PERK AS A FIRE-FIGHTER
It was not far from midnight.
Perk had insisted on taking over the controls, so that Jack might secure
a little rest, possibly even pick up a few catnaps in addition. They
were at a low altitude, perhaps not more than a thousand feet up, since
the air was a bit cool higher and it was certain they stood in no danger
from colliding with mountain peaks while crossing the wide State of
Texas, where nothing save the level plains lay beneath.
Perk was alive to his duties, but this did not keep him from
occasionally stretching his neck, so as to look over the coaming of the
cockpit, and trying to make out objects that might be dimly detected on
the seemingly limitless plain below.
As a rule next to nothing worth while rewarded these efforts and really
he continued doing his little stunt from sheer habit, but there did come
a time when he showed sudden interest, and even half arose from his seat
to stare with increasing intensity.
Not only that but he immediately banked, to start circling around a
certain point. A minute afterwards Perk reached out and shook Jack
gently by the shoulder. The ear-phones being still affixed to their
heads, Jack naturally desired to know what was up, and did his pal wish
to give over the stick to him.
“Nothin’ doing, partner,” he was told with emphasis; “but there’s
somethin’ queer goin’ on down yonder, and I’ve swung around so’s to give
it the once over. On your right, Jack, an’ there, see how it sparks up
again, will you?”
“I’d say it looks like a fire,” ventured Jack, after taking a good look.
“My idea to a fraction, boss!” snapped the deeply interested Perk.
“Seems like it might be breaking out through the roof of some sort of
cabin, or ranch house,” further suggested Jack, himself now almost as
excited as his running mate.
“You said it, boy!” declared Perk; “but somehow I don’t lamp anybody
kickin’ around in a big fuss, ’cause o’ the shack bein’ ablaze; strikes
me either nobody ain’t to home or else they’re so sound asleep they
don’t know what’s goin’ on. Glory be! if that’s the case, partner, they
stand a mighty good chance o’ bein’ burnt to death in their beds. What
ought we do ’bout it, Jack?”
“First place we’ve just got to rouse ’em up, and the way to do that is
to rush our engine to the limit, so’s to make a big row—if that doesn’t
wake anybody it’ll only mean they’re away from home—or else already
smothered by the smoke.” Perk accordingly started up such a racket that
the dreadful roaring noise seemed hoarse enough to awaken the dead and
all the while he kept swinging around in a continuous circle.
Jack, bending over the side, watched to see if this had any effect, nor
was his discovery long delayed.
“That fetched them, Perk—I can see several moving figures, and they
seem to be rushing about with pails in their hands. If the fire hasn’t
got too strong a start they may be able to throw enough water to put it
out.”
“Jack, couldn’t we do somethin’ more to help the poor dicks?” cried
Perk, ever ready and willing to assist anybody in trouble, no matter at
what cost or personal risk to himself.
“It mightn’t be a safe thing to attempt a blind landing,” he was told;
but something in Jack’s voice or manner when he said this encouraged
Perk to go a bit further.
“Why, chances are it’s as level as a barn floor down there,” he hastened
to say, eagerly; “here, you could take the stick—there never was a
better hand at makin’ a three-point landin’ than you, partner; me, I
might drop a few flares down, an’ that’d give us a squint o’ the ground.
If we kept to leeward o’ the fire there wouldn’t be any risk from
sparks, don’t you see, Jack? I never yet had such a fat chance to be a
fire-fighter; let’s go, boy—they need all the help they c’n get, I
guess.”
The temptation was so great it soon overpowered Jack’s sense of caution;
really he fancied he would never forgive himself if he allowed Perk to
show a higher sense of duty to people in distress than he himself could
display.
“All right, you win, Perk!” he quickly called out; “hand over the stick,
and get those flares ready to drop when I give the word.”
Perk started to make a move, showing that he knew just where the objects
of his desire were located, for he did not have to leave his seat in
order to place his hand upon the small package of flares.
Meanwhile Jack had reduced their speed to a minimum compatible with
safety, still continuing that circular movement. The fire had by this
time assumed sufficient proportions to dispel any doubts they may have
entertained regarding its true nature, for it was burning at a lively
rate. Jack could see a crouching figure sprawled on the roof, and
apparently emptying bucket after bucket of water on the greedy flames,
and passing the empties back down the nearby ladder to some one standing
on an upper rung.
It was all mighty exciting, and to Jack seemed like some sort of
fetching picture as shown on the silver screen at the movies—a scene
developed through the skill of a wizard director, aided by a group of
star actors, so as to bring out all the realistic effects.
“Get ready, Perk!” he told the other suddenly.
“All set, partner,” came the inspiring response.
“Let her go, then!” called out the pilot, just as he found himself over
a point to leeward of the burning ranch house that he figured would be
the best place to make a landing.
Perk had a flare falling almost as the last words left the lips of the
pilot and then both of them used their eyes to advantage as it neared
the ground, lighting up a small section fairly well—at least what he
thus saw seemed to convince Jack it would be fairly safe to attempt a
landing, for the ground looked smooth, and free from outbuildings,
corrals, or wire fences.
“Drop another, quick as you can!” directed Jack; then, as this was
carried out he started down, showing the die was cast, come what would.
Perk threw a third flare to one side, in the hope that its light would
afford his pilot a chance to effect one of his really marvelous
landings; which turned out to be sound reasoning on his part—the shock
when their landing gear came in contact with the ground was not very
severe, and Jack managed so that they did not run more than thirty feet
toward the burning house.
Thus far all was well.
Perk was out of the cockpit like a flash, but managed to hold his eager
spirit in check long enough to allow his comrade to join him. Then they
hurried over to the building, which they could now see, thanks to both
the moonlight and the brilliance of the blaze, must be some kind of a
ranch house.
Several men who had the appearance of cow punchers were working for all
they were worth, fetching water from a well, and hurling it where it was
calculated to do the most good.
“Let’s give you a hand in that game, neighbors!” Jack burst out with, as
he joined the string, backed by Perk, and commenced handling buckets
full and buckets empty, with as much vim as though tested and tried
members of a village fire company.
At such a time the addition of two more willing workers can do
considerable toward smothering a fire, especially when there happens to
be no wind moving; and from the moment of their arrival things began to
take on a better look as though up to then the fight had been hovering
“on the fence,” as Perk called it, and the balance being overturned,
victory was in sight.
Perk was in his glory, and the brisk way in which he hurried those
buckets along was worth going a long way to witness; Jack never would
forget how proud he felt over the marvelous performance of his running
mate, and how those encouraging cries, so constantly emitted by Perk,
seemed to enthuse everybody with fresh vim and go.
Finally the last spark was extinguished, and the house saved, having
suffered but scant damage. Then the men, yes, and women too, gathered
around the pair of aviators who had come on the scene just in the nick
of time, to first of all arouse the people of the prairie ranch to a
sense of the danger that hovered over their heads, and finally take
chances in effecting what might have been a rough landing, so as to lend
their material aid to the fire fighters.
“Surely you will not think of starting off again till break of day,” the
big man with the white head of hair, evidently the rancher himself, was
saying, while engaged in pumping the hands of the two who had dropped
down from the sky, as it were, to bring warning of the burning roof, and
start the stiff fight against the greedy flames that had ended so
successfully. “Stay and eat breakfast with us, strangers; we’d like to
know you both some better, and have a chance to thank you most
heartily.”
“Unfortunately we must be on our way, neighbor,” Jack told him. “It
happens we are on special duty, and delay might upset certain plans we
are bent on following out. It was just by sheer accident we discovered
the fire, and took the customary means for attracting attention that all
air pilots employ; but some other day, if we chance to be in this
neighborhood, we’d be pleased to see more of you all.”
The women added their voices to the pressing invitation, but Jack was
forced to decline, although doing so smilingly, since he would have
liked very much to see more of these warm-hearted stockmen and their
wild riders, possibly picking up some useful knowledge concerning the
way a ranch is run in these modern days, so different from early times
in the cattle country.
“It is absolutely necessary for us to be going,” Jack told them all, “if
we are lucky enough to be able to hop-off again. Perk, I wish you’d take
a look over toward the west, and see if the ground is fairly clear;
while I talk for a few more minutes with our new friends here.”
He was astute enough to avoid giving their names to any one but the
ranchman, who readily promised not to mention them to a living soul; he
felt heavily indebted to Jack and his chum, and considered that they
knew their business best—for one thing he felt absolutely certain the
fact of their being in such a hurry had nothing whatever to do with any
unlawful act on their part—he had as much confidence in them as though
Jack had actually confided the fact of their being Government Secret
Service agents, bound on a mission fraught with much peril to life and
limb, the prime object of which was to save honest people from being
victimized by a gang of unprincipled sharks, makers of clever bank notes
that were without the pale of the law and only base counterfeits,
although clever imitations of the genuine bills.