CHAPTER XVI
IN THE GRIP OF THE STORM
Perk soon afterwards showed up, and seemed so cheerful that it wasevident his little scouting mission had yielded favorable results.
"Seems okay to me, partner!" he burst out with, as soon as she camealong; "course it ain't just as smooth as some fields we know but thereain't goin' to be any smart trouble takin' off, I guess now."
"And are we holding the nose of the ship straight in line of the courseyou took a squint at, Perk?" Jack asked, as he prepared to climb intohis seat, the people of the ranch clustering around, to gaze with wideopen eyes at the fleet aircraft, some of them doubtless seeing such amodern cloud clipper for the first time.
"Dead ahead, boss, an' you'll strike the right racket, I'm tellin' you,"came the positive assurance.
"Then jump aboard, comrade, and we'll put it to the test," saying whichJack himself climbed into the waiting cockpit, to settle down in hisaccustomed seat, take a quick glance at his dials when the small lightwas turned on, and await a signal from the other sky traveler that hewas "fixed."
The way was clear, and the fact that just then the gay old mooncondescended to poke her smiling face out from behind a mass of cloudsassisted more or less in giving the pilot some of the necessaryillumination--the rest must be left to his native sagacity and instinct.
There was a bunch of cottonwoods at some little distance ahead, thelocation of which Perk had pointed out to his mate before settling downin his seat but if all went well Jack calculated to be able to clearthem in good shape--did it seem necessary he could swerve slightly tothe right, and have a clear field for the take-off.
There was a little shouting as the friendly plane started to taxi along,but of course this was smothered by the increasing roar of exhaust andspinning propeller. Faster and faster they scurried onward, and thenstarted to rise on an angle just sufficient to nicely clear the tops ofthe cottonwoods; when Jack jazzed his motor, to find it running as"sweet as a purring cat."
So they departed only a short time after making that landing whichhumanity had demanded and in times to come the little episode was likelyto afford both aviators more or less satisfaction, in that they had"seen their duty and done it," as Perk would say in his whimsical way.
As they continued on their way Perk found himself wondering if thisinteresting adventure was destined to be a sample of other equallythrilling happenings in store for them the further they dipped into thegreat game that had been laid at their door by the powers that be atWashington.
Whenever he came to thinking of the audacity shown by Slippery Slim invirtually defying all the authority of the Government, Perk would feelhis dander rising as if in great indignation.
"Huh!" he at one time told himself, being rather fond of thus communing,as his thoughts ran on, "we'll call _his_ bluff just the same, the scalyol' gila monster, you wait an' see. Thinks he's the whole works, theboss man-handler, does he, just 'cause he's outguessed a number o' theboys. This time he's due to find himself up against guys o' the rightsize, who'll jerk him down off'n his high perch in a jiffy, or I miss myticket."
So Perk kept on boasting in his customary fashion, possibly to keep hismind on the subject. Jack was paying little attention to side issuesjust then for he knew his pal's peculiarities, and short-comings as welland having "exhausted his boiler" Perk presently lapsed into uttersilence.
They had climbed to a fairly high ceiling, and caught only occasionalfugitive glimpses of the earth far below, when the moon chanced to breakthrough the banks of clouds, which intervals became less and lessfrequent, Jack noticed.
He did not altogether fancy the looks of the heavens, by degreesbecoming more and more overcast; still, this might after all mean nextto nothing and their business was to keep steadily on their way as ifthings were bound to come out all right.
It was now drawing well on toward midnight, and they had placed hundredsof miles between the city of their recent stay and themselves. Longsince Perk had taken what proved to be his last glimpse of the vast gulfas seen far away toward the south, when the night was brightlyilluminated, with the moon's silvery rays shining on the glisteningwaters, and making a picture that even appealed to Perk's ruggednature--after that all he was able to make out was the monotonous levelplains that lay in every quarter, as though the whole earth consisted ofthis same stock country.
No longer were they able to find any cheer in the company of the moon,for the canopy above, earlier in the night peopled by a multitude ofbright stars, was now gripped in dense masses of clouds.
Having thus lost his guide marks below, Jack was compelled to place alldependence upon his faithful instruments, but this of course was an oldstory to one of his experience, so that he did not do any worrying onthat score.
Perk, buried in his own thoughts, and paying scant heed to what changeswere taking place in the signs of the weather, had no warning untilsuddenly there came a dazzling flash, that was almost instantlysucceeded by a tremendous burst of thunder.
"Ginger pop! that means we're booked for a bit o' storm, mebbe, eh,Jack?" was his startled exclamation.
"Let's hope it turns out to be _only_ a bluster," the pilot went on tosay, as he turned the nose of his ship upward, and commenced to climb,evidently in hopes that by so doing they might get above those lowhanging clouds, and have clear sailing while the disturbance lasted.
When shortly afterwards a second electrical crash almost stunned them byits violence, Perk began to fumble for his oilskin coat, which he wasnever without when aboard a boat with an open cockpit.
Perk could take a ducking with as much good nature as the next fellowbut just the same he did not intend to get soaked if he could help it,since a continuance of the flight, with a cold wind likely to follow therain, would not prove to be the most delightful experience possible.
No sooner had he accomplished the job of securing his raincoat than hegave Jack the well known signal that he meant to take over the stick,and thus allow his comrade to also protect himself against bad weather.
Accordingly both of them were presently thus equipped, and ready to takewhatever might be in the offing. Meanwhile the ascent was continued inspasms, for there was always a chance of getting above such a storm, andavoiding the worst of it.
The thunder claps became more frequent, and also much louder, so thateach sudden burst gave them both a thrill, death seemed so close, forshould their speeding ship chance to attract one of those dazzling boltsit would be all over for the daring air adventurers, and no one be thewiser concerning their taking-off, until possibly after long months hadpassed, their bleached bones might be discovered by some party ofplainsmen out looking for rustlers or seeking to round up missing stock.
Thus far not a single drop of rain had fallen, according to Perk'scalculations but the coming of the drenching flood could not be muchlonger delayed, he felt positive. Had there not been so much racketaround them those keen ears of his might have detected a rushing soundin the near distance, like the roar of the incoming tide on the sandyshores of the gulf.
Then it came with a swoop, the wind whistling around their ears and therain beating a tattoo against the fuselage of the ship, as well asstriking them smartly in the face, despite such protection as theirhelmets and heavy goggles afforded.
Jack certainly had his hands full in managing the bobbing, shiftingcraft, gripped by those shifty gusts that came with giant force, makingthe flyers feel as though they were clinging to a mere chip tossed aboutin the wild fury of a Texas tempest.
Time and again did Perk feel as though his heart had jumped up in histhroat, almost choking him; seasoned veteran at this sort of thing as hebelieved himself to be, he could not help this feeling of helplessnessin the hands of the aroused elements; yet each time Jack managed tobring their ship through the teeth of the storm in a way that was nextdoor to miraculous, and if Perk had up to this time not fullyappreciated the astonishing skill and confidence of his younge
rcompanion while at the controls in an emergency, he certainly wasgetting his lesson then and there, in a way to cause it to sink deep,and stick.