They were directly across the doorway, and Brisco sprang for the front window and pushed himself through it.
"Shtop a leedle!" whooped Carl, dodging around the rain-water barrel; "you don'd got avay so easy as dot, und—— Himmelblitzen!"
Brisco had grabbed the barrel. That happened to be the dry season and the barrel was empty. Giving it a whirl, he threw it against the Dutch boy with a force that took him off his feet.
Thrashing his arms wildly, Carl laid himself down on the rolling barrel and went caroming off toward the road.
Meantime, Matt, seeing that Brisco was making for the window guarded by Carl, had rushed around to the front of the hotel. He reached the scene of the scrimmage just in time to be grabbed by O'Grady.
The racket in the office had brought O'Grady's Chinese cook from the kitchen; and, while the Chinaman continued the tussle with Legree, the proprietor of the hotel had rushed out to see what more he could do for the man who had paid him so well for gasoline and oil.
"Oi've got yez, yez meddlin' omadhoun!" shouted O'Grady. "Oi'll tach yez t' come interferin' wid dacint people!"
With that he flung his arms around Motor Matt and hung to him with all his strength.
"Hang onto him, O'Grady!" cried Brisco, dashing for the runabout.
"Niver yez fret!" panted the Irishman reassuringly; "good-by t' yez. Next toime yez come we'll give yez betther treatment; there won't be so many hoodlums around t'——"