Motor Matt's Hard Luck; or, The Balloon-House Plot Read online

  CHAPTER XI.

  JERROLD GIVES HIS AID.

  "You've got me in a monkey's fist again," spoke up Ferral. "What's allthis about the Eagle and Hamilton Jerrold?"

  "Don'd you rememper, Tick," said Carl, "I toldt you aboudt dot odderfeller in Sout' Chicago vat hat inventioned an air ship? His ship issder Eagle, und----"

  "Aye, aye, mate, now I rise to you," interrupted Ferral. "Fine idea,that of chasing one air craft with another. The only point is, willthis man Jerrold let Matt take his air ship?"

  "Dot feller vouldt do anyt'ing for Matt," averred Carl. "Matt got packder plue brints for him, und he t'inks der King oof der Modor Poys issder greadest feller vat efer habbened."

  "The quicker we can see Jerrold," suggested Matt, "the sooner we shallknow whether or not he can help us. Not only that, but I've got toreport the theft of the air ship to the police."

  "Who loses der air ship?" queried Carl. "Der bolice, oder Matt undTick?"

  "Matt and Dick," answered Ferral. "We had bought the machine, and if ithad been stolen no more than a minute after the money had been turnedover, we would still have been the ones to lose it. I don't know whatsort of case you're in, Matt, but I've got a head that feels as big asa barrel. If I could soak it awhile in cold water I think it would doit good."

  "My head was pretty near knocked off my shoulders," answered Matt, "andthen to inhale all that gas on top of the pounding, gave us a whole lotto stand. Work is what we need, Dick. If we can get busy we'll forgetour troubles."

  The doors of the empty balloon house were closed, Matt and Carlgathered up their satchels, and they started back toward South Chicago,Ferral helping Helen Brady over the road.

  "Some beople vill be surbrised ad seeing us come in valking mitourselufs," observed Carl, "ven ve vas going to rite der odder vay inder Hawk. Ve nefer know vone minid vat iss going to happen der next."

  This remark of Carl's was generally agreed to.

  "What are you going to do now, Helen?" asked Matt, dropping alongsidethe girl and Ferral. "Your father has gone away and left you, and youwill have to do something for yourself."

  "I know it," answered the girl.

  "What has become of your brother?"

  "I don't know where he has gone. He may go across the lake with dad, orhe may stay in Chicago. When dad talked with Whipple, I didn't hear himsay what Hector was to do."

  "It's a good thing your father has left you, Helen," said Matt, "and ifall I hear about your brother is true, I hope he won't come around tobother you."

  A sad look crossed the girl's face. With her father and her brotherboth criminals, her position was forlorn, indeed.

  "I have friends in Chicago," said she, "and I could go and stay withthem for a time."

  "That's the thing to do," approved Matt. Taking two ten-dollar billsfrom his pocket, he forced them into the girl's hand. "You've got totake the money," said he. "Sometime, if you feel as though you oughtto, you can pay me back, but don't let the debt bother you."

  "Here," called Ferral, diving into his own pocket and bringing up somemoney, "I'm in on this."

  "Und me, too," said Carl. "I vill dake five tollars' vort'."

  Helen thanked all the boys, with tears in her eyes, but Matt's was theonly money she would take.

  "This will be enough for my immediate needs," said she, "and while I amstaying in Chicago, I can arrange to get something to do."

  By that time the little party was well into South Chicago. The satchelswere returned to the hotel, and Carl was left with Helen, to take herto a restaurant where she could get something to eat, and then to puther aboard a train for Chicago. After that, Carl was to make his way toJerrold's house.

  Matt and Dick, when they left their Dutch chum and the girl, hurried topolice headquarters.

  When the chief saw Matt, he threw up his hands.

  "Did your air ship give out on you?" he asked. "I thought you were wellon your way to New York by this time."

  What Matt had to say about the air ship nearly took the chief's breath.Then, when he realized all that recent events meant, his temper got thebetter of him.

  "I've got a fine force of roundsmen and detectives," said hesarcastically, "when a pack of scoundrels we're looking for can pulloff a trick like that right in the outskirts of town!"

  Matt eased the chief's anger somewhat by telling him of the clue theyhad received as to Brady's whereabouts, and he explained how he and hisfriends were going to get Jerrold's air ship and follow the clue acrossthe lake.

  "Now that sounds mighty good," said the chief, a flicker of hopecrossing his face, "and of course the South Chicago police departmentought to be represented in the expedition. Suppose I send Harris, inplain clothes, along with you? He knows St. Jo, Benton Harbor, GrandHaven, and all those places across the lake like a native. He'll be ahelp. Unless I'm mightily mistaken, this man Ochiltree is an old-timecrook, and has served a term or two in the 'pen.' Anyhow, his name isfamiliar to me. But you boys are in a hurry and I won't detain you. Goon to Jerrold's. I'll have Harris get into civilian's clothes and joinyou there."

  Fifteen minutes later, Matt and Dick were at the inventor's ramblingold house. Hamilton Jerrold himself answered Matt's ring, caught him bythe hand with the utmost cordiality, and ushered him and Ferral intothe sitting room.

  "It does my eyes good to see you again, Matt," beamed Jerrold. "You'vebeen making some fine flights with the Hawk for the police department.Jupiter, but you're a wonder when it comes to handling anything that'sdriven with an explosive engine."

  Matt flushed and made a deprecatory gesture.

  "It seems, Mr. Jerrold," said he, "that I never call on you except whenI'm in trouble."

  The inventor took fresh interest.

  "You're in trouble now?" he asked, showing a good deal of concern.

  "I'm in the hardest kind of luck," went on Matt, and he proceededto explain how he and Ferral had bought the Hawk, and how Brady hadexecuted his balloon-house plot, stolen the machine, and almost causeda tragedy.

  Hamilton Jerrold had been himself entangled with Brady and knew justwhat kind of a scoundrel he was. His experience with Brady had leftmuch bitterness in its wake, and Jerrold was eager to do whatever hecould to bring the leader of the Brady gang to justice. Apart from hisown feelings in the matter, Jerrold felt that Motor Matt had a claim onhim.

  "The Hawk," said Jerrold, "is a good machine, but the Eagle is a betterone. We can cross the lake in the Eagle and land wherever you want to,and it is needless for me to say, my boy, that both the air ship andmyself are at your service."

  "Thank you, Mr. Jerrold," returned Matt gratefully. "Is the Eagle readyfor use?"

  "During the last week Payne and I have been improving her, and we didthe very last tap on the car yesterday. All we have to do is to fillthe tanks and put a little more gas in the bag--inside of an hour wecan start."

  The boys accompanied Jerrold into the back yard, where he had the airship under a canvas shelter. Payne, Jerrold's assistant, was workingaround the car. As soon as Jerrold had told Payne what was wanted, thelatter began making the Eagle ready.

  "This is a great town for flying machines," remarked Ferral, as hewatched the operation of getting the craft ready for a voyage.

  "Jerrold has done a whole lot toward solving the problem of a?rialnavigation," said Matt. "It was his work that made the Hawk as good asit is. You see, Brady used to work for Jerrold, and he stole most ofhis ideas for the Hawk from the Eagle."

  "A regular skull-and-cross-bones pirate, that Brady," muttered Ferral."I hope we can lay him by the heels and cut short his lawless career."

  While the Eagle was being made ready, Harris and Carl arrived togetheron the scene of operations. Harris wore civilian clothes and lookedlike anything but a police officer.

  "Well," said he, rubbing his hands, "this reminds me of that othertime, Matt, when Carl and Jerrold and I went chasing the Hawk in orderto get hold of you. I hope we'll have better success this trip than wehad before."
/>   "Ve vill," declared Carl. "Matt iss mit us, now, und dot means dot vevill haf more luck. He iss der lucky poy, all der dime."

  "I don't know about that, Carl," laughed Matt a little grimly, "my luckseems to have taken a turn."

  "Did you look after Miss Brady, Carl?" queried Ferral.

  "Vell, I bed you. She hat a good meal, und den I pud her apoardt adrain for der city. She vanted me to say to you dot she vas moochopliged."

  "We're under more obligations to her than she is to us," went onFerral. "Kind of strange, it strikes me, that she should be willing togive us a tip about her father."

  "You wouldn't think it strange, Dick," said Matt warmly, "if you knewthe girl better. She knows that her father, if he is not captured,will go on and on in crime until he does something that will earn himmore than a mere prison sentence. She wants him captured, and the Hawktaken away from him. That was her plan when Brady captured me and heldme a prisoner in Willoughby's swamp. But she wouldn't leave her fatherwhen I came away. She considered it her duty to stay with him up to thevery last moment. It's a good thing for her that her father went awaylike he did. Now Helen can look out for herself, and do it with a clearconscience."

  "All ready, friends," called Jerrold. "Step into the car and we'llstart for Michigan."

  Payne was not to go with the searching party. Jerrold, Matt, Carl,Harris, and Ferral were to be the passengers.

  All climbed aboard and took the places to which Jerrold assigned them.Jerrold himself was to run the motor, but he had Matt near by to"spell" him now and then. Carl and Ferral were to act as lookouts, andwere placed as far forward as the car would allow them to go.

  Ferral's position was almost opposite Matt's. The stability of the airship depended a good deal on its "trim," and the positions taken by thepassengers at the start were to be kept throughout the trip.

  Weighted bags at each end of the cigar-shaped envelope were used forgiving the required angle for rising or falling. The pull of a leverdrew in the bag at the forward point, and the Eagle inclined upward.Payne had already pulled aside the top of the canvas protection.

  "All ready," said he.

  The motor was started, and presently the power was switched into thepropeller. The air ship took the push and arose slowly and easily intothe air.

  "Ve're off!" shouted Carl. "I hope, py shinks, nodding goes wrong undve come down in der lake. Verral und I haf peen in der lake vonce, undit don'd vas any fun, I tell you dot."