CHAPTER III.
THE STOLEN RUNABOUT.
Shouts of relief went up from those in the Red Flier at sight of Mattand Legree sprinting down the road, Legree with the box and Matt withthe revolver.
"Hoop-a-la!" jubilated Carl; "be jeerful, eferypody. Here dey comealretty, und mit more as dey vent to ged!"
"Fo' de lan' sake!" chattered Topsy; "Ah sholy expected some one haddone been kilt."
"Git right in de kyah," urged Uncle Tom, "so we kin git erway f'omdis hyeh place. Beahs, en robbahs, en oddah spontaneous excitementsis monstus tryin' to er niggah wif er empty stummick. Ah doan' lakshootin' nohow."
"Was dat some guy t'rowin' a bullet at yous, dad?" inquired Little Eva."How close did he come t' ringin' de bell?"
"How many were there?" cried Eliza; "are they following us?"
Matt jumped into his seat, and Legree scrambled for the tonneau.
"Take this, Legree," called Matt, and dropped the revolver over theback of the seat.
Carl, who had been posted at the front of the machine, had already"turned over" the engine. As she took the spark Carl crawled to hisplace beside Matt, and the Red Flier glided away.
The young motorist was silent for a while, listening as Legree toldhow he had gone searching for the box and found it in the hands ofa scoundrel whom he had never seen before. The Unknown had fired arevolver, but it had been more to intimidate Legree and keep him ata distance, for the bullet had not come anywhere near him. Legreefinished with an account of how Matt had come up behind the ruffian andhad saved the day.
"Dot's der vay Modor Matt does pitzness," said the admiring Carl. "Youbed my life he vas some virlvinds ven he leds himseluf oudt."
"The name of the man who ran off and left your company stranded wasHank Brisco, was it?" asked Matt.
"That was his name, Matt," replied Legree. "But who was thattough-looking citizen that had me cornered, there in the thicket?"
"I'll have to tell you something that happened to Carl and me, a fewdays ago, in order for you to understand that part of it," answeredMatt. "This touring-car belongs to Mr. James Q. Tomlinson, a wholesalejeweler who lives in Denver. He and his driver, Gregory, have beentouring the Southwest in it. A gang of thieves, among whom was a fellowcalled Hank, and another called Spangler, robbed Mr. Tomlinson on thetrail, several miles west of Ash Fork. Carl and I got mixed up in thetrouble, and we had some exciting times racing the Red Flier against ahigh-powered runabout that the thieves stole from a wealthy cattlemannamed Lem Nugent.
"Mr. Tomlinson recovered his stolen property and went on to Albuquerquewith his driver, Gregory, hiring me to take the touring-car from AshFork to Albuquerque. That's how we happened to come along in time tohelp you out, Mr. Legree."
"If this man, Tomlinson, got back his stolen property," asked Legree,"what became of the thieves?"
"Two of them, Hank and Spangler, got away with the cattleman's car. Thestolen runabout can go like a blue streak, and is lighter and fasterthan the Red Flier. Now, the man that tried to get the tin box, backthere in the thicket, was none other than Spangler; and the othervillain, who was called by the name of 'Hank,' was the fellow who leftyou in the lurch at Brockville."
"Shiminy grickets, how t'ings vill turn oudt mit demselufs, vonce undagain!" clamored Carl. "Domlinson vould like more as he can dell to hafdose fellers ketched, and Nuchent vants pooty pad dot he geds his carpack some more. He vill gif fife huntert tollars to any vone vat villfindt der car, und he vill gif fife huntert more for Hank, und der samefor Spangler." Carl leaned toward Matt with his eyes almost poppingfrom his head. "Bard," he asked, "can ve scoop it in?"
"I'd like to get back that runabout for Mr. Nugent," said Matt, "but Idon't know as we ought to take the time to go fooling along on our wayto Albuquerque."
"Vell, Misder Domlinson say dot dere vasn't any hurry."
"He also said," continued Matt, "that he wouldn't trust this car witheverybody. If we should get to tearing around after Hank and Spangler,and damage the Flier, we would find ourselves in a hole."
"You hadn't better bother trying to take us to Flagstaff, then," putin Legree, "for as long as we've got this tin box Brisco is going tokeep on trying to get hold of it. If he chases us with that stolenrunabout, which you say is a faster car than the Red Flier, you'regoin' to run some risks with this machine."
"If we work it right," said Matt, "I guess we can get you people toFlagstaff without being bothered much by Hank and Spangler. It's queer,though, to have it turn out that those two scoundrels are mixed up inthese troubles of yours."
"Ah's done had trouble enough," wailed Uncle Tom, "en Ah doan' knowhow Ah could stand any mo'. Ah's er pretty ole niggah tuh go traipsin'erroun' afteh robbahs, en drappin' intuh rivvers, an' climbin' treestuh sabe my hide from beahs. All de same, Ah 'lows some ob dat moneyfo' ketchin' dat 'ar Brisco would come mouty handy. But Mistah Legree,yo' listen hyeh. If Brisco sets sich er pow'ful store by dat 'ar box,mebby he'd buy hit offen de lot ob us, payin' us whut he owes jess tuhgit holt ob hit. Why not, sah, entah intuh prognostications wif him wifde view ob settlin' ouah compunctions in er pleasin' manner?"
A shadow of a grin wreathed itself around Legree's lips.
"Well, Uncle Tom," he answered, "it's hard to prognosticate with a chapwho's so hard to find as Brisco is."
"Vere vas Hank vile Spangler vas looking for der pox, Matt?" asked Carl.
"That's a conundrum, Carl."
"Und vere vas der runaboudt?"
"Another conundrum."
"Vell, ditn't Spangler ride to der blace vere he come for der din poxin der runaboudt?"
"I didn't see anything of the machine, but I was afraid it wassomewhere around--which is the reason I was in such a hurry to make afresh start for Fairview."
"Ve don'd vas shased py der runaboudt, anyvay, und dot means dot itvasn't some blace around vere Spangler vas."
"Chee!" came from Little Eva, as he pointed ahead. "Dere's de burg wotwe're headin' fer. I'm a jay if it don't look almost big enough fer two'r t'ree people t' live in."
From the rising ground on which the Red Flier and its passengers foundthemselves, at that moment, Fairview could be fairly viewed. Perhapsthere were twenty-five or thirty houses in the place, the main streetbeing bordered by half a dozen stores.
"Doan' yo' go an' tell me dar ain't no hotel," faltered Uncle Tom.
"No matter how small a town is, Uncle Tom," returned Eliza, "travelerscan always find a place to stay. Our hardest work will be, I think, todiscover some one who will lend money on our jewelry."
"I'll furnish the jewelry, Eliza," said Legree. "This watch of mine isworth enough, I think, to furnish us with food and lodging while MotorMatt gives us a lift to Flagstaff."
"If you're out of cash," spoke up Matt, in his usual generous style,"I'll foot the bills. Some time, when you get on Easy Street, you canpay me back."
Uncle Tom's anxiety over the prospect fell from him like a wet blanket.
"Yo's a gemman, Mistah Motah Matt," he declared, "yo' is what Ah callsa puffick gemman. Ah'm mos'ly independent in dese money mattahs--disis de fust time since Ah can remembah dat Ah habn't had all ob twodollars in mah clo's--so hit is mouty spognoocious tuh mah pride, sah,to be fo'ced tuh accept a loan. Still, sah, Ah brings mahse'f to hitbekase yo' is so willin' an' so spendacious. In retu'n fo' dat, MistahMotah Matt, Ah becomes on de spot yo' official mascot. Yassuh. Ah takesyo' luck en mah own han's, an' evah time what yo' do anyt'ing, Ahagrees tuh make yo' a winnah."
"Much obliged, Uncle Tom," laughed Matt.
"Go on wif yo'!" cried Topsy. "Why didun' yo' mascot dat 'ar company sodat Brisco couldn't do lak what he done? Mascot! Yah, yah, yah!"
"Laff," returned Uncle Tom tartly, "laff an' show yo' ignunce! What yo'unnerstan' about luckosophy an' mascots? Yo' mouty triflin' an' tryin',dat's what yo' is. Wait twell yo' see what Ah does fo' Motah Matt."
During this talk, the Red Flier had glided down a long slope into thelittle town. It did not take long to traverse t
he main street, and asthey jogged onward all eyes looked carefully for a hotel.
Finally they saw a sign with a picture of something that looked like afour-leaved clover. Under the picture were the printed words, "ShamrockHouse."
"Dat 'ar fo'-leaved clovah means luck," averred Uncle Tom.
"It's supposed to be a shamrock, Uncle Tom," said Eliza, "and not aclover-leaf."
"Ah knows dat," went on Uncle Tom, "but hit sho' means luck. Ah donegot de feelin'."
Motor Matt and Carl Pretzel "got the feeling," too, for around at oneside of the hotel they saw another automobile. There was no one aroundthe car. Carl nearly dropped off his seat.
"Vas I plind mit meinseluf," he whispered, "or iss it der real t'ingvat I see? Matt, dere iss der shtolen runaboudt, mit nopody aroundt!Fife huntert tollars saying it righdt oudt loud, 'Come, oh, come,somepody und pick me oop!'"
Matt was astounded; yet there was not the least doubt about therunabout being the same car that had been stolen.
"Is that the automobile Brisco ran away with?" demanded Legree, leapingenergetically out of the tonneau. "That's the one!" declared Matt.
"Then come with me, Matt, you and Carl," said Legree, starting for thehotel door. "Keep behind, though. I'm armed, now, and can meet Briscoin his own way if he shows fight."