"And I struck myself in the head and cut my face, eh?" sneered Carter. "A likely yarn."
"Whether you were knocked down or not is open to question. But there isn't any doubt about your cutting your face. You say you fell against one of the wagon wheels. There's not a particle of evidence to bear out the story. You wanted to make it appear as though you were robbed. Dhondaram hid himself in one of the wagons——"
"Oh, he did!" returned Carter ironically. "He knew your Dutch pard was going to ask me to go there, I suppose. If that's the case, why wasn't your Dutch pard in the plot, too?"
That was the one weak place in Matt's theory. According to Ping, Dhondaram had gone into hiding at the wagons. Matt supposed that Ping was a little at sea, or that the Hindoo had not made for the wagons until he had seen that Carl and Carter were going there.
"Dhondaram knew what was going to happen," continued Matt, "and he placed himself where he could be of most aid in carrying out the plot. He knocked Carl down, and while the lad lay senseless you and Dhondaram emptied the money bags into your hats. One of the bags was placed in Carl's pocket, and the Hindoo took the snake from the basket and placed it in the other bag. You two wanted the basket for the money, and you wanted the empty bag in Carl's pocket in order to throw suspicion on him. We all know how the other bag was used. Dhondaram said——"
Carter gave a startled jump, and a muttered oath fell from his lips.
"Did that infernal scoundrel tell you all this?" rasped out the ticket man.
"I'm not saying a word about——"
"I know he did!" ground out Carter, going all to pieces on the mere suspicion. "He told it all, and you——"
With a sharp cry of rage, Carter flung himself at Motor Matt and made a desperate effort to secure the revolver. Matt hung to the weapon, and Burton caught Carter and pushed him down in his chair.