CHAPTER XXII
THE MAN WITH THE COOK'S CAP
Somehow Perk's mind seemed to dwell most persistently on their lack of acomfortable fire. Many a time he must have been in much sore need ofwarmth than on the present occasion, and could "grin and bear it." Hewondered himself at his frequent grumbling, and at one time even openlyconfessed to Jack, as though his guilty conscience had begun to reprovehim.
"Doant jest know what ails me, partner, to kick up sech a big row overstandin' things--must be I'm agettin' right old, an' near my secondchildhood. I'd sure give somethin' to be able to warm my hands at acracklin' fire right naow; an' seems like I wouldn't get much o' asnooze, when I'm a shiverin' to beat the band, with nawthin' warm insideme neither."
"We'll crawl a little further along to where we can get out of thischilly breeze. It's because we're so high up we feel it so. I'm meaningto take a look around tomorrow, and see if I can't run across some sortof a hole, or crevice, where we'd be a lot more comfortable nights."
"Huh! might as well make it a reg'lar _cavern_ while yeou're 'baout it,partner; not as I'm atall greedy, see; but I always _did_ want toexplore a gen-u-ine cave, ever sence I read Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer'an' 'Huckleberry Finn' books."
"Just as you say, brother, it'll have to be some kind of a cave then, soyou'll feel satisfied--anything to keep peace in the family. But forjust one night we must put up with whatever comes along, and take it outin thinking how fine we'll be another night, with a warm hole in therocks, perhaps a nice blaze going, and all those good things to eat youmean to lug up here."
"Say, have heart, wont yeou, partner, an' please don't aggravate thesituation so bad? If yeou hear me a rollin' off a list o' dishes likethe waiter does in a cheap chop house, don't knock me any, 'cause likeas not I'll on'y be a talkin' in my sleep."
When they had devoured the last crumb of their limited supply of hamsandwiches the change in the campground was effected; and just as Jackhad prophesied, the cold wind did not seem to strike them as keenly asbefore.
"Stand it as long as you can, Perk," Jack told his mate, before theythought of turning in, "when you get to shivering too much, the onlything to do is to get up, and start your daily dozen in exercising yourarms violently; but make no noise on your life. We don't know when oneof those brutes may be prowling close by, and upset all our tricks byknocking over the apple cart."
"Needn't fear I'm sech a silly as that, ole hoss," Perk assured him,indignantly. "But what I wanter ask is why couldn't some fellers thatknowed haow to slip daown a rope withaout burnin' their hands to acrisp, drop into that same valley as neat as wax, while night hung on?"
"Simple as falling off a log, that's okay, Perk, old pal; if _only_ youhappened to have a rope, and it was long enough to do the business."
"Shucks! allers is some kinder drawback to every game I hatch up--weaint got any rope fur a fack; which is too bad, aint it? Guess as haowif we ever do get inside that ere valley we'll shore have to sneak in byway o' the narrer little pass. If so be they got a sentry on deck there,why, we'll have to poke him in the neck, an' put the gink to sleep."
"Too early to be settling that matter, before we've located things,"Jack argued. "Always a chance of something popping up that we don't knowabout, and which'd solve our troubles. First let's try and get a fewwinks of sleep, because I for one feel as though I needed it."
It was fated to be about as mean a night as they ever could remember,and undoubtedly they had both experienced many poor ones. Jack managedto drop asleep, to awaken later on to find himself shivering, and withhis teeth rattling like castanets in the dextrous slim fingers of aSpanish dancer.
Something was moving near by, and, looking that way he could just manageto make out, with the starry heavens as a background, a figure withnumberless arms, so it seemed, shooting up and down with mathematicalprecision.
Jack chuckled, realizing how it must of necessity be his pal, Perk, who,also awakened by having shivers run over his entire system, hadremembered the advice given him, and was doing his daily dozen severaltimes over, to induce a circulation of warm blood in his extremities.
Like a good doctor, not averse to taking his own medicine, Jack hastenedto scramble to his feet; after which there were a pair of themindustriously working their arms like flails on the threshing floor,taking steps in unison backward and forward. Perk fell in with thetrick, and managed to keep time with his companion, as though it mightall be a huge joke.
Then, after they began to feel more comfortable, they again lay down totry and get a little more sleep.
"Wonder what time it kin be, Jack; caint get a peep at my wrist watch inall this darkness, yeou know?" Perk was asking, turning as always to hisreliable comrade when in any trouble.
"Somewhere around three, I'd say, according to the lay of the starsoverhead," came the ready reply, proving that Jack had for his owncomfort challenged the chart of the skies, which was well known to hisunderstanding, from long practice in reading the ways of the planets.
"Kinder guess that's 'bout so, an' I'm glad on'y a few more hours got tobe endured, when mornin'll come along, and mebbe the warm sun'll showhis nose to help aout some."
After that Perk must have gone to sleep, for Jack did not hear him speakagain. If Perk felt compelled to get up and do some more exercisinglater on at least he did not arouse his companion; for when Jack oncemore opened his eyes it was to see a faint light over toward the east,to prove that dawn was well on the way.
He was feeling greatly chilled, and losing no time hastened to get upand commence that swinging of his arms; also punching an invisible bagagain as though he might be a pugilist at his regular exercises, in viewof an approaching fistic battle in the arena, amidst cheering multitudesof frenzied fight fans.
Then, too, Perk speedily realized what was going on, and joined forceswith the early riser, making all sorts of remarks, both in lament andotherwise, and keeping time with his vicious lunges.
"Take that, yeou pizen critter, an' a few more o' the same stripe, tomake yeou take the count for keeps! Haow dye like that swipe, I'm askin'o' yeou,--a sweet upper-cut I got a copyright on? That's a bit under thebelt, mebbe, but ev'rything counts in this mill--there aint no foulblows. An' by the same token I'm beginnin' to feel some better a'ready,Jack, ole hummer."
Before ten minutes had passed both of them were content to call a halt,as their arms were beginning to feel the strain, and they foundthemselves no longer chilled to the bone.
"Hot-diggetty-dig! it'd be simply scrumptious if on'y we had a goodbreakfast on top o' that exercise," with which gruesome remark Perkpulled in his slack belt another notch, under the impression that byincreasing the pressure on his empty stomach he could cause the distressto disperse.
The light in the east had been growing brighter all this while, havingtaken on a pinkish tinge that announced the speedy coming of the king ofday. Of course it would still be dark down in the valley, so there wasno use as yet in their moving over to their shelter of the precedingafternoon.
"Seems like I might get a move on, an' be agoin'," Perk suggested; nordid the other try to place any obstacle in his way.
"Nothing to hinder you, buddy," Jack was telling him, holding out hishand with a smile. "I'm not going to say another thing about beingcareful, because I'm dead certain you'll be on your guard every minuteof the time. Only, if set upon fight with all your might; for you mustknow men like these jail birds, most of them I reckon having broken outof bondage, hate our class as the devil is said to detest holy water;and they'll never give you a decent chance if you surrender."
And Perk, that veteran of the war across the big pond, nodded his headas he went on to say nonchalantly, as became a soldier of fortune:
"Yeou want to understand, partner, if I jest have to turn my toes up tothe daisies in this game I'm agoin' to have some company along the roadto shadow-land, yeou bet yeour boots on that same. Ta! Ta! an' look furme araound sunset, er earlier if I kin
make it a go."
Jack hated to see him depart, but it was all in the line of business;and many unpleasant things have to be endured in following the path ofduty; none realizing this truth better than men in the Secret Service,where they never know at what minute they may be called upon to risklife and limb in carrying the summons of the Law into all manner of densand hideouts, where potential criminals may be lying in ambush, withmachine-guns, and bombs, ready to bring destruction to the daringofficers of Justice.
Jack, as soon as the early morning mists had cleared away, began work.He had laid out a dozen important things he wished to see through, andas a beginning once more posted himself in a recumbent position behindthe friendly screen of those stunted bushes, close to the edge of thesteep descent--a most colossal precipice it now became in his eyes,although always in the nature of a cliff to dwellers of the sunkenvalley some hundreds of feet below.
Of course, as he dared not creep any closer to the brink, he was unableto make any sort of survey of the near section; but he fancied the moreimportant huts and shanties were within range of his glasses.
He moved his hands with the utmost care, for how was he to know when thebright rays of the rising sun might glint from the magnifying end of thebinoculars, attracting the attention of some suspicious man far beneathby the brilliant flash that was bound to follow a hasty movement?
Besides, Jack felt constrained to keep himself in touch with aretreating line of brush, in order to make a quick getaway should anyalarming sound, like the fall of a dislodged rock, give warning of thepossible approach of some curious investigator.
By degrees he familiarized himself with every part of the depressedground falling under the scope of his glasses. In so doing he paid agreat deal of attention to the long, low log cabin, which he had in thebeginning decided must be a dining hall, and general loafing quarters.
Men came and went, and several of those who reappeared, after aprotracted stay within, seemed to be wiping their mouths, as though theyhad been eating. Then it was finally decided without the least doubt,when a man wearing an apron that may have once been white, and a similarpeakless cap, evidently serving as a general cook, came out and emptiedsome left-overs into a wooden pail, so it could be carried away, to bedevoured by buzzards, or possibly skulking foxes and coyotes, perhapseven timber wolves.