. - -Delhi, wild with anger, gave no heed to the fierce prodding of her -mahout, but rushed onward, her trunk stretched eagerly ahead of her -and twitching and curving in its desire to lay hold of the struggling -youngsters. - -For a second the prospect was very dark for the Teuton and the -Celestial. What would have happened to them is problematical if Delhi -had had her way. But the big brute was not allowed to work her will. -Rajah interfered; not out of any desire to be of help to the boys, but -rather to assist his mate in securing vengeance. - -Quickly Rajah aimed his trunk and hurled a stream of water. The jet -struck the two boys, lifted them from their feet, and hurled them into -the river. The lads were tossed from the bank in just the nick of time. -Hardly were they clear of the spot where they had been wrestling when -Delhi's disappointed trunk swept over it. - -Rajah's mahout, of course, had aroused himself, and he and the other -man got busy bringing the elephants into subjection. - -The Dutchman and the Chinaman had fallen into deep water. It was -necessary to disentangle themselves from each other in order to swim -and keep from being drowned. - -As Delhi backed away from the water's edge, under the blows of her -mahout's sharp, steel prod, she flung the Dutchman's bundle and stick -at the thrashing forms in the water, and followed these with the -buckets. - -"I can do oop a shink mit vone hand," gurgled the Dutchman, as his -dripping head appeared above the surface of the river; "aber ven a -goople oof elephants iss rung indo der game, den I don'd---- Wow!" - -The handkerchief bundle, hurled with terrific force, struck him on the -head and sent him under. - -"Dutchy boy no good!" spluttered the Chinaman. "Him velly fine false -alarm---- Woosh!" - -One of the buckets hit the Celestial in the small of the back and -he vanished in a flurry of bubbles. When he and the Dutchman again -reappeared, Delhi and Rajah were under control and no further danger -threatened. - -"What's the matter with you two kids?" cried Delhi's mahout, excited -and angry. - -"Der shink drew some vater on me," answered the Dutchman, "und made -more monkey-doodle pitzness dan I vould shtand for." - -"Him no savvy," declared the Chinese. "El'fant makee thlow water." - -Rajah's mahout was a Hindoo. In a queer jargon of broken English, he -described the way Rajah had hosed down the Dutchman as the latter was -walking off. - -The other mahout lost his wrath in a flood of merriment. - -"It's all a mistake!" he called. "Come out o' the wet and stop your -foolishness. If ye try to do any more fightin', I'll set Delhi onto you -ag'in." - -The Dutchman labored ashore with his stick and his bundle, and the -Chinaman followed with his buckets. - -"What do you s'pose Motor Matt would think of this, Ping?" went on the -mahout. "If he----" - -But what the mahout was intending to say was lost in a roar of -amazement and delight from the Dutchman. - -"Vat's dot? Modor Matt? Vere he iss, anyvay? Say, I vas his bard, und I -peen looking for him efery blace, longer as I can dell. Shpeak, vonce! -Vere iss Modor Matt?" - -"China boy Motol Matt's pard," spoke up the dripping Ping. "My workee -fo' Motol Matt; Dutchy boy no workee." - -"Py shiminy, I dell you some more dot I peen Carl Pretzel," shouted -the Dutchman, "und dot I vas looking for der show, und ditn't know I -vould findt Modor Matt at der same dime. Vere iss he, misder?" and Carl -appealed anxiously to the mahout. - -"He's travelin' with the show, youngster," answered the mahout, "an' -doin' a flyin'-machine stunt twice a day. If ye want to find him, hike -for the show grounds." - -Without paying any further attention to Ping or the elephants, Carl -gathered in his cap--which lay at the water's edge, and was the only -thing belonging to him that was not dripping wet--and laid a rapid -course for the top of the bank. - -Ping, filling the pails, started after Carl, worrying not a little over -this new pard of Motor Matt's who had appeared so unexpectedly on the -scene. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -IN THE CALLIOPE TENT. - - -"I don't like it, pard, and you can bet your moccasins on that," said -Joe McGlory. - -"There are a whole lot of things about this business I don't fancy," -returned Motor Matt; "but we're under contract, Joe, and Boss Burton -says he'll give us an extra fifty a week if we do the trick." - -"But the girl! What's her notion about it? Hanging to a trapeze under -the aëroplane isn't a stunt to be sneezed at." - -"She's anxious to do the trick. She'll get fifty dollars a week for it, -and the money looks good to her." - -"There's the danger, pard. Her neck's worth more than fifty plunks a -week." - -"She's a little brick, that Haidee--pure grit. I'll see that she's not -placed in much danger." - -"You'll have your hands full looking after yourself and the aëroplane. -Sufferin' whirligigs! You know how hard it is to manage the _Comet_ -when there's a weight suspended beneath." - -"I can do it," declared Matt. - -"Of course you can do, old socks--you can do anything when you set your -mind to it. But, tell me this, what has that old elephant driver, Ben -Ali, got to do with Haidee? Ben Ali's a Hindoo, and Haidee is almost as -white as an American girl." - -"Ben Ali's her uncle, Joe. Haidee's mother was Ben Ali's sister, and -Haidee's father was an English officer living in Bombay. The girl told -me all this yesterday at the time she begged me to do what Boss Burton -wanted and let her trail the _Comet_ aloft on the trapeze." - -"Funny combination," muttered Joe. - -McGlory was in his overclothes, and had just finished getting the -aëroplane ready for the parade. The "animal top"--that is, the -menagerie tent--had been hoisted, and the small canvas lean-to that -housed the steam calliope had been put in place alongside. The calliope -was not in the lean-to, but was out on the grounds, being put in shape -for the parade. - -Matt and Joe usually came to the calliope tent to make themselves -ready for the street procession. They, together with Ping, had been -three weeks with the Big Consolidated, Matt making ascensions in the -aëroplane twice daily, following the parade and just before the evening -performance--wind and weather permitting. So proficient had Matt become -in handling the flying machine that nothing short of a stiff gale or -a hard rain kept him from carrying out his engagements for a double -exhibition each day. - -The aëroplane had caught the popular fancy, and had proved the biggest -kind of a card for Boss Burton, proprietor of the show. Under its -own motive power, the machine formed a star feature of the parade, -traveling slowly on the bicycle wheels which were necessary in giving -it a start when flights were made. - -From tip to tip, the wings of the aëroplane measured more than thirty -feet. Of course it could not travel in the parade with such a stretch -of surface across the streets, so Matt had arranged the bicycle wheels -in such a manner that the _Comet_ moved sideways in the procession, -the king of the motor boys, his cowboy pard, and his Chinese comrade -occupying positions in the seats on the lower wing. - -When Matt and his friends first joined the outfit, Boss Burton had -supplied them with bespangled apparel, which, if they had worn it, -would, according to McGlory, have made them "a holy show." - -Matt and McGlory balked at the glittering costumes, but Ping had hung -to his beadwork and gilt trimmings with a fierce determination there -was no shaking. - -McGlory compromised with Burton by getting into a swell cowboy rig, but -for Matt there was no such thing as compromise. This engagement with -the show was purely a business proposition, and he refused to make a -spectacle out of himself. He looked well, too, in his unostentatious -blue cap and clothes, and was given many a cheer as the aëroplane -pitched and shivered along in the procession. - -Boss Burton was a shrewd manager, and it was said that he lay awake -nights while section two of the show train was making its jumps between -stands, thinking up new acts that would thrill the patrons of the Big -Consolidated. His last idea was to hitch a trapeze to the bottom of the -aëroplane, and have Haidee, Ben Ali's pretty niece, perform on the -flying bar while Matt was manoeuvring the _Comet_ over the show grounds. - -It was this new wrinkle that had drawn objections from McGlory when he -and Matt had retired to the calliope tent to make ready for the parade. - -About all Matt had to do to get ready was to wash and brush himself. -McGlory, on the other hand, had to get into a blue shirt, corduroy -trousers, "chaps," tight, high-heeled boots, and a broad-brimmed -sombrero. - -"What's become of Ping?" asked Matt, stepping to the tent flap and -looking off over the busy grounds. - -It would be an hour before the parade could start, and the bright -sun glowed over a scene of feverish activity. The side-show tents, -the stable tents, and cook tent were already up. A small army of men -was working on the circus "top," and the rhythmical thump of mauls -on tent stakes could be heard on every hand. Horses in two, four, -six, and eight-horse teams were moving about; band wagons, cages, and -chariots were being dusted and cleaned; the painted banners in front -of the side-show were being laced to their guys; the candy "butchers" -were getting their places in readiness, and throughout the various -occupations of the men ran an orderly disorder, everywhere noticeable. - -But Matt could see nothing of Ping, and he turned away to where -McGlory, his foot on an overturned bucket, was buckling a big-roweled -Mexican spur to his heel. - -"Ping is always promptness itself in getting into his tinsel frills and -furbelows," remarked Matt, "and I can't understand what's keeping the -boy so late this morning." - -"He's been put on the steam calliope, pard," laughed McGlory, dropping -his foot from the bucket and stamping until the rowel jingled. -"Little Squinch-eye seems to have fallen in love with that bunch -of steam whistles. He tried to play 'Yankee Doodle' on the pipes, -in Indianapolis, and had almost stampeded the elephants before the -calliope man could choke him off. Sufferin' jangles, pard, you never -heard such a sound." - -Before Matt could make any response, a soft voice called from outside: - -"Motor Matt! Can I come in a minute?" - -"Sure," replied Matt heartily. - -A lithe, graceful form, in velvet and spangles, leaped lightly through -the opening. - -"Haidee!" exclaimed Matt, staring. - -The girl bowed laughingly and threw a kiss, just as she was in the -habit of doing after her trapeze work in the "big top." - -"Yes, friends," she answered; "Haidee, the Flying Marvel, who is to do -a turn on Motor Matt's flying machine just before the doors open. I am -also to ride on the top wing of the _Comet_ during the parade. Will I -do?" - -Lifting her arms, she pirouetted around for the observation of the -boys, then paused and smiled bewitchingly. - -"Do?" cried McGlory. "Why, sis, you'll be the hit of the piece. All I -hope"--and McGlory's face went rather long--"is that you and Matt come -through your trip in the air without any trouble." - -"I'm not afraid!" declared Haidee. - -"No more you're not, sis. If you were riding on the lower wing with -Matt the whole game would be different; but you're to hang under the -machine, and there'll be more pitching and plunging than if you were -aboard a bucking bronk. Hang on, that's all, and don't try to hang by -your heels." - -"I'll get an extra fifty dollars a week!" cried the girl. - -It was plain to be seen that she placed great store on that "fifty -dollars a week." - -"What does your uncle, Ben Ali, think of it, Haidee?" asked Matt. - -A barely perceptible frown crossed the girl's face. What was passing in -her mind? Whatever her thoughts were, they found no echo in her answer. - -"Uncle Ben is glad to have me do it," and Haidee retreated toward the -door. - -"Have you seen Ping, Haidee?" inquired Matt. - -"When I saw him last," was the response, "he was walking toward the -river with a couple of buckets. I'll be going, now. I'll see you again -when the parade starts. That trapeze act on the aëroplane will make a -great hit, don't you think?" - -"It ought to," said Matt. - -The girl vanished. - -"I'll walk over to the steam music box," remarked McGlory, "and see if -I can spot our pigtail friend." - -"All right," returned Matt, dropping down on an overturned bucket and -pulling a pencil and memorandum book from his pocket. - -Before he could begin to figure, he heard a voice addressing McGlory at -the tent door--and it was a voice that brought him up rigidly erect and -staring. - -"Say, misder, iss dis der shteam cantalope tent?" - -McGlory laughed. - -"Well, yes, Dutchy, you've made a bull's-eye first clatter. Here's -where they keep the 'cantalope.' What's the matter with you? Look like -you'd gone in swimming and forgotten to take off your clothes." - -"I tropped in der rifer mit meinseluf, und id vas vetter as I t'ought. -Say, vonce, iss Modor Matt aroundt der blace?" - -"He's inside, and---- Sufferin' whirlwinds, but you're in a hurry!" - -A bedraggled form, with a dripping bundle in one hand and a stick in -the other, hurled itself through the opening with a yell. - -"Matt! Mein olt pard, Matt!" - -The next instant Carl Pretzel had rushed forward and twined his -water-soaked arms about the king of the motor boys. The Dutchman's -delight was of the frantic kind, and he gurgled and whooped, and -blubbered, and wrestled with Matt in a life-and-death grip. - -McGlory, in amazement, watched from the entrance. - -"Carl!" exclaimed Matt. "By all that's good, if it isn't Carl! Great -spark plugs, old chap, where did you drop from?" - -"Ach, from novere und eferyvere. Vat a habbiness! I peen so dickled mit -meinseluf I feel like I vas going to pust! My olt raggie, Matt, vat I -ain'd seen alreddy for a t'ousant years!" - -Just then there was a rush behind McGlory, and some one nearly knocked -him over getting into the tent. - -"My workee fo' Motol Matt!" shrilled a high, angry voice. "Dutchy boy -no workee!" - -Ping was terribly hostile, but McGlory caught and held him. - -Carl tore himself loose from Matt and would have rushed at Ping had he -not been restrained. - -"Looks like they'd both been in the river," remarked McGlory. - -"What's the trouble here, boys?" asked Matt. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -AN EAVESDROPPER. - - -Both Carl and Ping tried to explain matters at the same time. Each -talked loud, in the hope of drowning out the other, and the jargon was -terrific. Finally McGlory got a hand over the Chinaman's mouth, and -Carl was able to give his side of the question. After that, Ping had -his say. - -"There's been no cause whatever for this flare-up," said Matt. -"Everybody knows that Carl can't sing, but everybody who's acquainted -with him, too, knows that he's got more pluck to the square inch than -any fellow of his size. Carl's all right, Ping. He went around South -America with Dick Ferral and me on that submarine, and we parted -company in San Francisco just before I met up with Joe. Shake hands," -and Matt pushed Carl toward the Chinaman. - -"My workee fo' Motol Matt," whispered Ping, who had likewise been given -a push by the cowboy; "Dutchy boy no workee, huh?" - -"You're both pards of mine," said Matt, "and you've got to be friends. -Now, shake hands." - -The shaking was done--rather hesitatingly, it is true, but nevertheless -it was done. - -"Now," went on Matt, "you get into your regalia, Ping. Carl, you can -get out of your wet clothes and put on Joe's working suit. While you're -about it, tell me how you happen to be here. You stay and listen, Joe," -the young motorist added. "I want you to like Carl as well as I do." - -"That's me, pard," laughed McGlory, taking a seat on one of the -buckets. "There's plenty of ginger in the Dutchman, and that's what -cuts the ice with me." - -Ping, covertly watching and listening, moved over to his bag of clothes -and began rigging himself out in his gorgeous raiment. Carl, talking as -he worked, removed his water-logged costume. - -"I vas a tedectif, Matt," said he gravely. - -"What's that?" demanded McGlory. - -"Detective," smiled the king of the motor boys. "My Dutch pard has been -making a sleuth out of himself." - -"Yah, so," pursued Carl. "Tick Verral vent off mit his uncle, in -Tenver, und I run avay to San Francisco looking for Matt. He don'd -vas dere some more, und I can't find oudt nodding aboudt vere he vas -gone. I haf to do somet'ing vile vaiting for him to turn oop, und so I -go indo der tedectif pitzness. Dot's great vork, I bed you. You findt -somet'ing for somepody, und dey gif you all kindts oof money. Fine!" - -"How much have you made at the business, Carl?" queried Matt. - -"Vell, nodding, so far as I haf gone, Matt. Aber I don'd haf no luck -mit it. I vas schust learning der ropes. A feller hat his money took -avay in 'Frisco. I ged oudt oof dot mit a proken headt, und don'd findt -der money. Vell, next a olt laty in Salt Lake City loses her parrot, -und say she gif ten tollar vould I findt him. I ketch der parrot off -a push schust ven anodder feller lays holt oof him. Ve fight for der -pird, der pird iss kilt, und some more I don'd ged nodding, only a -plack eye und some fierce talk from der olt laty. Aber I don'd ged -tiscouraged, nod at all. I vork on mit meinseluf. - -"Pympy, I peen in Chicago--der blace vere ve vas, Matt, mit der air -ship. Dot's a great town for der tedectif pitzness, I bed you. I try to -hire oudt by a prifate tedectif achency, aber dey don'd vant me. I keep -afder dose fellers, und afder I was t'rown from der office a gouple oof -times I valked in on dem by der fire escape. Den dey gif me some chobs." - -"What sort of a job did they give you, Carl?" - -By that time the Dutch boy had stripped and put on McGlory's clothes. -Reaching for his water-logged bundle, he untied it, and fished a folded -newspaper from an assortment of rubber collars, socks, and red cotton -handkerchiefs. - -The newspaper was very damp, and had to be handled with care. - -"Dis iss some English papers, Matt," explained Carl. "Id vas brinted in -Lonton, und dose tedectif fellers had him py deir office. How mooch iss -a t'ousant pounds in Unidet Shtates money, hey?" - -"Five thousand dollars." - -"Veil, dot's der chob--making dot fife t'ousant. I bet you I get rich -vone oof dose tays." - -"You have to do something, don't you, before you get the money?" -queried McGlory, with a wink at Matt. - -"Ach, dot's nodding," answered Carl, in a large, offhand manner. "Readt -dot, Matt." - -Matt took the wet newspaper and read a marked paragraph, which ran as -follows: - - "£1,000 Reward! This sum will be paid for any information concerning - one Margaret Manners, last known to be in Calcutta, India. Miss - Manners is about eighteen years of age, and is the only daughter of - the late Captain Lionel Manners, of the English Army, stationed at - Bombay. Miss Manners disappeared from her home, under mysterious - circumstances, and it is possible she went to America and engaged in - the circus business. Any one with knowledge concerning the missing - person, and desirous of obtaining the reward, will please communicate - with Arthur Hoppleson, Solicitor, 10 Kent's Road, London, W. C. - Further information, which cannot be publicly printed, will be - cheerfully furnished." - -Motor Matt, after reading the paragraph to himself, read it aloud. - -"Why," grinned McGlory, "that outfit of detectives was working your -German friend, Matt. They gave him that and sent him on a wild-goose -chase, just to get rid of him." - -"Dot's a misdake," declared Carl. "Dose fellers saw I meant pitzness, -py shinks, und dey gif me der hardest case dey hat. Yah, so. Since den -I haf peen looking for shows. Eferyvere I hear aboudt some shows I hike -avay. Aber I don'd findt Miss Manners. She don'd vas in der mooseums, -oder in der Vild Vest shows, or in Rinklings; und oof she vasn't in -der Pig Gonsolidated, den I vas oop some shtumps. My money has blayed -oudt, und I hat to rite in a pox car to Lafayette, Intiana. Here I vas -shdrolling along tovard der show groundts ven I see dot shink mit der -puckets, und hat sooch a scrap. Afder der scrap vas ofer, a man on a -elephant shpeak about Motor Matt. Den I don'd t'ink oof nodding more. I -come, so kevick as bossiple, to findt my olt raggie. Und here ve vas, -togedder like ve used to be." A broad smile covered Carl's face. "Now -I don'd care for nodding. Oof you t'ink you could help me findt Miss -Manners, den I vill be opliged, und gif you part oof der revard--a -gouple oof pounds oof id, anyvay." - -"It looks to me, Carl," said Matt, handing back the paper, "as though -the men in that detective office were trying to have some fun with you. -Have you written to London to secure further information?" - -Carl looked startled. - -"Vell," he admitted, "I ditn't t'ink oof dat." - -"You're a fine detective, you are," said Matt. "You might as well hunt -for a needle in a haystack as to hunt for this English girl. Can't you -see? You've got a pretty wide field to cover, and it is only _supposed_ -that she came to America and engaged in the circus business." - -Carl ran his fingers through his carroty hair. - -"Meppy dot's right," he mused. "Oof dose fellers in Chicago vas making -some monkey-doodle pitzness mit me, you bed you I vould like to fool -dem. Meppy I findt der girl. Den vat? V'y, dose tedectif fellers feel -like t'irty cent. You vas vorking for der show, Matt?" - -"We've an engagement with the manager for making flights in our -aëroplane." - -"Vat's dose?" - -"What's an aëroplane? Why, Carl, it's a heavier-than-air flying -machine." - -"So? Und you go oop in id?" - -"Yes." - -Carl sat on a bucket and ruminated for a space. - -"You know pooty near efery vone dot vorks for der show, hey?" he asked. - -"Yes, I know every one." - -"Iss dere a girl mit der name oof Markaret Manners?" - -"No. But she'd have a different name if she was with a show, Carl. -Performers hardly ever use their real names." - -"Dot's righdt, too." Once more Carl ran his fingers through his mop of -hair. "Iss der any vone connected mit der show vat has a shtrawperry -mark on der arm?" he asked, brightening. - -"Strawberry mark on the arm?" repeated Matt. "Why, Carl, that -advertisement doesn't say anything about such a thing." - -"I know dot, aber efery young laty you read aboudt vat's lost has der -shtrawperry mark on der----" - -McGlory let off a roar of laughter. Carl straightened up with a pained -look on his fat face. - -"Carl," cried McGlory, "you're a great sleuth, and no mistake! You jump -at too many conclusions." - -"Dere don'd vas anyt'ing else to chump ad," returned Carl. "Dis vas a -dark case, you bed you, und dere has to be some guessings. Dot's vat I -make now, der guessings." - -"Pretty woolly guessing, at that, and----" - -McGlory broke off abruptly to follow a sudden movement on Matt's part. -The canvas forming the side of the menagerie tent had shaken, as though -there was some one on the other side of it. Matt, seeing the shiver -of the canvas, leaped for the wall. The next moment he had lifted the -canvas and was looking into the other tent. - -A tall, brown-faced man, wearing a turban and an embroidered jacket, -was just vanishing through the tent entrance. Matt dropped the canvas -and turned away, a thoughtful look taking the place of the smile with -which he had listened to Carl's talk. - -"What was it, pard?" asked McGlory. - -"An eavesdropper," replied Matt. - -"Speak to me about that!" exclaimed McGlory. "If some one thought the -Dutchman's yarn worth listening to, then perhaps there's something in -it." - -"Perhaps." Motor Matt's brow wrinkled perplexedly. - -"Who was the fellow? Could you recognize him?" - -"It was Ben Ali." - -McGlory bounded up, excited, and his own face reflecting some of the -perplexity that shone in his friend's. - -Before the conversation could be continued, however, a man thrust his -head into the calliope tent. - -"They're waiting for you fellows," he announced. "Hustle!" - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -QUEER PROCEEDINGS. - - -The place occupied by the aëroplane in the procession was almost at the -end, and just behind the herd of four elephants. Rajah, owing to his -freakish disposition, was always the fourth elephant of the string, -Delhi his mate, immediately preceding him. With peaceable brutes ahead, -Rajah might usually be depended upon not to cut any capers. - -It will be seen from this that the _Comet_ followed on the heels of -Rajah. - -The parade was almost in readiness for the start when Matt, McGlory, -and Ping reached the aëroplane. Hostlers were running about placing -plumes in the head-stalls of the horses, drivers were climbing to their -seats, the wild animal trainer was getting into the open cage, and the -members of the band were tinkering with their instruments. - -Haidee was standing by the aëroplane when Matt, McGlory, and Ping -reached the machine. - -"All ready, Haidee?" asked Matt. - -The girl turned and looked at him blankly. Her face was unusually -white, and there was a vacant stare in her eyes. - -"What's to pay, sis?" asked McGlory, with a surprised look at Matt. -"Don't you feel well?" - -"I am well." - -The words came in an unnatural voice and with parrot-like precision. - -Boss Burton came hustling down the line in his runabout. - -"Hurry up, Matt," he called. "Help Haidee to a place on the upper wing -of the _Comet_." - -Matt stepped over to the runabout. - -"What's the matter with the girl?" he asked, in a low tone. - -"Matter?" echoed Burton, fixing a keen look on the girl. "By Jupiter, -she's got one of her spells again! She hasn't had one of those for a -month, now, and I thought they'd about left her for good." - -"Is she subject to spells of that kind?" - -"She used to be. There's something queer about them, but they don't -last long." - -"We shouldn't put her on the upper wing, then. There's no seat there, -and nothing to hold on to." - -The sharp, impatient notes of a trumpet came from the head of the line. - -"Well, put her somewhere," said Burton impatiently, and whirled his -horse. - -"Get on the top plane, Ping," said Matt, hurrying back to the _Comet_. -"Haidee is going to ride on the lower wing with us." - -"Awri'," chirped Ping, and McGlory gave him a leg up. - -Haidee, moving like an automaton, made no objection to this -arrangement. She took her place obediently on the lower wing of the -machine, between Matt and McGlory, and the engine was started. - -When the elephants began to move, Matt switched the power into the -bicycle wheels, and the aëroplane lurched over the uneven ground. -Reaching the road, the _Comet_ went more steadily; and when the -procession wound into the paved thoroughfares, the movement was -comparatively easy. - -Ben Ali, from the neck of Rajah, kept turning around and looking back -at the three on the lower plane of the _Comet_. - -Matt, McGlory, and Haidee, on account of the wings of the aëroplane -being turned lengthwise of the street, rode facing the sidewalk on the -left. In order to see them, Ben Ali was obliged to keep Rajah somewhat -out of the line. - -"What's the matter with Ben Ali?" asked McGlory, leaning forward and -talking in front of Haidee. "He's showing a heap more interest in the -_Comet_ than he ever did before." - -Matt shook his head, and met steadily the piercing eyes of the Hindoo -until they were turned forward again. - -"What is your uncle looking this way for, Haidee?" he asked. - -"I don't know." - -The girl expressed herself in the same mechanical way she had done -before. - -"Haidee isn't herself," said Matt, "and I guess her uncle is worried. -Change seats with her, Joe." - -Matt wanted to talk with his cowboy chum and did not want to be under -the necessity of passing his words around the girl. - -"Move over, sis," requested McGlory, standing up and balancing himself -on the foot-rest. - -The girl quietly slipped along the plane. - -Cheer after cheer greeted the aëroplane and the king of the motor boys -as soon as the crowded thoroughfares were reached. Ping, on the upper -wing, and clad in all his barbaric finery, was as proud as a peacock. -Haidee, on the other hand, paid absolutely no attention to the crowds. -She sat rigidly in her place, like a girl carved from stone, keeping -her unblinking eyes straight ahead of her. - -"I'm plumb beat, and no mistake," breathed McGlory, in Matt's ear. "I -never saw Haidee like this before. She acts to me like she was locoed." - -"Boss Burton told me, just before we started," answered Matt, in a low -tone, "that she was subject to 'spells.' This is the first one she has -had in a month, Burton says." - -"Can you savvy it?" - -"No." - -"Ben Ali seems worried out of his wits. Watch how he keeps Rajah -zigzagging back and forth across the trail, so he can get a look at the -girl every now and then. I wonder if Haidee knows what she's about?" - -"She must. If she didn't she wouldn't be riding in the aëroplane." - -The bands played, the crowds waved hands and handkerchiefs and cheered, -the clowns carried out all their funny stunts, and the procession moved -on through the city of Lafayette. Students from Purdue University -followed the paraders and blew long blasts through tin horns. Rajah -showed signs of becoming restless, and Ben Ali's attention had to be -given entirely to the big brute. - -Matt, with one hand on the steering lever, kept the unwieldy machine -moving in a straight track. - -"What do you suppose Ben Ali was listening to Carl's talk for, there on -the inside of the menagerie tent?" inquired the cowboy, his voice so -low it could not possibly reach Haidee. "I had a notion that----" - -"Sh-h-h!" Matt interrupted. "I had the same notion, Joe, but it was -only a wild guess, at the most. He's a prying chap, that Ben Ali, and -he might have had only a casual interest in what Carl was saying." - -"I'll bet a ten-dollar bill against a chink wash ticket that there was -something more to it than that." - -"Well, if there was, it's bound to come out, sooner or later. Say -nothing, but keep your eyes open." - -"I've always felt that there was a mystery about the girl and Ben Ali, -and that----" - -McGlory broke off suddenly. Haidee, with the quickness of lightning, -had leaned over behind him and jerked one of the levers at Matt's side. - -The next instant the big aëroplane took a wild jump forward. The king -of the motor boys was alive to the danger in an instant. - -"Hold the girl!" he cried, and instantly flung the lever back. - -The front ends of the two great wings had hurled themselves against -Rajah. The huge animal trumpeted wildly and swung about on his hind -legs with trunk uplifted. - -It seemed as though he would surely charge the _Comet_, wreck the -machine, and kill or maim the four who were riding in it. - -McGlory, with Haidee in his arms, leaped from the foot-rest into the -road. Ping rolled off the opposite side of the upper plane. - -Had Matt deserted his post, the _Comet_ would certainly have been -seriously damaged, if not totally wrecked. But, in spite of the danger -that threatened him, he kept his seat. - -Quick as a flash, he threw in the reverse. The bulky machine began -wabbling away on the back track, the clown in the donkey cart behind, -and the acrobatic "haymakers" in their trick wagon, driving frantically -out of the way. - -Ben Ali was using his sharp prod with apparent frenzy, but the jabbing -point had not the least effect. Rajah started for Matt and the _Comet_. - -Then, had not Delhi's mahout been self-possessed and quick, the worst -would have happened. - -People in the street jumped for the walk, and those on the walk pushing -into the open doors of shops. Shrieks and cries went up from the women, -and men yelled in consternation. - -Across Rajah's path, with a rush, charged Delhi, coming to a halt -and blocking the way. Rajah tried to go around, but Delhi backed and -continued to cut off his retreat. - -By that time Boss Burton had whirled to the scene in the runabout, -and half a dozen men, from the forward wagons, were all around Rajah, -belaboring the brute with cudgels, whips, and whatever they could get -their hands on. - -Rajah's incipient rage was soon quelled by this heroic treatment. - -"What happened?" demanded Burton, drawing up beside the aëroplane. - -"The machine made a jump," answered Matt, not wishing to put the blame -on the girl. "Rajah was too close. Tell Ben Ali to pay more attention -to the elephant and less to us, and to keep in the centre of the road." - -Burton was angry. The fault seemed to lie with Matt, but Ben Ali caught -the brunt of the showman's ire. - -Ping, his yellow face like a piece of old cheese, got back on the upper -wing, and McGlory led Haidee to the _Comet_ and helped her to her seat. - -"Speak to me about that!" gulped the cowboy. "I'm a Piegan if I didn't -think you and the old _Comet_ were done for. What possessed the girl?" - -"Give it up," answered Matt grimly. "As you said a while ago, pard, -these are queer proceedings. Just watch Haidee every minute." - -"She didn't know what she was doing, and you can gamble a blue stack on -that." - -"Of course she didn't. That's why I didn't tell Burton the real cause -of the trouble. Keep it to yourself, Joe." - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MOTOR MATT PROTESTS. - - -The parade was finished without further incident worthy of note, a -huge crowd following it back to the show grounds to see the aëroplane -flight. As soon as the grounds were reached, Ben Ali came for Haidee. -There was a burning light in his black eyes, and he was shaking like a -man with the ague. - -"Just a minute, Ben Ali," said Matt, catching the Hindoo by the sleeve -of his embroidered coat and leading him apart. "What's the matter with -your niece?" - -"Salaam, sahib," chattered Ben Ali. "Haidee all right soon." - -"She can't make an ascension with me, Ben Ali. She was the cause of -that trouble, and it would be sheer madness to take her aloft on that -trapeze." - -"Yis, sahib, _such baht_" (that is true). Ben Ali drew a quivering hand -over his forehead. "But she be well like ever soon, sahib." - -Ben Ali whirled away, took Haidee by the hand, and vanished among the -wagons. - -Boss Burton strode to the scene. - -"What ails that brown rascal?" he asked, staring after Ben Ali. "He's -in as bad a taking as the girl. What did he say about her? I've never -been able to get him to tell me anything about her spells." - -"He tells me that she will be all right in a little while," answered -Matt. - -"Then we'll delay the flight. It will be half an hour yet before all -the people get here." - -Matt peered at the showman as though he thought him out of his senses. - -"You don't mean to say that you want the girl to ride a trapeze under -the _Comet_?" he demanded. - -"Why not?" Burton answered. "You said you'd take her, and she's willing -to go--she wants to go." - -"When I said I'd take her," returned Matt, "I didn't know anything -about her spells. Suppose she were to have one while we're in the air? -Why, Burton, she might throw herself from the trapeze." - -"No," declared the other, "she wouldn't do that. After she has one -spell, I understand she doesn't have another for days, or weeks. It's -been a month since she had the last. Why, in St. Paul, she had one ten -minutes before she went to the ring for her trapeze work--and she never -did better. If Ben Ali says she'll be all right in a little while he -ought to know." - -"I protest against allowing her to go up in the aëroplane," said Matt -firmly. "When the machine is off the ground it has to have my whole -attention. I won't be able to look after Haidee without endangering -both our lives." - -A hard look came into Burton's face. - -"I'm paying you five hundred a week for the stunt you pull off with the -flying machine, ain't I?" he demanded harshly. - -"You are," was the young motorist's calm response. - -"And I'm giving the fifty on top of that for taking the girl up with -you?" - -"That was your proposition." - -"And you agreed to it?" - -"That was before I knew Haidee was afflicted in this way, Burton." - -"Bosh!" scoffed the showman. "The thing has got on your nerves." - -"So it has," acknowledged Matt. "I'm not going to place Haidee in any -danger, if I can help it." - -"And that shot goes as it lays, Burton," spoke up McGlory, who had been -taking a deep interest in the talk. "If you think Motor Matt is going -to risk the girl's neck, or his own, for a little fifty a week, you've -got another guess coming." - -Boss Burton had set his heart on that trapeze act. It was a decided -novelty, and he could not cut it out of his calculations. - -"Am I to understand," he went on, taking a look at the gathering -crowds, "that you'll break your contract rather than take Haidee up -with you?" - -"That's what you're to understand!" snapped McGlory. "We'll not hem, -and haw, and side-step, not for a holy minute." - -"It's this way, Burton," continued Matt. "Haidee can't go up on the -trapeze--we have to take a running start, you know, and it would be -impossible. She'll have to ride up on the lower plane; then, after we -are well clear of the ground, she'll have to drop from the footboard -with the trapeze in her hands. If she's not entirely herself, the drop -from the footboard to the end of the trapeze ropes will be too much for -her. She'll fall." - -"But I told you that after she comes out of these things she's as fit -as ever," cried Burton. "It's a still day--the best we've had for -flying since you joined the show. I don't want to give up the idea." - -"And you don't want to see Haidee killed before your eyes, do you?" -asked Matt coldly. - -"Oh, splash! There'll be nothing of that kind. Ah, look! Here she -comes, and she's just as well as ever." - -Matt and McGlory turned. Haidee, ready for the ascent, was hurrying -toward the machine from the direction of the tent. She moved swiftly -and gracefully, and there was nothing mechanical in her actions--as -there had been during the parade. The pallor had left her cheeks and -the vacant look was gone from her eyes. Matt and McGlory were astounded -at the sudden change in her. - -"Are you all ready for me, Motor Matt?" she asked eagerly. - -The trapeze was ready. That had been attached to the under plane of the -_Comet_ and the bar lashed to the foot-rest before the parade. But Matt -was not ready. - -"How are you feeling, Haidee?" asked Matt kindly. - -"Fine!" she declared. - -"Do you remember what happened during the parade?" - -A puzzled look crossed her face. - -"I can't remember a thing about that," she declared. "In fact, -everything has been a blank almost from the time I left the calliope -tent, where I was talking with you, until I came to myself in the -menagerie tent with Uncle Ben." - -Matt bowed his head thoughtfully. - -"What's the matter?" asked the girl, in a quivering voice. "Aren't you -going to take me up with the _Comet_?" - -"He's afraid you'll have a spell while you're in the air, Haidee, and -drop off the bar," jeered Burton. - -The girl stepped forward and caught Matt's sleeve. - -"Oh, it can't be true!" she exclaimed tearfully. "Motor Matt, you're -not going to keep me from making that extra money? I need it! I must -have it!" - -The girl's earnestness made Matt waver. - -"It won't do," spoke up McGlory decidedly. - -"Joe!" and Haidee turned on him. "Why can't you understand that I'm -just as able as ever to do my trapeze work? I'll not have another of -those queer spells for a long time." - -"That's what you think, sis," answered McGlory, "but if anything -happened to you my pard would remember it as long as he lived. He has -just protested to Burton against taking you up. And he had a bean on -the right number when he said what he did." - -"_I'm_ taking the chances," said Haidee, "and nothing will happen." - -The aëroplane was at rest on the hard roadway running across the -show grounds. For a distance of twenty feet on each side of the road -strong ropes were stretched to keep back the crowd. The throng was now -pressing against the ropes, clamoring for the aëroplane to make its -flight. - -"If this performance don't come off," said Boss Burton, "it will be a -tough blow for the Big Consolidated. I advertised this trapeze stunt -on the flying machine in the morning papers, wiring it ahead from -Indianapolis. It's _got_ to be done, that's all. Every promise made in -our bills is always carried out. That's what has given this show a -hold with the people. I don't say one thing and then do another." - -"Circumstances alter cases," returned Matt. - -"If you don't want to take Haidee, will you take Archie le Bon?" - -Archie le Bon was one of the Le Bon Brothers, iron-nerved men who -performed wonderful flying feats on the trapeze. - -"Certainly I'll take Archie le Bon," replied Matt, glad to find such -a way out of the disagreement. "Bring him here while I'm getting the -machine ready." - -Haidee began to cry, but Burton took her by the arm and led her away, -talking earnestly and in a low voice. - -A trick was worked on the king of the motor boys that morning, and it -was something for which he never forgave Boss Burton. And it was a -trick carried to a successful conclusion almost under the very eyes of -McGlory and Ping. Matt, being busy with the aëroplane and the motor, -did not discover it until too late. - -Matt went over the machinery of the _Comet_ with the same care he -exercised before every flight. A loose bolt or screw might spell death -for him if it escaped his attention. - -When he was through with his examination, and had taken his seat ready -for the flight. Le Bon appeared. He was in his shirt sleeves, not -having had time to exchange his everyday clothes for ring costume. - -"I'll run with the machine," said Le Bon, "and climb over the lower -plane from behind when it gets to running too fast for me." - -"That will do," answered Matt. - -Amid the breathless silence of the crowd, Matt set the motor to working. - -"Ready!" he called. - -The machine started along the road, gaining in speed with every foot of -its progress. - -At the end of fifty feet it was going faster than a man could run; and -at a hundred feet it was darting along at thirty miles an hour. This -was the gait that enabled the wing to pick the machine off the ground. - -As the _Comet_ slid upward along its airy path, the astounded McGlory -saw Le Bon far back toward the point from which the machine had -started. Thinking that, through some mistake, Le Bon had been left -behind, McGlory turned toward the mounting aëroplane. - -Then the trick dawned upon him. - -Haidee was climbing over the lower plane toward Motor Matt, now and -again turning to wave her hand at the cheering crowd! - -And McGlory saw something else--something that had a fearful -significance in the light of later events. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -ABLAZE IN THE AIR. - - -When the king of the motor boys was in the air with the _Comet_, every -power of mind and body was trained to the work of looking after the -machine. - -Flying in an aëroplane is vastly more difficult than sailing in a -balloon. In the case of a gas bag, an aëronaut has only to throw out -ballast, take his ease, and trust to luck; but, with a heavier-than-air -machine, the aviator must rely upon the quickness of his wits and his -dexterity. - -Aëroplane flying, in a large measure, is a knack, and must be acquired. -The air pressure never touches the machine in exactly the same point -for two consecutive seconds, and, because of this, the centre of -gravity is constantly changing. Centre of gravity and centre of air -pressure must coincide at all times if the machine is to be kept in the -air, and the success or failure to do this proves the competency or the -incompetency of the operator. - -The Traquair aëroplane--upon which model Matt's machine had been -built--preserved its equilibrium while aloft by an elongation, or -contraction, of the wing tips. A lever regulated this; and, whenever -Matt was flying, the lever was moving continuously, the ends of the -wings darting out and in with lightning-like rapidity, one side -presenting greater wing area to the pressure while the other presented -less, and vice versa. - -Motor Matt's engagement with Boss Burton did not cover long flights. -Usually, if the weather was propitious, he made it a point to remain -aloft about fifteen minutes, circling about the show grounds, turning -sharp corners and cutting airy "figure eights," in order to show the -capabilities of the aëroplane. - -"Get your trapeze over, Le Bon!" he called, while they were steadily -mounting. - -A laugh was his answer--a silvery ripple of a laugh that had a familiar -ring in his ears and now filled him with consternation. He dared not -look around. - -"Haidee!" he exclaimed. - -"Are you mad at me, Motor Matt?" came the voice of the girl. - -She cautiously slipped into the seat beside him, her heightened color -and sparkling eyes showing her excitement. - -"This was a trick," went on Matt calmly, attending to his work with an -indifference more apparent than real, "which you and Le Bon and Burton -played on me?" - -"It was Burton's idea, and he told it to me while we were going after -Archie le Bon. Archie was to pretend to run with the machine, and I was -to be with him. When the machine got to going too fast for us, Archie -was to drop to one side and I was to spring to the lower wing. Your -back would be in my direction, and you couldn't see me." - -"That wasn't like you, Haidee," said Matt. - -"Are you mad?" - -"What's the use of being put out with you? I'll have something to say -to Burton and Le Bon when I get back to the grounds." - -"You thought you were doing something to help me--I know that--but you -didn't understand I was perfectly able to carry out my part of the -programme. As it is now, I came along and you couldn't help yourself. -Are you going to try and keep me from dropping under the machine with -the trapeze?" - -"No," was the grim reply, "now that you are here you can go on with -your work. Hold to the hand grip on the edge of the plane while you -unlash the bar." - -Perfectly cool, and in complete command of her nerves, Haidee knelt on -the foot-rest, clinging to the plane with one hand while she unlashed -the trapeze bar with the other. - -"I'm ready, Motor Matt," said Haidee. - -She was sitting on the edge of the seat, holding the bar in both hands. - -Matt had brought the _Comet_ to an even keel, some fifty feet over the -show grounds. They were traveling about thirty miles an hour--a snail's -pace for the _Comet_--and Matt was about to make a turn over the river -and traverse the length of the grounds going the other way. - -"Now, listen," said he to the girl. "I'm going to tilt the _Comet_ -sharply upward and ascend for about fifty feet, then I'm going to -reverse the position and descend for fifty feet in the same sharp -angle. When we turn for the descent, Haidee, drop from the foot-rest -when I give the word. The pull of your body, when it falls, will drag -on the machine, but never mind that--hang on and don't get scared. As -soon as I can I will bring the machine to a level. Understand?" - -"Yes." - -"And another thing. While you're moving on the bar, just remember to do -it quietly and easily. You've seen the two Japs at work in the show, I -know. When the big fellow balances the pole on his shoulder, and the -little fellow goes up, every move is made as though there would be a -smash if they were not careful." - -"I understand," said the girl. - -The machine had been brought around and was heading toward the grounds. -Matt twisted the small forward planes, which laid the course for -ascending or descending. At the same time he speeded up the motor. - -The _Comet_ pointed upward; then, at the top of her course, was as -quickly turned and aimed toward the earth. - -Matt caught a glimpse of a sea of upturned faces. The machine was -rushing downward at a frightful pace. - -"_Now!_" shouted Matt. - -He saw the girl poise birdlike on the foot-rest, then sink from it with -the trapeze. So great was the slant of the aëroplane that she seemed to -fall forward. - -There was a jar as the bar reached the end of the ropes, and, with the -girl's weight, was caught and held. The _Comet_ made an erratic wabble -and lurched sideways like a great bird, wounded on the wing. - -Haidee withstood the jolt admirably, and Matt twirled the lever -operating the steering planes. - -Sounds from the earth always reach aëronauts with startling -distinctness. The shouts of consternation which came from the throats -of the spectators could be heard, and also the murmur of relief as the -_Comet_ righted herself, and the trapeze and the girl swung back under -the machine. - -Controlling the aëroplane was always more difficult when there was a -weight suspended beneath, but Matt had counted upon this, and he forced -the _Comet_ back and forth over the show grounds, holding the machine -fairly steady. - -Three times he and Haidee circled over the "tops" with their gay -streamers, cheer upon cheer following them from below. - -Matt had been in the air more than fifteen minutes, and he was just -manoeuvring toward the starting and stopping point, when the cheers -were suddenly turned to cries of fear and alarm. He could see the -people below waving their arms and pointing upward. - -For an instant the young motorist's heart sank. He felt sure that -something had gone wrong with the girl. - -This conviction had hardly formed before it was dissipated. A smell of -smoke came to his nostrils, and to his ears a crackle of flames. Matt -turned his head. - -The left wing of the aëroplane was on fire! - -A thrill of horror shot through him. In the air, he and Haidee, with a -blazing flying machine alone between them and death! The very thought -was enough to wrench the stoutest nerves. - -"Haidee!" yelled Matt. - -"Yes," came the stifled response, from underneath the _Comet_. - -"Are you all right?" - -"Yes." - -"Hang to the bar--don't lose your nerve!" - -Matt's mind was grappling with the complex situation. To get safely -to the ground in the shortest possible time was the problem that -confronted him. - -How the wing had caught fire he did not know, and had not the time even -to guess. It sufficed that the plane was ablaze, and that the longer it -blazed and ate into the fabric the less resistance the plane made to -the atmosphere. And it was this resistance that spelled life for the -king of the motor boys and the girl! - -To drop the blazing aëroplane into that sea of heads below meant injury -to some of the spectators. Matt must avoid this and reach the earth in -the roped-off lane from which the ascent had been made. - -He put the clamps on his nerves, and, with brain perfectly clear, drove -the aëroplane about at a sharp angle. - -Then, if ever, the machine was true to its name, for as it darted -onward, the smoke and flame that streamed out behind must have given it -the look of a comet. - -Could he drop to earth, the young motorist was asking himself, before -the fire struck either of the gasoline tanks? - -Motor Matt, as he coaxed the last ounce of speed from the motor, -shouted encouragingly to the terrified girl on the trapeze. - -Suddenly, below him opened the narrow lane roped off along the road. A -buzz of excited voices echoed in his ears. With steady hand he shut off -the power and glided downward. - -"Drop from the bar and run, Haidee," he shouted, "as soon as we come -close to the ground." - -There was a response from the girl, but the clamor of the crowd -prevented him from hearing what it was. - -The next moment the blazing aëroplane settled into the road and glided -along on the bicycle wheels. - -McGlory, Carl, and Ping were on hand, the cowboy in charge of a -detachment of canvasmen with buckets. A hiss of steam, as water struck -the flames, rose in the air. - -"Careful!" cried Matt, restraining the impetuous assault of the fire -fighters. "Don't climb over the machine and damage it! Keep them back, -Joe! Here, some of you, drench the wings on the right side and keep the -fire from spreading." - -Ably directed by Matt and McGlory, the fire was extinguished. Leaving -the damaged aëroplane in charge of Carl and Ping, Matt limped off -toward the calliope tent, accompanied by his cowboy chum. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WAS IT TREACHERY? - - -"Where's Haidee?" asked Matt. - -"Oh, bother the girl!" cried McGlory savagely. - -Matt turned on him with a surprised look. - -"What's the matter with you, pard?" he asked. - -"Well, it's apples to ashes that I was never so badly shaken up in my -life before as I am this minute. Sufferin' Judas! Say, I'd never have -believed it." - -The crowd was dense. Some of the people were moving off toward the -city, some were making for the side-show, and others were trying to -get close to the king of the motor boys. Matt, having just finished a -sensational flight, was an object of curiosity and admiration. - -Neither he nor McGlory paid any attention to the demonstration around -them, but moved briskly onward toward the calliope tent. - -"I can't rise to you, Joe," said the puzzled Matt. "What's on your -mind?" - -"Something more'n my hat, and you can bet your moccasins on that." - -"Where did Haidee go?" - -"That leather-faced tinhorn uncle of hers grabbed her and took her away -the minute she dropped from the trapeze." - -"She wasn't hurt, was she?" - -"I didn't take any trouble to find out. She walked off spry enough." - -McGlory was gruff to the point of incivility. It was evident to Matt -that he had been mightily stirred. - -"What's the matter with you?" demanded Matt. - -"Wait till we get into the calliope tent, and out of this crowd and the -dust--then I'll tell you." - -"Didn't you discover the trick Boss Burton played on me with the help -of Haidee and Le Bon, Joe?" - -"Oh, speak to me about that!" snarled the cowboy. "Nary, I didn't, -pard, until it was too everlastin'ly late to stop the run of the cards. -Burton! We've got a bone to pick with him; and, after it's picked, I -feel like cramming it down his throat. He was bound to have the girl -go up, and he worked it in his sneaking, underhand way! I don't like -this layout, Matt. You've had the closest call that's ever come your -way since you took to flying. Sufferin' cats! Say, my heart was in my -throat all the while I was looking on. I was expecting that any minute -the fire would reach the gasoline, that both tanks would let go, and -that you, and the girl, and the _Comet_ would all be wiped out in a big -noise and a splotch of flame." - -By this time they had reached the calliope tent, and were able to duck -inside and get away from the crowd. - -The calliope was there, and filling the larger part of the interior. -The big steam organ was shrouded in a canvas cover, and only the lower -rims of the wagon wheels on which it was mounted were to be seen. - -Matt dropped down on a heap of straw and leaned back wearily against a -side pole. McGlory threw himself down beside him, his face thoughtful -and angry. - -"I hadn't any notion Burton was running in a rhinecaboo," said the -cowboy presently, "until the _Comet_ had jumped into the air and I had -looked back and seen Le Bon near the place from which the machine had -started. When I turned and looked at you and the _Comet_, there was the -Haidee girl perched on the lower wing, throwin' kisses to the crowd. I -knew then that Burton had turned his trick, and I lammed loose a yell; -but there was too much noise for you to hear it. I kept my eyes on the -aëroplane and the girl and--and I saw something then that made my hair -curl later when the fire broke out." - -"What was it?" asked Matt. - -"Haidee, pushing something out on the left-hand wing and jabbing it -down there with a hatpin, so it would stay." - -"We must have been three or four hundred feet away from you, Joe," -returned Matt, "and how could you see it was a hatpin?" - -McGlory sat up, opened the front of his coat, and drew a blistered -hatpin out of the lining. - -"I hunted around under the machine, while we were fighting the fire," -he explained, "and picked up that. So, you see, I know it was a hatpin." - -A frown crossed Matt's face. - -"What do you make out of that move of Haidee's?" he asked. - -"She pinned a ball of something soaked in oil to the wing and touched -it off," averred McGlory. "It smouldered for a while and then blazed up -and set fire to the canvas." - -"Joe," returned Matt incredulously, "you must be mistaken. I've always -been a friend of Haidee's. Why should she want to destroy the _Comet_, -or me? When you come to that, why should she want to take her own life? -That's virtually what it would have amounted to if the fire had reached -the gasoline tanks." - -"Who could have started the fire, if it wasn't the girl?" demanded -McGlory. "She was the one." - -Matt was nonplused. His cowboy chum seemed to have drawn a correct -inference, but the supposition was so preposterous the king of the -motor boys could take no stock in it. - -"We've got to use a little common sense, Joe," insisted Matt. "The girl -wouldn't have the least motive in the world for trying to do such a -thing as set fire to the _Comet_!" - -"We've got to bank on what we see," answered McGlory, "no matter -whether we want to believe our eyes or not. Look at it! Haidee comes -to the aëroplane for the parade like a wooden figure of a girl, moving -like a puppet worked by strings. Suddenly she flashes out of her locoed -condition and pulls a lever that slams the _Comet_ against Rajah's -heels. Well, we protected the girl from that because we believed she -was having one of her 'spells.' She came out of the spell all of a -sudden and lopes down to where the aëroplane stands ready for the -start. She seems as well as ever, and begs to go up on the trapeze. A -trick is played on us, and she _does_ go up. Then, once more, she gets -the _Comet_ into trouble. I can't savvy the blooming layout, but I'm -keen to know that some one is starting in to do us up. And Haidee is -one of our enemies." - -Just then Boss Burton pushed into the tent. He was nervous and cast -furtive glances at Motor Matt. - -"Great business!" he exclaimed. "Le Bon got juggled out of the -ascension, after all, and Haidee, the sly minx! did her stunt on the -trapeze, just as she had planned. How in the world did the machine take -fire? Crossed wires, or something?" - -"You need not try to dodge responsibility, Burton," said Matt sharply. -"You put up the trick that was played on me." - -"On my honor, King----" - -"Don't talk that way," interrupted Matt. "Come out flat-footed and -admit it." - -"Well," grinned Burton, a little sheepishly, "if you put it that way, -I'll have to acknowledge the corn. But the girl was clear-headed, -wasn't she? She didn't fall off the trapeze, and she pulled off some -hair-raising tricks on that flying bar that set the crowd gasping. It -was the biggest novelty in the way of an act that any show ever put up. -Results will show at the ticket wagon this afternoon. Too confoundedly -bad, though, that the thing should have been marred by that fire. How -long will it take you to fix up the machine? Can you do it in time for -an ascent to-night? I've planned to have Haidee shoot off skyrockets -from the trapeze, and Roman candles, and all that." - -"You'll have to cut out the fireworks, Burton," said Matt dryly. "It -will take a full day to repair the _Comet_." - -Burton "went up in the air" on the instant. - -"Think of the loss!" he exclaimed. "You've got to repair the machine in -time for the ascent this evening. If it's a matter of men, King, I'll -give you a dozen to help." - -"It's not a matter of men," said Matt. "Joe and I are the only ones -who can work on the _Comet_. And listen to this--I mean it, and if you -don't like it we'll break our contract right here--Haidee has gone up -with me for the last time. I'll take Archie le Bon, or any one else you -want to send, but not Haidee." - -"Is this what you call treating me square?" fumed Burton. - -"Sufferin' Ananias!" grunted McGlory. "You're a nice lame duck to talk -about being treated square! You've got a treacherous outfit, Burton, -and Pard Matt and I are not beginning to like it any too well." - -Matt, thinking McGlory might tell what Haidee had done, gave him a -restraining look. - -"You're responsible for the trouble that overtook the _Comet_, Burton," -proceeded Matt. - -"Me?" echoed the showman, aghast. "Well, I'd like to know how you -figure it." - -"Through your schemes, and over my protest, Haidee made the ascent with -me." - -"I'll admit that." - -"If she hadn't made the ascent, there'd have been no fire." - -"Do you mean to say----" - -"Now, don't jump at any conclusions. I know what I'm talking about -when I tell you that there'd have been no fire if Haidee hadn't made -the ascent with me. That isn't saying, mark you, that the girl is to -blame for what happened. Would she want to burn the aëroplane and drop -herself and me plump into the show grounds? If----" - -Just then a weird thing happened. The calliope gave a sharp clatter of -high notes. - -All present in the tent gave astounded attention to the canvas-covered -music box. - -"Spooks!" grinned Joe. - -"There was enough steam left in the calliope to play a few notes," -suggested Burton. - -"But the notes couldn't play themselves," said Matt, and made a rush -for the calliope. - -The keyboard was in one end of the calliope wagon, and the canvas was -draped over the chair occupied by the operator when the steam wagon was -in use. - -With a pull, Matt jerked aside the canvas that covered the rear of the -calliope, and there, crouching in a chair, was Ben Ali! - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -A CALL FOR HELP. - - -"Well, sizzlin' thunderbolts!" gasped the amazed Burton. - -At first, Ben Ali sat blinking at those before him, apparently too -dazed to move. - -"He's an eavesdropper!" cried McGlory, "and this ain't the first time -we've caught him at it, either. Grab him, Matt! Wring that thin neck of -his!" - -Ben Ali regained his wits, then, and very suddenly. With a panther-like -spring, he cleared the wagon on the side opposite that where Motor -Matt was standing, dodged McGlory, who tried to head him off, shook -a glittering knife in Boss Burton's face, and vanished under the -wall of the menagerie tent. It was all so neatly done that the three -in the calliope lean-to were left staring at each other in helpless -astonishment. - -McGlory rushed furiously at the menagerie tent wall, lifted the canvas, -then dropped it and rushed back. - -"Not for me!" he breathed. "Rajah is right there, teetering back and -forth from side to side, and winding his trunk around everything in -sight." - -"Where was Ben Ali?" demanded Burton, a glitter rising in his eyes. - -"Getting out under the cages on the other side of the tent," replied -McGlory. "I'll see if I can't head him off." - -With that the cowboy shot out of the lean-to. Matt didn't think the -effort to catch Ben Ali worth while, and once more dropped down on the -pile of straw. - -For a few moments Boss Burton walked back and forth in front of him, -hands behind his back, head bowed in thought, and a black frown on his -face. Abruptly he halted in front of Matt. - -"The infernal Hindoo drew a knife on me!" he scowled. - -Matt nodded. The fact had been too plain to call for comment. - -"I'd pull the pin on Ben Ali in half a minute," continued Boss Burton, -"if it wasn't for Haidee." - -"Where did you pick up Ben Ali and Haidee?" inquired Matt. - -"In Wisconsin," was the answer, "just as the show was starting out of -its winter quarters. Rajah had run amuck, wounded a horse, smashed a -wagon, and come within an ace of killing his keeper. Ben Ali applied -for the job of looking after him, and I let him have it. He's been the -only one, so far, who could take care of Rajah." - -"Where did the girl come in?" - -"She came in with her uncle, of course. Ben Ali said his niece was good -on the flying bar, and he brought her to see me. When she came she was -in one of her spells, and looked and acted like a puppet, with some one -pulling the wires. I wasn't much impressed with her, but gave her a -try-out. She recovered from the spell and acted just as she did to-day, -when she went up with the _Comet_--perfectly natural. She gave a good -performance--mighty good--and I made a deal with her uncle. That's the -way I got tangled up with the pair. Why?" - -The showman transfixed Matt with a curious glance. - -"Oh, nothing," said Matt carelessly. "The Hindoo and the girl have -always been something of a mystery to me, and I wanted to find out what -you knew about them. Where did they come from?" - -"Give it up. I never look into the past of people who hire out to me. -If they're capable, and do their work, that's enough. From what McGlory -said, and from what I've seen, Ben Ali appears to have been sneaking -around here, listening to what you and your friends were saying. If he -hadn't inadvertently touched the keyboard of the calliope we shouldn't -have known he was under the cover. Have you any notion what he means by -that sort of work?" - -"No." - -"Well, it's deuced queer, and that's all I can say. Do you think he -ought to be bounced?" - -"Yes, but I wouldn't do it." - -"On Haidee's account?" - -"Partly that; partly, too, because, if you keep him on the pay roll, -we may be able to learn something about him and the girl. I'm a bit -curious about them, Burton." - -"It's a bad habit--this of getting too curious. It's dollars and cents -for me to have the two with the show. What's more," and his remarks -took a more personal turn, "it's money in my pocket to have the _Comet_ -go up this afternoon with Haidee shooting Roman candles from the -trapeze. When are you going to get busy with the repairs?" - -"After I eat something." - -"Well, rush the work, Matt. Do the best you can." - -"It won't be Haidee who rides the trapeze next time the _Comet_ takes -to the air," said the king of the motor boys firmly. - -"Well, Archie le Bon, then," returned Burton, with much disappointment. - -As he went out, McGlory came in, passing him in the entrance. - -"Nothing doing," reported the cowboy. "Where the Hindoo went is a -conundrum. I couldn't find anybody about the grounds who had even seen -him since he walked Haidee away from the burning aëroplane." - -While McGlory, disgusted with his ill success and the turn events were -taking, there on the banks of the Wabash, slumped down on a bucket and -mopped his perspiring face, Motor Matt dropped into a brown study. - -"These Hindoos are crafty fellows, Joe," he remarked, after a while. -"They're clever at a great many things we Americans don't understand -anything about. I knew one of them once. He was the servant of a man -who happened to be the uncle of one of the finest young fellows that -ever stepped--brave Dick Ferral. This particular Hindoo I was able to -study at close range." - -"What are you leading up to by this sort of talk?" asked McGlory, -cocking his head on one side and squinting his eyes. - -He had this habit when anything puzzled him. - -"I'm leading up to the element of mystery that hangs over the events -of to-day. India is a land of mystery. The people are a dreamy set, -and now and then one of them will go off into the woods, or the -desert, and spend several years as a devotee. When he comes back to -civilization again he's able to do wonderful things. I've heard that -these fakirs can throw a rope into the air and that it will hang there; -and that they can make a boy climb the rope, up, and up, until he -disappears. Then rope, boy, and all but the fakir will vanish." - -"Fakes," grunted Joe. "Such things ain't in reason, pard. You know what -a fakir is in this country, and I reckon he's not much better in India." - -"Of course it's a fake," said Matt, "but it's a pretty smooth piece -of magic. The Hindoo devotees could give Hermann and all the other -magicians cards and spades and then beat them out." - -"I'm blamed if I can see yet where all this talk of yours leads to." - -"I'm only, what you might call, thinking out loud," laughed Matt. -"Haidee's actions puzzle me. Her uncle is a Hindoo, and he may be an -adept in magic. If he is, just how much has the girl's queer actions to -do with Ben Ali? It's something to think about. I'm glad Burton isn't -going to cut loose from the Hindoo and the girl. The more I see of -them, the more curious I'm becoming." - -"Ben Ali, pard," grinned McGlory, "is a little bit curious about us, I -reckon, from the way he's pryin' around. How do you account for that?" - -Matt shook his head. - -"I can't account for it, Joe, but perhaps we'll be able to do so -later." He got up. "How about something to eat?" he asked. "We'll have -to have dinner, then take something to the boys, and get busy patching -up the aëroplane." - -"Did you ever know me to shy at a meal?" asked McGlory, promptly -getting up. "We'll hit the chuck layout, and then----" - -It was nearly time for the doors to open, and inside and out the two -big "tops" there was a bustle of preparation. The "spielers" in the -ticket stands at the side-show were yelling, people were crowding about -the ticket wagon, where they were to buy pasteboards admitting them to -the "big show," and a band was playing in the road beyond the grounds. - -Above all these various sounds there came a call, wild and frantic. -It reached the ears of the two boys in the calliope tent with strange -distinctness, and cut McGlory short while he was talking. - -"Helup! Helup, somepody, or I vas a goner!" - -The cowboy gave a jump for the door, only a foot or two behind Matt. - -"Was that your Dutch pard?" cried McGlory. - -"It was his voice, plain enough," answered Matt, looking around sharply. - -"What could have gone wrong with him?" - -"I can't imagine--here, in broad daylight, with the grounds full of -people." - -"It's trouble of the worst kind if we're to take the words as they -sounded." - -Matt believed this fully. Carl Pretzel was not the lad to give a false -alarm, and he had clearly put his whole heart into the words Matt and -McGlory had heard. - -"Where did the call come from?" went on McGlory, mystified. - -"It seemed to come from everywhere, and from nowhere," replied Matt. -"Look into the menagerie tent, Joe." - -While McGlory was lifting the canvas and taking a look through the -animal show, Matt rounded the outside of the lean-to, searching every -place with keen eyes. - -Carl was nowhere to be found. As Matt drifted back toward the door of -the calliope tent, McGlory emerged and joined him. - -"He's not mixed up with the animals," reported the cowboy. - -"And I can't get any trace of him out here," said Matt. "Let's walk -over to the aëroplane. Carl and Ping were to watch the machine, and -I'm pretty sure neither of them would leave it without orders unless -something pretty serious had gone wrong." - -Vaguely alarmed, the two chums pushed their way through the crowd -toward the place where the _Comet_ had been left. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BLACK MAGIC. - - -While the parade was passing through town, Carl had been "sleuthing." -The fact that he was wearing McGlory's working clothes gave him an -idea. He didn't look like himself, so why not be some one else? All -the detective books he had ever read had a good deal to say about -disguises. Carl was already disguised, so he made up his mind that he -would be a dago laborer. - -After watching the parade file out of the show grounds, he slouched -over to the side-show tent. A man was just finishing lacing the picture -of a wild man to the guy ropes. Carl shuffled up to him. - -"I peen der Idaliano man," he remarked, in a wonderful combination of -Dutch and Italian dialect, "und I, peen make-a der look for a leedl-a -gal mit der name oof Manners. Haf-a you seen-a der girl aroundt loose -some-a-veres?" - -The canvasman looked Carl over, and then, being of a grouchy -disposition, and thinking Carl was trying to make fun of him, he gave -him a push that landed him against a banner containing a painted -portrait of the elastic-skin man. The banner was even more elastic than -the image it bore on its surface, for Carl rebounded and struck one -of the "barkers," who happened to be passing with his hands full of -ice-cream cones for the bearded lady and the Zulu chief. - -Disaster happened. The "barker" fell, with the Dutch "tedectif" on top -of him--and the ice-cream cones in between. - -The "barker" indulged in violent language, and began using his hands. -Carl was pretty good at that himself, and retaliated. Two canvasmen -pulled the two apart. Carl had the contents of a cone in his hair, and -the "barker" had the contents of another down the back of his neck. - -"Where'd that ijut come from?" yelled the "barker," dancing up and down -among the broken cones. - -"Who left der cage toor oben?" cried Carl, digging at his hair. "Der -papoon vas esgaped." - -"You put up your lightning rod," growled the "barker," "or you'll git -hit with a large wad of electricity." - -"Come on mit it!" whooped Carl, fanning the air with his fists. "No -vone can make some ice-gream freezers oudt oof me mitoudt hafing -drouples!" - -"That'll do you," snorted the canvasman who had hold of Carl, and -thereupon raced him for twenty feet and gave him a shove that turned -him head over heels across a guy rope. - -"Dot's der vay," mourned Carl, picking himself up and gathering in his -hat. "Der tedectif pitzness comes by hardt knocks, und nodding else. -Vere can I do some more?" - -His head felt cold and uncomfortable, even after he had mopped it dry -with a red cotton handkerchief. - -He went over to the horse tent. The tent was nearly empty, all the live -stock except a trick mule being in the parade. The mule would not have -been there, but he was too tricky to trust in the procession. A man -with a red shirt, and his sleeves rolled up, sat on a bale of hay close -to the mule. The man was smoking. - -"Hello, vonce," flagged Carl. - -"Hello yourself," answered the man. - -"I peen some Idaliano mans," remarked Carl, "und I vas make-a der look -for Markaret Manners, yes. Haf-a you seen-a der gal?" - -"Take a sneak," said the man. - -"She iss-a leedle-a gal aboudt so high, yes," and Carl put out his -hand. "I peen-a der poor Idaliano man, aber I gif-a you fife tollars, -py shiminy, oof-a you tell-a me where-a der gal iss." - -"You can't josh me," went on the man earnestly. "Hike, before I knock -off your block." - -Carl continued to stand his ground and ask questions; then, the next -thing he knew, the hostler had jumped up and rushed for him. Carl -sprang back to get out of the way, unfortunately pushing against the -hind heels of the mule. The mule knew what to do, in the circumstances, -and did it with vigor. - -Carl was kicked against the man with the pipe, and that worthy turned a -back somersault as neatly as any "kinker" belonging to the show. - -The Dutch boy limped hastily around the end of the horse tent and -crawled into an empty canvas wagon. The mule's heels had struck him -with the force of a battering-ram, and he felt weak up and down the -small of the back. Besides, the wagon was a good place in which to hide -from the hostler. - -Cautiously he watched over the wagon's side. The hostler came around -the side of the tent, looked in all directions, and then retired, -muttering, in the direction of the bale of hay. - -Carl chuckled as he dropped down on a roll of extra canvas, but the -chuckle died in a whimper as he became conscious of his sore spots. - -"I vonder how Cherlock Holmes efer lifed to do vat he dit," he -murmured, curling up on the canvas. "Der tedectif pitzness iss hit und -miss from vone end to der odder, und den I don'd get some revards. -Meppy I vill shleep und forged id." - -When Carl woke up, he looked over the side of the wagon and saw a -burning flying machine in the air, and he heard the wild yells of the -crowd. Probably it was the yelling that awoke him. - -"Py shinks," he cried, "dot's my bard, Modor Matt! He iss purnin' oop -mit himseluf. Fire! Fire! Helup!" and Carl rolled out of the wagon and -raced toward the spot where the machine seemed to be coming down. - -McGlory, white-faced but determined, was marshaling a lot of men with -buckets of water. Carl dropped in. When the machine landed, he set to -with the rest and helped extinguish the flames. - -Then, after he had congratulated Matt, Carl and Ping were placed on -guard. - -In spite of the fact that Carl had shaken hands with Ping, he continued -to have very little use for the Chinaman. And Ping, to judge from -appearances, had no more use for the Dutchman. They did not speak. -One sat down on one side of the machine and the other sat down on the -other. Then a brown man, wearing an embroidered coat and a turban, -drove up on a small cage wagon drawn by one horse. He got off the wagon -and stepped up to Carl. - -"How-do, sahib?" said the man. - -Carl remembered him. He was the fellow who had been dozing on Rajah's -back at the river. Also he was the man who had taken charge of the girl -who had dropped off the trapeze when the burning aëroplane came down. - -Carl had a startling thought--it flashed over him like an inspiration. - -"How you vas?" answered the Dutch boy genially. - -"You come 'long with Ben Ali," said the man. - -"Nod on your dindype," replied Carl. "I vas vatching der machine for -Modor Matt." - -"_You come!_" hissed Ben Ali. - -Then Carl noted something very remarkable. The Hindoo's eyes began to -blaze, and dance, and show wonderful lights in their depths. - -"Shtop mit it!" said Carl. "You peen a mesmerizer, und I don'd like -dot." - -Carl knew he couldn't be hypnotized against his will, but the Hindoo's -eyes were working havoc with his nerves. - -"_You come!_" - -The words of Ben Ali were imperative. Carl, seemingly unable to remove -his own eyes from the Hindoo's, followed as Ben Ali retreated toward -the wagon. At the end of the wagon Ben Ali made some passes with his -hands in front of Carl's face, then opened the door. - -"You get in, sahib!" - -Carl climbed into the wagon mechanically. Slam went the door and click -went a key in the padlock. - -The _Comet_ had come down from its disastrous flight at a considerable -distance from the tents. There were no people in the immediate vicinity -save Ping. - -The little Chinaman, on hands and knees under the lower wing of the -aëroplane, was watching covertly all that took place. - -After locking the door of the cage wagon, Ben Ali took a cautious look -around him. He saw no one. - -Climbing up on one of the forward wheels, he took a slouch hat and a -long linen duster from the seat, removed his embroidered coat and his -turban, got into the hat and duster, climbed to the seat, picked up the -reins, and drove off. - -Ping had seen it all, but had made no attempt to interfere. And he made -no attempt now. - -He did not like the "Dutchy boy." He was afraid Carl would take away -from him his job with Motor Matt. - -It was with secret rejoicing, therefore, that the Chinaman saw Carl -locked in the wagon and hauled away. - -"Hoop-a-la!" chattered Ping, as he returned to his place and once more -went on watch. - -The wagon used by Ben Ali, on this momentous occasion, was technically -known as the monkey wagon. Two of the monkeys had eaten something which -did not agree with them, and had died in Indianapolis. The three that -remained had been taken out and put in another cage, with a collection -known as "The Happy Family." This, of course, left the monkey wagon -empty. - -Burton was figuring on using it for one of the ant-eaters, but there -were some repairs to be made before the wagon could be put to that use. -The repairs dragged, and so Ben Ali found his opportunity to use the -cage. - -Straight across the show grounds drove the disguised Hindoo. None of -the employees who saw him recognized him or questioned his right to use -the monkey wagon. Different gangs had different duties, and no one knew -but that this strange driver was off to town on some important mission. - -Ben Ali drove within a hundred feet of the calliope tent. When he was -well beyond it, a yell came from inside the wagon. - -"Helup! Helup, somepody, or I vas a goner!" - -A shiver ran through Ben Ali. He made ready to leap from the wagon, -but thought better of it when he saw that the call had attracted no -attention and was not repeated. - -"Sahib keep still!" he called, kicking the end of the wagon with his -heels. - -And thus, with not a sound coming from the interior of the monkey -wagon, the artful Hindoo adept drove into the road and headed the horse -away from the town and into the country. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE MAHOUT'S FLIGHT. - - -When Matt and McGlory, hurrying to the aëroplane to make inquiries -concerning Carl, came within sight of Ping, they saw him calmly -occupied twirling a set of jackstones. - -"Ping!" called Matt. - -"Awri'!" answered Ping, slipping the jackstones into a pocket of his -blouse and immediately getting up. - -"Where's Carl?" - -"Dutchy boy no good. Him lun away." - -"Run away?" echoed McGlory. "Here's a slam! When and how, Ping?" - -"Ben Ali dlive 'lound in wagon. Him say to Dutchy boy, 'You come.' -Dutchy boy makee come chop-chop. Ben Ali shuttee do', put on Melican -coat, Melican hat, makee dlive off. Woosh! Dutchy boy no good." - -This offhand description of what had happened to Carl was received with -startled wonder by Matt and McGlory. - -"When was this?" demanded Matt. - -"Plaps fi' minit, plaps ten minit. No gottee clock, Motol Matt; no -savvy time." - -"You say Ben Ali drove up in a wagon?" - -"Dlive up in monkey wagon. Put Dutchy boy in monkey wagon." - -"And then he locked Carl inside?" - -"Allee same." - -"And took off his turban and embroidered coat and replaced them with -another hat and coat?" - -"Melican hat, plenty long coat." - -"Wouldn't that rattle your spurs, pard?" murmured McGlory. - -"What did Ben Ali do?" went on Matt, resolved to get at the bottom of -the matter, if possible. - -"Him makee funny look with eye," replied Ping. "By Klismus! him blame' -funny look. One piecee devil shine in eye." - -"Hypnotized!" grunted McGlory. - -"You can't easily hypnotize a person against his will," averred Matt. -"It's not hard to guess that Carl was a good way from being willing to -go with Ben Ali." - -"What the dickens did Ben Ali want to run off Carl for?" queried -McGlory. - -"This business gets more and more mysterious, Joe," returned Matt, "the -farther we go into it." - -"And that yell we heard!" - -"That certainly came from Carl. Ben Ali must have driven past the -calliope tent while we were talking inside. The fact that Carl gave a -yell for help proves that he wasn't wholly hypnotized." - -"He may have come out from under the influence just long enough to give -a whoop," suggested the cowboy. - -"Let's go back and hunt up Burton," said Matt. "He'll want his monkey -wagon, and, of course, we've got to get hold of Carl." - -"It's news to discover that Ben Ali is a hypnotist," observed McGlory, -as he and Matt whirled and started to retrace the ground over which -they had just passed. - -"I told you these Hindoos were a crafty set," answered Matt. - -The doors were open and the crowd was vanishing inside the big tents. -The grounds were not so congested with people as they had been, and it -was easier to get about and hunt for Burton. - -As it chanced, they ran plump into the manager just as they were -rounding the dressing tent at the end of the circus "top." - -Burton was red and perspiring, and there was wrath in his face. - -"I've been looking all around for you fellows," he cried. "You can run -one of these here buzz-wagons, can't you, Matt?" - -"Yes," replied Matt, "but----" - -"Come along," interrupted Burton, grabbing Matt by the arm, "we haven't -any time to spare." - -"Wait!" protested Matt, drawing back. "Have you seen----" - -"Can't wait," fumed Burton. "I've hired a chug-car; and there's a race -on. Haidee has skipped. Aurung Zeeb, one of the other Hindoo mahouts, -has helped her get away. They've taken my runabout. Confound such -blooming luck, anyhow!" - -Here was news, and no mistake. Ben Ali running off with Carl, and -Aurung Zeeb taking to the open with the showman's Kentucky cob and -rubber-tired buggy! - -"Do you know where Aurung Zeeb and Haidee went?" asked Matt. - -"I haven't the least notion," was the wrathful answer, "but we've got -to find them. I don't care a straw about Zeeb, or the girl, but that -runabout rig is worth six hundred dollars, just as it stands." - -"Well, if you don't know which way the rig went," argued Matt, "it's -foolish to go chasing them and depending on luck to point the way." - -"We've got to do something!" declared Burton. - -"Where's Ben Ali?" - -"Oh, hang Ben Ali! I haven't seen him since he flashed that knife in my -face." - -"We've just discovered," proceeded Matt, "that he has skipped out, too, -and taken your monkey wagon along." - -"Sure of that?" - -"Ping just told us. Not only that, Burton, but he took my Dutch -pard--the lad that came this morning--with him. Carl was locked in the -cage." - -"Worse and worse," ground out Burton. "How'd Ben Ali ever manage to do -that?" - -"On the face of it, I should say that Ben Ali had hypnotized Carl." - -"Nonsense! What does an elephant driver know about hypnotism? Still, -this begins to look like a comprehensive plan to steal a monkey wagon -and a runabout and leave me in the lurch. What do you think of that -Haidee girl to do a thing like this? She seemed mighty anxious to earn -money, yet here she skips out with about a hundred in cash to her -credit." - -"It's hard to understand the turn events have taken," said Matt. "But I -wouldn't blame Haidee too much until you know more about her--and about -Ben Ali." - -"I want my horses and my rolling stock," fretted Burton. "The rest of -the outfit can go hang, if I get back the plunder." - -"You said something about an automobile," said Matt. - -"There's a car here, and the man that owns it is seeing the show. He -said I could have the use of the car all afternoon for fifty dollars. -He thought I was an easy mark, and I let him think so. He's got the -money and I've got the car. After he'd gone inside, I happened to -remember that I couldn't run the thing, so I chased off looking for -you. Here we are," and the three, who had been walking in the direction -of the road, came to the side of a large automobile. - -It was a good machine, with all of six cylinders under the hood. - -"If you're a mind reader, and can tell where we ought to go, Burton," -said Motor Matt, "I'll get you there. I feel right at home when I'm in -the driver's seat of a motor car." - -"Wait till I ask somebody," and Burton whirled and flew away. - -"Gone to have some fortune teller read his palm," laughed McGlory. "Oh, -but he's wild when he gets started." - -"I don't blame him for worrying," said Matt. "He was offered four -hundred, spot cash, for that Kentucky cob, in Indianapolis. Shouldn't -wonder if he stood to lose a thousand dollars if the runaways can't -be overhauled. And he hasn't much time to overhaul them, either, Joe. -The three sections of the show train have got to be on the move toward -South Bend by three in the morning. I'm worried some myself, on Carl's -account. What has that crafty mahout got at the back of his head? I -wish I knew. You and I are going to stay right here in Lafayette until -we can find out something about Carl." - -"Sure we are," agreed the cowboy heartily. "But here comes Burton, and -he looks as though he'd found out something." - -"One of the canvasmen," announced Burton breathlessly, as he came up -with the boys, "says that he saw the monkey wagon heading south into -the country. Can't find out which way the runabout headed, but we'll -take after the other outfit. Get in and drive the machine for all -you're worth." - -Matt passed around in front, and was pleased with the business-like -manner in which the motor took up its cycle. - -"Here's where we throw in the high-speed clutch and scoot," said Matt, -settling into the driver's seat with a glad feeling tingling along his -nerves. It had suddenly occurred to him that he would rather motor in -a high-powered car than do anything else that had so far claimed his -attention. In such a machine, "miles were his minions and distance his -slave." "Here we go," he finished, and away bounded the car. - -Matt took time to wonder at the nature of a plutocrat who, for fifty -dollars, would trust such a beautiful piece of mechanism in the hands -of a showman. But the fact was accomplished, and guesses at the reason -were futile. - -They came to a hill--a steepish kind of a hill, too--and they went over -it without a change of gear. Motor Matt laughed exultantly. - -"Took it on the high speed!" he cried. "A car that can do that is a -corker." - -On the opposite side of the hill, as they were scorching down with the -speedometer needle playing around the fifty-eight mark, a team and -wagon containing a farmer and his family were almost backed off the -road. Matt tampered with the brakes, but the car was going too fast to -feel the bind of the brake grip. - -"Never mind!" cried Burton, from his place at Matt's side. "That outfit -is going to the show to-night. If I see 'em, I'll pass 'em all in -with fifty-cent chairs. Now, boy, hit 'er up. I've got to recover my -property before night sets in, and this may be a long chase." - -"Long chase!" yelped McGlory derisively from the tonneau. "How can -it be a long chase when we're going like this? Hang on to your hair, -Burton! Mile-a-minute Matt's at the steering wheel." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE PAPER TRAIL. - - -The coils hummed merrily to the six-cylinder accompaniment. The wind -whistled and sang in the ears of the three who were plunging along at a -speed which was bound to get them somewhere in short order. - -Then, as might be expected, something happened. It was no accident to -the car. The road spread apart in two equally well-traveled branches, -and Matt shut off and came to a stop at the forks. - -"The canvasman, of course," said the young motorist, looking around at -Burton, "couldn't tell you which fork the monkey wagon would take." - -"Here's a go!" muttered Burton. "If we take one fork, we may be -hustling off on the wrong scent. At a guess, I should say take the -right-hand branch." - -"Let's not do any guessing until we have to," Matt returned. "My cowboy -chum here is a good hand at picking up trails. Show us how they do it -in Arizona, Joe." - -McGlory was out of the car in a flash and giving his attention to the -surface of the road. - -"You might as well try to hunt for the print of a rabbit's foot in the -trail of a herd of stampeded steers," said McGlory, after five precious -minutes spent in fruitless examination. - -"What sort of a cowboy are you, anyhow?" scoffed Burton. - -"Well, look," answered McGlory. "The ground is all cut up with people -coming to the show, and it's none too soft. I couldn't pick out the -tread of a traction thrashing machine in all this jumble of prints." - -"Any one coming on either road?" queried Burton, standing up and -looking. "If there is, we could inquire as to whether they'd passed the -monkey wagon." - -"See any one?" asked Matt. - -"Not a soul," and the showman plumped disappointedly down in his seat. - -"Just a minute, Joe," interposed Matt, as the cowboy was about to climb -back into the tonneau. "What's that white object in the road?" Matt -pointed as he spoke. "There's one, just over the left-hand fork, and -another beyond it." - -"If you stop to bother with paper scraps," cried Burton, "we'll never -get anywhere." - -McGlory, however, turned back and picked up the object to which Matt -had called his attention. - -It was a scrap of paper, just as Burton had said. The scrap was a -ragged square, as though it had been roughly torn, and measured about -two inches across. - -The cowboy examined it casually at first, then his face changed, and he -gave it closer attention. - -"My handwriting," he declared, looking up at Matt. - -"How can that be?" scoffed Burton. - -"I don't know how it can be," replied McGlory, "but it's a fact, all -the same. I had a memorandum book, and have jotted down various things -in it." - -"Where'd you leave the memorandum book?" jested the showman -impatiently; "in the monkey wagon?" - -"Nary, I didn't. I left it in the hip pocket of my working clothes." - -"And Carl had on the clothes!" exclaimed Matt, with a jubilant ring in -his voice. "Carl must have scattered that trail for our benefit." - -He stood up in the automobile and looked back over the road they had -traveled. - -"Why," he went on, "we haven't been as observing as we should have -been. There's a paper trail, and Carl must have started it pretty soon -after the monkey wagon left the show grounds." - -"Well, well!" muttered Burton. "Say, Matt, that Dutch chum of yours is -quite a lad, after all. The idea of his thinking of that." - -"Carl always has his head with him," declared Matt. "Climb in, Joe. The -left fork for ours." - -McGlory pulled the crank, before he got in, for the stop had killed the -engine. - -"It's a cinch," said McGlory, as he resumed his place in the tonneau, -"that Carl wasn't hypnotized when he dropped those scraps. How _could_ -he drop 'em? That's what beats me. Why, he was locked in, so Ping said." - -"There was a hole in the floor," explained Burton. "Not a very big one, -but big enough for an ant-eater to get a foot through. I was going to -repair the cage, but haven't had time to attend to it." - -"Why didn't Carl yell again?" went on McGlory. "If he had yelled long -enough, and loud enough, some one would have been bound to hear him and -stop Ben Ali." - -"This is another case where Carl's using his head," put in Matt. "He's -playing some dodge or other." - -"He's showing up a whole lot stronger than I ever imagined he could," -said the cowboy. "I had sized him up for a two-spot at any sort -of headwork. Got my opinion, I reckon, from the way those Chicago -detectives fooled him." - -"He's not so slow as you imagine, Joe," said Matt. "Now keep an eye out -for scraps!" - -"We can't get into a scrap with those Hindoos any too quick to suit -me," laughed McGlory, hanging out over the side of the motor car. - -Once more the whirling, headlong rush of the car was resumed. No sooner -had Burton, or McGlory, discovered a bit of white in the roadway ahead -than it was lost to sight behind. - -Then, after four or five miles of this, the three in the car raised -an object, drawn up at the roadside, which brought the car to a halt. -The object was the monkey wagon, horse gone from the shafts, rear door -swinging open, and not a soul in the vicinity. - -"Here's another queer twist," grumbled Burton, as all three got out to -make a close survey of the wagon. "What do you think of it, Matt?" - -Matt and McGlory thrust their heads in at the door. - -"Phew!" gurgled the cowboy, drawing back. "There's a mineral well, in -Lafayette, that's a dead ringer for the smell inside that cage wagon." - -"I haven't had it swabbed out yet," apologized Burton. - -"Here's the hole where Carl dropped out the paper scraps," Matt called, -from inside the wagon. - -"And here's something else, pard!" yelled McGlory. - -Matt came out of the wagon and found his cowboy chum calling Burton's -attention to marks in the road. - -"What do you make of it, Joe?" asked Matt, coming closer. - -"Well," answered McGlory, reading the "signs," "a one-horse buggy with -rubber tires stopped here, alongside the monkey wagon. Look how the -road's tramped up, ahead there. The horse was restive during the halt, -and did some pawing." - -"Great guns!" murmured Burton. "My runabout!" - -"I think it's pretty clear now," observed Matt. "Aurung Zeeb and Haidee -didn't get away at the same time Ben Ali and Carl did, or else they -took a different course. Anyhow, they came up with the wagon. The -runabout's faster, so the whole party went on with it." - -"They might get three people into the runabout, by crowding," said -Burton, "but they never could get four people into it." - -"That's why the horse was taken from the monkey wagon," went on Matt. -"Aurung Zeeb or Ben Ali must have ridden the animal." - -"By Jove, King, I wish I had your head for getting at things! That was -the way of it--it _must_ have been the way of it. Let's pile back into -the machine and hustle on." - -They all felt that the chase was drawing to a close. The runabout was a -faster vehicle than the monkey wagon, but there was not the ghost of a -show for the Kentucky horse getting away from the automobile. - -From that point on, the paper trail was not in evidence. - -"Carl wasn't able to drop any more scraps," said Matt. "When he was -inside the monkey wagon he was out of sight and could do about as he -pleased; crowded into the runabout with Ben Ali and Haidee, and with -Aurung Zeeb riding behind, he couldn't possibly drop a clue to guide -us." - -"The Dutchman seems to have taken it for granted that he'd be -followed," hazarded Burton. - -"He knows very well," returned Matt, "that I wouldn't stand around -and let him worry through this run of hard luck alone. Look out for -the runabout. The way I figure it, the rig can't be more than ten or -fifteen minutes ahead of us." - -"How do you figure it, Matt?" asked Burton. - -"Well, from the time Joe and I heard Carl call for help. I don't -believe it was more than half an hour from that time until we were -hitting the high places with this automobile. Eh, Joe?" - -"No more than that, pard," answered McGlory. - -"I should think we'd have gained more than fifteen or twenty minutes on -the Hindoos, the rate we've been coming," remarked Burton. - -"Possibly we have. If that's so, then the runabout can't be even ten -minutes ahead of us. Now----" - -"Runabout!" yelled McGlory. - -He was standing up in the tonneau and peering ahead. The road, at this -point, was bordered with heavy timber on both sides, but in half a -minute Matt and Burton could each see the vehicle to which the cowboy -had called their attention. - -It wasn't a runabout, as it proved, but a two-seated "democrat" wagon, -drawn by a team, and conveying another party townward--presumably for -the evening performance of the Big Consolidated. - -McGlory's disappointment was keen. And his feelings, for that matter, -were matched by those of Motor Matt and Burton. - -Matt halted the automobile and, when the wagon came alongside, asked -the driver if he had been passed by a runabout farther along the road. - -The party had come five miles on that road and, according to the -driver, hadn't been passed by anything on wheels going the other way. - -For a space those in the automobile were in a quandary. - -"What's amiss?" fumed Burton. "Are we on the wrong track, after all, in -spite of your Dutch friend and his paper trail, and McGlory's reading -the signs at the monkey wagon?" - -Matt suddenly threw in the reverse and began to turn. - -"Only one thing could have happened," he averred. - -"What's that?" - -"Why, the people in the runabout must have heard us coming and turned -from the road into the woods." - -"Let her out on the back track, then!" cried Burton. "If the Hindoos -think they've dodged us, they've probably pulled out into the road and -started the other way." - -This seemed to have been the case, for three minutes speeding over the -return trail brought those in the automobile in sight of the runabout. - -This time it _was_ the runabout, and no mistake, and the Kentucky cob -was stretching out like a race horse under the frantic plying of a whip. - -Burton reached behind him, under his coat, and brought a revolver into -view. - -"We'll find out about this business before we're many minutes older!" -he exclaimed grimly. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -CARL TURNS A TRICK. - - -Something has been said about Carl Pretzel having an idea that was -almost an inspiration, at the time he was approached by the Hindoo at -the aëroplane. - -This it was that led him into the monkey wagon. The slam of the door -and the grate of the key in the padlock struck a sudden tremor to the -Dutch boy's heart. - -Was he making a fool of himself or not? Would a trained detective have -proceeded in that manner? - -His heart failed him, and he gave the wild yell for help. - -He had hardly given the cry before he repented of it. What would Motor -Matt think of his nerve if he could know the game he had embarked upon, -and how he had been stampeded in playing it? - -No; if that call had done no harm, Carl would not repeat it. He would -see the business through and try and match wits with the Hindoo. - -In spite of the noise on the show grounds, Carl heard Ben Ali's heels -bang against the end of the wagon, and also the stern voice commanding -him to keep silent. - -Carl kept silent. He was almost smothered by the closeness of his -prison chamber, and the terrific odor that assailed him, but he -comforted himself with the thought that detectives don't always have -things their own way when they're tracking down a criminal. Anyhow, -even his present discomfort was better than the hard knocks his -"sleuthing" had so far given him. - -He was not long in discovering the hole in the floor of the wagon. The -memorandum book he had discovered soon after getting into the borrowed -clothes. - -Of course he knew that Motor Matt would follow him! That was the kind -of fellow the king of the motor boys was; never had he turned his back -on a pard in distress. - -Carl, too, was morally certain that Ping had seen him get into the -monkey wagon. Motor Matt would discover this from the Chinaman, and -then would come the pursuit. - -The thing for Carl to do was to point the way by which he had been -carried off. The hole in the floor, and the memorandum book in his -pocket, were not long in giving him the right tip. - -Sitting down on the bottom of the cage, Carl occupied himself in -tearing the leaves of the book into scraps and poking the scraps -through the opening. - -How far Ben Ali drove Carl did not know, but it seemed as though the -Hindoo had been hours on the road. There was a pain in Carl's back, -where the mule had left its token of remembrance, and the jolt of the -wagon was far from pleasant. - -Presently there came the rapid beat of a horse's hoofs, a whir of -wheels, and a sudden stop of the monkey wagon. The other sounds ceased -at the same moment. - -For a second or two Carl imagined that Matt had overhauled Ben Ali, but -this fancy was dispelled by the strange words that passed between Ben -Ali and some one else. - -The mahout could be heard climbing swiftly down from his perch and -moving around to the rear of the wagon. Carl slipped the book into his -pocket and drew away from the hole in the floor. - -Once more the key grated in the padlock. The door was drawn open and -Ben Ali was revealed, looming large in the rush of sunlight, a bared -knife in his hand. - -"You come, sahib," said Ben Ali. - -Carl got up and moved toward the door. There Ben Ali caught his eyes -for a space and held them with the same weird looks indulged in near -the aëroplane on the show grounds. - -The Dutchman instantly grew automatic in his movements, keeping his -eyes straight ahead and following Ben Ali's every gesture. - -Carl had seen persons hypnotized, and knew how they acted. - -"You come," repeated Ben Ali sternly, and Carl jumped down from the -wagon. - -They were in a country road. There was a smart-looking horse and buggy -beside the monkey wagon, and Haidee was on the seat. If appearances -were to be believed, she was in another of her spells. - -"Sahib get in de buggy," ordered Ben Ali. - -Carl climbed over the wheel obediently and sat down beside the girl. -She paid not the least attention to him, nor he to her. Ben Ali climbed -in beside them, squeezed into the seat, and took the reins from -Haidee's hands. - -Meanwhile, Carl had been looking at another brown man in a turban who -was unhitching the horse from the monkey wagon. - -Ben Ali waited until the horse was out of the shafts and the second -Hindoo on its back, then he started the Kentucky cob off along the -road. His companion trotted along behind. - -Dropping any more paper scraps was out of the question. Carl was too -tightly wedged in between Ben Ali and Haidee to use his hands; besides, -he could not have made a move that would not instantly have been seen. - -Presently the Hindoo on the horse called out something in his unknown -jargon. Ben Ali answered, and the runabout was turned from the road and -into the woods. - -Possibly they proceeded a hundred feet into the timber. At the end of -that distance their progress was halted by a creek with steep banks. - -Ben Ali got out. While standing on the ground facing Carl, he made -sinuous movements with his slim brown hands--passes, most probably, -designed to keep Carl in a hypnotic state. - -The girl shuddered, suddenly, and drew a hand across her eyes. - -"Uncle Ben!" she exclaimed, with a sharp cry, "where am I?" - -"You are safe," said Ben Ali. "You are not to work with de trapeze -any more, not be with de show any more. We are quit with de show. -_Kabultah, meetoowah?_" - -"Yes, yes," breathed the girl, "I understand. But where are we going? I -don't want to be in a trance any more. I want to know what I say, what -I do--all the time." - -The man's face hardened. - -"You come, Haidee," he said, gently but none the less firmly. - -The girl got up and climbed down from the wagon. - -"Sahib!" he cried sharply. "You come, too." - -Carl likewise climbed to the ground. - -"You are asleep," went on Ben Ali, coming up to Carl and bringing his -face close. "You know not anything what you do. Sit!" - -Carl sank down on the bank of the creek. - -The other Hindoo had dismounted. Stepping away from his horse, he -turned the runabout rig the other way, so that the cob faced the road. -Then he tied the animal. - -Meanwhile, Ben Ali, seating himself cross-legged on the ground, had -drawn a small black box from his breast. It was a lacquered box and -shone like ebony in the gleam of sun that drifted down through the -trees. - -Haidee uttered an exclamation and stretched out her hands. - -"It is mine, Uncle Ben! It belongs to me." - -"Yis, _meetoowah_," agreed Ben Ali, "it belong to you, but I keep it. -That is safer, better." - -He put down the box and listened, hissing to attract the attention of -the other Hindoo. - -"Aurung Zeeb!" - -The other turned, and Ben Ali motioned toward the road. - -The sound of an approaching motor car broke the stillness. It grew -rapidly in volume, passed a point abreast of those in the woods, and -went on, dying away in the distance. - -Excitement shone in the faces of the Hindoos, and there was alarm in -the face of the girl. - -"What is it?" she cried. "Uncle Ben----" - -"Silence, _meetooowah_!" commanded the Hindoo. - -Taking the lacquered box in his hand, Ben Ali leaped erect and -chattered wildly with Aurung Zeeb. After that, he came to Carl, his -face full of anxiety and alarm, and made more passes. - -"You come," he ordered, "get back in de buggy." - -Carl followed as Ben Ali backed away in the direction of the runabout. -The Hindoo stood close to the wheel until Carl was in the seat. - -At that moment a smothered scream came from Haidee. Aurung Zeeb jumped -toward her, letting go the bridle of his horse as he did so. Ben Ali -muttered something under his breath, put the lacquered box on the -runabout seat beside Carl, and started toward Aurung Zeeb and the girl. - -"You must tell me what you are doing," panted the girl, facing the -Hindoos with flashing eyes. "That is Boss Burton's horse and buggy. Why -have you got the rig here? What are we doing here? Tell me, Uncle Ben! -I must know." - -Ben Ali tried to quiet her. Carl was in a quiver. The lines were twined -about the whip on the dashboard of the runabout, and both Hindoos were -fully fifteen feet away. It looked like a propitious moment for escape. -Carl had not accomplished much, but he was patting himself on the back -because of the way he had fooled Ben Ali. Now, if he could get away, -and take the runabout with him---- - -Carl never thought very long over any proposition. Nor did he give much -time to this. - -Swooping down on the dashboard, he grabbed up the lines and the whip. - -"Gid ap mit yourself!" he yelled, and struck the horse. - -With a snort the animal bounded forward, breaking the strap that -secured him to the tree and almost throwing Carl from the seat. - -The other horse took fright and bounded away, while Carl went lurching -and plunging in a wild dash for the road. - -How he ever reached the road without coming to grief against the many -trees he grazed in his dash was something which would have puzzled a -wiser head than his. - -He paid not the least attention to the Hindoos, nor to Haidee. He was -thinking of Carl, and trying to guess how much money he would get for -bringing back the stolen horse and runabout. - -For once, he thought exultantly, he was making the detective business -_pay_. - -Whirling into the road, he headed the horse back toward town, plying -the whip and hustling the best he knew how. - -It was a marvel that the runabout held together. But it did. Suddenly a -firearm spoke sharply from somewhere in the rear. - -Carl did not look behind. He had but one thought, and that was that the -Hindoos must be phenomenal runners, and that they were chasing him on -foot and firing as they came. - -He bent forward over the dashboard and urged the cob to a wilder pace. - -Then, while he was using the whip, an angry voice roared from alongside -the runabout: - -"Stop lashing that horse! Stop, I tell you!" - -Carl became faintly aware that there was an automobile dashing along -the road side by side with the runabout. - -"Carl!" shouted a familiar voice. "Stop your running! Don't you know -who we are?" - -Then the excited Dutchman became aware of the situation and pulled back -on the lines. - -He chuckled delightedly as he jerked and sawed on the bit. - -He, Carl Pretzel, had been running away from his old pard! What a joke! - -And there, in the automobile with Matt, was the manager of the show. - -It wouldn't be long, now, before Carl found out how much he was to get -for recovering the stolen horse and runabout. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE LACQUERED BOX. - - -Probably that Kentucky horse of Burton's had never been treated in his -life as he was that afternoon. He was muddy with sweat and dust, and -his high-strung spirits, by that time thoroughly aroused, rebelled -against the curb. - -In order to help Carl out, Motor Matt drove the car past the horse and -partly across the road. This served to bring the animal to a halt. - -"By Jove!" stormed Burton, "I wouldn't have had this happen for a -hundred dollars! It's a wonder if the horse isn't ruined!" - -He flopped out of the automobile and approached the horse's head. - -"Whoa, Colonel!" he murmured soothingly. "Whoa, old boy!" - -Then, getting one hand on the bit, he held the animal while he petted -and wheedled and patted the lathered neck. - -"Der rig vas shtole py der Hindoo," said Carl, "und I haf recofered it -und prought it pack. Dot comes oof being a goot tedectif, py shinks! -How mooch iss id vort'?" - -"Worth?" scowled Burton. "If the animal is injured I'll charge you up -for it. Don't you know how to take care of a horse?" - -"Don'd you vas going to pay me someding?" gasped Carl. - -"Pay?" snorted Burton, in no mood to consider a reward after seeing his -favorite horse mistreated. "Why, I feel like I wanted to use the whip -on you! What did you run away from us for?" - -"I t'ought you vas der Hindoos," explained Carl feebly. "Say, Matt," -he added, turning to his chum, "der feller don't vas going to gif me -someding! Vat a miserliness! Und me going droo all vat I dit!" - -"Where did you get the runabout, Carl?" asked Matt. - -He thought Boss Burton was a little unreasonable, but was not disposed -to make any comments. Burton's ways were sometimes far from meeting -Matt's approval--and they had never been farther from it than during -the events of that exciting day. - -"I shteal him from der Hindoos," said Carl, "und make some gedavays -by der shkin oof my teet', you bed you! I hat to run der horse, Matt, -oder I vouldn't have made der esgape. Vone oof der Hindoos had a knife, -und dey vas bot' det safage I can't dell. Der odder horse vat pulled -der cage vagon iss somevere aheadt. He got avay und vent like some -shdreaks." - -"You climb down," snapped Burton, coming back to the side of the -runabout. "I'll take the rig back to the grounds and send one of the -teamsters for the monkey wagon. You'll bring along the automobile, -Matt?" he added, getting into the runabout as Carl got out. - -"Yes," answered Matt. - -"Ain't you going on with us to look up the Hindoos and Haidee?" asked -McGlory. "Going to hang back before we run out the trail, Burton?" - -"I don't care anything about them," was the reply, "so long as I've -recovered my own property. What's this?" and the showman picked up the -lacquered box. - -Carl stared at it. Evidently he had forgotten all about it, up to that -moment. - -"Py chimineddy!" he muttered. "Dot's der Hindoo's! He tropped id on der -seat pefore I run avay mit der rig." - -"Then I'll take it with me," said Burton. "Perhaps it's of enough value -so that the rascal will come after it. If he does, I can read the riot -act to him." - -"I guess you'd better leave that with Carl, Burton," spoke up Matt. -"You don't care to bother with the Hindoos, and we may think it's worth -while." - -"Oh, well, if that's the way you feel about it," and the showman tossed -the box to Carl. "Mind," he added, as he started off, "you're not to -get into any trouble with that automobile." - -Burton was soon out of sight. - -"He's the limit, that fellow!" growled McGlory. "He might have tipped -Carl a five-case note, but he wouldn't. He's a skinner." - -"Nodding doing in der tedectif pitzness," said Carl resignedly, getting -into the automobile beside Matt. "Same like alvays I ged der vorst oof -id. Vile vorking on der Manners gase, I haf peen in a row mit Ping, in -a row mit a canvasman und a 'parker' for der site-show, in some more -rows mit a shtable feller, got kicked in der pack mit a mu-el, und -carried avay in some vagons vat shmelled like a glue factory. Und vat -I ged? Dot Purton feller he say he vould like to pound me mit der vip. -Ach, vell, ve can't pecome greadt tedectifs mitoudt a leedle hardt luck -at her shtart." - -"Tell us what happened to you, Carl," said Matt, "and be quick about -it." - -Carl sketched his adventures, with now and then an urging toward -brevity from Matt. - -"Ven I see dot Hindoo coming, at der time he made some brisoners -oof me," expounded Carl, on reaching that part of his recital, "I -remempered der girl vat come down in der flying machine, und vat he -valked avay mit, und I got der t'ought, like lightning, dot meppy der -feller know someding aboudt Markaret Manners, vat iss atverdised for -in der Lonton baper. Abner nit, it don'd vas der case. I schust let -meinseluf pertend dot I vas mesmerized so dot I could go along by der -Hindoo und meppy findt oudt someding. I don't findt oudt anyt'ing." - -Carl's disgust was great, and he brought his story to a quick -conclusion. - -"We'll go look for the Hindoos and Haidee," said Matt. "As I jog along, -Carl, you keep watch for the place where you turned from the road. -Meanwhile, Joe," Matt added, "you take the lacquered box and open it. -We'll see what's inside. The contents may shed a little light on this -mystery of the girl." - -"Der Hindoos und der girl von't be vere dey vas," remarked Carl, -handing the box to McGlory. - -"They can't possibly be far away," answered Matt. "They have to travel -on foot, now, and will be compelled to go slow." - -"This box is locked, pard," called McGlory. - -"Force the lid, then," said Matt. "It's necessary, according to my -notion, that we try and find out something about Haidee. And for the -girl's good." - -McGlory opened his pocketknife and inserted the blade between the box -and the lid. The lock splintered out under pressure. - -"She's open, pard," announced the cowboy. - -"What's inside?" - -"A bundle of letters tied with a piece of twine." - -"Ah!" - -"They have English stamps," went on McGlory, "and are postmarked at -London." - -"Better and better! And they're addressed to----" - -"Miss Margaret Manners, Calcutta, India." - -Carl nearly fell off the seat. - -"Ach, du lieber!" he sputtered, "I vas ketching my breat'. A clue, py -shinks! Dot Haidee knows vere der fife-t'ousant-tollar girl iss, I bed -you!" - -"Knows where the girl is?" echoed Matt. - -"Sure t'ing. How vouldt Haidee haf Markaret Manners' ledders oof she -ditn't know somet'ing aboudt der English girl? A few more knocks, py -shiminy, und I vill make der fife t'ousant tollars!" - -"Carl," said Matt, "you've got a wooden head when it comes to -sleuthing. Why, Haidee is Margaret Manners herself. I've had a hunch to -that effect for two or three hours." - -Once more Carl had to hold on with both hands to keep from going by the -board. He could only breathe hard and think of what he would do with -all the money that was coming to him. - -"What else is there in the box, Joe?" asked Matt. "Anything but the -letters?" - -"Just one thing, pard," replied McGlory. "It looks like a decoration of -some kind." - -McGlory held the object over Matt's shoulder, so he could see it. - -It was a bronze Maltese cross, with a royal crown in the centre -surmounted by a lion, and the words "For Valour" stamped on the cross -under the crown. The cross hung from a V-shaped piece attached to a -bar, and the bar was attached to a faded red ribbon. Across the bar -was engraved the name "Lionel Manners." - -"I feel like taking off my hat in the presence of that, pards," said -Matt. - -"Why?" demanded Joe. - -"It's a Victoria Cross," returned Matt, "and is only given to persons -for a deed of gallantry and daring. When the ribbon is red, it shows -that the winner of the cross belonged to the army; when blue, to -the navy. Captain Lionel Manners must have been a brave man, and -it's a pity his daughter should be treated as she has been. Carl, -you've blundered onto a big thing--and you couldn't have blundered so -successfully once in a thousand times. Put the letters and the cross -back in the box, Joe. We'll keep them safe for the girl. If----" - -"Dere's der blace," interrupted Carl, pointing to the roadside. - -Motor Matt brought the automobile to a stop. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE HYPNOTIST'S VICTIM. - - -"You and I will go and look for the Hindoos, Joe," said Matt, getting -out of the car. "Carl will stay here and take care of the automobile." - -"Vat oof der Hindoos ged avay from you und come ad me?" queried Carl, -in a panic. "I bed you dey vas sore ofer vat I dit." - -"If they should happen to attack you," answered Matt, "run away from -them. You used to know something about driving a car, Carl." - -"All righdt," said Carl, with deep satisfaction. "I'll run avay from -some drouples oof any come in my tirection. Look oudt for Ben Ali. He -has a knife." - -Matt and McGlory, after securing a few further directions from Carl, -started into the woods on their way to the creek. They moved warily in -single file, Matt taking the lead. - -As they made their way onward, they saw evidences of Carl's wild dash -for the road in the runabout, broken bushes and trees blazed at about -the height of a buggy axle. - -"It's a wonder that runabout wasn't strung all the way from the creek -to the road," murmured McGlory. "The Dutchman's luck has landed on him -all in a bunch." - -"Carl has a knack for blundering in the right direction," said Matt. -"But he has as much grit as you'll find in any lad of his size. Think -how he fooled that Ben Ali! Made the Hindoo believe he was hypnotized." - -"And Carl had only the faintest notion what he was doing it for!" -chuckled McGlory. "Say, pard, I'd like to have seen those Hindoos when -Carl woke up and used the whip on that horse of Burton's." - -"Hist!" warned Matt, "we're close to the creek." - -There were evidences in plenty that the bank of the creek had been -recently occupied--broken bushes and an imprint of human feet in the -damp soil. As Matt and McGlory had supposed, however, there was no sign -of Haidee or the Hindoos in the vicinity. - -"Here's where we're up a stump, pard," said McGlory. "I wonder if I -could pick up the trail and find which way the outfit went?" - -"Try it," said Matt. - -McGlory skirmished around for ten minutes. - -"I reckon I've got it," he announced, at the end of that time. "Unless -I'm far wide of my trail, Matt, they went down the creek." - -"Then that's the direction for us. Step off, Joe, and be lively." - -Although the boys believed the Hindoos and Haidee must be far in -advance of them, yet they moved forward cautiously, being exceedingly -careful not to rustle the bushes as they passed or to step on any twigs -that would crackle under their feet. - -As a matter of fact, they had not been five minutes on their way down -the creek before the cowboy whirled abruptly with a finger on his lips; -then, motioning to Matt, he dropped to his knees. - -Matt followed suit and crept alongside McGlory. - -"We're in luck, too," whispered the cowboy. "They're right ahead of us, -all three of them. Listen, and you can hear them talking." - -Matt raised his head and listened intently. A faint sound of voices was -borne to his ears. - -"Let's creep up on them, Joe," he suggested. "They're two against us, -you know, and they'll make a pretty big handful, if they're armed." - -"We know Ben Ali has a knife, but that is probably all the weapons -they've got. If they had guns, then Carl would never have made his -getaway." - -Redoubling their caution, the boys crawled forward, screening their -advance by keeping bunches of undergrowth in front of them as much as -they could. - -The voices grew steadily louder, until it became manifest that the -brown men were jabbering in Hindustani. - -Finally the boys arrived as close as they deemed it best to go, for -they had Ben Ali, Aurung Zeeb, and Haidee in plain view. - -The three were in a little oak opening on the creek bank. Haidee was -sitting on a log, and the other two were standing and talking rapidly. - -A moment after the boys were able to see them and note what was going -on, the Hindoos stopping their talking. Aurung Zeeb drew off to one -side, and Ben Ali stepped in front of the girl. - -"Haidee, _meetoowah_!" he called. - -The girl lifted her head. - -"You must go into de trance, _meetoowah_," said Ben Ali. - -With a heart-breaking cry the girl flung herself on her knees in front -of him. - -"No, no, Uncle Ben!" she wailed, "don't make me do things I can't -remember--things I don't want to do! What happened during the parade -this morning? And what happened while I was in the air with Motor Matt? -You will not tell me and I do not know! Oh, Uncle Ben----" - -"Haidee!" - -The voice was clear and keen cut. There was something in the tones of -it that lifted the girl erect and uncomplaining, and held her as by a -magnet with her eyes on the snaky, dancing orbs of Ben Ali. - -The power of the Hindoo over the girl must have been tremendous. - -The boys, shivering with horror, watched the Hindoo as he waved his -arms gracefully and made his sinuous passes. He was no more than a -minute or two in effecting his work. - -By swift degrees Haidee's face lost its expression and became as though -graven from stone; her eyes grew dull and her whole manner listless. - -"Haidee, you sleep," came monotonously from Ben Ali, as his hands -dropped. "You hear me, _meetoowah_? You understand?" - -"Yes," answered the girl, in the clacking, parrot-like voice with which -the boys were somewhat familiar. - -"You are never to remember, _meetoowah_, what you do in de parade, or -what you do on de flying machine," continued Ben Ali. "When you wake, -you forget all that, and how I tell you to pull the lever when de -parade reach de min'ral well, or pin de fireball as it smoulder to de -wing of de machine. You forget all that, huh?" - -"Yes." - -"You are bright, lively girl, _meetoowah_" went on the Hindoo. "You are -gay, happy, but you are under de power, yes, all de time. You go back -to de show, and you tell them that Ben Ali and Aurung Zeeb ver' bad -mans and run away with Haidee, that you make de escape. Then you get -from Boss Burton the money he owe and come to Linton Hotel in Lafayette -sometime this night. You understand, _meetoowah_?" - -"Yes." - -"And you not let anybody know you come to Linton Hotel, _meetoowah_." - -"No." - -"And at all time when you wake you forget you was Margaret Manners, and -you remember all time when you wake that you only Haidee." - -"Yes." - -"Also, you try get back de box that b'long to you, de little lacquered -box. Remember that, Haidee. Get de box if you can and bring it with de -money to Uncle Ben Ali at de Linton Hotel in Lafayette." - -"Yes." - -"And you all time forget when you wake dat you Margaret Manners, -and----" - -Something happened to the hypnotist, right then and there. - -Unable to endure longer the scene transpiring under their eyes, the -boys had crept forward until they were close to Ben Ali and Aurung Zeeb. - -Matt, behind Ben Ali, arose suddenly and caught the Hindoo by the -shoulders, flinging him down on his back and holding him there with -both hands about his throat. - -McGlory, it had been planned, should make a simultaneous attack, in the -same manner, upon Aurung Zeeb; but that individual was keener-eyed than -his companion. He saw McGlory just as the cowboy was about to spring. -With a loud cry of warning, Aurung Zeeb broke away in a panic and fled -into the timber. - -McGlory did not follow him. Ben Ali, choking and wriggling under the -tense fingers of the king of the motor boys, had made a desperate -effort and drawn his knife. The cowboy had glimpsed the blade, -shimmering in a gleam of sun, and had leaped forward and caught the -Hindoo's hand. - -"We've got the scoundrel!" exulted McGlory. "I reckon this is the last -stunt of this sort he'll ever lay hand to." - -Ben Ali tried to speak. Matt saw the attempt and removed his rigid -fingers from the prisoner's throat, slipping his hands down and -gripping one of the man's arms. - -"Hold his other arm, Joe," panted Matt. "I want to talk with him. I've -got to talk with him. A great wrong has been done Haidee, and if it is -righted Ben Ali is the only one to do it." - -McGlory was puzzled, but yielded immediate obedience. - -"Look at the girl," he whispered, as he laid both hands on the -prisoner's other arm. - -There was a look of sharp pain in Haidee's face. Her hands were -clutching her throat, and she was swaying where she stood. - -"Haidee feel what you do to me," gurgled Ben Ali. "You hurt me, you -hurt her. You do not understand de power." - -"He's talkin' with two tongues!" declared McGlory. - -"No," said Matt, "he tells the truth. As I told you, Joe, we've -got to make use of the scoundrel for Haidee's benefit. Don't mind -Haidee--she'll be all right by the time we are through with Ben Ali." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -"FOR THE SAKE OF HAIDEE!" - - -Motor Matt knew something about hypnotism, having acquired the -knowledge in the casual way most boys learn about such occult and, at -times, fascinating subjects. - -The young motorist knew, for instance, that if it was suggested to -Margaret Manners often enough in a hypnotic state that she was only -Haidee, the girl would come to forget her own personality. Even when -out of the trance she would be confused and bewildered in trying to -recall her real name and her past life. - -It was to undo some of this evil that Matt was eager for a talk with -the Hindoo. - -"Ben Ali," said Matt sternly, "we have the box of letters and Captain -Manners' Victoria Cross. In order to make you suffer terribly for what -you have done, we have only to turn you over to the authorities and let -them cable to London. There is a thousand pounds sterling offered as a -reward for the recovery of Margaret Manners; and for you there would be -a long term in prison. You understand that, don't you?" - -There was a crafty look on the Hindoo's face as he answered. - -"Yes, sahib. But you not do anything with me. De girl is in de trance. -I have her in my power." - -"And we have you in our power," said Matt, appreciating to the full the -strong hold Ben Ali had on them, as well as on the girl. - -"But, by and by, when we have finished de talk, de young sahib will let -me go." - -Matt was deeply thoughtful for a few moments. - -"Yes," he answered deliberately, "if you will answer my questions, and -do what I tell you to do, we will let you go." - -"Pard!" remonstrated Joe. - -"I know what I am doing, Joe," returned Matt. - -"De young sahib is wise," put in the smiling Ben Ali, his eyes -beginning to gleam and dance in an attempt to get the king of the motor -boys under their influence. - -"Pah!" murmured Matt disgustedly. "You can hold his arm with one hand, -Joe. Place the other hand over his eyes." - -"He's a fiend," growled McGlory, as his palm dropped over the upper -part of Ben Ali's face. - -The Hindoo laughed noiselessly. - -"Will you talk with me frankly and answer my questions, Ben Ali," -proceeded Matt, "providing we promise to let you go?" - -"Yes, sahib." - -"Then, first, who are you?" - -"De brother of a great rajah in my own land, and de brother of de great -rajah's sister. That sister married de Captain Manners, Margaret's -father." - -"I see," breathed Matt, his eyes wandering to the girl. - -Haidee had grown quiet, her face expressionless and her eyes staring -and vacant, as before. - -"I, with my rich rajah brother," continued Ben Ali, with bitterness, -"was only de driver of his elephants. No more. I work. He live in -luxury and do not anything. Captain Manners die. Then his wife, she -die, too. _Suttee._ She burn on de funeral pyre, as our custom is in my -land. De husband die, then de widow die. Margaret she live. My brother, -de rajah, give me money, send me to Calcutta after Margaret. I go. I -get de girl and we take ship to America. Hah! On de way I tell Margaret -it is her uncle, de rajah's wish, that she go to de Vassar school in -America, that I follow order when I take her there. She believe what I -say. On de steamer I begin de trances. She not like them, but she agree -at first. By and by she not able to help herself. I tell her she not -remember who she is when she wake, that she only Haidee. She b'leeve." -The scoundrel laughed. "I have de so great power with the eyes and the -hands, sahib." - -"Why did you join a show and take the girl with you?" demanded Matt, a -feeling of horror and repulsion for Ben Ali growing in his heart. - -"I have to live, sahib. My money give out. I know how to drive de -elephant, so I hear of de show and go there. Boss Burton hire me. I -speak of Haidee. He hire her, too." - -"Did she know how to perform on the trapeze--she, the niece of a -powerful rajah and daughter of an English gentleman?" - -"She know not anything about that. I put her in de trance and tell her -she know. Then she perform on de trapeze better than any." - -"Why did you want her to go up on the flying machine?" - -"Cut it short," growled McGlory huskily. "I feel like using the knife -on the villain, pard. He ain't fit to live." - -"You listened to me while I was talking with my friends in the calliope -tent this morning," continued Matt. "Why was that?" - -"I was afraid of de Dutch boy," answered Ben Ali, "and I was more -afraid when I hear what he tell. After that, I be afraid of all of you. -You understan'? I thought you take Haidee away from me." - -"You hypnotized her before the parade and told her to do something to -make me trouble?" - -"Yes, sahib," was the prompt response. "I wanted you out of de way. I -was afraid." - -"Scoundrel!" muttered Matt. "Why, you placed Haidee herself in danger." - -"I was Rajah's mahout. I could have kept de elephant from hurting -Haidee." - -"Was she hypnotized when she came to the aëroplane and played that -trick to go up in the machine with me?" - -"She was, yes, sahib." - -"And you gave her something to be used in setting the aëroplane afire?" - -"Yes, sahib. It was de smouldering fire ball, with de coal in its -heart. When de machine go up, and de win' fan it, den by and by it -break into flame and set fire to de machine." - -Ben Ali was frank, brutally frank. But he had Motor Matt's promise that -he should go free, and he seemed to gloat over his evil deeds and to -wish that not a detail be left out. - -"She did not act, when she was in the aëroplane, as she did when she -was in the parade," said Matt. - -"I make her act different, sahib. I tell her how she was to be. I have -de so great power I do that. Other fakirs not so great as Ben Ali." - -"We've heard enough," said Matt. "Now, as yet, you have only partly -earned your freedom, Ben Ali. You have still to do what I shall tell -you." - -"What is that, sahib?" - -"You will, by the aid of hypnotism, undo all the evil you have done, -as much as possible. For instance, you will impress on Haidee, as she -stands there, the truth that she is Margaret Manners, and that she will -remember it, and all her past, when she wakes. After that, you are to -waken her and take yourself off." - -"Yes," answered the Hindoo. "My freedom is dear to me. Perhaps"--and he -smiled--"I have something yet to do with Motor Matt." - -"If you cross my path again, Ben Ali," returned the king of the motor -boys, "there will be no promise binding me to let you go free. If you -are wise, you will stay away from me and my friends, and from Haidee." - -"I take my chance, if that is it. To awaken Haidee I must be on my -feet." - -"You will lie as you are!" declared Matt sharply. "You can do your work -as well this way as in any other." - -"I will try," said the Hindoo, after a moment's pause. Then, in a loud -voice, he called: "Haidee!" - -The girl turned her eyes upon him. - -"Yes," she answered. - -"When you wake, _meetoowah_, you will remember that you are Margaret -Manners." - -"Yes." - -"You will remember all, everything--Calcutta, your father, Captain -Manners, your mother, your mother's brother, de rajah. But you forget -Ben Ali, and you think no more of him. You understand?" - -"Yes." - -This, in a little different language, Ben Ali repeated several times. - -"Now, young sahib," said he, "let me up till I wake Haidee." - -"Hold to him on that side, Joe," cautioned Matt, "but give him the use -of his hands. When Haidee wakes, release him." - -"Sufferin' fairy tales!" grumbled McGlory. "I hate to do it, pard, and -that's honest, but I reckon, from what I've heard, that you know what -you're about. It's a hard way to bring right and justice to the girl -by letting this scoundrel escape the law, but there don't seem to be -anything else for it." - -Slowly the boys got up and permitted Ben Ali to struggle to his feet. -When he was erect, both still gripped him by the waist in order to -prevent him from committing any treachery. - -Ben Ali leaned forward and waved his hands. - -"Awake, _meetoowah_!" he called sharply. "You are yourself again, -Margaret Manners! Awake!" - -The girl started, and lifted both hands to her temples. It was enough, -and Motor Matt was satisfied. - -"Let him go, Joe," said Matt, "but keep his knife." - -The boys, at the same moment, withdrew their hands and stepped back. -Ben Ali, with a wild, snarling laugh, sprang into the woods and -vanished. - -"What is it?" asked Margaret Manners, in a puzzled voice. "Where am I? -Ah, is that you, Motor Matt? And Joe!" - -"Yes, sis," returned the cowboy, his voice full of gentleness, "it's -your friend McGlory, and the best friend you ever had if you did but -know it--Motor Matt." - -"Come," said Matt briskly, "we must hustle back to the automobile. Carl -will have a fit wondering what has become of us." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE RAJAH'S NIECE. - - -The events of that wonderful day all seemed like a dream to Motor Matt -when he came to look back on them. The coming of Carl, loaded with a -joke sprung upon him by the detectives in Chicago--a joke, by the way, -that proved a boomerang--and the dangers and perils that trailed after -the Dutch boy and finally ended in most marvelous success--all these -seemed but the figments of disordered fancy. - -But the damaged aëroplane remained to tell of the dangers, and Carl was -there in the flesh, and Margaret Manners was present, freed of the evil -shadow that had blighted her young life. - -The afternoon performance had been over for some time when Matt, -Joe, Carl, and Margaret--for now she must be Margaret and not -Haidee--returned to the show grounds. - -The owner of the motor car was walking up and down in fretful mood, -thinking, perhaps, that he had done a most unwise thing in letting his -machine get out of his hands. - -Burton was with him and seeking to pacify his fears. But the sight of -the motor car alone did that. - -"Well," exclaimed Burton, "you've got one of 'em, Matt. She is the most -valuable of the lot, to me. Where are the other two?" - -"They escaped," answered Matt shortly. "And Haidee, Mr. Burton, is no -longer an employee of the Big Consolidated." - -"What!" cried Burton. "Do you mean to say she isn't going up on the -aëroplane any more, and that she'll not touch off Roman candles or----" - -"I told you she'd never do that, some time ago," said Matt keenly. - -Burton seemed to have a way of forgetting the things he did not want to -hear. - -"Well, anyhow," went on the showman, as soon as they had all alighted, -and the owner of the car had got into it and tooted joyfully away, -"come to the mess tent and tell me what happened." - -"Haven't time, Burton," said Matt. "Miss Manners is going to the best -hotel in town, and I've got some telegrams to send." - -"Telegrams?" Burton pricked up his ears and showed signs of excitement. -"There isn't another show trying to hire you away from me, is there? -Don't forget your written contract, Matt!" - -"I'm not forgetting that," returned Matt, inclined to laugh. "The -telegram I am going to send is to the British ambassador at Washington, -and the cablegram I am going to get on the wires is to an attorney in -London, England." - -"Jupiter!" exclaimed Burton. "It looks to me as though you wouldn't get -through in time to go on with section two of the show train." - -"We won't," continued Matt, "and that's what I'm going to tell you -about. We'll be a couple of days making repairs on the aëroplane, -and we'll make them here. After the work is done, we'll join the Big -Consolidated at the town where it happens to be at that time." - -"Your contract, sir!" fumed Burton. "You are----" - -"No repairs on the aëroplane would have been necessary," interrupted -Motor Matt, "if you had not played that trick on me and substituted -Haidee for Le Bon. Just remember that. I shall expect you to pay the -bills for the repairs, too." - -Burton received these remarks in silence. - -"When I and my friends are ready to join you," went on the king of -the motor boys, "we'll go by air line in the _Comet_, and if you have -any good paper, we'll scatter it all along the route. It will be the -biggest kind of an advertisement for you, Burton." - -This was a master stroke, if Burton yearned for one thing more than -another, it was to make his name a household word. - -"Great!" he cried. "But you won't be more than two days here, will you, -Matt?" - -"We'll try not to be." - -"And you'll scatter the paper?" - -"Certainly." - -"Fine! I'll have it for you. Where'll I send it?" - -"To the Bramble House." - -"It will be there. Make the bill for repairs as light as possible, and -draw on me for the amount. That's fair, ain't it?" - -"Just about." - -"Ask anybody and they'll tell you Boss Burton is the soul of honesty, -and that every promise he makes in his paper is carried out to the -letter. What will you do with the aëroplane?" - -"McGlory and Ping will look after it to-night. Tomorrow they will have -it removed to some place where we can work on it comfortably." - -"All right--have it your way. I'm the easiest fellow to get along with -that you ever saw, when I see a chap is going to treat me square. Good -luck to you--to all of you." - -The party separated. McGlory went over into the show grounds to join -Ping at the aëroplane, and Matt and Carl escorted Miss Manners to the -Bramble House. Carl went to the show, when the tents were being pulled -down that night, and got Miss Manners' trunk and his own clothes from -the calliope tent. Carl, it will be recalled, was wearing McGlory's -work clothes, and McGlory was going to need them. - -Most of the luggage belonging to Matt and his friend went on by train -with the show impedimenta, to be reclaimed at some town farther along -the route. - -Matt sent his telegram and his cablegram, and in neither did he conceal -the fact that all the glory of the achievement belonged to Carl Pretzel. - -The Dutch boy was terribly set up over his success. Until far into the -night he kept Matt up, trying to find out what he should do with his -five thousand dollars. Carl was about evenly divided, in his opinions, -as to whether he should buy an aëroplane of his own, or a circus. Matt -discouraged him on both points. - -Next morning the _Comet_, under its own power, dragged its battered -pinions to a big blacksmith shop, and there the motor boys got actively -to work on the repairs. - -The damage was confined almost entirely to the canvas covering the left -wing. None of the supports were injured. - -In two days' time the aëroplane was as good as new. At the close of the -second day, when Matt and McGlory reached the hotel with their work -finished, so far as the _Comet_ was concerned, they found an English -gentleman who represented the British embassy. - -This gentleman had come, personally, to assume charge of Miss Manners; -and, by this very act, the boys understood that the young woman was -something of a personage. - -The Englishman said nothing about the reward, and Carl began to worry. -Finally he broached the subject himself, only to learn that the five -thousand dollars must come from India, and that it would be a month, -possibly two months, before it could be turned over. - -Carl was disgusted. He had expected to have the money all spent before -two months had passed. - -"Dot's der vay mit der tedectif pitzness," he remarked gloomily. "Even -ven you vin you don't get nodding." - -"But you're bound to get it, Carl," laughed McGlory, "sooner or later." - -"Meppy so mooch lader dot I vill be olt und gray-heated und not know -nodding aboudt how to shpend him. How vas I going to lif in der -meandime, huh? Tell me dose." - -"Come along with us," said Matt, "and stay with the Big Consolidated -until your money comes." - -"I don'd like dot Purton feller," growled Carl. "He iss der vorst case -oof stingy vat I efer see. Shdill, id iss vort' someding to be mit -Modor Matt. Yah, so helup me, I vill go." - -Ping was not in love with this arrangement, but had to bow to it. - -The gentleman from Washington took the next train back to the capital, -arranging to have Miss Manners left in the care of an estimable lady in -Lafayette until word should come from India. - - -THE END. - - - - -THE NEXT NUMBER (28) WILL CONTAIN - -Motor Matt's "Short Circuit" - -OR, - -THE MAHOUT'S VOW. - - The Serpent Charmer--A Bad Elephant--Burton's Luck--Motor Matt's - Courage--Dhondaram's Excuse--Robbery--Between the Wagons--A Peg to - Hang Suspicions On--A Waiting Game--A Trick at the Start--In the Air - With a Cobra--A Scientific Fact--Ping On the Wrong Track--Facing a - Traitor--Meeting the Hindoo--A Bit of a Backset - - - - -MOTOR STORIES - -THRILLING ADVENTURE MOTOR FICTION - -NEW YORK, August 28, 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. - - - - -SAVED BY A FALLING TREE. - - -Winter still reigned, and Louis and Allen Wright were snowshoeing back -to the lumber camp where they worked. - -It was a small camp upon the Tobago River, near the Ottawa, close to -the border between the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and the pine -had for the most part been cut long ago. There was a little pine left, -however, with a good deal of pulp wood and mixed timber to be got out, -and the foreman had sent the boys to look over a patch of spruce about -twelve miles from the shanty. They were returning with their axes upon -the frozen Tobago River, which formed a convenient roadway through the -tangled and snowy Canadian forest. - -The boys were not professional "lumber jacks," but they were both -deeply desirous of acquiring a couple of hundred dollars to cover the -expenses of a course in mining engineering, and that winter high wages -were being offered for even inexperienced men in the lumber camps. - -As they were country-bred youths, they took to the work naturally, and -Allen, although he had not yet come to his full strength, speedily -developed a surprising dexterity with the axe. He could "lay" a tree -within a few inches of where he desired it to fall, and had been the -instrument of victory several times in lumbering matches with rival -camps. - -It was late in February and still bitterly cold, but the deep snow -was packing and softening. In a few weeks the ice might break up, and -mountains of logs were piled upon the river in readiness for the drive. - -About three miles before it reached the shanty the river broke into -rapids for about thirty rods before it fell tumultuously over a low -ridge of rocks. - -It was necessary to make a detour round this obstacle, and Allen went -ashore at a cautious distance from the water. Louis, however, remained -upon the ice, walking almost to the verge, and looking over into the -inky stream. - -"Be careful, Lou! That ice is getting rotten!" Allen shouted from the -bank. - -"It's as strong as rock. Look!" answered Louis, jumping in his rackets -with a heavy thud upon the snow. - -He proved the reverse of what he intended. There was a dull cracking -under the snow and a startled shout from the reckless snowshoer. A -great cake of ice broke off, drifting away, with Louis standing on it. -He balanced unsteadily for a moment, staggered, and plunged off with a -terrified yell, going clean out of sight under the icy water. - -The cake of ice drifted over the rapids and broke up. Allen had -scarcely time to move before his brother reappeared, struggling feebly, -and evidently almost paralyzed by the cold immersion. By good luck he -managed to catch the top of a projecting rock at the head of the fall, -and there he clung, driven against the rock by the force of the current. - -"Hold on a minute, Lou! I'll get you out!" screamed Allen frantically. -Louis turned a blue face toward him, without answering. - -Allen tore and kicked off his snowshoes, and was on the point of -plunging into the water; but common sense returned to him in time. -Louis was in the middle of the stream, thirty feet away. Allen could -never reach him through that swift, deep current, and if he could, he -would be so chilled as to be incapable of giving any sort of help. - -But the boy certainly could not hold on long in his present position, -and should he let go he would be swept over the rapids and under the -ice at the foot. His life hung on seconds. - -Allen could think of no plan. He shouted encouraging words without -knowing what he said, while his eyes roved desperately up and down the -snowy shores in search of some inspiration. - -If he had only a rope, or anything to make a bridge--and then his eye -fell upon a tall, dead pine "stub," barkless and almost branchless, -standing a few feet back from the stream. - -It was long enough to reach to the imperiled youth, if it could be -felled so accurately as to lie close beside him. But a foot or two -above or below him would make it useless, and to aim too closely would -be to run a deadly risk of crushing the boy under the falling trunk. - -By a queer vagary of his excited brain he remembered William Tell -and the apple. He would have to perform a somewhat similar feat of -marksmanship; but it was the only chance that he could think of. He -plunged through the snow for his axe, wallowed back to the dead stub, -and began to chop. - -In the need for action his nerves grew suddenly cool. The feat was a -more delicate one than he had ever attempted, and his brother's life -hung upon his steadiness of nerve and muscle. But he cut quietly and -without haste. The great yellow chips flew, and a wide notch grew in -the trunk. - -In a few moments he shifted to the other side, cut another notch, and -sighted for the probable direction of the fall of the stub. He could -not tell how the roots held. He would have to leave that important -factor to chance, but he cut, now delicately, now strongly, till the -tremor through the axe handle told that the trunk was growing unsteady. - -It was a critical moment. He sighted again most carefully, and cut out -a few small chips here and there. The stub tottered. It was standing -poised upon a thin edge of uncut wood, and he stood behind it and -pushed, cautiously, and then heavily. - -The tall trunk wavered, and the fibres snapped loudly. It hesitated, -bowed, and Allen leaped away from the butt. Down came the pine, roaring -through the air. - -It crashed into the water with a mighty wave and splash that hid boy -and rock. Allen had a moment of horrified belief that his brother had -been crushed under it. A moment later he saw that Louis was unhurt. -But the tree had actually grazed the rock. It had fallen within eight -inches of the boy's body. - -It made a perfect bridge as it lay, but in his nervous reaction Allen -was almost too shaky to walk the trunk and pull his brother out. He -did it, although how he got him to land he never quite knew. Louis was -almost unconscious, and his wet clothes froze instantly into a mass of -ice. - -He would certainly have lapsed into sleep and died, but Allen piled the -pine chips about the stump and had a fire blazing in a few seconds. The -dry stump burned like pitch, producing a furnace-like heat; and Allen -partly undressed his brother and rubbed him hard with snow. Under this -heroic treatment Louis came back to painful consciousness, and the -fierce heat from the pine did the rest. But it was several hours before -he was able to resume the tramp, and it was dark when they reached the -shanty. - - - - -How They Captured the Python. - - -Hamburg, as many know, is the great headquarters of the trade in wild -animals for menageries and "zoos." To Hamburg are shipped lions, -elephants, and giraffes, captured in South and East Africa, tigers from -India, jaguars and tapirs from South America, gorillas from the Congo, -orang-outangs from Borneo, and, in fact, about every kind of beast, -bird, and reptile from all quarters of the globe. - -The warehouses of the two principal firms engaged in this business are -interesting places to visit after the arrival of a "beast ship," with -news of unusually large specimens of animal life. - -The narrator made such a visit some months ago on the arrival of a -remarkably large, brilliantly marked python, shipped from Padang, -Sumatra. This colubrine giant is more than thirty feet in length, and -was bespoken by the Austrian government for a zoo at Budapest. - -But the story of its capture is even more interesting than the huge -creature itself, for this python had fallen a victim to its fondness -for the notes of a violin. - -There is a telegraph line extending across Sumatra, from Padang, -connecting that port, by means of submarine cables, with Batavia, and -Singapore. - -Along this line of land wire are a number of interior stations. One -of these, called Pali-lo-pom, has been in charge of an operator -named Carlos Gambrino, a mestizo from Batavia, Java, educated at the -industrial school there. - -The station is on a hillock in the valley of the River Kampar, and is -adjacent to dense forest, jungle, and a long morass. It is a solitary -little place, consisting merely of four or five thatched huts, elevated -on posts to a height of six feet from the ground, to be more secure -from noxious insects, reptiles, and wild beasts. - -As a general rule Gambrino has little enough to do, except listen to -the monotonous ticking of the instrument. For solace and company, -therefore, he frequently had recourse to his violin. - -Thatched houses on posts in Sumatra are not commonly supplied with -glass windows; but Gambrino had afforded himself the luxury of a -two-pane sash, set to slide in an aperture in the side wall of his hut, -and some five or six months ago, during the wet season, he was sitting -at this window one afternoon, as he played his violin, when he saw the -head of a large serpent rise out of the high grass, at a distance of -seventy or eighty yards. - -His first impulse was to get his carbine and try to shoot the monster, -for he saw that it was a very large python, and not a desirable -neighbor. But something in the attitude of the reptile led him to -surmise that it had raised itself to hear the violin, and he passed at -once to a lively air. - -As long as he continued playing the python remained there, apparently -motionless; but when he ceased it drew its head down, and he saw -nothing more of it that day, although he went out with his gun to look -for it. - -Nearly a fortnight passed, and the incident had gone from his -mind--for large snakes are not uncommon in Sumatra--when one night, as -he was playing the violin to some native acquaintances who had come to -the hut, they heard the sounds made by a large snake sliding across the -bamboo platform or floor of the little veranda. On looking out with a -light, one of the party saw a huge mottled python gliding away. - -But it was not until the reptile appeared a third time, raising its -head near his window, that the telegrapher became certain that it was -really his violin which attracted it. - -In the meantime the operator at Padang, with whom Gambrino held daily -conversations by wire, had told him that the German agent of a Hamburg -house at that port would pay ten pounds, English money, for such a -python as he described. - -Gambrino began scheming to capture the reptile. In one of the huts at -the station there was stored a quantity of fibre rope, such as is used -in Sumatra for bridging small rivers and ravines. - -Gambrino contrived three large nooses from this rope, which he elevated -horizontally, on bamboo poles, to the height of his window, and carried -the drawing ends of the nooses inside the hut. - -This was done after the operator had ascertained that at times the -snake would come about the house and raise its head as if it heard the -violin. - -Some time later the python was beguiled by the music into raising its -head inside one of the nooses, which a native, who was on the watch -while Gambrino played, instantly jerked tight. - -What followed was exciting. The reptile resented the trick with vigor, -and showed itself possessed of far more strength than they had expected. - -The rope had been made fast to a beam inside, and the snake nearly -pulled the entire structure down, making it rock and creak in a way -that caused Gambrino and his native ally to leap to the ground in haste -from a back entrance. The reptile coiled its body about the posts and -pulled desperately to break away. Altogether, it was a wild night at -this little remote telegraph station. - -The next morning a crowd of natives collected; and as the python had by -this time exhausted itself, they contrived to hoist its head as high as -the roof of the hut and to secure its tail. - -It was then lowered into a molasses hogshead, which was covered over -and trussed up securely with ropes. - -In this condition the python was drawn to Padang on a bullock cart. It -is said to weigh more than four hundred pounds. - - - - -ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY. - - -All of us who were singing "On the Road to Mandalay" a few years -ago--and there were mighty few of us who let it alone vocally--will -be a bit surprised to be informed that Rangoon, where the dawn comes -up like thunder and other interesting things happen, looks to the -approaching tourist like an up-to-date American business centre. - -In fact, according to a writer, the capital of Burma has many American -towns beat a mile in the civic improvement line. "Its electric-lighted -highways, all broad, neatly paved and well drained; its brilliantly -illuminated boulevards, with rows of graceful, well-trimmed trees -bordering both sides; its blocks of buildings, all laid out after a -carefully considered plan, showing little of architectural beauty but -much of austere regularity, astonish the stranger. - -"When you take into consideration the fact that Rangoon has a system -of parks and parkways with beautiful shade trees, choice flowers, -and crystal lakes, artificial and natural, dotted about them, and -that it provides breathing spaces for people living in congested -districts, you cannot but form a good idea of the aliveness of the -municipal corporation. A good horse-carriage service, now being rapidly -superseded by the trolley, makes transportation easy and cheap. The -city has provided splendid schools and playgrounds. Yet sixty years ago -Rangoon was a mere fishing village." - -One item from Mr. Kipling's picture of Rangoon referred to the -elephants hauling teakwood in "the slushy, squdgy creek." Well, they -are still at it, working with wonderful precision and an apparent -sense of responsibility. They don't try to soldier, never get in one -another's way or mixed up with the machinery, no matter how cramped -they may be for room. - -Some of them take the teak logs which have been floated down the river -and tow them ashore. Then they drag them to the sawmills, either -rolling them with one foot while they walk on three, pushing them with -their tusks, or pulling them with a chain attached to a breast strap. - -Inside the mill an elephant selects a log, picks it out with his tusks, -kicks it up to the saw with his toes, then tying his trunk in a kind of -knot around the log, holds it against the teeth of the saw while it is -made into boards, pushing aside the outside slabs as they are cut off -and adjusting the log to make boards of the proper thickness. - -Then he piles the boards up neatly, standing off to examine the effect, -and if he finds a board out of line carefully adjusting it. Sometimes a -pair of elephants working together exchange peculiar grunts, as if they -were giving and receiving directions. - -They are used in Burma for various purposes. The young calves are -ridden like horses, with a soft pad and stirrups. They are found -especially valuable in bad country, and may be ridden fifty or sixty -miles a day. A tap on the side of the head, a slight pressure of the -knee, or a word whispered in the ear is all that is required to guide -them. - -It is not at all a difficult matter for an elephant in prime condition -to outrun a fast horse, but they cannot jump. A deep ditch only six or -seven feet wide is impassable to them. - -Working elephants are in their prime when they are twenty-five years -old. They are expensive to feed, it being declared in Rangoon that an -elephant eats a quarter of his weight in feed every day. An average -day's food for one is certainly eight hundred pounds. - -Socially Burma is unlike other Oriental countries. Men and women--even -young men and women--walk together in the streets and mingle in social -gatherings. Courtship always precedes the marriage. - -The Burmans are ardent lovers, and when a young man and woman find that -their parents do not approve of the match they usually repair to the -woods and return after a day or two as man and wife, sure of parental -forgiveness. Marriage among Burmans is an extremely simple affair. -The only ceremony performed is the eating together out of the same -bowl of rice. Usually a feast is given to the relatives and friends -of the families concerned. No sacrifices are offered, no services are -performed. - -The Burman wears a smile on his countenance, laughs and looks upon -life through rose-colored spectacles. Both the women and the men -wear rich-hued silken clothes. But while there is gayety there is no -indecorum or impropriety. - -For women Burma is a little heaven on earth, if we are to believe -enthusiastic writers. Mrs. Burman is ubiquitous. Jewelry stores -containing untold wealth in pearls, rubies, and other gems are in -charge of women. Markets and fruit stalls are run by women. - -At the railroad station a woman sells you the tickets and another one -is ready to take dictation and to do your type-writing. Not long ago a -woman stockbroker died leaving a fortune which she had made herself. -But the Burmese woman does not let business interfere with motherhood. -She runs the shop with one hand and the children with the other. - -When she marries the woman retains her own name, and any property -she may have inherited or acquired. When divorced she is expected to -support her children, but this is no hardship for her, since she cared -for them when she lived with her husband. The Burmese child rarely sees -the father, but is brought up to look to its mother for guidance and -support. - -The Burmese woman takes a great interest in public affairs, and the -portals of the University of Rangoon have been open to her for a number -of years. Her intelligence, her beauty, her freedom from racial caste -prejudice, all make her an acceptable bride in the eyes of foreigners -who go to Burma. - -Marriage with a foreigner means as a rule that she can live in plenty -and comfort without working. Naturally she looks upon such a marriage -with favor. The Burmans are of Mongolian origin, and consequently -the Chinese and Burmese marriage produces a virile race. With this -exception the intermixture of races in Burma has not proved desirable. - -This is especially so in case of marriages between Europeans and -Burmans. The offspring of such marriages are termed Eurasians, who -unfortunately seem to be looked down upon both by full-blooded -Europeans and Burmans. - -Almost as difficult a problem as that of the Eurasian is the tobacco -problem in Burma. Men, women, and children smoke. The cheroot at -which they almost incessantly puff is eighteen inches long and about -a quarter of an inch in diameter. It is wrapped in a banana leaf, and -its mouthpiece consists of bamboo. The Burman tobacco is so strong that -only one-fourth of the filling of the cheroot consists of tobacco. The -balance is a mixture of innocuous herbs. - -If possible the Burman exceeds other Asiatics in hospitality. He -is par excellence the host of Asia. Any stranger may stroll into a -Burman dwelling and demand hospitality for at least three days. No -remuneration is expected. Opposite a Burmese house one usually finds -earthen pots of water placed for the use of the traveler, under a roof -especially made to shelter the water from the hot rays of the tropical -sun. These pots are tightly covered with earthen lids, which protect -the water from dirt and dust. - -The social life of the Burmans is interesting in the extreme. They -indulge in boxing matches, pony, bullock, and boat races, cock -fighting, splitting cocoanuts, snake charming, and juggling. Chess and -dominoes are the favorite games. Theatres are in great vogue. The plot -of the play is usually somewhat monotonous, for almost invariably the -hero is a prince of the blood royal, the heroine is a princess, and the -rustics from the villages figure as clowns and jesters. - -The dancing, though different from what it is in the Occident, is -not without interest to a Westerner. The motions of the dancers are -graceful and spry. Burman amusements last days and nights. The best -known secular festival is the pwe. - -The entertainment is melodramatic. Comedy and tragedy are introduced, -music and dancing are included. The plot of the play is flimsy. The -performance includes tricks of clowns who are masters of their art and -intensely amusing. The musical instruments in the orchestra consist of -a circle of drums, gongs, trumpets, and wooden clappers, and the music -out-Wagners Wagner in its deafening noise. - -Many religious festivals are celebrated. Probably the occasion when -presents are distributed to the priests is the most interesting. The -people bring their presents and pile them up outside an alley made of -bamboo latticework. One brings candles, another matches, another brass -vessels, etc., as though some previous arrangement had been made as to -just what each one shall give. - -For the most part the donors are women, and all of them are dressed in -their best. The monks, attended by a boy carrying a large basket, pass -down the bamboo alley in single file, and each basket is filled with -presents. A trio of masqueraders with faces blackened, dancing to comic -music, follows the procession. Anything that has not been distributed -to the priests is gathered up by them. - - - - -LATEST ISSUES - - -BUFFALO BILL STORIES - -The most original stories of Western adventure. The only weekly -containing the adventures of the famous Buffalo Bill. =High art colored -covers.= =Thirty-two big pages.= =Price, 5 cents.= - - 425--Buffalo Bill's Balloon Escape; or, Out of the Grip of the Great - Swamp. - - 426--Buffalo Bill and the Guerrillas; or, The Flower Girl of San - Felipe. - - 427--Buffalo Bill's Border War; or, The Mexican Vendetta. - - 428--Buffalo Bill's Mexican Mix-up; or, The Bullfighter's Defiance. - - 429--Buffalo Bill and the Gamecock; or, The Red Trail on the Canadian. - - 430--Buffalo Bill and the Cheyenne Raiders; or, The Spurs of the - Gamecock. - - 431--Buffalo Bill's Whirlwind Finish; or, The Gamecock Wins. - - 432--Buffalo Bill's Santa Fe Secret; or, The Brave of Taos. - - 433--Buffalo Bill and the Taos Terror; or, The Rites of the Red - Estufa. - - 434--Buffalo Bill's Bracelet of Gold; or, The Hidden Death. - - 435--Buffalo Bill and the Border Baron; or, The Cattle King of No - Man's Land. - - -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.= - - 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. - - 348--Checked Through to Mars; or, Adventures in Other Worlds. By - Weldon J. Cobb. - - 349--Fighting the Cowards; or, Among the Georgia Moonshiners. By - Harrie Irving Hancock. - - 350--The Mud River Boys; or, The Fight for Penlow's Mill. By John L. - Douglas. - - 351--Grit and Wit; or, Two of a Kind. 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.= - - 16--Motor Matt's Quest; or, Three Chums in Strange Waters. - - 17--Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos. - - 18--Motor Matt in Brazil; or, Under the Amazon. - - 19--Motor Matt's Defiance; or, Around the Horn. - - 20--Motor Matt Makes Good; or, Another Victory for the Motor Boys. - - 21--Motor Matt's Launch; or, A Friend in Need. - - 22--Motor Matt's Enemies; or, A Struggle for the Right. - - 23--Motor Matt's Prize; or, The Pluck That Wins. - - 24--Motor Matt on the Wing; or, Flying for Fame and Fortune. - - 25--Motor Matt's Reverse; or, Caught in a Losing Game. - - 26--Motor Matt's "Make or Break"; or, Advancing the Spark of Friendship. - - 27--Motor Matt's Engagement; or, On the Road With a Show. - - 28--Motor Matt's "Short Circuit"; or, The Mahout's Vow. - - 29--Motor Matt's Make-up; or, Playing a New Rôle. - - -_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. - -Page 3, changed "an an" to "as an" in "white as an American." - -Page 10, changed "me" to "we" in "we were going after Archie" - -Page 18, corrected typo "MsGlory" in "McGlory was out of the car." - -Page 22, changed "of" to "off" in "as he started off." - -Page 27, corrected typo "metoowah" in "Awake, _meetoowah_!" - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Motor Matt's Engagement, by Stanley R. 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