CHAPTER X.
HELEN BRADY'S CLUE.
Matt remembered the awful moment when he felt his senses leaving him,when the interior of the bare little room swam on his sight and wasblotted out in a black mist. After that he could remember nothing untilhe opened his eyes in the bright sunlight, and saw the strangelyfamiliar face of a girl bending over him.
For a brief space his clearing senses grappled with the situationhelplessly; then, as the clear outer air drove from his lungs thepoison he had been breathing, his faculties regained their normalcondition.
"Helen Brady!" he mumbled, sitting up.
"Yah, you bed you!" whooped Carl, from a little distance away. "Dot vasHelen Prady, Matt, und oof it hatn't peen for her, you und Tick vouldhaf peen goners. Helen Prady is a pooty fine girl, you bed you. I dakeoff my hat to her any tay as you can findt in der veek. Miss Prady,"and Carl directed his admiring gaze at the girl, "allow me to make someremarks dot you vas a brick--und not a goldt brick, neider. She valkedall der vay from Lake Station, Matt, to safe you und Tick!"
Carl was near Ferral, who was likewise sitting up in front of theballoon house, only a little way off.
"Sink me, mate," cried Ferral, "but we had a close call of it. We shookhands with Davy Jones--just about--and then Miss Brady and Carl pulledus away from him."
"I'm all twisted up about this," said Matt, rubbing a hand across hiseyes in a dazed way.
"I'm all ahoo over it myself," put in Ferral. "I'm glad I'm alive, butI can't understand how Miss Brady got here and helped us out of thatscrape."
"Tell dem aboudt it, Miss Prady," urged Carl. "You haf tone a mighdyfine t'ing, und Matt und Tick ought to know all aboudt it."
"Ever since you got away from Willoughby's swamp with the Hawk, Matt,"said Helen, "I have been staying in Lake Station. My father, and Pete,and Whipple got out of the swamp by a secret way they knew about, verysoon after you left. Dad gave me some money and told me to find a placeto stay in Lake Station. He was terribly ugly to me, and I was gladthat I was going to be free from him for a while. There was a woman inthe village who had some furnished rooms to rent, and I rented them andstayed there. I didn't see anything of dad until last night. I was inthe other part of the house, visiting the woman who owned it, and whenI went back to my rooms I saw a light shining through a window betweenthe edge of the curtain and the sill. I listened and heard voices--thenI knew that dad had found the place where I was staying, and had comethere.
"There was a way to get into the cellar, and I got into it and crept upa stairway without being heard. By sitting at the top of the stairs Icould listen and hear all that was said.
"Whipple was in the room with dad, and they were talking over a schemefor getting hold of the Hawk. Officers of the law were hunting them,and, if they did not have the air ship, they felt that they would notbe able to avoid arrest for very long.
"Whipple told dad how Grove had managed to escape from the SouthChicago police, and dad told Whipple how he had been out in a sailboatwith my brother, and how they had tried to get some money from a youngfellow my brother had met on the train, and how Motor Matt, with theHawk, had come along just in time to prevent the robbery. After that,my father said he and my brother had the sailboat set them ashore.My father had come to Lake Station, and had sent my brother to tellWhipple to come to the same place. And that was how the two happened tomeet in my rooms.
"Whipple, Pete, and Harper had been in hiding in Willoughby's swamp,and that was the place to which Grove came when he made his escape.
"My father knew that the Hawk was being kept by the police in the oldballoon house, and that two officers were constantly on guard to seethat no harm came to the machine. It was also known that Motor Matt wasspending a good deal of time at the balloon house and running the airship for the officers.
"Dad's plot centred about the balloon house. It was a risky plot, butdad told Whipple they would all have to take desperate chances if theyhoped to succeed in stealing the Hawk and getting away in her. Whippleagreed with dad, and they arranged between them that Whipple, Grove,Harper, and Pete were to get close to the balloon house in the earlymorning, steal the Hawk, and sail away. If they were successful, theywere to stop at the marsh for dad; and if they captured Motor Matt,Whipple was to put him, securely bound, in the back room, behind theshed, and turn on the gas there."
The girl shivered, and an expression of horror crossed her face.
"I can't begin to tell you," she half sobbed, "how terribly I felt.Motor Matt had helped me, and I could not bear to think that my ownfather was--was----"
Helen paused, and it was a moment before she could recover herself andgo on.
"At first," she continued, "I thought of running into the room wheredad was and begging him not to let Whipple harm Motor Matt. But alittle thought showed me that such a course would be foolish. Not onlywould dad not listen to me, but he would probably make me a prisoner,so as to keep me from interfering with his plot. I had no money left,and the only thing I could do was to walk to South Chicago, and try toget there before the plot was carried out. I got my hat--it was in abedroom easily reached from the cellarway--and I started.
"I walked miles and miles through the darkness, and at last I was sotired I had to sit down and rest. Then I got up and started on again.Every little while I would sit down for a few minutes. But I did notdare to stop very long, for fear I would not get to South Chicago intime.
"Morning came, and I guided myself by the smoke from the rolling mills.Just as I was about to give out entirely, I met Carl."
The girl turned her eyes toward the Dutch boy.
"Und it vas a pooty goot t'ing dot Miss Prady met me schust ven shedit. I vas feeling pooty plue mit meinseluf, you bed you. You see,Matt, it vas like dis: Afder fooling aroundt und losing more dime asI vanted to, I got dose bapers from der chief. Den I come pack py derhodel, get my sadchel, und hurry kevick along der roadt to der palloonhouse. Ven I see der blace, oop goes der Hawk in der air, und I t'ink,py shiminy, dot Matt hat got tired oof vaiting und hat gone off py NewYork mitoudt his Dutch bard. Vell, meppy it vas some foolishness, aberI shaced afder dot air ship so fast as I couldt. Sure I couldn't ketchder Hawk, aber I vas oft my headt und ditn't shdop to t'ink. I schustrun, und yelled, und got vay past der palloon house ven I med MissPrady. As soon as she say a few t'ings, den I know dot it vasn't Mattvat vent avay mit der Hawk, but dot Prady gang; und as soon as she saya few t'ings more, den I ged some vorries aboudt Matt und Tick. Ve comepack py der palloon house togedder, Miss Prady und me, und ve go to dotleedle room pehindt der blace, und, whoosh! sooch a odor vat shtruckus in der faces ven ve obened der door.
"Vell, dere vas my bard, Modor Matt, lying shdill on der cot on vonesite, und my odder bard, Tick Verral, lying shdill on der cot on derodder site. Ve hat some vildness mit us ven ve t'ink you vas gone oopder shpout, aber ve turned off der gas, got you oudt oof der room undindo der glear air, und pooty kevick, pympy, you refifed. Ach, it vassome habbiness for bot' oof us ven ve see dot!"
Matt and Dick had listened to all this with deep interest. What mostimpressed them was the courage and determination shown by Helen Brady.Matt reached out and clasped her hand.
"You saved my life and Dick's," said he, with feeling, "and that issomething we'll never forget."
"Not if we live to be a thousand years old!" declared Ferral. "You're abrave lass, Miss Brady, and I've an uncle who won't forget what you'vedone, either."
"I only did what I thought I ought to do," said Helen. "It was merelyundoing a wrong of my father's, and it was no more than right that Ishould do what I could."
"Ach, Matt," piped up Carl, "aber you vas blaying in some hardt luck!Und shdill, mit all dot, vasn't it pooty fine dot you got oudt oof dottight blace mit your life, you und Tick?"
"Right-o, matey!" agreed Ferral heartily. "Matt and I, between us, havelost the Hawk, which means thirty-five hundred, in cold cash, but, allthe same, we ought to shake hands over it and call ourselves well off."
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bsp; Matt grabbed Dick's hand.
"Shake!" said he. "A fellow never has such a run of hard luck but hecan think a little and see where it might have been a whole lot worse."
A puzzled look had come into Helen's face.
"How was it, Matt," she queried, "that you and your friend lost so muchmoney?"
Matt explained about the purchase of the air ship. As Helen listened,her look of wonder changed to one of distress.
"I am sorry!" she said, with a pang of deepest regret. "I know wheredad and the rest have gone, though, and if you wanted to follow them,you might be able to get the air ship back."
The information startled all three of the boys.
"You know that?" cried Matt, his face brightening.
"Yes. They are going to cross the lake to Grand Haven. There's a man inGrand Haven that dad knows. His name is Ochiltree, Dave Ochiltree. Dadis going to see him. I don't know where the rest will be with the Hawk,but no doubt you could find out from Ochiltree."
"It's a clue, and a good one!" said Matt. "We will follow it, Helen."
"Aye, that we will!" exclaimed Ferral.
"You bed you!" averred Carl. "Sooch a goot luck as dot iss vat ve vaslooking for. Meppy ve follow der clue und get der air ship pack, denmake anoder shtart for New York, hey?"
An idea came suddenly to Matt. Leaping to Carl, he grabbed him by thearm.
"The Eagle," said he, speaking rapidly, "has chased the Hawk before.Why not call on Hamilton Jerrold?"
Carl gave an exultant yell and tossed his cap.
"Dot's der fery t'ing, Matt!" he declared. "Oof dere iss enyvone in derwhole vorldt as vouldt like to do Modor Matt a goot durn, it iss dotfeller Jerrold! Led us go to him righdt avay, ad vonce, mitoudt losingsome more dime!"