CHAPTER XVII.
THE LUCK OF DICK FERRAL.
Mr. Lawton and Ferral met Matt and Carl in the parlor. They had beenhaving a brief talk together, and there was a pleased look on Lawton'sface and a happy light in Ferral's eyes.
Mr. Lawton stepped forward and caught Matt cordially by the hand.
"Matt," said he, "you have been a stanch friend of Dick's in thelittle time you have known him, and you have twice saved his life. Heis indebted to you, but I am under an even greater obligation. Butfor your aid, the little plan I conceived for getting at the relativemerits of my two nephews might have ended disastrously and given mesomething to regret till the last day of my life. I thank you, my lad;and you, too, Carl," he finished, turning to the grinning Dutch boy.
"Oh, vell," said Carl, "it don'd vas nodding vat I dit. Matt vas dervone. He iss alvays der vone dot geds dere mit bot' feets ven anydingiss bulled off."
"You both did nobly, and perhaps some time, somewhere, I can show youthat I am not insensible of the debt I owe," went on Mr. Lawton. "Justnow," he added, turning away and walking to the end of the mantel,"Dick has expressed a desire to see the place where I have lived forseveral days, and I presume you and Carl, Matt, are also interested."
He pressed a spring under the end of the mantel and the great framedescended and presented its flight of steps.
"I will go first, as I know the ropes," said Mr. Lawton. "The rest ofyou will follow."
He ascended the stairs. Dick, Carl and Matt went after him and theframe closed and left them in a narrow space in the dark. Mr. Lawtonlighted a candle and flashed it across the inner side of the pictureand above the last step.
"The eyes of the picture, you will see," he observed, "are cut out.That gave me an opportunity to note what took place in the parlor. Avery old device which I have seen in old castles on the Rhine, and evenin one or two houses in Delhi. Now," and he faced about, "we will goon."
The passage wound around the house through the hollow wall. Two stepsled up and over the front door. In the sitting-room there was a nichewith a crucifix and candles. Holes in the back of the niche enabled oneto look out and observe all that took place in the sitting-room. Inlike manner, there was a concealed place for keeping track of what wenton in the kitchen.
In the kitchen wall a dozen steps led upward to the second floor, andin the two upper rooms there were also peep-holes cleverly arranged.
"The passage Ralph knew about," explained Mr. Lawton, "has noconnection whatever with this other burrow. It is entirely distinct andapart. The only way to get directly into the house from these corridorsis by the opening over the parlor mantel. Now we will descend to thesubterranean part of the establishment."
A continuation of the steps that led upward in the kitchen wallconducted the explorers downward into a place that was a sort ofbasement, although having no connection with the cellar of the house.
Here the boys were surprised to find the white runabout.
"Here's a point I'm twisted on, Uncle Jack," said Dick. "What in thename of the seven holy spritsails, did you ever let Tippoo go spookingaround the country for?"
Mr. Lawton laughed.
"Dick," said he, "this country is full of scoundrels who would nothesitate to get the better of an old man and his Hindu servant ifthere were a few dollars to be gained. Now, rascals of that ilk aresuperstitious, and I have kept them at bay by this harmless deception.This old, ill-favored shell of a house is supposed to be haunted,for dark deeds are known to have taken place here. That auto is myown idea. Tippoo has made regular trips with it every night up thegully, around on the cliff road, through the cliff and so back to thehouse. La Vita Place, by that means, has lived up to its unenviablereputation, and the thieves have left me severely alone.
"The auto came in very handily during this play of Ralph's. Ralph knewnothing about the car, and during his visits here I was careful to keepa knowledge of it away from him. Tippoo would take a trip abroad andwatch events outside; then he would come back and report to me. WhenMatt jumped into the car, there on the cliff road, Tippoo was willingenough to be discovered, for he knew that I was planning to show myselfvery soon, anyhow. Tippoo, however, had orders from me to say nothingabout what I was doing. Here," added Mr. Lawton, stepping off along therock-walled room, "is the way the car left its quarters whenever itwanted to make its ghostly round."
Matt, as he followed Mr. Lawton, noticed a supply of gasoline and oil,and congratulated himself on the fact that there would be no difficultyin getting the Red Flier fit for the road when the time came for Carland himself to start.
A wide passage led for a hundred feet or more beyond the end of thestone room, a gentle grade, at its farther end, leading upward. A door,flush with the earth, was pushed upward by Mr. Lawton, and the blindinglight of day flooded the passage.
"We might as well get out here," said Mr. Lawton, and the rest followedhim into a brushy covert in the grove.
On one side of the covert the brush had been cleared away to leave asmooth track for the car.
"The road," explained the old man, "leads directly to the gully.Tippoo, when he desired to make his round, had only to push up thedoor, take his ghostly ride, and then come back again."
"That idea of a crank in the machine for turning over the engine," saidMatt, "is a mighty good one and ought to be patented."
"You may have it, Matt," said Mr. Lawton. "I am too old to bother withpatents."
The door was closed and the little party wandered back through thegrove to the house. Tippoo, in the kitchen, was busily at work gettinga meal ready.
"This," observed Mr. Lawton, as they all seated themselves on a benchin the shade, "is one of the happiest, as well as the saddest, days ofmy life. I have discovered what Dick really is, and that's where thebright part comes in; but I have also found out that my sister's son isa contemptible scoundrel--and I would rather have lost everything I ownthan to have discovered it. This racing-game must be demoralizing."
"It isn't the game, Mr. Lawton," interposed Matt earnestly, "but thecharacter of the fellows who take it up. There isn't a thing in a speedcontest to demoralize any one."
"You may be right, Matt," answered Mr. Lawton, "but it's hard tounderstand how Ralph could prove so false to all the Lawton ideals.His father was a gentleman in every sense of the word; and hismother--there was never a finer woman on earth."
After a short silence, Mr. Lawton turned once more to Matt.
"You are going to Santa F??" he queried.
"Yes," replied Matt, "and then to Denver. Mr. Tomlinson, who ownsthe Red Flier, has a place for me on the racing-staff of a firm ofautomobile-makers."
"Ah! I would have spoken differently a moment ago, if I had known thatyou intended entering the racing-field. You'll never go wrong. But,when you get to Denver, beware of the rascally crew who just left here.They are very bitter against you."
"They'll not bother me, sir," said Matt stoutly.
"Oof dey dry it on," spoke up Carl, "py chincher dey vill ged somet'ingvat dey don'd like."
"Dick and I will be in Denver soon," said Mr. Lawton, "and then weshall look you up. You will hear from us again, Matt. The debt we areunder to you cannot be easily canceled."
"I've been repaid already," returned Matt. "What I have done has givenme a friend in Dick Ferral--and that's worth everything."
"Your fin, mate," said Ferral, reaching over and clasping Matt's hand.
Just then Tippoo appeared in the kitchen door.
"Tiffin, sahib!" he called, and they all filed into the house--Carl, asusual when there was eating in prospect, leading the way.
THE END.