CHAPTER XIV.
HELEN'S ORDEAL.
Inside of half an hour after Matt and Ferral had left Carl with theHawk, they had the air ship back in her old moorings.
Carl had hurried through the woods and watched proceedings from theground as well as he could. When he saw the Hawk returning to her oldberth, he followed her back, bursting into sight from the timber justas Matt and Ferral had finished securing the mooring ropes.
"Shake hants mit me!" bellowed Carl, rushing to grip Matt's hand, thenpassing to Ferral, and then to Helen Brady. "Dot vas der pootiest t'ingvat I efer saw done, yah, so helup me! Air ships can do t'ings vatnodding else vas aple, und der strangeness oof it fills me mit vonderand surbrises. Miss Prady, you vas a lucky girl! Und Matt vas lucky,und so vas Verral. I'm der only unlucky feller in der punch, pecause Idon'd vas along to helup in der rescue. Matt cut me oudt oof der game.Anyvay, I'm glad dot everyt'ing come oudt like vat it dit. Dell usaboudt vat habbened mit you, Miss Prady."
Helen, seated in Matt's chair in the car, was leaning back, her eyeson the faces of the three lads. Ferral climbed up on the fence and satdown on the top board, and Matt leaned against the telephone pole. Carlsat down on the ground near the car.
"That's a good notion our Dutch raggie has just overhauled, MissBrady," seconded Ferral. "We'd all like to hear that yarn. There'snothing better we can do, just now, as we haven't any guns and can'thelp Harris and the officers."
"Go on, Helen," said Matt. "We know something about what happened toyou, but not all."
"Where did you find out anything?" queried the girl. "I was never moresurprised in my life than when I saw you with the officers near thehouse."
"We'll tell you that later," answered Matt. "Your experiences first."
"Well," began the girl, "after I went to visit my friends in ArcherAvenue, a letter came for my brother. I have been worried about mybrother for a long time, for he would be honest if it was not for myfather's evil influence." The girl's lip quivered, but she fought downher rising emotion and went on. "I opened the letter. It was from myfather and asked Hector to go to the house at Lake Station, where Ilived for a while, and get a paper which he would find under a loosenedbrick in the basement wall. The brick was marked with a cross.
"Hector, as I knew, had left the city, so I concluded to go to LakeStation and get the paper myself. I was wondering what it was allabout. I found the paper, and it gave the location of a spot inWilloughby's swamp where some of the goods stolen by my father had beenconcealed. Father wanted the plunder turned into cash so that the bestlawyers could be hired to keep him out of the penitentiary. I decidedat once that I would turn the paper over the chief of police in SouthChicago, and I had left my friends' house to start for there when a manstopped me on the street.
"The man's name was Hooligan, and he told me that my brother had notgone to New York at all, but had given it out that he was going merelyas a 'blind' for the police. My brother, Hooligan told me, was lyingvery ill in a house in River Forest, and wanted to see me. I concludedto put off going to South Chicago until next day, and to go and seeHector.
"Hooligan took me to that house, from which you just rescued me, andthere I was made a captive by Pete and Whipple, and turned over to thecare of Mrs. Hooligan. I surmised, at once, why I had been spiritedaway. Pete and Whipple had found out about the paper I had secured,and they wanted to get the stolen property for themselves. And there Iwas with the paper! You see, I had started for South Chicago with it,and had it in my pocket. I remembered the instructions, and I tore thepaper into little bits, when Mrs. Hooligan wasn't looking, and threwthe pieces down a register into one of the furnace pipes.
"When Whipple and Pete came and demanded the paper, I told themtruthfully that I didn't have it. They said that, even if I didn't havethe paper, they knew I could remember the instructions for finding theburied spoil, and ordered me to repeat them. I refused, and for twodays they gave me nothing to eat, and only a little water to drink.Whipple said he would starve me to death if I didn't tell."
"The scoundrel!" muttered Matt darkly.
"Vorse as dot!" wheezed Carl wrathfully, "ach, mooch vorse!"
"The whole lot ought to be lashed to a grating and flogged with thecat," growled Ferral.
"I was at Mrs. Hooligan's house in La Grange at that time," continuedHelen. "Pete and Whipple had taken Mrs. Hooligan and me to La Grange onthe night of the day I was captured. We went in a closed carriage.
"Mrs. Hooligan was with me all the time, and there never was amoment when she wasn't watching. Sometimes she treated me kindly,and sometimes she was cross and violent. She drank a good deal,and whenever she was under the influence of liquor she was alwaysquarrelsome and hard to get along with.
"I got so weak and sick without food that Pete and Whipple must havebecome afraid I would die without telling them what they wanted toknow. Anyhow, they began to give me something to eat, but kept me tiedto a chair nearly all the time, coming to see me two or three times aday and threatening what they would do if I continued obstinate. ButI made up my mind that I would let them kill me before I would sayanything about where that plunder had been buried. That, I had decided,should go back to its rightful owners."
"You were a brave girl to hang out for your principles like that," putin Matt.
"It does take a little courage, sometimes, to do what is right,"returned the girl, "but when your conscience approves, that makes iteasy. I lost track of the time, while I was at Mrs. Hooligan's house,in La Grange, and it seemed as though months must have passed; then,suddenly, I heard an automobile stop in front of the place, last night,and Mrs. Hooligan and I were bundled into it and taken away.
"I was brought back here, and early this morning Whipple told me thatthey were tired of bothering with me, and that if I didn't tell themwhat they wanted to know before night I should never leave the housealive.
"Mrs. Hooligan had been keeping me in a room on the top floor. She hadbeen drinking more or less all night, and she acted so savage toward methat I began to believe Pete and Whipple had told her to put me out ofthe way. Mrs. Hooligan, I imagined, was drinking to get up her courage.If that was the reason, though, she went too far, for she drank so muchthat she became stupefied and fell asleep with her head on a table.
"I was bound to a chair, but I succeeded in freeing myself of thecords. At about that time I heard a commotion downstairs, and a soundof shooting. Hope arose in me, and I made my way to the roof of thebuilding, with the intention of letting those below know where I was.I can't tell you how surprised I was when I saw Motor Matt and Mr.Harris. I did not dare call out, for fear my voice would be heard byWhipple and Pete, but it was not long before I knew that Matt had seenme and had made his plans for a rescue. The rest, you know. I havehad a terrible experience, but it is a satisfaction to think that theplans of Pete and Whipple failed, and that they did not find out whatthey wanted to know. Now, Matt," and Helen fixed her gaze on the youngmotorist, "you can tell me how you were able to discover where I was."
All the chums had a hand in the telling. Helen was amazed when shelearned how her father had been instrumental in bringing Matt and hisfriends to her aid--amazed as well as overjoyed. To her, it indicated achange of heart in her father, as pleasant to her as it was unexpected.
Barely had the three boys finished their part of the explanation, whenthe pounding of a motor came to them from the direction of the roadthat followed the railway track.
"Vat's dot?" cried Carl, as all became suddenly attentive.
"Only an automobile," replied Matt, smiling. "You've heard them before,Carl."
"Vell, I bed you," answered Carl, "aber my nerfs vas on edge, schustnow, und I peen imachining all sorts oof t'ings. Meppy dot vas---"
At that point, Carl was interrupted by Harris and Burton, bursting intosight from the edge of the timber.
"That air ship, Matt!" cried Harris, "we want to use her in a hurry."
"Eferyt'ing goes mit a rush, seems like," said Carl curiously. "V
at'soop, now, Harris?"
"Pete and Whipple have got away in the automobile, and we must followthem."
"The Hawk is fast for an air ship," said Matt, "but she's not fastenough to catch an automobile."
"She's the only thing we have to give chase with," spoke up Burton,"and we've got to do our best with her, or let Whipple and Pete getaway."
"And we've got to get the automobile back," stormed Harris. "Hustleup, Matt! The automobile may break down, or something else may happento give us a chance to overhaul her. We'll try, anyway. Miss Brady hadbetter stay here--one of the boys can remain to look after her."
"That's your job, Dick," said Matt, busily unmooring. "We'll come backhere for you after we see how the chase comes out."
"Hoop-a-la!" tuned up Carl, fluttering around the car. "Here's ver Iged a shance ad some oxcidement."
Helen got out of the car as soon as the ropes were cast off, and Matt,Carl, Harris, and Burton jumped in.
A twist of the right hand got the machinery to going, and a jerk of theleft gave the steering rudder the proper angle.
Rising swiftly, the Hawk turned her nose toward the wagon road. Fromtheir high elevation, Harris, Burton, and Carl were able to see theautomobile, far in the distance and making along the La Grange road.
"Turn her to the right, Matt!" cried Harris, "and we'll bear away inthe direction of La Grange. It may be a hopeless chase, but we've gotto do what we can."
"Tough luck if those scoundrels get away, after all the trouble they'vecaused," muttered Burton.
"And it will be tough on me," said Harris, "if I can't get back thatautomobile!"