THE DANCE OF THE FIREFLIES
Perk, now fully convinced that he had "struck oil," as he mentally
termed it, laid the binoculars down on the front seat beside his pal and
gave him certain nudges in his side, thereby telling him he, Perk, would
take over the controls while the head pilot used the glasses.
When this had been accomplished Perk managed to point toward the west,
so as to draw the attention of his mate thither without any waste of
precious time.
Of course Jack immediately located the light and was watching it
closely. He could easily make it out to be a lantern that must be on the
deck of a vessel, since he discovered a mast and rigging near by, also
the moving figures of several men.
The lantern did not remain stationary more than a few seconds at a time,
but kept up a swinging movement that was eccentric to say the least, now
passing back and forth like the weighty pendulum in an old-fashioned
"grandfather" clock; then with an up-and-down action and, as a windup
performing a circular movement, repeated twice.
Of course Jack understood that those on board the smuggler must be
trying to signal to those of their group who were on shore, the land
workers of the hard-working bunch, which conclusion caused him to turn
his attention in that quarter.
At first he was not rewarded by any discovery but not in the least
discouraged he continued to wave his glasses back and forth, feeling
certain those continuous signals from out on the gulf must be noticed
and returned.
He chanced to be again watching the moving gleam when he felt Perk
trying to gain his attention and when this had been accomplished
pointing eagerly off to the east.
Yes, there it was as plain as anything--in fact there seemed to be two
separate lights looking like twin stars and even as Jack watched he saw
them carry on in a most remarkable fashion. Now one would be in violent
motion, perhaps doing some intricate figure that had a meaning; then the
other would join in, with the pair swinging back and forth, crossing
each other's path, and going through the most wonderful evolutions.
To Jack's mind they looked like a pair of gigantic fireflies gone loco
with excitement and carrying on in the most astonishing manner. Indeed,
he could easily picture it as a wild dance of make-believe insects on a
greatly magnified scale.
Of course Jack never had the slightest doubt as to what all this
mystifying activity must be--the two extremes of the smuggling
fraternity were exchanging signals--each and every movement had a
meaning of its own and conveyed such information as was most valuable to
the business in hand--in Jack's mind it was as though the conversation
might be running something after this fashion:
"Well, here we are on hand according to promise, with a full cargo of
the finest wet stuff you ever had drop down on your coast. How does the
land lie over there?"
"Coast all clear--we will start the fleet out to lighten your cargo
right away--keep the beacon burning so they'll make a straight line to
your anchorage, which will mean a saving of time."
"We get your meaning--glad you are so prompt to send back word--come
right along and get your invoice--the more the merrier, boys. Wind
getting rougher, and we ought to be off this shallow shore before it
swings around any more. Don't hold back--Merry Christmas to you all,
boys!"
Perk on his part was also trying to keep tabs on all that was going on,
not neglecting his duties with the controls, it can be set down as
certain. He twisted his neck and cast swift glances first to the right
and then in the opposite direction, fascinated by that flashing beacon
conversation.
"By gum! if they ain't holdin' a regular confab with them lights," Perk
was telling himself, delighted with his opportunity to witness such a
proceeding, knowing as he did what this all meant to himself and Jack.
"That guy on shore is sure some punkins about this signal layout--works
jest like a Boy Scout might, sending a message across to another o' the
troop standin' on top o' a high peak--makes me think I'm back on the
front, with Signal Corps men wigwaggin' for all that's out. Huh! There
goes them twin lights, showin' the chinnin' must be over with both sides
posted on the program. Say, ain't this the boss job though? I guess I
never did get half as much fun outen any game I tackled before."
Just then Jack signalled that he wished to handle the stick once more,
which the other was indeed not sorry for, since it began to look as
though they were close to a critical moment when considerable skill
would be required in manipulating the ship so as to accomplish their
ends without unduly alarming those they spied upon.
Already they had managed to collect a certain amount of valuable facts
which were only guessed at previously, so cleverly had these transfer
bases been kept concealed from the most skillful of the Government
agents. Perk himself felt confident that they were as yet only on the
threshold of still more important discoveries.
It was one of Perk's peculiar little eccentricities that he could do
better thinking if only he had a bit of chewing gum between his teeth,
just to keep some muscles at work, he said, and in some mysterious
fashion having this energy pass from his working jaws to his brain and
hasten its activities.
So what did he do now but fumble in a pocket of his oily dungarees and
produce a slab of his favorite brand, Perk thrusting it into his mouth
and savagely rolling it between his teeth, really believed this helped
his brain to function more easily.
Perhaps it may have done so--some people have all manner of strange
hallucinations, which, being favored, bring satisfaction to their train
of thought. If Perk actually believed in his remedy that was half the
battle and no other person's business whatsoever.
Looking out to sea he could still find that lone beacon, even without
the aid of his binoculars. It was easy for such an imaginative fellow to
picture in his mind the lingering sloop, loaded to the gunwales with
case goods, worth almost a millionaire's ransom--the dark sailors from
Bimimi lolling around on deck, ready to up-sail and flee should the
slightest sign of a Coast Guard raid make itself manifest. From off
toward the distant shore line there came dully to their listening ears
the repeated throb of one or more speed boats hastening to lay alongside
and transfer their prearranged quota of cases, after which the burden of
getting the illicit cargo safely landed would rest on the shoulders of
those who manned the smaller smuggler craft.
It was a beautiful little game, Perk was assuring himself, when he
realized how everything had been arranged to make things work as though
greased. As the isolated places along the gulf coast were without number
and the enforcement agents woefully pressed to even half cover their
allotted territory, the reason for the few arrests that had rewarded the
most strenuous efforts on the part of the Coast Guard could be easily
comprehended.
"And that's just why they picked out Jack, out of all the boys in the
service, loaded him up with this here amphibian crate that c'n drop down
on land or water, it don't matter a darn which, got him a sort o' side
partner to help make things go and turned him loose to pull in the net.
Huh! we'll know before long just what this racket is goin' to wind up
in, for we've made our first move, our hat's thrown into the ring, and
we'll either make Pike's Peak, or--bust!"
Presently Perk began to convince himself he could at times pick up the
throbbing sound of a humming motor, undoubtedly one of those on their
way out to the supply boat off shore some miles and ready to deliver
such number of high-priced cases as the lists called for.
Yes, when the night wind veered or shifted a bit he was absolutely
certain about picking up the chug-chug-chug that betrayed the presence
of the leading speed boat.
About this time Perk noticed two separate things that had a bearing on
their mission--the first was that for some reason they no longer romped
along at their earlier speed, showing that the pilot had seen fit to
slacken his craft to a considerable degree, though keeping up steerage
way. The second thing that struck Perk was the fact that they were
slowly but surely making a decided swing off to the west, which if
continued would make their immediate course a complete circle.
"Go to it, old hoss!" he was saying, just as if he expected the other to
hear every word which was out of the question with that whirring
propeller keeping up its low, sing-song tone. "You got 'em beat a mile
when it comes to playin' safe, that's right. Don't want to rile the
water an' let everybody in on the fact that we're hangin' around here,
waitin' for somethin' to turn up. 'Sides, it ain't good policy to make
the ten-strike till they got the stuff on board the chuggin' speed
boat."
He was intensely interested in Jack's play for time and listened with
his heart almost up in his throat, fearing lest the steady chugging
should suddenly stop and the game be thrown by default. But no, it was
keeping on in perfect rhythm, sounding in Perk's ear something like the
tattoo of a machine-gun in action and sending out its swarm of leaden
missiles--a sound that had long ago become so familiar to his ears as
never to be forgotten, despite the lapse of time.
Surely by now that leading boat must be getting close to the schooner so
that the transfer would soon be an accomplished fact, after which the
return trip was due to be started which was when they meant to break
into the game.
"Ginger pop! if I don't ketch the grumble o' a second tug further away,
and I guess now a consid'able bigger craft than the leadin' one. Get a
move on, fellers--the dinner gong's struck and the grub's on the table
waitin' to be swallered--first come, first served's the rule things go
by, so stir your stumps, an' put in the best licks you know how--an' may
the devil take the hindmost. Hey there! that drummin' noise, it's
stopped--wonder if they got out to the sloop or else smell a rat an' are
lyin' low till they make it a dead certainty? Gosh, but ain't this all
mighty thrillin' though, and how it does tickle me most to death,"
muttering which Perk, still listening, actually held his breath the
better to catch any sound from below.