Pardo muttered wrathfully but indistinctly.
"Now," proceeded Grattan, "this is the way of it: We got Motor Matt and his chum, McGlory, aboard the Iris—lured them there on the supposition that Tsan Ti had sent Motor Matt the red jewel to keep safely for him for a time. Motor Matt and McGlory walked into our trap. We got the red jewel and put the two boys ashore some fifteen or twenty miles below here. Half an hour later I put the supposed ruby to some tests and found it was counterfeit——"
"Are you sure the ruby you stole from the Honam joss house was a true gem?"
"Yes. Tsan Ti sent Motor Matt a counterfeit replica for the purpose of getting us off the track. Motor Matt and McGlory will take the first train for Catskill from the place where we put them ashore. We'll lie in wait for them on the path they must take between the railroad station and their hotel. It's a dark night, few passengers will arrive at this hour, and we can recapture the two motor boys and take them back to the Iris."
"What good will that do?" demurred Pardo. "Motor Matt hasn't the real stone—Tsan Ti must have that."
"I'll find out from Motor Matt where Tsan Ti is," said Grattan, between his teeth, "and then I'll flash a message to the mandarin that he must give up the real gem, or Motor Matt will suffer the consequences!"
"You can't mean," gasped Pardo, in a panic, "that you will——"
"It's a bluff, that's all," snapped Grattan. "It will scare the mandarin out of his wits. Have you hid the lantern, Bunce?" he demanded, as the other member of the party came close.
"Ay, Grattan," was the reply. "First bunch of bushes close to where we came ashore."
"All right; come on, then. I've figured out what train Motor Matt and Joe McGlory will catch, and it should soon be at the depot."