CHAPTER XXVI
A BACK DOOR TO THE VALLEY
A hasty breakfast was eaten, washed down with a few swigs of cold liquidrefreshment, which the ever obliging Perk had fetched up in a bottletaken from the ship for the purpose, and filled with coffee from theirgallon Thermos jug.
Thus the adventurous pair felt well braced for whatever duties the newday had in store for them.
"We'll divide our force for the morning," suggested Jack, knowing onlytoo well his chum would take his words in the way of a command, for heoccupied the position of leader, and Perk was only too willing to accedeto each and every suggestion his mate advanced.
"Jest so, partner," Perk instantly commented; "an' what air yeou agoin'to pass on to me, I wanter know?"
Jack picked up the glasses, and handed them to the other.
"You're a vidette on the lookout this morning, buddy," he explained. "Upin our old place you'll keep watch on the valley, to note everythingthat takes place, so you can pass it along to me. Keep your eyeparticularly on those two figures whenever they're in sight--SlipperySlim Garrabrant and the cook, whom I believe to be Simeon Balderson, aprisoner."
"Consider it done, ole hoss," Perk went on to say, firmly. "Yeou'll suregit a report o' all the doin's when we meet agin. Anyways I got a purtygood mem'ry, if I am short o' some things."
"When noon comes by the sun, make your way back to the entrance of ourcave, where I'll be waiting with my flashlight to fetch you in here. Inthe afternoon, possibly both of us will go on guard up above."
"I notices, Jack, as haow yeou allers say _down here_ when yeou mentionsthis cave; haow do yeou make that aout, partner?"
"It's simple enough, Perk, if you stop to remember how we keptdescending more or less all the way from where we entered by means ofthat split in the rocks."
Perk wagged his head as if to acknowledge that was something absolutelytrue, even though he himself had not previously noted the fact.
"Partner, if so be it's jest the same to yeou, may I ask what line yeougoin' to foller while I'm on sentry duty--I likes to be posted, that'sall?"
"Which is perfectly all right, Perk; and I'll just say I expect to lookaround here a bit, and find out a few things that have struck me aspossible, even if hardly probable. I'll give you the gist of whatsuccess I have in my prowling around when we are taking a snack atnoon."
"I git yeou, Jack, an' it's all to the good with me every time."
Jack chuckled, for he had noticed the quick and significant glance hiscomrade shot across the cavern toward that yawning opening marking thetunnel-like passage Perk had held in such suspicion just before theywrapped up in their blankets and sought forgetfulness of their troubles.
Just the same Jack did not undertake to explain what he had in mind; itwas his usual habit to make his investigations first, and follow up withexplanations afterwards, when he had figured things out, and proven hispoint sound.
He convoyed Perk close to the opening where the fissure split the rockywall--here after a laconic "so-long" they separated, and Jack retracedhis way back along the winding passage.
Perk again climbed the hill until he was able to creep back of thosefriendly scrub bushes. Here he could lie flat on his stomach, andcautiously survey pretty much all of the wonderful valley spread outbefore him like a genuine panorama.
Thus he spent all of the morning, occasionally changing his positionwhen finding that his limbs were becoming more or less cramped. Duringthis time Perk was busily storing his mind with dozens of incidentalhappenings down in the camp of the fugitive criminals, banded togetherfor preying on the forces of law and order, which they held in contemptin carrying out their occasional forays, with defenceless banks, orunprotected trains carrying United States registered-mail sacks, as theobjects of their special regard.
He thus saw the outlaws' patched-up airplane make an ascent, and headoff toward the southeast, rising to pass over the lofty peaks lying inthat general direction many miles distant.
"Kinder guess as haow Jack he'll be some int'rested in what I kin tellhim 'bout the little cargo they stored in the crazy ole cabin o' thetcrate, all right," Perk was muttering to himself, while he watched theship growing less and less distinct, as it soared through a fleecycloud, and began to look very much like some distant buzzard, orvulture. "'Less I'm way off in my figgerin' them three packages might abeen the last printin' o' bogus bank notes they was asendin' aout tother agents in some cities daown Texas way. Didn't I read in the paperson'y a short time ago, that there never was knowed to be sech a raft o'bad money in the country 'long the Rio Grande; an' sech good imitationso' Uncle Sam's genu-ine currency it faized the bank tellers to pick itaout. 'Baout time I'd say we got busy, an' stopped up the hole in thedam, 'fore the hull kentry was flooded with the stuff."
He knew when it was getting close to noon by the clamor arising downwhere he lived, and after that kept a close watch on the glowing sun.Finally, when the time seemed fully ripe, Perk started to creep away,arriving promptly at the fissure, to have Jack show himself, and beckonhim to come on in.
Back in the central cavern they built a little fire, in order to savethe precious battery of Jack's hand-torch; and seated close togetherproceeded to again lower the stock of eatables.
"By close economy we ought to have enough grub to carry us through acouple of days after this one," Jack observed, while they were munchingwhat was intended to be a mere lunch; Perk announcing his intention ofdoing a little cooking at their later evening meal, he having fetchedalong a pound of sliced bacon, a few raw potatoes, and some onions, towhich latter he admitted being very partial.
"Sorry we ain't got any coffee up here," he said, a bit sadly; "but itstands to reason yeou jest caint 'spect everythin' when yeou're on thetrail o' bad gunmen like we air right naow. I ain't kickin', remember,Jack, ole man."
Presently, when they had about finished their frugal lunch Jack askedhis companion to make his report. This Perk did, giving many differentsuggestive happenings that he had noted in rotation, and emphasizing hiswords at certain points.
"You've done a good job, Perk," the other assured him, when the end ofthe story was reached. "In lots of ways what you're reportingstrengthens our previous convictions--there can be no possible doubtabout the cook being our fellow worker, Simeon; and so it goes withoutsaying that when we kick out of here its got to be with two others inour company--Slippery Slim, and Simeon."
"That's okay with me, partner," agreed Perk, eagerly; "an' we'll keep ondeck in this here nest o' snakes 'til we kin put the game through--nomatter if we gotter go withaout a bite o' chow fur a hull week--kinderguess I kin stand it as long as yeou kin."
"Nothing else you noticed, partner?" queried Jack.
"On'y that the ole crate she skipped off 'bout a hour after I settleddaown back o' them nice bushes," came the ready reply; after which Perkwent on to describe how the man they knew as Slippery Slim seemed to beso careful of the several packages, and the leather bag he handed overto the pilot of the plane; and which Perk was so dead certain mustcontain the latest printing of notes off the press they could sometimeshear rumbling down at one of the cabins, in and out of which some of themen were so frequently passing.
This additional information seemed to please the listening Jackexceedingly, to judge from the way he nodded his head, and smiledknowingly.
"Things are breaking for us, I'd say, buddy," he told his mate, to theother's satisfaction; "and by slow degrees we'll carry on, step by step,until one of these nights we can explode our bomb, and play the game toa finish. But it happens that you haven't got a monopoly of the goodnews."
"Hully gee! then yeou been a nosin' 'raound this queer hole back o' thecliff, an' mebbe run acrost somethin' wuth knowin', eh, what, partner?"
"Just what I have, Perk--I started in to explore the black, tunnel-likepassage that you kept your eye on last evening."
"Say, doant tell me yeou run acrost that big hill-billy o' a griz
zly,Jack?"
"You're a bad guesser, matey," he was assured; and then Jack added:"Found that the passage kept dropping down all the time; and in the endI came to another fissure, with broad daylight ahead--then looked outinto the valley; and found I was only some twenty feet from the bottomof the big ditch, Perk!"