CHAPTER X
BATTLING WITH THE FOG
Thanks to his carefully studied chart Jack knew just about when he musthead into the east, and make for the disputed land, where fugitives fromjustice had long kept away from the long arm of the Law. In former daysthere had been just such a safe hiding-place further to the north,locally known as the "Hole in the wall;" but it was of the past, and forsome years had been thrown open to settlers and tourists.
The die was cast, and for better or worse they had made their decision;but neither of them had any disposition to turn back. Danger and thesemen of the Force were accustomed to being familiar campmates; sincethere was no mission on which they could be sent but had its share ofperil; if such expeditions were but picnics it would not be so necessaryto dispatch the prize men of the Service on the track, where others hadfailed after shooting their bolt.
Speedily were they swallowed up in the night. Far distant, and in theeast a mellow light low-down announced the rising of the moon, now faradvanced in its last quarter. Jack did not count for any assistance inthe rising of the uncrowned queen of the night, since already he couldsee the gathering fog was growing thicker every passing minute.
Several times he lost the remnant of moon entirely, to have it creepinto view again, as though the thick vapor had temporarily opened up;but only to close in again worse than ever, until the glimpse of theclimbing orb came no more.
Thus began their fight with the fog--its insidious influence seemed toshut them in like an opaque curtain, growing more and more dense as theminutes moved along.
Realizing that they were now heading into that stretch where they mightexpect to meet with lofty mountain peaks, and crags, Jack began a steadyupward climb, being most desirous of taking no unnecessary chances ofcrashing against a rock cliff that was hidden from their view by thecreeping fog.
It seemed to be a most extraordinary fog, all told, Perk explained tohis own satisfaction. Usually when thus compassed around about by adense sea of vapor, and unable to take any sort of reckoning by means ofthe heavens above, or the earth beneath, this trouble could be remediedby climbing still further into the region of the clouds, and thusfinding an altitude where the air was sweet and pure, even if a bitshivery.
Apparently that was not going to answer in the present case. Jack hadascended until they were already some eight thousand feet from theearth; but if anything their enemy the fog appeared to be more densethan ever.
In fact, it did not seem worth while to pursue this system of tacticsany further, in order to beat the enshrouding blanket of stickywetness--why, if they kept on much longer, the cold increasing thehigher they lifted their ship, that same dripping moisture would beturning into _ice_, and the additional weight was apt to play havoc allaround.
"Don't seem to be any let-up to the derned stuff, Jack," Perk at thistime observed in the ear of his running mate.
"Bad medicine, all right--don't like it one bit, partner," came just theanswer Perk would have sworn his pal would make.
"Seems like there aint nawthin' we kin do to make things easier, eh,buddy?"
"Must peg away, keeping our nose pointed east, and ready to drop downlower if given half a show," was how the head pilot answered him.
"Yeah! don't 'pear to be anythin' else in sight, an' its sure gettin'mighty cold 'raound these diggin's, boy. I'm agoin' to drag aout myheavy fleece-lined coat, an' climb into the same jest for fun."
"Go to it, old chap; and after you're settled give me a chance to followthrough, since I'm beginning to shiver as if I had the ague. This coldof the upper air currents is a heap worse than any we run into on theground--seems to go all through you like a knife. Phew!"
Apparently Jack was not yet satisfied to drop lower; he would give theirpresent altitude a little more chance to show what it could do inpressing the beastly fog down in the direction of the earth.
"Thunder an' Mars! aint it awful thick, though?" Perk was tellinghimself, as he rubbed the glass, and did his best to pierce themiserable stuff by which they were thus bound, so they had no power tobreak loose. "Don't b'lieve I ever did see such a mess in all my days.Talk 'bout flyin' blind, if we aint adoin' that same right naow I'll eatmy hat!"
Flying blind--yes, that name seemed most appropriate. Perk could lookaway back to his childhood, and see the boys and girls playing--himselfwith a handkerchief over his eyes, and trying to grope his way around soas to lay hold of the active dodgers who slipped out of his grip soadroitly. But he also remembered, with a chuckle, how as a rule it wasalways possible for the bandage to be lifted just a little, allowing thechaser slight glimpses of those whom he was supposed to trap, and catchhold of.
"Huh! no sech luck in this here game up 'bove the clouds," Perkgrumbled, as if much provoked because there was no chance to"peep"--that pea-soup sea covering so many miles in every direction wasabsolutely impenetrable; and their only resource would be to depend ontheir reliable instruments; keep their wits about them, so as to knowhow far they were going in a certain direction; and when relief came beable to about pick their position on the map.
That was supposed to be Jack's affair, and Perk felt quite willing totrust his side partner to the limit; whatever Jack decided on he wasready to make unanimous, and let it go at that; so why worry his poorbrain when his pal was so much better equipped for handling things?
Still, he _did_ worry--it would not have been Perk otherwise; for hefound all manner of grewsome possibilities crowding into his mind suchas must give him what he called "the willies."
"Hot-diggetty-dig!" he grumbled to himself "but this _is_ a nasty mixupwe've tumbled into. Jack, he says to me the weather reports tell haowthere seems to be a bit of fog aformin' off to the mountings--say, ifthey calls this a _bit_ I wonder what a real smashin' big fog'd seemlike. From the way she acts I'm commencin' to figger as haow she couldkeep this way right along fur a hull day'nd night, withaout fazin' any;an' that's no bunk either. S'pose it does that same, what's bound tohappen to us dicks runnin' wild up here, I want to know?"
That was always Perk's trouble--anticipating things long before theywere really due. He even figured out how, with gas and supplies runninglow, in the end they might have to make a perilous forced landing,taking most desperate chances of a calamitous smash.
It kept him on "needles and pins" to have such a dire threat loom up sosoon after their takeoff, with the work connected with their missionentirely in the future, and unaccomplished.
How the minutes did seem to drag when they were pretty much in the darkas to the progress their ship was making; or whether they had managed tohold on to the course set by Jack in the beginning.
"Huh! it's like gropin' 'raound yeour bedroom in the pitch dark, whenwakin' up from a bad dream--kinder lose yeour head, an' get sorter nuttyin the bargain. Mebbe we're miles an' miles eouten the way, even gettin'wuss rattled right along; but say, that aint like my partner, to losehis head, an' run us into a blind sack. I jest _got_ to depend on Jackto pull us through--aint I seen him come eout right-side up heaps o'times when things they had an _aw_ful black look?"
Taking himself to task after this fashion Perk rose up out of his stateof despondency, and actually forced himself to chuckle, as if thingslooked perfectly all right in his eyes; but there was something lackingin the sound, something superficial, and his seeming hilarity did notlast long.
Thus it happened that once, when Jack, believing they were attaining toogreat altitude, took a slide down, shutting off the power; Perk feltpositive he again caught a sound from somewhere that must certainly havecome from the exhaust of an airship motor, running at full speed!
The thought gave him a momentary thrill, it seemed so pregnant ofaccumulating possibilities in the line of hazards; his old fear lestthey should have been surreptitiously followed by some secret enemy, inthe shape of an ally of the men they sought to run down, returned infull force, to stab him most viciously.