CHAPTER X.
WHERE IS MOTOR MATT?
Matt and Carl did not occupy the same apartment in the hotel. Theirrooms were adjoining, but there was no means of communication betweenthem save by way of the hall.
On the night the mystifying event happened, Carl went up to his room afew minutes after Matt had sent down for the ice water. He tried Matt'sdoor, but it was locked. In answer to his rap Matt called out a cheerygood-night, and Carl went on to his own quarters and tumbled into bed.
The ringing of the breakfast bell always got Carl up on the jump.With the morning, he was up with the first beat of the clapper andscrambling into his clothes.
As he passed Matt's room on his way down he tried the door. UsuallyMatt left the door ajar when he went to breakfast, but this morning itwas closed. Carl found it locked. He was about to rap and get his chumup, when he thought how tired he must have been the night before, andturned away.
"Matt has peen vorking like a horse," he said to himself, "und he hasder righdt to shleep a leedle late on Suntay morning. I von't make somedisturpances mit him. Ven he geds t'roo snoozing he vill come down."
Carl ate his breakfast, missing his chum sadly during the meal.Across from him at the table sat a young fellow who seemed to be anewcomer--at least, Carl had never seen him about the hotel before.
He had a freckled face and red hair, and the clothes he wore werealmost painfully new. He ate slowly and seemed to be watching the chairin which Matt usually sat.
"For vy you look like dot at der blace next py me?" inquired Carlcuriously. "You don'd got a mortgage on it, meppy?"
The red-headed boy grinned.
"Mebby not, Tow-head," said he, "but here's a chance for you to put mewise."
"Ret-head yourseluf!" returned Carl. "Vat I pud you vise aboudt?"
"Why, by letting me know whether that chair is the one usually occupiedby Matt King, the three-ply wonder of the racing world who is sometimescalled Motor Matt?"
Carl braced up in his chair and glowered.
"Vas you making some chokes?" he demanded. "I skelp anypody vat makessome chokes aboudt Modor Matt."
"So will I. Why, Matt used to be my pard."
"Iss dot so?" queried Carl, softening. "Vell, he iss my bard yet. Ah,ha! Vat iss der name vat you go by?"
"Mark McReady, otherwise Reddy McReady, otherwise just plain Chub."
Carl gurgled delightedly, let go his knife and fork and reached overthe top of the castor to grab Chub McReady's hand.
"Ach, vat a habbiness!" he beamed. "Matt shpeaks many dimes aboudtyou! Yah, py shiminy, he dell me all aboudt vat you dit mit each odderin Arizona. Der lapel vat I tote iss Carl Pretzel. Don'd you knowsomet'ing aboudt me?"
"Well, Je-ru-sa-lem!" grinned Chub. "Say, I guess I _have_ heard aboutyou. The last letter I got from Matt had a long spiel about some workyou and he did down near Lamy, New Mexico. Didn't Matt get a letterfrom me in Denver?"
"Nix, und he don'd got any ledder from dere here, vich vas forwardet.You wride him, hey?"
"Sure, I wrote him. Told him dad was going to Chicago to close a dealfor his mine, and that Little Chub was going to trail along, drop offat Ottawa and see the big race. Matt's in it, eh? Had a notion he wouldbe; and I'll bet a button against a last year's bird's nest that he_wins_!"
"I'll bed more as dot!" chuckled Carl, tickled out of his shoes to findsome one who liked Matt as well as he did. "Say," he babbled, "I peenglad as plazes, Chub, dot you habbened aroundt."
"So am I; but where the nation is Matt? I can hardly wait till I grabhold of him and give his fist a shake."
"He was schnoozing mit himseluf," answered Carl. "He has peen vorkinglike der tickens und I bed you he was dired. Oof you haf got t'roo mityour preakfast, vy nod valk oop to his room mit me? He vill be so habbyas I don'd know ven he findts oudt dot you vas here."
"Go you!" and Chub pushed back from the table and got up.
Together the two boys left the dining-room, passed through the officeand climbed the stairs. Carl was cackling to himself all the way upthe flight, for he knew how surprised Matt would be and how mightilypleased to meet his old friend, Chub.
The door was still closed. Carl listened to see if he could hear Mattmoving around.
"Der olt maferick iss shleeping like a house afire dis morning,"chuckled Carl. "Now I vake him," and he pounded on the door.
The emphatic summons brought no answer.
"Meppyso I pedder ged a cannon," giggled Carl. "He iss shleeping hisolt headt off."
"He never used to pound his ear like that," remarked Chub.
"He nefed got so tired in Arizony like he dit in Gansas," Carlexplained, rattling at the door in a way that would have wakened theoccupant of every room on that floor.
But still there was no response from Matt. Carl began to get alarmed.
"Maybe he locked the door and went out?" suggested Chub.
"Der fairst blace he vould go vould be to preakfast," returned Carl,"und he don'd vas dere. Der madder is somet'ing to be infestigated. Youpeen as t'ick t'roo as me, so I don'd guess ve eider oof us couldt gedt'roo der dransom; aber ve can look t'roo, anyvay. I got some feelingsdot dere has somet'ing gone crossvays. Vat it iss I don'd know, aber,py shinks, ve find it oudt."
Carl went for a chair that was standing farther along the hall, placedit in front of the door, climbed up and peered through the open transom.
"Donnervetter!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "Now vat do you t'ink oofdot!"
"What's to pay?" asked Chub.
"He don'd vas dere."
"Well, that proves what I said a moment ago, that he has gone out."
"Vy, der ped don'd vas shlept in lasdt nighdt! How you aggount for dot?"
"Why, he may not have been here last night, Carl."
"Yah, so! Ditn't I say goot-nighdt mit him ven I vent to ped mineseluf?Yah, so helup me! I vonder vat's oop?"
"We'll probably find him downstairs," said Chub.
"I got some hunches dot dere iss a nigger in der vood-pile," declaredCarl, climbing down from the chair, his face full of apprehension. "Itdon'd vas like Matt to pull oudt like dot. Ve go downshdairs und makesome questions aboudt it."
On their way down they met the bellboy coming up.
"Say, vonce!" said Carl, catching the boy's arm, "haf you seen ModorMatt dis morning yet?"
"Naw," answered the youngster; "mebby he hasn't got up."
"He ain'd in der room, und der door iss locked."
"Then he's hiked out some'rs."
"He vonldn't do dot. Vat habbened ven you dook oop der vater lasdtnighdt?"
"What happened? Why, I met that Slocum feller on the way, an' he wantedto know if I was takin' the pitcher to Sercomb's room. We gassed fora minit er two an' he gave me a quarter to go right back down and seeif there was any mail for him. He asked me to do it before I gave thepitcher to Motor Matt. There wasn't any mail. When I came back, Ipicked up the pitcher and went on. Motor Matt took it in--and that'sall there was to it."
"Dot looks like a lod oof monkey-doodle pitzness for nodding," mutteredCarl. "Vere does der nighdt clerk shleep?"
"In that room at the end of the hall."
The bellboy went on, and Carl turned and started back up the stairs.
"What are you going to see the night clerk for, Carl?" inquired Chub.
"Vell, Matt ditn't shleep in der ped, und dot means he ditn't shday inder room. I vant to ask der nighdt clerk oof he vent oudt."
The night clerk answered their summons in a sleepy voice and opened thedoor.
"Dit you see Modor Matt leaf der hodel lasdt nighdt?" asked Carl.
"Yes," was the astonishing reply, "he went out about midnight and tookhis grip with him. Looked like he was going away."
"For vy shouldt he go avay?" gasped Carl. "He vas in der race, und hevouldn't leaf town on a bet, schust now."
"I thought it was mighty funny," said the clerk. "He didn't say a wordabout paying his bill, or where he was going, or anything else. Icalled to him
and asked if he was going to make a trip somewhere, andhe turned around and stared at me. He didn't seem to know what he wasdoing. He never said a word, but went on out."
"Ach, himmelblitzen!" muttered Carl, rubbing a dazed hand over hiseyes. "Vouldn't dot knock you shlap-sitet? Vent avay! Modor Matt ventavay und nefer say nodding mit me aboudt it! Dere iss something wrong,you ped you!"
"I didn't know whether I ought to tell you or not, Carl," went on theclerk. "These racing folks are coming and going all the time, and,for the most part, they're a queer lot. Motor Matt, somehow, seemeddifferent, but last night I hadn't a notion what was bothering him andI didn't want to pry into his business. Supposed he knew what he wasup to. Why don't you go and see Trueman? He may be able to tell yousomething."
"Who's Trueman?" asked Chub.
"He iss der feller Matt iss triving der car for in der race," repliedCarl. "Meppy ve pedder go und shbeak mit him."
The clerk drew back into his room, and Carl and Chub started along thehall toward the stairs. When they were about halfway down the hall adoor opened as they were passing it and Slocum showed himself.
There was a guilty look on his face--or so it seemed to Carl--andbefore he could draw back Carl had leaped at him and grabbed him by theshoulder.
Slocum muttered an oath, and one hand darted toward his hip. When thehand reappeared from under his long coat it held a revolver.
"Oh, that's your game, is it?" cried Chub.
The next moment he had grabbed the hand holding the revolver, and heand Carl, between them, had pushed Slocum back into the room.
With a quick move Chub wrenched the weapon out of Slocum's hand andtrained it on him.
"That'll do for you," said he menacingly. "Now sit down and getpeaceable. Carl, here, has got somethin' he wants to say."