CHAPTER VIII.
THE PLOTTERS.
"You're a good one, Proctor!" Jurgens was saying, leaning over thechest and rubbing his hands. "This is the biggest piece of luck thatever came my way. Did Whistler have anything to do with it?"
"Whistler?" returned Bangs. "How could he have anything to do with it?He's not in town."
"I know that, but he went to see the voodoo woman to try and have hergive him a line on the chest. He left yesterday, and here the chestdrops into our hands. It looks to me as though old Yamousa had beengiving us a helping hand."
"Bosh!" returned Bangs disgustedly, "Yamousa didn't have a thing todo with it. I was waiting for that air ship to come in, accordin' tothat telegram Townsend sent to Motor Matt and which you found outabout. It came, but there were only two boys in the car. They landed onStuyvesant Dock, and they hadn't any more than got the craft securedbefore I was right there. I told 'em the yarn we had framed up--howTownsend was expecting them but was so busy he couldn't come, so hadsent me." Bangs chuckled. "They swallowed the yarn, all right," he wenton. "While I was talking I saw the iron chest in the car. Say, thatalmost took me off my feet. However did it happen to get into the handsof those boys?"
"Pass the ante, Proctor. Didn't they tell you?"
"Nary a word. They said Motor Matt would be along, in a little while,but that's all they told me about him. I suggested that one of them gowith me to take the chest to Townsend, and the Dutch boy was the onewho came. He's down in the courtyard now, waiting for Townsend to comeand give him a welcome."
Bangs dropped into a chair as he finished and gave vent to a low laugh.
"Didn't they ask you how Townsend had come to get separated from thechest?" asked Jurgens.
"Yes."
"And what did you tell 'em?"
"The truth; that the chest had been stolen from Townsend. Even thenthe two boys wouldn't tell me where they had found the chest. I reckonMotor Matt, who seems to be pretty long-headed, must have warned themto keep mum."
Jurgens continued to chuckle and rub his hands.
"Blamed if things aren't coming our way better than I had imagined theywould!" he exclaimed. "This is rich, and no mistake. And you say theDutchman is down in the court?"
"That's it."
"Waiting for me to slip down and give him the glad hand?"
"That's what he's waiting for," guffawed Bangs.
"Well, I'll give him the hand, all right, but there'll be something init. We've got to take care of him, in some way, until----"
Whatever Jurgens' plans were concerning Carl they did not appear. Fate,at that moment, hastened events toward a conclusion.
The square window, against which Carl was leaning and listening, wasfar from secure. In his interest and excitement, he bore rather harderupon the window than he intended. As a result, the window suddenly gaveway and Carl fell crashing with it into the room.
Just how much the dried frog in Carl's pocket had to do with the mishapis for those versed in superstitious lore to answer. Ever since he hadtaken possession of the charm he had encountered a run of hard luck,but everything that had so far happened to him was trivial as comparedwith this final catastrophe.
Before he could get to his feet he had been pounced upon by Bangs andJurgens, dragged clear of the broken glass and held firmly down on hisback.
"He's not so much of a fool as you thought, Proctor!" growled Jurgens."He was in the window, listening."
"Much good it'll do him!" grunted Bangs. "We've got the chest, and whathe discovered won't do him any good."
"You bet it won't! Get a rope."
Bangs secured a rope from somewhere in the room and Carl wasexpeditiously lashed by the hands and feet.
"Himmelblitzen!" ground out Carl. "You vas a humpug, Pangs! You say youvas somet'ing, und you peen somet'ing else. Py chincher, oof I hat deruse oof my handts I vould make you t'ink you vas hit mit some cyclones."
"Oh, come," laughed Bangs, "don't be so fierce. We've got you, andwe've got the chest, and that pal of yours is away off on StuyvesantDock and hasn't the least notion where you are. Sing small, my fatkiskidee; it won't do you any good to take on."
"Vait, py chinks!" flamed Carl; "schust vait ondil Modor Matt findtsoudt vat iss going on. Den, I bed you, someding vill habben. I don'dknow nodding, und Tick he don'd know nodding eider; aber Matt--vell,dere iss a feller vat knows more as you. Look oudt for him, dot's all."
"Where is Motor Matt?" demanded Jurgens.
"Ask me," said Carl.
"That's what I'm doing."
"Veil, keep on; und ven I dell you somet'ing, schust led me know.Churgens, you vas a pad egg, und you vill ged vat's coming by you voneoof dose tays. How you ged off dot islant in der Pahamas?
"Ask me," taunted Jurgens.
"Vat a frame-oop!" muttered Carl dejectedly. "Look here, vonce: Vereiss Downsent?"
"Ask me again," said Jurgens mockingly.
"How you steal dot chest from him?"
"I don't mind telling you that," grinned Jurgens. "The informationcan't possibly harm us, because we'll be out of the way long before youcan tell any one; and I'd like to have Motor Matt, who's been buckingus ever since we first went on the trail of the chest, know just whatwe've done to his friend Townsend.
"Townsend bobbed up off the levee in that submarine boat of his, a fewdays ago, and Whistler and I were on hand watching for him to arrive.He got here at night, unloaded the chest, and had a man start fortown with it on a wheelbarrow. It was a foolish thing for Townsend todo--try to wheel the chest away with only himself and the man at thewheelbarrow to look out for it."
Jurgens paused and gave Bangs a wink.
"Townsend never got to the place he was going with that chest, eh,Proctor?" he continued. "We'd just lowered the chest into a rowboatwhen a couple of watchman came along. We got off from the levee to waituntil the watchman got past, and then, when we went after the boat, ithad disappeared. We hunted good and hard for it, but haven't seen theboat since. Whistler went to talk with a voodoo woman he used to knowto see if she could tell him what became of the boat and the chest.He hasn't got back yet; but here's the chest, big as life, all safelylocked and ready for us to open it. Where did you fellows pick up thechest, Dutchy?"
"Talk aboudt der vedder," suggested Carl.
"Oh, well, if you don't want to loosen up you needn't. We knew you werecoming here to help Townsend. Townsend sent you a telegram--or, rather,Cassidy, one of his men, sent the telegram the next day after we gothold of the chest. Townsend hadn't shown up on the submarine, butCassidy had his orders, I reckon. An assistant of mine was shadowingCassidy, and he discovered the contents of the message. After that, Ihad Proctor down on the river front waiting for you to arrive in the_Hawk_. Proctor was surprised when he found that you were bringingthe chest with you. It was a joyful surprise for all of us, and youand Ferral dropped into Proctor's trap too easy for any use. I wonderif you've got anything of importance about your clothes? Search him,Proctor."
Carl never had much money, and very little else of any importance, inhis pockets. He had nothing, now, but, as Bangs knelt beside him andbegan his search, Carl thought instantly of the dried frog.
So far from being a luck bringer, the frog was a hoodoo. Carl wasthoroughly convinced of that; and he had a feeling that no good fortunecould come his way so long as he kept Yamousa's charm in his pocket.He wanted to unload it, and he would rather unload it upon Bangs orJurgens than any one else. If he could give them the same run of hardluck that he had been having, it might be easier for Matt to recoverthe chest.
"I don'd got nodding," said Carl, squirming and playing a part which hehad swiftly mapped out for himself.
"I reckon what he says is true," Bangs reported, having discoveredonly a jackknife, a fishline, a stump of a lead pencil, and a hamsandwich. "He's panning out mighty slim, Jurgens. If---- Ha! what'sthis?"
Bangs pulled the dried frog out of Carl's hip pocket, looked at itcuriously and held it up for Jurgens' inspection.
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"Great guns!" exclaimed Jurgens. "It looks like a dead frog."
"Gif it pack!" cried Carl, to all appearances greatly perturbed. "Itvas Moder Matt's charm, his luck pringer. It don'd vas vort' anyt'ingto you."
"Motor Matt's luck bringer, eh?" muttered Bangs. "Well, from all Iheard of that fellow his luck has been phenomenal. Do you want thisthing, Jurgens?"
"Not I, Proctor," answered Jurgens.
"Then," went on Bangs, coolly appropriating the charm, "I'll just takeit myself and see if some of Motor Matt's luck won't come my way."
"I thought you didn't believe in such things?"
"No more I don't, but I'm going to test this amulet and see what itwill do for me."
"Take efervt'ing else vat I got," begged Carl, "only gif me pack dotcharm!"
"Not on your life!" said Bangs. "If it's so valuable to Motor Matt itought to be worth just as much to me."
Carl, it is needless to say, was delighted to have the trouble makerin Bangs' possession. It was the first bright spot in his experiencessince leaving the docks with Bangs and the expressman.
"Get a cold chisel and a hammer, Proctor," said Jurgens, briskly; "it'shigh time we got the chest opened and pulled out with the treasure."
"You leaf dot chest alone!" fumed Carl.
"Yes?" laughed Jurgens. "Well, hardly. Just lie there, Dutchy, and seeus dig out more treasure than you ever set eyes on in your life before.When you leave here, you can tell Townsend how we got away with theloot. Inform him, for me that Lat Jurgens wasn't born yesterday, andthat it will take a better man than Nemo, Jr., to get the best of him."
At that moment, Bangs came up with a cold chisel and a hammer and fellto work on the treasure box.