CHAPTER XIII.
TIPPOO.
The little brown man in the turban Matt instantly recognized as aHindu, undoubtedly the servant of Mr. Lawton, Ferral's uncle.
Here was a find, and no mistake!
Tippoo had vanished at the same time Mr. Lawton effected his queerdisappearance, and the discovery of one might easily lead to thefinding of the other.
"Is your name Tippoo?" asked Matt.
"_Jee_, sahib."
"Vat iss dat?" muttered Carl. "Gee! Iss it a svear vort? He don'd looklike he vas madt mit himseluf."
The Hindu certainly was taking his discovery in good part. His brownface was parted in a perpetual smile, and he seemed morbidly anxious toplease.
"Does _jee_ mean yes?" asked Matt.
The turban ducked vigorously.
"_Jee, Jee!_"
"Dot's two gees, vich means gootness cracious," bubbled Carl, veryhappy to find that the ghost had been laid; "und also it means jeerful.Led's try to be dot. So der shly brown roosder vas in der pack oof derpubble all der time! How he make it go, I vonder, ven he don'd vas apleto see der vay?"
Matt was also curious on that point. Stepping closer to the automobile,he looked into it, and saw a wonderful combination of mirrors andlevers.
The smiling Hindu, observing the trend of the boys' interest, advancedand doubled himself up in the back of the runabout.
As he lay there, in tolerable comfort and with a cushion under hishead, there was a mirror in front of his eyes. Other mirrors, set atvarious angles, cunningly reflected the scenery in front of the car.When the deck was closed down it was evident that the enclosed spacebecame a sort of camera obscura.
Convenient to the Hindu's right hand was a small wheel with an uprighthandle on its rim. As he turned the wheel he steered the car--entirelyindependent of the steering-wheel in front. The spark was manipulatedby a small lever near the wheel, and so were the throttle, the brakes,and the gears. Strangest of all, though, was the arrangement forcranking inside the box. This device was so ingenious that it shouldhave entitled its originator to a patent.
"But vat's der goot oof it all?" queried Carl. "For vy shouldt a fellervant to pen himseluf oop in a smodery leedle blace like dot und leafder two frondt seads vagant? Ach, vat a foolishness!"
Matt also wondered at that.
"Why do you ride in such cramped quarters, Tippoo," asked Matt, "whenyou could just as well ride on a seat?"
"Baud mens, sahib," said Tippoo, clutching his forehead with one handand bowing forward.
"Where were you going in the car?"
"'Round-around, 'round-around."
"Ring aroundt a rosy," said Carl. "I haf blayed dot meinseluf, aber nodmit a pubble."
"Where is Lawton, sahib?" asked Matt.
"_Jee, jee!_" exclaimed the Hindu.
"He talks vorse der longer vat he speaks," said Carl disgustedly. "Venve vas in der tunnel, he shpeak pooty goot, aber now he don'd saynodding like vat ve can undershtand."
Matt despaired of being able to find out anything he wanted to know,and thought it would be well to take Tippoo to Ferral.
"You know Dick Ferral?" queried Matt.
"_Jee!_"
"Do you know where we left the red automobile?"
"_Jee!_"
"Gee stands for grazy, too, vich he iss," said Carl.
"Will you take us to our car?" went on Matt.
"Awri'," answered the Hindu.
"Dot's pedder," said Carl.
Tippoo lowered the deck carefully over the queer mechanism in the box,and motioned Matt and Carl to get into the car. Matt got into thedriver's seat, having a mind to run the car himself, and Carl got intothe other one. Tippoo stood in front of Carl, getting in after he had"turned over" the engine by means of the crank in front. He watchedMatt sharply, evidently wanting to make sure that he knew what he wasabout.
Matt started along the gully, marveling at the smooth course its bottomoffered.
The runabout responded quickly to the slightest turn of thesteering-wheel, and every other part of the mechanism worked toperfection.
Tippoo, delighted at the skill with which Matt handled the car, bentover and gave him an approving slap on the shoulder.
"Chimineddy!" laughed Carl, "der prown feller likes you, Matt."
"I guess he likes the way I run the car," said Matt. "It's a littledandy! I never handled a machine that purred along in neater style. Iwish I knew more about the get-up in the back part of it."
"Ven somebody blays der shpook schust for foolishness, I don'd likedot," said Carl. "You mighdt haf got your prains knocked oudt bychumping indo der car--und all pecause der prown feller vanted to blayshpook!"
"Me play gose, sahib, but not to scare de good white mans--only de baudwhite mans."
This from Tippoo, who was plainly keeping track of the conversation.
"Did you see us on the cliff road last night?" queried Matt.
"_Jee._"
"And you got away by running the machine into the cliff?"
"_Jee_, sahib."
"You didn't have any lights. How could you see where you were going?"
"Me know de road, no need de light till me get in de tunnel, sahib."
"You stopped the car in the tunnel last night, and came back into theroad?"
Tippoo nodded.
"Why was that?"
"Me see fin' out if Dick sahib be awri'."
"Ah! You were worried about Dick, eh, and you came back to see if hewas all right."
"Sure."
"Why didn't you wait till we could speak with you?"
"Naboob sahib give order no."
"Who is the 'nabob sahib'?"
Tippoo affected not to hear the question.
"He don'd vant to talk about dot," put in Carl. "He shies all aroundtdot Uncle Chack."
"You came past the house in the road last night?" asked Matt.
This question evidently startled the Hindu.
"Sahib see de car las' night?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Me no see sahib."
"What were you riding past the other car for?"
"Try scare baud white mans. Try see dem. Naboob sahib say so. _Jee!_"
"Then you must have been the one who fired that revolver and put abullet through the tire?"
For answer to this, Tippoo pulled a revolver from a sash about hiswaist.
"Make lift board with head, make _dekke_, den bang!" He laughed. "Fineshoot, eh?"
"Certainly it was a fine shot," answered Matt. "Were you trying to keepaway from Dick sahib?"
"Try keep 'way from Dick sahib, and from Ralph sahib. All same. Leave'em 'lone. Naboob sahib say so."
This conversation, which cleared up some more dark points, carried therunabout out of the swale and onto the flat stretch which led off inthe direction of La Vita Place. The course to the ranch paralleled, ata distance of about a quarter of a mile, the other road that led fromthe cliffs.
Matt turned the nose of the runabout so as to lay a direct course forthe patch of trees where the Red Flier had been left. Before they hadcovered more than half the distance between the swale and the trees, aloud cry escaped the Hindu. His eyes were fastened upon the other road.
"_Dekke!_" he called, pointing.
Matt looked in the direction indicated.
"Ach, dunder!" cried Carl. "Dere iss der Ret Flier in der roadt, undsome fellers vas aroundt it--two oof dem."
"Dick sahib him tied in car!" shouted Tippoo. "Dey let car go! Car goto de cliff, Dick sahib tied! _Kabultah! Hurkut-jee! Hur-r-r-kut-jee!_"
Tippoo lifted his hands and wrung them in an agony of fear andapprehension.
By that time Matt was able to take in the situation. He saw Ferral,bound in the front of the car, and the car speeding toward the cliffsand the chasm. Vividly before his eyes floated that turn of thetreacherous road. The car would go straight until it reached the turn,and then, if no one was at hand to stop it, the Red Flier would go intothe chasm and carry Ferral with i
t.
Motor Matt's face set resolutely.
"I'm going to slow down, Carl," said he, "and you pile out! There'stoo much freight for the race we've got to make."
"All righdt! Don'd led nodding habben, bard, now ven ve're so near droomit dis monkey-dootle pitzness."
Carl jumped for the ground, and Tippoo sank limply into his seat.
Matt immediately threw on the high speed, giving an angle to the car'scourse which would lay it alongside the Red Flier.
Like a flash, the white car leaped over the flat ground, Tippoo stillwringing his hands and muttering fearfully to himself.
Motor Matt's Clue; or, The Phantom Auto Page 13
