Stanley R. Matthews

“ The shaft is safe enough; if you talk like this, the men will all be afraid of it, and refuse to work. I shall take Nina there myself to-morrow," said Carl angrily.
The young man's face flushed, but he controlled himself, and answered coldly:
"I spoke the truth; the shaft is not safe, and unless more timber is put in to support the roof, you will soon have proof that I am right. I only hope that no lives will be lost."
"Pooh! You are a coward. I will show you to-morrow how little faith I put in your words." ”

“ The passengers who were looking out from that side of the car had a vision of a small Chinaman in the air, pigtail flying. The next instant the Chinaman touched ground, but found it moving too fast for a secure foothold. Ping bounded into the air again, his slouch hat going in one direction, his sandals in another, and he himself describing what is technically known as a parabola. The Le Bons—the best "kinkers" in the Big Consolidated—could not have twisted themselves into more fantastic shapes than did Ping during that stunt of ground-and-lofty tumbling. ”

“ Did you see me coming back from the oak opening?"
"Did we?" echoed Twomley, putting his monocle in his eyes. "By Jove, I should say we did. Fancy! You up aloft, sailing as nice as you please with Miss Manners beside you, and Burton, McGlory, and me tramping along the road."
"What was the matter?" asked Matt.
"Matter?" fumed Burton. "What's the matter when you set out in an automobile and don't arrive where you're going? The motor bucked, three miles out of Grand Rapids, and you sailed right along and never paid any attention to us. ”

“ Matt answered, "and then, bright and early to-morrow morning, we begin crating the machine for shipment."
"Blamed if I don't sort of hate to see the machine go," murmured McGlory. "Many a hair-raising old trip you've had in the Comet, pard, with me below lookin' up at you and almost kicking the bucket with heart failure! Mainy a thriller the machine has given us, and—well, I reckon it's done some good, too."
"That's the best part of it, Joe," said the king of the motor boys. ”

“ By the light of his own lantern he saw that some of the beams were bent; all seemed weighted to their utmost capacity, and he could not but own to himself that Fred Chase was right. He involuntarily shuddered as, in passing one large post, a slight crackling sound was heard; but it was not repeated, and he went on, determined to again make light of the matter.
"You see, I am not afraid of your shaft," he said sneeringly, as he reached the spot where the two men were standing with the now loaded car beside them.
"Only cowards need boast of their bravery," said Fred sternly. ”

“ They were hoping to catch Wily before he could board a car.
But in this they were disappointed. A car was moving off in the direction of town, and all their frantic yells and gestures were powerless to secure the attention of the conductor.
"It'll be fifteen minutes before there's another car," panted Burton, "and by that time the 'barker' will be—the deuce only knows where. It's a cinch, Matt, that he's scared, and is running away. If there was an automobile handy, we could overhaul the car." Burton looked in every direction. ”

“ You have saved me again, Motor Matt, but what is the use of it all if I can't leave this country and go to England, or back to India? Ben Ali will find me again."
"You are through with him," said Matt, "just as I told you. A man has come from the British legation in Washington to get you and send you away by the first boat leaving New York."
"The man who came to Mrs. Chadwick's in Lafayette said the same thing," answered the girl wearily. "It seems as though there is no escaping Ben Ali." ”

“ Matt gave Ben Ali scant time to come to a conclusion. Quick work was now in order, and the Comet ducked downward and slid through the air with slowing motor. Guided by a true, steady hand, the wheels brushed the roadway, then began to turn as the weight of the machine rested more heavily upon them. A short run of a dozen feet brought the Comet to a stop. ”

“ A familiar humming drew Motor Matt's attention. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a motor-cycle spinning along the road from the direction of Grand Rapids. A young fellow of nineteen or twenty was in the saddle.
"There's something that will do—if we can borrow it," said Matt, and jumped into the road and waved his hands.
The motorcycle came to a stop.
"Are you flagging me?" asked the driver of the machine.
"Yes," said Matt hurriedly. "I want to overhaul the street car that just left here. There's a man aboard that we've got to catch. Will you let me take your motorcycle?" ”

“ Ping had felt certain that his move in touching off the Roman candle had not been seen. It was a disagreeable surprise to him, therefore, when Bill Wily told Carl just who was responsible for the fireworks.
Ping and Carl were trying hard to be pards. Their hearts were not in the attempt, for deep in the spirit of each one slumbered a latent animosity against the other. But they had to try to fraternize. Motor Matt had issued an edict to the effect that, if they did not become pards, he and McGlory would cut them out of the motor boys' combination. ”

“ Matt flushed.
"Why," said he, "this is all talk, as yet, Twomley."
"It's the sort of talk, my lad, that precedes notable achievements. Nine-tenths of all the great work that's done owes more to the head than to the hands. What about the automobile?"
"That will be here at eight o'clock in the morning."
"You even thought of that! I suppose I'll have to be catching a car for town."
Twomley got up and flung away the remains of a cigarette.
"You'd better stay here," suggested Matt. "There's an extra cot behind the calliope, and I'm sure Burton will give you your breakfast in the morning." ”

“ If the Hindoo ever gets foot-loose, I wouldn't stand in Wily's shoes for a bushel of pesos."
"To my mind," said Matt, "the fact that Dhondaram was in that house proves the truth of Wily's story. Well, true or false, my whole plan is built up on what the 'barker' told us. We're to assume that Ben Ali will be in that oak opening, five miles from Grand Rapids on the Elgin road."
"Who knows whether there's an opening there or not?" asked Burton.
When the showman once lost confidence in a man, he put no trust in anything the man might do or say. ”

“ When the Comet has landed in the opening, then it will be Ben Ali and me for it—with an automobile full of reinforcements rushing to the scene."
"It sounds good," said McGlory thoughtfully.
"Here's something," observed Twomley, who had a clear head and a quick brain. "Ben Ali can think for himself. Won't he think it queer that Dhondaram is navigating the flying machine? ”

“ Much against his will, he climbed into the runabout.
"My word!" cried Twomley. "You seem to have discovered a clue of some sort. Who's the Chinaman?"
"Never mind that, now," returned Barton. "Come with us, Twomley, and we'll tell you as we go along."
"Lead off, Ping," ordered McGlory.
Carl, very much out of temper, shook his fist at Burton, and then at Ping. Following this, he turned the rig the other way and rode moodily back toward the show grounds.
Ping, meanwhile, had climbed the bank, and was leading the party of investigators through the woods in the direction of the crossroad. ”

“ The rough treatment he had received brought scowls to the faces of McGlory and Burton.
"That Hindoo might have knifed you, and all on account of Wily there!" breathed the showman.
"But he didn't," returned Matt, "and that was on account of Wily, too. Keep that in mind, Burton."
"Your head, pard," said the cowboy solicitously. "You've had a couple of good hard raps, and I'll bet that block of yours feels as big as a barrel."
"I'm like Twomley," smiled Matt, "and couldn't expect to come through such a tussle without a few marks. But it's nothing serious. ”

“ Reginald Pierce Twomley, who represents the British ambassador, wears a monocle, and who, in a passage at arms with Dhondaram, proves himself a man in McGlory's eyes and a near-pard.
Boss Burton, manager and proprietor of the "Big Consolidated," who, in his usual manner, forms hasty conclusions, discovers his errors, and shows no sign of repentance.
The Bearded Lady, the Armless Wonder, the Elastic Skin Man, the Zulu chief and the Ossified Man, all freaks in the side-show tent, who appear briefly but brilliantly in the light of a Roman candle. ”

“ There was no dodging such an order from the proprietor of the show, and the folded sheet was handed over.
Burton looked at the letter. While he was doing so, Wily Bill made a desperate grab for it. The showman was too quick for the "barker," and jerked the sheet out of reach.
"That's your game, is it?" growled Burton. "Go back to your job, Wily. Come to me after the show, and we'll talk this over. I don't like the way you're acting in this matter, and if you know when you're well off, you'll put your foot on the soft pedal and keep it there. Not a word! Clear out!" ”

“ Slowly the Comet gathered headway. Faster and faster it went, leaving the canvasmen behind; then, like a great bird, it soared into the air, followed by wild cheering.
A vagrant puff of wind struck the planes, just over the concert garden, and only quick work on the part of the intrepid young motorist averted a disaster. Gathering headway under the impetus of the thrashing propeller, the aëroplane darted upward into the blue and began reaching out toward the city.
Matt, while manipulating the aëroplane, had little time for sights and scenes below him. ”

“ For a man traveling from place to place constantly, as was Burton, such a move could not be made without great sacrifices.
It was deemed better, therefore, to have Dhondaram brought to book for the lesser crime committed in the house of the green shutters. "Assault with murderous intent" was the charge, and a light sentence followed.
Bill Wily, agreeably to promises given him, was released. Whether he profited by his experience or not, Motor Matt never afterward discovered. Such a lesson as he had had, however, should have been enough for any man. ”

“ You've been meeting Dhondaram, and helping him, when you knew he had been a prisoner of Burton's and had escaped from the show train between Jackson and Kalamazoo. If a person helps a fugitive of the law to escape, he is guilty of a crime and can be punished for it. ”

“ We want light while we run out this trail of soot."
Twomley and Burton unfastened the windows and pushed back the blinds on their screeching hinges. The sunlight, drifting into the room, brought out the trail with weird distinctness.
"Maybe the Chinaman blundered into the soot and left the trail," hazarded Burton.
"My no makee tlail," declared Ping. "No touchee soot."
"There's only one of the chink, anyhow, pards," said McGlory, "and at least two pairs of feet walked through that pile of black stuff. ”

“ Twomley," returned Burton. "Maybe it's not so incredible as you seem to think."
"It was written by Ben Ali," said the attaché.
"That tinhorn!" exclaimed McGlory. "I thought we'd cut him out of our herd altogether. Beats creation how he keeps bobbing up."
"Who's it for?" spoke up Matt. "Has Bill Wily any right to it?"
"The name of Wily doesn't appear anywhere in the writing," answered Twomley. "In fact, the letter's addressed to a fellow named Dhondaram."
Here was another hot shot. Both McGlory and Matt were brought excitedly to their feet. ”

“ Dhondaram, I make no doubt, is highly gifted, but will Ben Ali credit him with skill enough to operate the aëroplane?"
"He may not," admitted Matt; "still, if Ben Ali sees the machine, and a man in it who looks like Dhondaram, even if Ben Ali doubts he'll hold his ground in order to make sure. Ben Ali won't run from one man. Besides, he's expecting Dhondaram. That's a weighty point."
"I believe it will work," said Twomley. "At any rate, it will hold Ben Ali in the opening until the automobile has a chance to come close. Then the scoundrel is ours, no matter what he tries to do. ”

“ With Ben Ali was a young lady who was called Haidee. Ben Ali was a rotter—the worst case of thug that ever came out of the Bombay presidency—and he had a powerful rajah for a brother. Ben Ali took care of the rajah's elephant herd. The rajah's sister married one Lionel Manners. Manners died, his wife perished by the infernal practice of suttee—even now secretly practised in spite of the English government—and Ben Ali left India with Manners' only daughter, Margaret. The girl known as Haidee was in reality Margaret Manners. Am I correct?"
Matt nodded. ”

“ A good chum to tie to—a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
Carl Pretzel, an old chum who flags Motor Matt and more trouble than he can manage, at about the same time. In the rôle of detective, he makes many blunders, wise and otherwise, finding success only to wonder how he did it.
Ping, the Chinese boy.
Ben Ali, the Hindoo hypnotist and elephant trainer, who executes a master-stroke in the matter of his niece, Margaret Manners, and finds that a letter in Hindoostanee can sometimes prove a boomerang. ”

“ The footsteps and the voices faded away into the upper regions of the building.
"Now," muttered Wily, "we might be able to dodge through the front door. They're all upstairs."
Dhondaram shook his head.
"The door in the floor, sahib, cannot be found," he whispered reassuringly. "The feringhis will not discover us. Be patient."
Presently Matt heard his friends returning to the [Pg 17] lower floor, heard them enter the kitchen, heard the sound of lifted windows and opening blinds, marked the slow and steady advance from the kitchen into the hall, and along the hall to a point under the stairs. ”

“ Twomley nodded affirmatively.
"He speaks the truth," he averred. "A man who can do what Ben Ali has done is a rogue of the first water."
"There's a way to get at him," said Matt confidently. "Here, in a thickly populated country, that scoundrel can't have things his own way."
"He's takin' chances," put in Wily, "but that's his stock in trade—takin' chances an' throwin' in a little hypnotism now an' then. Why he's so particular about meetin' Dhondaram is what gets me."
"He needs money," said Burton sarcastically, "and he has to run a few risks to get it." ”

“ With a black scowl, and a look at Carl that boded him no good, Wily Bill turned on his heel and made his way back to the side show.
CHAPTER III. THE MAN FROM WASHINGTON.
"Sufferin' hurricanes, what a blow!" remarked Joe McGlory. "What good's a flying machine, pard, when a spell of weather puts it down and out? The Comet's a back number in a hatful of wind."
"Hatful!" repeated Motor Matt. "If this breeze isn't doing fifty miles an hour I'm no hand at guessing." ”

“ CHAPTER XIII. MOTOR CAR AND AEROPLANE.
It was about nine o'clock in the evening when Matt was awakened by the arrival of McGlory and Twomley. Burton, curious and eager, came into the calliope tent with them.
"I'll tell you what my plan is," said Matt, sitting up on the edge of the cot, "and then you can all go to bed and get a good night's rest. Ben Ali is a crafty scoundrel, and it is necessary for us to capture him in order to find out what he has done with Miss Manners." ”