"I've made up my mind to tell you the whole of it, King," returned Brady. "During my thieving operations around South Chicago I picked up quite a lot of valuable property. You got some of it back, but not the biggest part. I hid that away, to a place known only to me, and wrote down instructions for finding the place, and stowed the memorandum under a loose brick in the house at Lake Station, where Helen stayed for awhile after you got the Hawk away from me in Willoughby's swamp. If anything happened to me, I intended to tell Hector, Jr., where the instructions were hidden, have him get the plunder, turn it into cash, and hire lawyers to get me out of trouble. While I was waiting for my trial, there in South Chicago, I sent the letter to Hector, Jr. He had left town and the letter fell into Helen's hands. She opened it, went to Lake Station and got the memorandum. In some way, Whipple and Pete found out about it, and they engineered the abduction before Helen could turn the paper over to the police—as I know she intended doing."
A great rage welled up in Brady as he went on.
"Those two treacherous hounds want to get the plunder, and they will keep Helen a prisoner until they can make her tell where the stuff is concealed, for I imagine she destroyed the paper after reading it. That's why I want to play even with them! It was for that alone that I struck down the prison guard, got into his uniform, and escaped from the 'pen.' If you'll help me, King, I've got a proposition to make to you—and you'll find that I stand by it."
"What's your proposition?" asked Matt.
Where Brady had put the spoil of his many robberies had long been a mystery to the authorities, and Brady's recital, although one of the strangest Matt had ever heard, was logical, and bore the stamp of truth.
"It's this," went on Brady, visibly gratified because the young motorist seemed inclined to fall in with his plans; "help me rescue Helen and place Whipple and Pete in the 'pen.' If you will do that, I will go back to Joliet and finish my term, and you can rely on Helen to tell where the plunder is cached. But if anything has happened to those written instructions, and Helen can't tell, I'll give the information to you and you can have the stuff dug up and returned to the people from whom it was taken. I can't say anything fairer than that."
This was queer talk for Hector Brady. Motor Matt could hardly believe his ears. And yet, he was offering little. He had already been recaptured, so his return to Joliet was a foregone conclusion; and Helen, it was almost certain, knew the location of the caché, and it might be considered that the stolen property would be returned without any of Brady's help. That Whipple and Pete could wrest the location of the caché from Helen, Matt could not believe. He knew the girl's determination too well.
"He iss trying to make some fools oudt oof us," remarked Carl. "Don'd listen to him, Matt."
"That's the sizing I give his talk, mate," seconded Ferral. "He's a bad one, and couldn't tell the truth on a bet."
"Haven't you any gratitude for what Helen did for you?" demanded Brady. "If it hadn't been for her, you would have lost this air ship."