Stanley R. Matthews

“ Under Motor Matt's skilful guidance the Red Flier ran purring along the dangerous road. Half a mile brought the car and its passengers to the end of the cliff and the chasm, and they whirled out into level country, covered with brush and trees.
"There's a light ahead, mates!" announced Ferral, leaning over the back of the front seat, and pointing. "It's on the port side, too, and that agrees with the instructions I got on leaving Lamy. That's La Vita Place, all right enough, and Ralph's at home if that light is any indication." ”

“ Is there a boy who has not longed to possess one of these swift little machines that scud about the roads everywhere throughout the United States? Is there a boy, therefore, who will not be intensely interested in the adventures of "Motor Matt," as he is familiarly called by his comrades? ”

“ Ferral stepped forward as though he would pass through the opening, but Matt caught his arm and held him back.
"Don't go down there now, Ferral," said he. "When Sercomb comes we want him to find us here. He doesn't guess that I'm next to what he's done to-night, and none of his confederates know it. If we keep mum, the knowledge may do us a lot of good. If we try to face him down with it, we'll only show him our hands without accomplishing anything."
"The sneaking lubber!" growled Ferral. "Why, he berthed us in this room so he and his mates could sneak in on us while we were asleep. ”

“ Ferral was able to twist his head around and keep track of the gallant race the runabout was making. He must have been astounded to see the white car, with Matt and the Hindu, trailing after him.
"You're coming, mate!" he yelled. "Let 'er out for all she's worth! The brink of the precipice is right ahead!"
Matt was aware of their nearness to the abyss. A few rods farther and they would be at the turn of the road. The touring-car, of course, being lashed to run on a straight line, would plunge to destruction unless halted.
With a final spurt, Matt drove the runabout abreast of the Red Flier. ”

“ Ferral turned away and looked down into the blackness of the gulch. He faced about, presently, and went on:
"But it wasn't Uncle Jack's money that brought me. Now, when it's too late, I'm trying to do the right thing—and to make up for what I ought to have done and didn't do in the past. A fellow like me is thoughtless. He never understands where he's failed in his duty till a blow like this brings it home to him. He's the only relative Ralph and I had left, and I've acted like a misbemannered Sou'wegian. ”

“ If I go any place, it will be to Lamy after an officer. I'll raise a jolly big row with that gang at La Vita Place, scuttle 'em!"
Tippoo stared blankly at Ferral.
"Ralph sahib order Dick sahib away?" repeated the Hindu, as though he scarcely believed his ears.
"He said he had found Uncle Jack's remains, and the will, and that the will left everything to him, and he ordered me and my mates away."
Tippoo bent forward and gripped his forehead.
"Joot baht, joot baht!" he mumbled.
"Blast his lingo!" growled Ferral. "It takes Uncle Jack to get the lay of him." ”

“ Just then there were steps in the hall, and Ferral entered the room, followed by Matt and Carl. Sercomb and his guilty associates jumped to their feet.
"Why—why, Dick!" exclaimed Sercomb, staring.
"Yes, you cannibal!" shouted Ferral; "it's Dick, but no thanks to you and your gang of pirates that I'm here, alive and kicking. Now, Mings, confound you, you and Packard have got a chance to tell me whether my dear cousin put you up to that job over toward the cliffs."
"We've got a chance to run you off the place, that's what we've got," answered Mings. ”

“ After putting the bolt upon the door and locking it—he already had the spark-plug in his pocket—he felt easier, and returned unmolested to the house.
While he was gone, Ferral and Carl had lighted a large lamp in the parlor and drawn the shades at the windows. They were seated comfortably in easy chairs, eating sandwiches of dried beef and bread.
"There's your snack, mate," cried Ferral, pointing to a plate on the table. "Better get on the outside of it. We may have a lively time, and it's just as well to prepare ourselves for whatever is going to happen." ”

“ Yet, with no hand on the steering-wheel, the white car made the dangerous turn out of the gully into the main road with the utmost ease, and was now continuing on between the foot of the cliff and the brink of the chasm with a steadiness that was—well, almost hair-raising. ”

“ There isn't a thing in a speed contest to demoralize any one."
"You may be right, Matt," answered Mr. Lawton, "but it's hard to understand how Ralph could prove so false to all the Lawton ideals. His father was a gentleman in every sense of the word; and his mother—there was never a finer woman on earth."
After a short silence, Mr. Lawton turned once more to Matt.
"You are going to Santa Fé?" he queried.
"Yes," replied Matt, "and then to Denver. Mr. Tomlinson, who owns the Red Flier, has a place for me on the racing-staff of a firm of automobile-makers." ”

“ From his actions, Sercomb was nervous and excited. He kept walking from the road, looking toward the house and listening. He fancied, no doubt, just as Matt did, that the sound of the shot might have awakened the sleepers in the house.
However, this did not seem to have been the case.
Leaving one of the men to tinker with the tire, Sercomb took the other two and led them off through the grove. They passed within a yard of where Matt was crouching in the bushes, but their plans, whatever they were, had been settled, and they were doing no talking. ”

“ He owns his home now and under his broad hat hides red hair that will never be quite gray. He stands to-day with his children at the graves of the men who were with him in the army, who were with him in danger and suffering and success. ”

“ It was the hand of the common man that left home duties and home obligations to take up the greater cause of a nation. It was the triumph of simplicity—that silent legion which boasted little before the war, and never complained when hardship came. It was the triumph of all that is good in the American who lives to see the realization of dreams that were not bold enough to paint their horoscope when prophecy was loudest. ”

“ Lawton, and the rest followed him into a brushy covert in the grove.
On one side of the covert the brush had been cleared away to leave a smooth track for the car.
"The road," explained the old man, "leads directly to the gully. Tippoo, when he desired to make his round, had only to push up the door, take his ghostly ride, and then come back again."
"That idea of a crank in the machine for turning over the engine," said Matt, "is a mighty good one and ought to be patented."
"You may have it, Matt," said Mr. Lawton. "I am too old to bother with patents." ”

“ We're surrounded by enemies, Ferral, and you're the object of some sort of game they've got on. By lying low, perhaps we can get wise to it."
"Dot shpook auto has dook a hant in der pitzness," murmured Carl, flashing a fearful glance around. "I don'd like dot fery goot."
"This spook business will all be explained, Carl," said Matt, "and you'll find that flesh and blood is mixed up in the whole of it. That white runabout put a shot into one of the tires of that big touring-car, and no revolver ever went off without a human hand back of it. ”

“ Matt could see that they were rapidly overhauling the Red Flier, but, as he measured the gain, he knew they would have only a scant margin, at best, if they kept Ferral and the car from shooting into the chasm.
Flinging across the road a dozen feet behind the Flier, Matt brought the runabout closer on that side.
"I'm going to jump from this car to the other one, Tippoo," he shouted, "as soon as we get where I can do it. The minute I jump, you be sure and grab the steering-wheel and take care of the runabout. Understand?" ”

“ Matt was not interested in either of them just then, however, but was working out another problem in his mind.
"Carl," said he, "there's just a hint of a road leading out of the swale and off toward La Vita Place."
"Vell, vat oof dot?" asked Carl.
"Incidentally," answered Matt, "if one wanted to cut off a good big piece of that dangerous road, in going to Lamy, he could leave La Vita Place and follow the blind track through the swale and gully, coming out on the cliff trail just where the white runabout showed itself in front of us last night."
"Py shiminy!" exclaimed Carl. ”

“ Tippoo would take a trip abroad and watch events outside; then he would come back and report to me. When Matt jumped into the car, there on the cliff road, Tippoo was willing enough to be discovered, for he knew that I was planning to show myself very soon, anyhow. Tippoo, however, had orders from me to say nothing about what I was doing. Here," added Mr. Lawton, stepping off along the rock-walled room, "is the way the car left its quarters whenever it wanted to make its ghostly round." ”

“ In a pinch like that, it's the man that counts, not the machinery he happens to have along with him."
"Right-o! If there hadn't been a whole man in that white car, I might as well have been sewed in a hammock and slipped from a grating, with a hundred-pound shot at my pins."
Tippoo had halted the runabout and had watched with wide eyes while Matt made his hair-raising jump and stopped the big car. He now leaped down from the runabout and hurried to Ferral. ”

“ Once fix your mind on a man in the distance and a man who stands front face with danger night and day and never flinches; and it is wonderful how completely he will fill your sky. You imagine all manner of great things about him, dread all manner of terrible things, and end at last by loving him. ”

“ I and my mates are going in and eat, and if you want to avoid a smash, don't cross our hawser while we're doing it."
He turned from the door, and, followed by Matt and Carl, went into the sitting-room, where the table had been spread.
"Now we've got Sercomb's signals," said Ferral, dropping into a chair at the table, "and know where we all stand. What do you think of this new twist in the game, Matt?"
"Too bad it happened," answered Matt, as he and Carl likewise seated themselves. "We were just getting squared away to find out something worth while, Dick." ”

“ By walking, and staying on the cliffs, we can see both sides. The mystery of that white auto may be the key to the whole affair at La Vita Place. Now's the time to settle it. If we don't, Sercomb and those other fellows will."
"Right-o! We'll leave the Red Flier somewhere and tackle the game on foot."
"We can't leave the Red Flier alone," said Matt. "I was going to suggest, Dick, that we run the car off the road, between here and the cliffs, and that you stay with it. I've got to look out for the machine, you know. ”

“ Lawton laughed.
"Dick," said he, "this country is full of scoundrels who would not hesitate to get the better of an old man and his Hindu servant if there were a few dollars to be gained. Now, rascals of that ilk are superstitious, and I have kept them at bay by this harmless deception. This old, ill-favored shell of a house is supposed to be haunted, [Pg 28] for dark deeds are known to have taken place here. That auto is my own idea. Tippoo has made regular trips with it every night up the gully, around on the cliff road, through the cliff and so back to the house. ”

“ The three laid hold of Ferral so roughly that Matt immediately gave them his attention.
"Let up on that!" he cried, catching Sercomb and jerking him away just as he was about to strike Ferral with his clenched fist. "There's no need of pounding Dick."
"I'll pound you if you give me any of your lip!" answered Sercomb.
"The latch-string's out," answered Matt grimly. "Walk in."
At that moment Carl rolled out of the door.
"Vat's der rooction?" he tuned up, his eyes dancing over the squabble.
Carl was always as ready to fight as he was to eat, which is saying a good deal. ”

“ Ferral peered around him then looked over the shelf into the gulch, and up toward the top of the cliff.
"Well, sink me, if this ain't the queerest business I ever ran into! Some one must be hoaxin' us."
"Why should any one do that?" asked Matt. "What have they got to gain by such foolishness?"
"I'm over my head. There's no use staying here, though, overhaulin' our jaw-tackle. Let's go on to the ranch."
[Pg 5]
"That's the ticket! If what we've seen and can't understand means anything to us, it's bound to come out."
They started back.
"Are you on good terms with your cousin, Ralph Sercomb?" ”

“ Ferral could hardly believe his ears.
"You scoundrels wouldn't dare do a thing like that!" he cried.
"He says we wouldn't dare, Packard," mumbled Mings.
"He don't know us, eh, Mings?"
"Not—not even acquainted. Let's throw the old benzine-buggy against the rocks, and give Motor Matt a surprise."
"He'll be surprised, all right. Serve him right, too, for meddling with Sercomb's business."
"He's a meddler, that's sure. Dace Perry told me all about him."
"Dace Perry's a blamed good fellow. He's one of our set."
"Can you navigate the car to the road?" asked Packard.
"Navigate a dozen cars! ”

“ I discovered these passages for myself, and have passed many a lonely hour unearthing the mysteries of the place.
"Ralph, during one of his visits here, found the passage leading from the bushes to my sleeping-room, up-stairs. He knew of that, but none of the others.
"One thing I did not know about until now was Ralph's plan to have Mings meet Dick in Lamy, when he was coming here, and steal his money. It is hard to think one of my blood is a thief——"
"Uncle!" gasped Sercomb.
"Stand as you are, sir!" cried Mr. Lawton sternly. "Let us name the truth as it should be! ”