CHAPTER XI.
SURPRISING EVENTS.
"You're a daring youngster," remarked Red-whiskers, leering at theprisoner through the smoke of his cigar. "I suppose you think you'repretty smart, eh? Well, there are others. How did you find out we werehere?"
"I found out," said Matt. "I don't think it would help me any if I toldyou how."
"Don't get gay," admonished Red-whiskers, his eyes droppingsignificantly to the weapon on his knee. "Remember where you are, MotorMatt. You're interfering with a game that doesn't concern you in theleast. Poor policy, boy, poor policy. You ought to have sense enough toknow that without being told. Where did you meet young Lorry?"
"I'm not talking about Lorry or any one else," returned Matt. "Youmight as well let me go."
"All in due time, my lad, and after you satisfy our curiosity. Yourowed over from Tiburon?"
Matt was silent.
"That's what he must have done," spoke up Ross. "How could he have gothere if he hadn't rowed over? He didn't swim, that's sure, for he's goton all his clothes an' they're dry as a bone. I'll go out and see if Ican discover his boat."
Ross turned to the door, but Red-whiskers lifted a restraining hand.
"We'll look after the boat in due time, Ross," said he. "Just now we'llgive all our attention to Motor Matt. I'll trouble you for that trunkcheck, my lad," he finished, facing the prisoner once more.
Matt, knowing it would be worse than useless to resist, drew the checkfrom his pocket and tossed it to Red-whiskers.
"Much obliged," said the leader grimly, examining the tag. "This is theone, sure enough," he added to Kinky and Ross.
"How did you know I had it?" asked Matt.
"The gent that raffled off that boat put me next. How much pleasanterit would have been," Red-whiskers pursued, slipping the check intohis pocket, "if you'd been nice and sociable, over there at the footof Clay Street, and let me have that brass tag without trying to maketrouble. What have you gained, Motor Matt, by roughing things up likeyou did? And what have you gained by sneaking in here? Are you anybetter off?"
"Cut it out, John," growled Kinky. "What's the good o' readin' him alecture?"
Red-whiskers scowled at Kinky.
"Be so good as to dry up," he requested. "You never was able to seeanything an inch or two beyond your nose, so you can't guess what I'mdriving at. Motor Matt," he went on, to the prisoner, "what did you lugthat cop along with you for, when you came to the foot of Clay Street?What was your object? Was you afraid of that part o' town, and was hejust a sort of bodyguard?"
Matt laughed at that.
"Hardly that," said he. "You've got ten thousand dollars that belongsto young Lorry, and the policeman was there to get it."
"Well, well!" exclaimed the red-whiskered man, with a humorous glanceat Ross and Kinky, "he thinks we've got ten thousand dollars! But," hecontinued, "assuming that we _have_ got that much money, how do youfigure that it belongs to Lorry? Did Lorry steal it from his old man?If he did, does that make it his? If it does, Motor Matt, then if westole the money from young Lorry it ought to belong to us."
"That's foolish," said Matt, trying to guess what Red-whiskers wasdriving at.
"Possibly it is. Now, you're a pretty good sort of fellow, only atrifle headstrong, and I don't mind saying that we _did_ take thatten thousand from young Lorry. And why? Let me tell you it was allperfectly legitimate." He leaned over confidentially and tapped Matton the knee with the muzzle of the revolver. "We're detectives, MotorMatt, Chicago detectives, and old Mr. Lorry, that lives in Madison,Wisconsin, commissioned us to recover that money. We've recovered it;and you"--Red-whiskers leaned back and laughed softly--"thought we wasthieves and tried to have us pinched! What do you think of that for ajoke?"
"Then," said Matt, "it's all a joke about you and your pals sailingfor Honolulu to-morrow and dividing the money between you when you getthere?"
Enjoyment immediately faded out of the situation for the red-whiskeredman. He straightened up, pulled at his fiery beard and glared at MotorMatt.
Matt realized that he had made a mistake. By speaking as he had done,he had virtually admitted that he knew more about the plans of thethree rascals than they had thought possible.
"Ah," and a crafty smile crossed Red-whiskers' face "I thought you'dlet out something, if I prodded you a little, but I'll be hanged if Iexpected that. This is beginning to look mighty serious for you, MotorMatt. Where did you learn all that?"
"I was under the floor," replied Matt.
"Exactly--under the floor listening to a conversation that didn'tconcern you. Because of that, you're going to stay two weeks on thisboat, and Landers is going to keep you. By then we'll be where we'regoing and out of harm's way, and it won't be possible for what you knowto have any effect. You've only yourself to blame for this. Who's thatchink that won the boat in the raffle?"
"I don't know much about him," replied Matt.
"You took his boat across the bay for him, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Well, he knew where you had gone, because he told me. That's how I wasable to send that note to the Bixler House. The chink said you had acouple of fellows with you--one, in particular, who had fallen off aferryboat and whom you had picked up. Was that young Lorry?"
"I'm not saying a word," said Matt, "about Lorry. You say you're goingto keep me on this house boat for two weeks. If that's your plan, allright, go ahead with it."
For several minutes Matt, from where he sat, had been trying to locatethe satchel under the bench. It was impossible for him to see it, andhe supposed that it had either been moved by Red-whiskers, or takenaway.
"We're going to leave for parts unknown," continued the leader of thethree rogues, "and we're going to take young Lorry with us. I guess ifwe give him a thousand of his father's money he'll be satisfied."
"You're a scoundrel, on your own showing," cried Matt angrily, "but Idon't think you'd be such a contemptible scoundrel as to take that boyaway and make him a thief, like you and your pals!"
"Softly, Motor Matt," warned Red-whiskers. "What is the boy now but athief, and on his own showing, at that? I don't think we can hurt himany, and by taking him away we'll be doing a good thing for him--andfor us."
"You'll ruin him, that's what you'll do," proceeded Matt indignantly."Haven't you a thought for his people, back there in Wisconsin?"
"What are his people to us? I had intended all along to compromise withthe cub and give him a thousand, but you got to him before we did. Hedoesn't dare appeal to the law----"
"There are others who will act for him," broke in Matt. "There's themaking of a man in young Lorry, and if you do as you say you intend to,you will end by making him no better than you are."
"You're not very complimentary, it strikes me," said Red-whiskerseasily, bending down and groping under the bench with one hand. "Wemight just as well take our boodle and get away from here. I hadplanned to stay on the house boat all night, and run over to 'Friscoin the launch in time to catch that steamer to-morrow, but you'vecompelled us to change our plans. We'll take a night train, and----Where in blazes is that satchel?"
Failing to find the satchel with one hand, Red-whiskers had used bothhands. Even then the treasure grip eluded him, and in a sudden flurryhe dropped to the floor on his knees and looked under the bench. Thenext instant he had leaped up, maddened and furious.
"It's gone!" he shouted.
Kinky and Ross jumped as though they had been touched by a live wire.
"Gone?" they echoed blankly.
"You know something about this!" cried Red-whiskers, facing Rossfuriously.
"What're you givin' us?" retorted Ross menacingly. "If you think youcan throw any such bluff as that, John, and make it stick, you've gotanother guess coming. You've taken the satchel yourself! You neverintended to whack up with Kinky and me, and this is a move to corralall the money."
"Don't be a fool!" snapped Red-whiskers, studying Ross' face for amoment, and then swerving his eyes to Kinky
.
The affair had a dark look, for a space, as both Kinky and Ross hadreached their hands under their coats. If the three scoundrels had aquarrel among themselves, Matt felt that he would have a chance ofescape. His eager eyes traveled to the doors, and then to the window.
"Look here, you two," went on Red-whiskers, his eyes glitteringfiendishly, "the satchel's gone. I'll take back what I said about youtwo having had anything to do with trying to lift it. Certainly Ididn't--you ought to know that. We've all been in this room----"
"Except when we ran aft to ketch that fellow," fumed Ross, indicatingMatt with a jerk of the head. "You was in here alone with the satchelthen, John. How do we know you didn't hide it on us?"
"Mebby it was him!" stormed Kinky, stepping toward Matt.
"How could it have been him?" objected Ross. "He was under the floor,and we kept him busy every minute until he bobbed up through the afterhatch."
"Then it was Landers!" cried Kinky. "I never did like that feller'slooks. I'll bet it was Landers! If----"
Just at that moment the _chug-chug_ of a motor was heard outside.
"He's turning over the engine!" cried Red-whiskers, jumping for one ofthe doors. "Landers has got the satchel and he's getting away with itin the boat."
Red-whiskers threw himself against the door, trying to break it down.
"Wait, confound it!" yelped Ross; "here's the key, John. I'll unlockthe door if you'll gi' me a chance."
The three men paid no attention whatever to Matt. As soon as Ross couldunlock and throw open the door they all rushed out.
The _San Bruno_ was still lying where she had been moored, but thewheeze of a boat could be heard, and a craft, a cable's length away,could be seen vanishing wraithlike into the shadows across the cove.
"Landers has got another boat, somewhere, and he's running away in it!"declared Kinky.
"We'll overhaul him with the _San Bruno_," cried Red-whiskers, throwinghimself into the launch. "One of you stay behind and look after theprisoner----"
"Hang the prisoner!" answered Kinky. "The money means more to us thanhe does."
Ross cast off the rope that held the launch alongside the house boat,and both he and Kinky sprang aboard the _San Bruno_.
Matt, bewildered by the surprising events that had followed each otherso swiftly, stood on the forward deck of the houseboat and watchedwhile the _San Bruno_ got under way and started on the track of theother boat.
That other boat, of course, Matt knew to be the _Sprite_. But why wasshe tearing off across the cove like that? Why were McGlory and Pingleaving Matt when they must have known he was in difficulties? Had theystarted for Tiburon to get a few policemen and bring them back to helptheir comrade out of his trouble?
As these questions sped through Matt's bewildered mind a laugh echoedbehind him--and he turned to face the most surprising of all the eventsthat had happened that night.