"They've slowed down some themselves, Rod!" cried Hanky Panky, as he stood "at attention," ready to jump on his machine the instant Rod gave the word, so as to continue the mad flight.

The red car had come around the last bend, and was now in plain sight.

For a distance of at least two miles the road ran as straight as a yard stick; so that the men could readily see that the third motorcycle lad was not in sight ahead.

"All right; it's time we were off!" cried Rod presently.

The car had covered half the distance between the bend and the deserted house, and they could plainly see the man sitting alongside the chauffeur leaning forward, as though eagerly scrutinizing them. Rod imagined he was a little taken aback by their halting, and was trying to puzzle it out.

Suddenly the popping of the exhausts announced that the two motorcycles were once more in action. Both boys sprang into the saddle and away they went down the dusty road. As they were in plain sight the men could readily see that one of the trio was missing. And it would be most natural to imagine that something had happened to his machine, so that he must have taken temporary refuge in the abandoned house, while his comrades continued their flight.

What then?

Would the man they believed to be the plotting Jules stop, and with his a.s.sistant rush into the house to look for the missing boy? Much depended on his actions, for if the chauffeur remained with the car, Josh, lying in wait near by, might be utterly unable to accomplish the design he had in view.

Rod had high hopes. He could figure that Jules would want to make sure the third American boy did not have the paper on his person, before speeding after the two whom he could see going leisurely down the road, as if inviting pursuit.

As their pace was now less swift Rod was able to turn again and again and look backward. Hanky Panky was doing the same, though his machine did wabble more or less, and he had to be exceedingly careful not to land in the ditch alongside the fine road.

It was a moment of considerable suspense to both boys. They saw the car approach the house, and noted with more or less interest that its pace was lessening. That began to look as though the bait had taken, and Jules meant to make sure of the "bird in the hand," before trying for those in the bush.

"Rod, they're stopping, as sure as you live!" yelled Hanky Panky in great excitement just then.

"Yes, and there they both jump out; steady, Hanky, don't lose your head!" warned the leader, noticing how the other's machine wavered.

CHAPTER IV.

JOSH DOES HIS LITTLE TRICK.

Meanwhile Josh had carried out the preliminary part of his share in the plot to the best of his ability. Rushing ahead of his chums he had succeeded in concealing his motorcycle amidst the bushes skirting the road, just a little distance beyond the house.

His heart was beating like a triphammer as he turned, once this had been done, to discover whether the men in the pursuing car had come in sight so as to notice what he was doing.

"Everything is lovely, and the goose hangs high!" Josh muttered in apparent glee, when he found that this was not the case.

His two chums had by this time halted at the door of the house, and it even looked as though they might be saying something to some one inside.

Of course Josh understood that this was part of the plan intended to deceive the men.

He was already making his way back toward the house, bending low so that no one might see his shoulders above the bushes, which grew in profusion just there, as if on purpose to further his designs.

Then came the rapid pulsations of the engines, as Rod and Hanky Panky got going again. The car must be in sight, coming swinging along, with both men keenly observant of all that was taking place.

Still Josh continued to creep forward. He wished to be as close to the building as possible when the car stopped, as he felt sure would be the case. Probably the men would not linger long, once they had rushed inside and taken a look around. Not finding him there they would be likely to "tumble to the game," as Josh put it, and hasten outside again in order to avoid any backset to their pursuit of the shrewd American motorcycle boys.

When the car did stop Josh was only a dozen paces away. The friendly bushes allowed him to lie there unseen, while at the same time he could catch glimpses of those in whom he had such great interest.

"Shucks! I do believe the chauffeur is meaning to stick by the car," he whispered to himself indignantly, only to hastily add in a gratified way: "No he isn't either, for there he jumps out after Jules, who is already bolting inside. Now's my chance, if ever I expect to get one!

Here goes, then!"

With the last words Josh was hurrying through the bushes as fast as he could make time. Of course his pulses were thrilled with the sense of responsibility that rested upon his shoulders. Would one of the men come out unexpectedly, and catch him busy with the car? Josh hoped not; at the same time he had his mind made up just what he meant to do under such conditions.

If either or both of his chums happened to be looking back just then they must have seen him there, for he had by now attained his goal, and was alongside the red racer.

Josh flitted from one side of the car to the other. He seemed to be working with all the vim of which he was capable, and every time he made a movement it was accompanied by a strange sighing sound, as though some restrained captive hailed freedom in a joyous fashion.

After all Josh was not detained there more than a couple of minutes, though it may have seemed much longer to the anxious lad, for his heart beat so tumultuously that it really threatened to smother him.

He could constantly hear the men inside the house moving hastily about, and calling to one another in French. Evidently they were wondering where the missing boy as well as his machine could be hidden. They might at any instant begin to suspect that a clever trick had been played upon them, and come rushing forth to protect their own car, upon which the continuance of the pursuit depended wholly.

At last Josh seemed to have finished his work, whatever it may have been, for he turned away from the car and started to run. He took to the road, meaning to reach the spot where his motorcycle lay hidden in the bushes. Given just enough time to arrive and lay hands on the precious machine Josh felt sure he could laugh at any effort on the part of the men to overtake him.

Just as he came close to the hiding place of the wheel he heard a loud shout from the rear. This announced that his presence had been discovered by one or both of the Frenchmen. Of course their first thought would be to leap into the car and try to speed after him. Josh chuckled with fiendish glee as he contemplated their disgust when they found that no matter how hard they tried they could not coax the red racer to make the first move.

He could hear them roaring as he dragged his machine out on the road.

One look back was sufficient to show him how matters stood. Both men were tumbling out of the stalled car, wild to make a hasty examination in order to discover why it would not move an inch, though the engine was throbbing away tumultuously all the while, just as they had left it.

"The crack I gave that self-starter rod bent it, and placed it out of commission, all right," Josh exclaimed, as he drew his machine to the middle of the road, and deliberately prepared to follow after his chums; "but that was only a beginning; the worst is yet to come when they look around."

Louder came the angry shouts from the direction of the house. The men must have learned the full nature of their troubles. Josh saw them starting toward him as if under the impression that he would be silly enough to await their coming.

"Not for Joseph; not if he knows it!" he called out, as he turned on the current, and immediately commenced to spin along the roadway.

There was a sudden spiteful crack from the rear, and Josh ducked his head involuntarily as he heard some object whistle past close to his ears.

"Wow! they're trying to wing me, for a fact!" he whooped, at the same time bending low in his saddle, so as to present as little body surface as possible to the aim of the one who was doing the firing.

Several more shots rang out, sounding like the popping of champagne corks. Doubtless the marksman, no other than Jules himself, was more or less excited, and although he might be a clever shot under ordinary conditions, just then he failed to accomplish anything.

So Josh rolled away, waving his hand derisively when he felt that he was safe beyond pistol shot. The boy was trembling all over, though hilarious concerning the wonderful success of the little plan which Rod had conceived, and left to him to carry out.

"You've got to have your eye-teeth cut when you run afoul of the Big Five Motorcycle Boys, and don't forget that!" he shouted over his shoulder, as he sped along; although of course the outwitted pursuers could hardly have caught the words, and even if they did might not understand their import.

Rod and Hanky Panky had halted half a mile further on, watching to see what happened. It might be they meant to turn back, and come to the a.s.sistance of their comrade, should Fate play a scurvy trick on Josh, so that he fell into the hands of the enemy.

When they saw him mounting and caught the familiar music of his engine's exhaust, the m.u.f.fler being open, both Rod and Hanky Panky felt like giving shouts of exultation, for they had already discovered that the two men were having some difficulty with their car, after Josh had "fiddled" with the same.

Then came the shots, and of course they felt a new anxiety lest Josh be brought to grief through this means.

"Look at him leaning low over his handlebars, will you?" cried Hanky Panky, lost in admiration over the smart way Josh was accomplishing the trick, which perhaps he had seen riders in the Wild West Show do when pursued by Indians of the plains.

"It's all right, and Josh has saved the day for us!" exclaimed Rod, beaming with gratification. "Jules will begin to wonder what sort of boys they raise over in the States, when he finds out what happened."

"But what did Josh do to the car, Rod?"

"You'll have to ask him," replied the other, "though I suspect he put the starting gear out of commission to begin with. Here he is, and grinning at a great rate."