Chapter IV: Motor Matt's Courage

During the exhibition at Lafayette, Indiana, the _Comet_ had caught fire while in the air and the king of the motor boys had made a dangerous descent in safety. The machine had been damaged, however, and, when the show left the town, Matt and his friends had remained behind to make repairs. These repairs had occupied two days. When they were finished, Matt and McGlory had rejoined the show, flying from Lafayette in the aëroplane and scattering Burton's handbills over the country as they came. Carl Pretzel and Ping, the Chinaman, had caught up with the show by train, there being no place for them on the _Comet_.

The flight through the air had been made in the face of a tolerably stiff breeze, and Matt and McGlory had found it necessary to lie over almost the entire night on account of a high wind. The flying machine, however, had caught up with the show that very morning.

The Big Consolidated had pitched its tents in the outskirts of Jackson, Michigan, just across the railroad tracks on the road to Wolf Lake.

Matt's work, for which he and his friends were receiving five hundred and fifty dollars a week, was to drive the aëroplane, under its own power, in the parade, and to give two flights daily on the grounds--one immediately after the parade and the other before the evening performance--wind and weather permitting. During these flights Archie Le Bon was carried up on a trapeze under the flying machine.

When the boys reached the place where the aëroplane had been left in charge of Ping, they began at once replenishing the gasoline and oil tanks and seeing that everything was shipshape for the journey on the bicycle wheels.

Ping, while primarily one of the _Comet's_ attendants, had also shown a decided regard for the steam calliope. The calliope operator was teaching him to play a tune on the steam sirens, in return for which attention the Chinaman always provided the musical instrument with the water necessary to make the steam that operated the whistles.

Knowing that he would have to look after the aëroplane, Ping had performed his calliope duties early in the day.

The arrival of Carl with Matt and McGlory was a distinct disappointment to Ping. He and the Dutch boy had had a set-to at the time of their first meeting, and, although Matt had made them shake hands, yet there still rankled in their bosoms a feeling of hostility toward each other. Nevertheless, they kept this animosity in the background whenever Matt or McGlory was near them.

During the trip from Lafayette to Jackson on the train the two had ridden in different cars. They were not on speaking terms when away from Matt King and his cowboy pard.

Carl was just beginning his engagement with the Big Consolidated. He was traveling with the show while waiting for some money to reach him from India. There was nothing for him to do about the _Comet_, so he secured a job playing the banjo in the side show while a so-called Zulu chief performed a war dance on broken glass in his bare feet.

When the flying machine was in readiness the wagons and riders were already forming for the parade.

"You'll have to hustle to get into your clothes, Joe," said Matt, "you and Ping. Get a move on, now. While you're away I'll watch the _Comet_."

McGlory and Ping started at once for the calliope tent, which they used as general rendezvous and dressing room. They rode on the machine in costume--McGlory in swell cowboy regalia and Ping in a barbaric get-up that made him look as though he had tumbled off a last year's Christmas tree.

Carl had nothing to do until after the aëroplane flight, and so he remained with Matt until the procession started.

"Here comes dot pad elephant, Racha," murmured Carl, pointing to the string of four elephants lumbering in their direction from the animal tent. "Der Hintoo iss pooty goot ad bossing der elephant, aber I don'd like his looks."

"He's all right, Carl," laughed Matt easily. "It's Rajah's looks you don't like."

"Vell, I dell you somet'ing, bard. Oof der elephant geds his madt oop, all you got to do is to turn some veels und sail indo der air mit der _Gomet_."

"We couldn't do that. When the _Comet_ takes to the air she has to have a running start. There's no chance for such a start while we're in the parade."

"So? Vell, keep your eyes shkinned bot' vays und look oudt for yourseluf. I got some hunches alretty dot you vill haf drouples."

"We'll not have any trouble," returned Matt confidently.

A few minutes after the elephants had dropped into line in front of the aëroplane, McGlory, his big spurs clinking at his heels, and Ping, rattling with tin ornaments and spangles, ran toward the _Comet_. Ping was helped to the upper wing, and Matt and McGlory took their places in the seats on the lower plane.

Carl drew off and cast a gloomy look at Ping, sitting cross-legged on the overhead plane and languidly beating the air with a fan.

"You look like nodding vat I efer see!" whooped Carl, envious to a degree that brought out the sarcastic words in spite of himself.

"My see plenty things likee Dutchy boy when my no gottee gun," chattered Ping.

"Py shinks," rumbled Carl, beside himself, "I vill make you eat dose topacco tags vat you haf on!"

"Makee tlacks," answered Ping, with a maddening wave of the fan; "makee tlacks to side show and plingee-plunk for Zulu man! My makee lide in procesh."

The Chinaman's lordly way worked havoc with Carl's nerves. He howled angrily and rushed forward. At just that moment the parade got under way, and the aëroplane lurched and swayed across the ground toward the road.

"Carl," cried Matt sternly, "keep away!"

The Dutch boy had to content himself with drawing back, shaking his fist at the glittering form on the upper wing of the aëroplane, and saying things to himself.

The parade was but a wearying repetition of the many Matt, McGlory, and Ping had already figured in. The glitter of tinsel, the shimmer of mirrors, the prancing steeds and their mediæval riders, the funny clowns, the camels and elephants, and the blare of the bands had long since lost their glamour. For Matt and his friends the romance had died out, and they were going about their work on a business basis.

The motor boys and their gasoline air ship always commanded attention and were loudly cheered. The fame of Motor Matt's exploits had been told in handbills and dodgers by the clever showman, and, too, Burton had seen to it that the young motorist secured ample space in the newspapers. This, naturally, aroused a great deal of interest, and it had long ago been conceded that Burton's greatest attractions were Matt and his aëroplane.

Rajah was a very good elephant during the entire parade. As usual, his mate, Delhi, marched ahead of him, and always had a pacifying effect. Dhondaram, perched on Rajah's neck, kept the huge brute lumbering in a straight line.

But it seemed strange to Matt and McGlory that Rajah, after his fit of madness, could be so suddenly brought into subjection.

"I'll bet my spurs," remarked McGlory, early in the parade, "that Rajah will cut up a caper yet."

"If he does," answered Matt, "I hope the _Comet_ will be out of his way. But this Dhondaram, Joe, seems to be an A One _Mahout_, and I believe he can hold Rajah down."

It was about half-past eleven when the dusty paraders began filing back into the show grounds, the cages pulling into the menagerie tent, the riders taking their horses to the stable annex, and Matt driving the aëroplane to the spot from which the first exhibition flight of the day was to be made.

"You and Ping go and peel off your show togs," said Matt to McGlory, as soon as the _Comet_ had been brought to a halt and he and his friends had dropped off the machine, "and then come back and take charge of the start. I've got to fix that electric wiring, or I'll get short-circuited while I'm up with Le Bon."

He pulled off his coat while he was speaking, and dropped coat and hat on the ground; then, as McGlory and Ping made their way toward the calliope tent through a gathering throng of sightseers, the young motorist opened a tool box and stepped around toward the rear of the aëroplane to get at the battery and adjust the connections.

A sharp tent stake, carelessly dropped by one of the show's employees, lay in the way and Matt kicked it aside. He gave a look around, and saw that Dhondaram was having some trouble getting Rajah into the menagerie tent. Thinking nothing of this, Matt proceeded to the rear of the planes and threw himself across the lower wing, close to the motor and the battery.

While he was busily at work he heard a series of startled yells, apparently coming from the crowd that was massing to witness the flight of the _Comet_. Withdrawing hastily from his place on the lower plane of the machine, Matt dropped to the ground and ran around the ends of the right-hand wings. What he saw was enough to play havoc with the strongest nerves.

Right and left the crowd was scattering in a veritable panic, and through the lane thus made came Rajah, hurling himself along in a direct line for the _Comet_. There was no one on the animal's back, and the gay trappings which covered him were fluttering and snapping in the wind of his flight.

Rajah had always had a dislike for the aëroplane. Its ungainly form seemed to annoy him. In the present instance this was no doubt a fortunate thing. Had the brute not kept his attention on the air ship, he might have turned on the frightened throng and either killed or injured a dozen people.

Motor Matt knew Rajah was charging the _Comet_, and the lad's first impulse was to get out of the way; then, reflecting that he and his friends stood to lose the aëroplane unless he made a decided stand of some sort, he caught up the tent stake, which lay near at hand, and jumped fearlessly in front of the flying machine.

This move was not all recklessness on Matt's part. He recalled what Dhondaram had said to the effect that an elephant was a coward, and brave only when he had cowardly human beings to deal with.

Well behind Rajah came a detachment of canvasmen, carrying ropes and iron bars, and one armed with a rifle. The king of the motor boys had seen these men, and he knew that if he could keep Rajah from his work of destruction until the men had had time to come up the _Comet_ would be saved.

Cries of consternation went up from the spectators as they saw the elephant plunge toward Matt. The lad gave a fierce shout as the brute drew close, and waved the tent stake.

"Get out of the way, King! Out of the way, or you'll be killed!"

This was Burton's voice ringing in Matt's ears, and coming from he knew not where. But the command had no effect on the daring young motorist. He did not move from his position.

Rajah wavered. Although he slackened his headlong rush, he still continued to come on.

When he was close, and Matt could look into his vicious little eyes, he halted, crouched back, and lifted his trunk.

The lad jumped forward and began to use the pointed end of the stake vigorously. Rajah's head was up, and his sinuous trunk twined in the air.

The huge beast towered above Motor Matt like a mountain, but the king of the motor boys held his ground.