"You're right, Carl," laughed Matt. "It took a pretty bright fellow to do that; and your brightness flashed up at just the right time."
"And then flashed out again," said Dick, with a wink at Matt, "and we haven't seen it since."
"Vell, meppy," observed Carl. "Anyvay, subbose Glennie oxblains vat he means ven he say dot luck vears so many tisguises as der Chaps. I nefer see luck but in two vays--von iss goot luck, und der odder iss pad luck. I can shpot dose fellers so far as I can see dem."
"Do you know good luck when you see it, Carl?" went on Glennie.
"Well, was meeting those convicts good luck or bad for Motor Matt and the rest of the motor boys?"
"Vat a foolish kvestion!" muttered Carl. "It vas pad luck righdt from der chump off. Ditn't Modor Matt, und you, und Tick come pooty near going off der poat drying to ged dose fellers? Vas dot goot luck?"
"Well," went on Glennie, "what was it when Captain Sandoval made up with Motor Matt and went after the Japs' steamer, thereby leaving us free to proceed north without having anything to fear from the Sons of the Rising Sun?"
"Dot kvestion iss more foolish as der odder," said Carl disgustedly; "dot vas goot luck."
"Then if we hadn't had the bad luck we couldn't have had the good luck."
"You vas gedding grazy, Glennie. I von't lisden to sooch a ignorance."
"Now, wait a minute, Carl," proceeded Glennie. "I want to change your views on the subject of luck. If we had not taken the convicts aboard we should not have delivered them to Captain Sandoval; and----"
"Und oof ve hatn't telivered dem to Santoval," continued Carl, taking up the theme, "Matt vouldn't have gone on der poat und got indo drouple."
"And if Matt hadn't got into trouble, we should not have put in at Punta Arenas; and if we hadn't stopped there, we wouldn't have got Matt away from Sandoval; and if Sandoval hadn't been trying to test Matt's story about the convicts, he wouldn't have come after us when we fled from Punta Arenas; and if he hadn't found us and made his peace with Matt, he wouldn't now be chasing the Sons of the Rising Sun or----"
"Ach, himmelblitzen!" groaned Carl, clapping his fingers over his ears, "shdop it! You vill haf me grazier as a pedpug."
"Well, you see, don't you, that helping the convicts, which you called bad luck, really resulted in bringing us in touch with Captain Sandoval, who is now our friend and doing his utmost to overhaul the Japs. He will keep the Sons of the Rising Sun so busy that they won't have any chance to follow us up the coast."