The borrowed motor cycle had all the improvements, and the way it could run warmed the cockles of Matt's heart. In less than a minute after leaving Burton and the machine's owner, the king of the motor boys was shooting along the road like a bullet out of a gun.
He was pursuing an electric car that ran at a high rate of speed, but the motor cycle must have been going five feet to the car's one. Before Matt fairly realized it he was within sight of the car.
When he was close enough to be heard he began to call to the conductor to stop. The passengers heard him, as the row of heads thrust out from each side of the car conclusively3 proved; and the conductor also heard him, for he appeared on the rear platform.
Matt could see the conductor reaching for the bell rope. At the same time, Wily Bill rushed out on the back platform, took in the situation at a startled glance, and then dropped dexterously4 from the car at the track side.
Matt was so wrapped up in what Wily Bill was doing that Ping's leap from the front platform escaped him entirely5.
Wily Bill scurried6 for the side of the road, and Matt shut off the power and glided7 after him.
"Hold up there, Wily!" cried Matt.
The "barker" paid no attention, but plunged8 up the bank and darted9 off into the timber.
By that time Motor Matt's blood was up. He knew that a great deal depended on the capture of Wily. If the "barker" could be made to tell when and how he had received that note in Hindoostanee, a clue to the whereabouts of Ben Ali and the missing Margaret Manners would be secured.
Appreciating fully10 the exigencies11 of the case, Matt sprang from the wheel and leaped up the bank. From the top of the rise he could see nothing of Wily, but a crashing of the undergrowth told him plainly in which direction the man had gone. He was but an instant in taking after him.
Wily's actions were those of a guilty man; in fact, they inferred a deeper guilt12 than the mere13 possession of a note in Hindoostanee would indicate.
This, naturally, made the fellow's capture all the more important.
For a quarter of a mile, Matt judged, Wily led him a chase through the woods. The "barker" had lost a little of his lead, but was keeping up his fierce pace with a good deal of vigor14. Then, suddenly, he began to double. Matt would run on, looking and listening, only to find that there was no thrashing brush ahead. When he stopped, the sounds made by the fleeing fugitive15 had changed their direction, and the young motorist had to whirl and take another course.
For some time this variation of the game of hare and hounds continued, Matt drawing steadily16 nearer and nearer.
At last Matt caught his first glimpse of Wily, since he had fled over the bank from the street car, at the rear of a house whose windows were closed with green shutters17.
Wily stood out against the house wall, his form sharply defined, just as Matt rushed from a fringe of hazels. The "barker" cast a look over his shoulder, gave vent18 to a panting exclamation19, and darted around the end of the house.
When Matt reached the front of the structure, Wily had vanished. The key to his disappearance20 was furnished by the wide-swinging front door, key still in the lock. Besides, Wily had not had time to go around the other side of the house, or to get into the woods again, so Matt knew he must have entered the building.
With scarcely a moment's hesitation21, the king of the motor boys followed the fugitive.
Coming in out of the bright sunshine, the darkness of the shut-in hall was intense. As Matt ran on past one of the doors leading to a room on the right a sinewy22, turbaned form leaped out and a fist shot through the gloom, landing on the back of Matt's head with tremendous force.
Matt staggered, regained23 his balance, and whirled around. His brain was reeling, but, looking toward the light that entered at the open door, he saw that the man who had struck him was not Wily, as he had imagined, but a Hindoo—none other than his old acquaintance, Dhondaram.
Flinging out his arms, he leaped at the Hindoo. Then[Pg 15] it was that Wily completed the work that Dhondaram had begun. Another blow from behind, savagely24 given with all the "barker's" strength, caused Matt to sink to his knees and then straighten out unconscious on the bare floor.
"You saw what was goin' on?" asked Wily breathlessly.
"Even so, sahib," answered the other, in a low tone.
"I'm in luck to find you here. Wasn't intendin' to blow in at this place till night—but any port in a storm. Pick him up and let's get away somewhere."
"The kitchen, sahib."
Between them, the unconscious king of the motor boys was lifted and carried into the kitchen.
"Hang it!" growled25 Wily, floundering through the soot26 pile; "this won't do. There may be more after me. There's another place, under the stairs. Sharp's the word, now. Carry him there."
Matt was not bereft27 of his senses for long. There was too much steel and whalebone in his athletic28 body to keep him steeped in oblivion for any great length of time.
The first thing he saw, when his eyes slowly opened, was a candle planted in the earth.
He was lying, hands and feet bound and a cloth over his mouth, in a sort of pit. Above him were the stringers and boards of a floor.
A few moments passed while he was picking up the thread of events. While he was piecing details together, he heard a light footfall on the floor overhead, advancing and retreating. Later there came the creaking of boards as of some one climbing a flight of stairs.
Wily and Dhondaram, silent and motionless as statues, knelt in the earth, the fluttering gleam of the candle over them, and were listening to the footfalls with bated breath.
From the manner of these two Matt understood forthwith that the person in the upper part of the house must be one whom his captors feared. Had it not been for the cloth that smothered29 his lips, Matt would have shouted at the top of his voice and so have informed a possible friend where he was.
Inasmuch as he could neither move nor make an audible sound, the prisoner lay quiet.
There was no cellar under this house with the green shutters, only a scooped-out place in the earth where possibly potatoes and other vegetables had been kept.
Presently the footsteps once more descended30 the stairs and could be heard leaving the house. Wily turned to Dhondaram with a deep breath of relief.
"That was a close call," he muttered. "If we'd been a second later gettin' down here——"
He bit off his words quickly. The door had slammed and the grating of a key could be heard.
"Maskee!" rumbled31 Dhondaram. "The door has been closed and locked, sahib. You left the key in the door."
"I was in too big a hurry to do anythin' else. As it was, Motor Matt came within one of layin' hands on me. See if he's got his wits back."
On hands and knees the Hindoo crept to Matt's side and peered into his face. Matt kept his eyes closed.
"Not yet, sahib," answered Dhondaram. "It is well. He shall not waken in this world. The goddess Kali——"
Dhondaram did not finish the sentence. He had referred to the malign32 Hindoo deity33 invoked34 by thugs, and it may be he thought the talk unsuited to American ears. Lifting himself on his knees, he drew from the breast of his jacket a glittering blade.
The next moment Wily Bill had caught his arm.
"Chuck it!" he growled sternly.
The Hindoo turned his glittering eyes on the "barker."
"Sahib, you do not understood," said he, in a hissing35 voice.
"I understood you're intendin' to use the knife," answered Wily Bill, "an' I won't have it. What d'you take me for? They don't hang people in this State, but I don't intend to pass the rest o' my days in the 'pen.' Put that knife back where you took it from."
"It is my duty to do this thing," flared36 the Hindoo.
"Go on!"
"Ben Ali saved my life in my own country, and I joined the show of Burra Burton because he told me. I tried to remove Motor Matt because he told me. That will pay my debt to Ben Ali. I failed in my work while I was with the show, but now——"
"You're goin' to fail here, too. I've got a tender regard for my liberty, an' that's why I was runnin' away from the show grounds. There was a fracas37 turned on in the side-show tent, an' I got mixed up in it. Durin' the row I lost a letter that came to me by mail—a letter that contained somethin' for you. Ben Ali, in my letter, said where he wanted to meet you. I don't know what he said in your letter, as that was in Hindoostanee."
Dhondaram's eyes glowed expectantly, and he held out his hand.
"The writing, sahib."
"I haven't got it. Didn't I just tell you it was lost? That's what made me bolt from the grounds. One of Motor Matt's friends got the thing, and when I tried to get it, Burton took possession of it. If that letter's ever translated, I'll bet it contains stuff that would make the show too hot to hold me. I got away while there was time—but there wasn't any too much time, at that. If——"
Dhondaram drew back.
"Motor Matt, sahib," muttered Dhondaram, "he's listening to your talk."
The prisoner had opened his eyes, and the keen glance of the Hindoo had detected it. Both Dhondaram and Wily turned their gaze on Matt.
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收听单词发音
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1
cylinders
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| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
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2
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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3
conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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4
dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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5
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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6
scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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8
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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9
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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10
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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11
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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12
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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13
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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14
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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15
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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16
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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17
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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18
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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19
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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20
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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21
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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22
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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23
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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24
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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25
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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26
soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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27
bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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28
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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29
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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30
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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31
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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32
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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33
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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34
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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35
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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36
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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37
fracas
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| n.打架；吵闹 | |
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