CHAPTER XV.
A NEW MAN TAKES A HAND.
It was midnight when the automobile and its passengers from BayouYamousa rolled into New Orleans. Matt's first call was at policeheadquarters. Here Jurgens was left, and a bit of a surprise was sprung.
The assistant chief, Fetterman by name, was on duty, and the arrival ofJurgens created a mild sensation. Detectives were even then prowlingabout the city looking for Lattimer Jurgens, Whistler, Bangs, and ayoung man, name unknown, wearing a slouch hat, sweater and frayedcorduroy trousers. The detectives had not met with the slightestsuccess, and the bringing in of Jurgens, by Motor Matt and his chums,naturally created a mild degree of excitement.
The surprise was in the nature of a question by Fetterman.
"Where are you going, King, from here?"
Matt gave him the number of the house in Prytania Street where Townsendhad taken up his quarters.
"Ah," said Fetterman, with a peculiar glance, "that's the place wherethe diamonds were stolen. A new man is taking a hand in the game. I'llget him at once and bring him to the place in Prytania Street, but I'dlike to have you and your friends stay there until we arrive. What thisman has to say will be of interest to all of you."
"Who is he?" inquired Matt, curiously.
"I have promised to let him do his own talking," was the vague response.
Vastly puzzled, Matt went out to the car, told his chums what Fettermanhad said, and all three of them wondered and guessed clear to PrytaniaStreet and the house of Mrs. Thomas.
This time Matt entered by the front way. There was a light inTownsend's room. The shade was drawn, but a glow could be seen throughit.
Matt was announced by a sleepy domestic, and he and his chums wereshown up the stairs to the sick chamber. Cassidy was on duty as usual,and Townsend was wide awake and sitting up in his bed.
"What luck?" he asked, quaveringly.
"The very best, Mr. Townsend," answered Matt, cheerily, and drew thebag from his coat and laid it in Townsend's hands.
"Are--are these the diamonds?" he asked.
"Yes."
"And where is Jurgens, Whistler, Bangs and the others who helped themcommit the robbery?"
"They have all escaped--with the exception of Jurgens and the youngfellow, Dashington, who impersonated me. Jurgens is in jail, and Iallowed Dashington to go."
"You allowed him to go?" asked Townsend, nonplused.
"Yes," answered Matt, "for the reason that, if he had not helped us Inever could have kept my promise to you."
"Nothing much matters," said Townsend, with a long sigh of content,"now that I have the diamonds back. I don't care who helped you, orhow it happened, Motor Matt always accomplishes the thing he sets outto do. I have been better ever since you left here, last night. Now Ishall get well, and get well quick. Give me your hand, my boy! And therest of you--come here and let me thank you."
After Carl and Dick had crowded up to the bed and shaken hands withTownsend, the latter would have returned the bag to Matt and had himtake the stones at once to the address on St. Charles Avenue; but, evenas the request was being made, there was another ring at the gate bell,and then at the door, and the servant came up to announce "two men fromheadquarters."
"Two men from headquarters," muttered Townsend, bewildered. "Who canthey be and what do they want?"
"I don't know what they want," said Matt, "but one of them is theassistant chief, Mr. Fetterman."
"Something else is going wrong," fretted Townsend, "and I know it.These diamonds seem to carry a curse with them."
"D'you feel strong enough, cap'n, to have more visitors?" asked Cassidy.
"I should be badly worried if I couldn't hear, without delay, whatFetterman and this other man have to tell me."
The assistant chief came in accompanied by a blond, stoutly builtperson whom he introduced as Mr. Shirley, of Scotland Yard.
Mr. Shirley was genial and made friends for himself right away.
"You're a sick man, I'm told, Mr. Townsend," said he, "and I'm goingto begin at once what I have to say and come to an end as briefly aspossible. I had best begin in South Africa where----"
"South Africa?" echoed Townsend.
Shirley nodded.
"A man named Hobart, an American," he went on, "worked in theBloemfontein diamond mine. He was a clever scoundrel and accomplishedwhat many another man had tried in vain to do, and that was to stealdiamonds out of the workings. How he got them to the place where helived is a mystery that has not yet been solved, for Hobart kept hisplan strictly to himself and did not even let his confederate in theenterprise know how the thieving was done.
"In the house where Hobart had his rooms the diamonds were carefullysecreted in the head of a particularly vicious-looking idol. Hobartused to show the idol to his friends, taking it from an iron chestwhere it was carefully packed in sawdust, and to which, after a fewmoments of exhibiting, he was always careful to return it.
"Hobart declared that the head was a fragment of the malefic Obboney,a deity of the Koromantyn, or Gold Coast, negroes. This was entirelyfiction, for, it afterward developed, he had had the head carved by aman in the Portuguese settlements, and then steeped in a deadly liquorwhich caused it to give off a poisonous effluvia. This was intended asa protection for the stolen diamonds.
"In due course, Hobart and his confederate, Sharpe, an Australian,quit the diamond mines and prepared to leave for the States with theirbooty. They sailed for England, and from there took a West Indiantrader for the Bahamas. When near the Bahamas, Sharpe demanded adivision of the treasure. Hobart put him off with some excuse, andthen, that night, mysteriously vanished with a whale boat and his ironchest, leaving Sharpe behind.
"Sharpe never found out where his treacherous comrade had gone, norwhat he had done with the iron chest. Moved by a spirit of vengeance,he sailed for England and told the entire story of the theft ofthe diamonds to the head of the syndicate that had charge of thediamond mines. The case was placed in my hands, and I traced Hobartto Philadelphia and found that he had lived there in poverty and hadfinally died and been buried in the Potters Field.
"I also learned that Hobart had had a friend, a wealthy inventor namedTownsend. Having reached the end of my quest, so far as Hobart wasconcerned, I turned my attention to finding Townsend, in the hope thathe could tell me something about the iron chest.
"But Townsend seemed every whit as hard to locate as Hobart had been.He had invented a submarine and was trying it out somewhere on along-distance cruise. I bided my time and, at last, saw an account ina daily paper of the theft of a submarine belonging to one CaptainNemo, Jr., from the Inlet at Atlantic City, and of the pursuit of thesubmarine by a flying machine.
"I was a little mixed by the name of Captain Nemo, Jr., but I startedout to follow the flying machine. This was comparatively easy, forwherever the machine was seen it was reported to the daily press,and all I had to do was to read the newspapers. Well, to be brief, Ifinally reached New Orleans last night. My coming was most opportune--astroke of luck that does not come a detective's way more than once in alifetime.
"A big diamond robbery had occurred here. The victim was one ArchibaldTownsend, and there were strong rumors flying about of a head carvedfrom wood, of an iron chest, and of the thieves mixed up in the robberyhaving given their nefarious attentions to Mr. Townsend before. Italked with the authorities, and they told me that they were on thetrail of the robbers and were doing their utmost to apprehend them. So,I had perforce to continue my waiting game, although more than certainthat I was finally on the right track.
"Imagine my surprise and satisfaction when Mr. Fetterman, here, came tomy hotel, a few minutes ago, with the information that the ringleaderof the thieving gang had been captured, and that the diamonds had beenrecovered. We came on here at once, I to explain my mission to Mr.Townsend, and Mr. Fetterman to vouch for my story."
Shirley, of Scotland Yard, sank back in his chair, his mild blue eyesroving whimsically about over the astoun
ded faces of his listeners.
"Merciful powers!" gasped Townsend. "Can it be possible that I havebeen so terribly deceived in that fellow who called himself the Manfrom Cape Town? I was positive of his honesty, although I had not theremotest idea, at the time, of what the treasure consisted. I firstmet the Man from Cape Town in Philadelphia, and befriended him. Heseemed grateful, and, just before he died, called me to his bedsideand gave me a chart of an island in the Bahamas. The island was saidto have a cave, and an iron chest was said to be in the cave. I lookedupon the whole story as a fairy tale, but, as I wanted to test mysubmarine with a long sea cruise, promised the man I would go and lookfor his iron chest.
"The chest, when found, was to be brought to New Orleans and opened inthe presence of a lady living in St. Charles Avenue, who, Hobart toldme, was his daughter. The treasure was to be equally divided betweenthe lady and myself.
"That iron chest seemed to draw upon me all manner of unfortunateadventures, and I regretted continually that I had ever had anything todo with it. But I had given my promise to this Man from Cape Town, andfelt myself bound to carry it out to the letter. I have held strictlyto that policy, and Motor Matt and his friends have stood loyally bythrough everything that has happened."
Shirley turned an approving glance on Motor Matt.
"I hear nothing but most excellent reports of Motor Matt," said he,"and I should like to hear from him, in detail, all that has happenedwhile he and his friends were working to recover the diamonds for thelast time."
"It will be worth listening to, I can promise you that," said Cassidy."Whenever he does a thing, he has a way o' his own of getting at it."
All eyes were turned on Matt. He saw that he was in for it, and beganat the beginning and went through with every detail of the adventuresrecently encountered by him and his friends.
Every one followed him closely, particularly Shirley.
"From all this it appears," said the Scotland Yard man, as soon asMatt had finished, "that in getting back these diamonds for the SouthAfrican syndicate, you have lost a ten-thousand-dollar air ship----"
"It didn't cost us that," interposed Matt.
"And have endangered your life and the lives of your friends,"continued the detective, without seeming to notice the interruption. "Ishall include that in my report when I return the diamonds. Meanwhile,until Mr. Townsend is satisfied that I have secured stolen property,the diamonds will remain in the custody of the New Orleans policedepartment."
Shirley reached for his hat and got up.
"I fear I have tired you, Mr. Townsend," said he, regretfully, "but itwas necessary for me to see you at once and explain the mistake which,under the circumstances, it was a perfectly natural one to make. Youhave experienced much trouble and worry, and this can never be made upto you. As for the diamonds----"
"Take them," cried Townsend, stretching out the bag to Fetterman; "I amdelighted to get rid of them and have them off my mind. And I am doublyglad that, being stolen property, a wrong is to be righted and thestones returned to their rightful owners. I don't wish to have anythingdone for me, Mr. Shirley. I have sufficient of this world's goods, andyou have already done me the greatest favor possible by taking thediamonds off my hands. But Motor Matt and his friends, they----"
"I give you my word that they shall be looked after," finished Shirley.
Thereupon he shook hands all around, wished everybody luck and departedwith Fetterman.
The fateful treasure, of course, went with them.