"I vant to talk," said Carl; "py chimineddy, I got to shpeak mit you aboudt vat has habbened mit me. I don'd ged der time since der Chinks blayed tag mit me, und——"
Matt was cranking the machine. As he came around and crawled into the front seat, he looked back to see that everything was all right.
"You can talk while we run into town, Carl," said he, throwing in the clutch and manipulating the side lever.
"Pefore you ged to going too fast," said Carl, leaning over the back of the seat and pushing a scrap of paper under Matt's eyes, "read dot."
There were only a few words on the sheet, and Matt read them almost at a glance. What he read thrilled him on the instant.
"Pearls on the way. Break loose and meet us as per letter sent you at Albuquerque."
It was the one word, "pearls," that sent an electric shock through Matt's nerves.
"Where'd that note come from?" he asked, keeping his eyes ahead on the road.
"Dot's all vot Pringle left pehindt," answered Carl, putting the note back in his pocket. "Ven he flew der coop he took mit him der trunk mit eferyding else vat he hat. Yah, so. Ven I knocked py his room in der morning, I don'd ged no answer. I knock some more, und den I findt me der door vas oben, und I valk in mit meinseluf. No Pringle. No trunk. No nodding aber schust dot paper lying on der floor. Pringle hat vamoosed. He took vat money dere vas, und my shdreet clodings, so I hat to vear my stage make-oop."
"Where were you and Pringle at the time?"