"Brady swore he'd get even with Matt," spoke up Ferral.
"That's it," said Harris, "and he's the sort of fellow that don't say things just to hear himself talk. He's been out of the 'pen' two days, and I'd like to bet something handsome he's been thinking of Motor Matt and the air ship ever since he got clear of the stone walls and the iron bars. I rushed out here as soon as I could, to warn you boys to look out for yourselves, and for the Hawk."
"Brady will have enough to do keeping his liberty," remarked Matt; "he won't have any time to bother with me."
"That's where you're wrong, Matt, according to my notion. You know how anxious Brady has been, every time the law got after him, to get hold of the air ship. With the Hawk, he can snap his fingers at all the detectives and police officers, and it's a cinch he'll come this way. Some of the rest of the gang may be helping him. You know Pete, Whipple, Grove, and Brady, Jr., are still at large. You don't want to have another balloon-house plot worked on you, so I think you lads had better pull out, and go east, if that's where you're headed for."
"But I don't want to leave until I can learn something about Helen Brady!" protested Matt.
"You can't help the girl any," continued Harris. "Who knows but some of her father's gang are mixed up in her disappearance? If it comes to that, who knows but the girl is with her father now? You can't afford to have any more dealings with that gang, Matt. Besides, you owe it to the authorities to take the Hawk where there won't be any possibility of Brady's getting hands on her. If he gets the Hawk, he'll never be captured; if he doesn't get the air ship, he can't possibly keep from getting laid by the heels."
The officer's position was logical. Matt's disappointment on Helen Brady's account was keen, but events seemed to be shaping themselves so that he and his friends would have to leave South Chicago that afternoon, whether they wanted to or not.
[CHAPTER II.]
THE IMPORTANT LETTER.