PERK CARRIES ON
Apparently Jack found considerable interest in the man wearing the white
cap of a cook, for he watched him keenly as he came and went, limping a
little, it seemed, as though somewhat lame.
Then, as the morning drew on, Jack changed his location, as though
desirous of applying his energies to another duty that claimed
attention. He was away from his post all of three hours; and when once
more creeping over to the friendly screen of scrub bushes, there was a
satisfied look on his grim face, that gave him an air of renewed
confidence.
Apparently things were working along the right path, which would mean he
found them to his liking.
If Jack felt exceedingly hungry, with so little to stay the clamorings
of an empty stomach, he gave no evidence of such a thing. But then he
did not happen to belong to the class of "squealers," as honest Perk
often delighted to assign himself, without a blush of shame--he was
built to expect three square meals per diem, and felt he had a right to
"kick" when, through some misfortune they failed to come along on
schedule.
The afternoon wore away slowly, with Jack in continual use of his
glasses. It was a most interesting study for him, this spying upon the
hideout of the greatest aggregation of badly wanted refugees from the
Law he had ever run across.
What a grand haul would result if only he chanced to have a dozen of his
fellow workers in the Secret Service at his call, ready to draw a net
around the sunken valley, and forcing a general surrender. A good many
empty cells in the Federal penitentiaries would be filled with their
former occupants, Jack was telling himself, as he strove to count the
idle members of the gang sunning themselves, and taking things so
comfortably, as though they refused to entertain a single minute of fear
concerning the possibility of the army being used by Uncle Sam to
encompass their downfall.
Jack now began to anticipate the return of his comrade, judging from the
manner in which he frequently turned his head, as if to listen, while a
look of concern began to draw lines about his eyes.
The fact that he had seen no sign of excitement among those he was
watching had given him good cause for confidence. Surely, if the
presence of strangers in the neighborhood had been discovered, with
possibly Perk made a prisoner, he must have noted the fact as he viewed
the panorama spread out before his eyes.
It was when the descending sun had dropped well down the western
sky--about five by his faithful little wrist watch--that all of a sudden
he heard something drop just back of his position, followed by a low,
shaky voice saying:
"Hot-diggetty-dig! say, I'm 'baout all in, for a fack--gee whiz! sech a
climb, with a pack on my back that weights somethin' like a ton. Whee!"
And there was Perk, flat upon his back, having been drawn down when he
attempted to let his burden drop. Jack gained his side as speedily as he
could, his mind at ease once more, his late fears having vanished like a
puff of mountain fog before a rising breeze.
"Mighty glad to see you safe back, buddy--was just beginning to feel a
bit anxious--but you shouldn't have attempted to lug such a whopping
bunch of stuff up this steep grade."
Perk gave him a wise grin, and managing to find his voice he went on to
say, in a jerky manner between breaths:
"Didn't reckon to in first place, Jack--after I hitched to aplenty yeou
know I 'membered 'bout somethin' else--then saw a package o' grub I jest
did want to try eout the wust kind--so she climbed to this mounting--but
it's okay--we kin make use o' ever'thing, bet yeour boots we kin."
"I hope you did what I told you to--eat a good lunch while you had the
opportunity?" Jack asked, solicitously, whereat the other slily winked
one eye, and made reply:
"Sure thing, partner--easier to swaller the grub an' carry same
_inside_, than to tote it on my back. But queer haow a gink keeps on
buildin' up a appetite, fur somehaow I'm hungry as all git-eout agin."
That was just like Perk; but Jack had to chuckle at the lugubrious
expression he could see on his comrade's expressive face as he announced
this sad fact.
"Well," he told the returned scout, "we'll eat as soon as we get further
away from the cliff; I've got some things to tell you that may sound
interesting; but not a single word until I've had a chance to break _my_
fast."
"Great guns! Jack, ole hoss, I forgot as haow yeou aint had nary a bite
all day long, while I was jest _gorgin'_ myself daown yonder!"
"First tell me, was the ship okay?"
"Sure was, Jack," the other went on to state, as he managed to regain a
stooping position, with the mighty pack still on his back, assisted by a
friendly push at the hands of his ally.
Jack seemed to breathe easier, showing that he had really worried about
the possibility of something happening to their air courier, such as
must put a halt to their operations, if not entirely smashing the same.
"'Fore I started back," continued Perk, who was now wound up, and
capable of running on for any length of time, his wind being assured, "I
took time to toss some more o' them evergreens on exposed parts o' the
crate. She's camouflaged neow to beat the band--kinder guess a galoot
with the eyes o' a hawk might pass by less'n fifty feet away, an' never
suspicion what that big mound was. But there ain't been anybody araound
there since we cut aout--I'm givin' yeou that straight, Pard Jack."
Shortly afterwards they settled down in a secluded spot, where the brush
grew thick enough to effectually conceal their presence, assisted in
this friendly task as it was by various piles of rough rocks, such as
were as plentiful in that wild country as "grains of sand on the
seashore," Perk had more than once declared.
Jack held to his resolve, and refused to say another word until he had
taken the sharp edge off his appetite. Just then he doubtless could
appreciate how his always hungry chum must suffer between meals.
By the time he had been munching the stuff the sympathizing Perk kept
putting before him, for something like ten minutes, the acute sensation
had passed away.
Perk had also been doing a little side act of his own, and managed to
put away a fair proportion of eatables. He was waiting as patiently as
he could for Jack to start telling what he meant by the word
"discoveries;" and hoping something entertaining might be forthcoming.
"I'm glad you saw fit to fetch that big flashlight, _ditto_ the two
extra dry batteries along, buddy," observed Jack, finally; "because
we're going to find a good use for the same. I've entered a claim for a
nice dry residence, which we can use while we're in this region--rain or
shine, cold or otherwise, it's a sure enough jim-dandy _cave_!"
"Bully boy, Jack; I'm tickled pink to hear such good news; when do we
move in, tell me?"
"Right away--that is, by the time darkness comes along, Perk; because it
isn't a great way off--a fissure in the big rock that looked sort of
inviting to me; so I crept inside, with a splinter of dry wood that I
could coax to burn. Couldn't see all I'd have liked to, but enough to
tell me the crack developed into a regular cavern, with a roof fully
twenty feet up, and feeling a heap warmer than we found ourselves last
night."
"Whoopee! that sounds right fine to me, cully; I'm sure glad yeou hit
sech a prize package fust shot. But I jest knowed yeou'd be adoin' yeour
stuff when I was a crawlin' 'long daown there in the bottom land. I'm
crazy to take a squint at aour new lodgin'; but I guess there aint no
sech hurry."
"Plenty of time for everything," Jack assured him, still engaged in the
pleasant task of feeding the furnace fires within. "We can have a great
chin once we get settled; and Perk, I spent a full hour toting a lot of
wood into that split in the wall."
"Meanin' as haow we kin even have a bully little fire--all the comforts
o' home, an' nary a red cent to pay for rent, in the bargain. Ain't we
the lucky boys, though."
"Listen! that's a familiar sound I'm picking up, eh, what, Perk?"
"Sure is!" cried the other, showing signs of sudden excitement. "Some
sorter airship headin' thisaways. Must be that ole crate belongin' to
the boys daown in the valley; let's git back to the cliff, an' see
what's what, Jack."