CHAPTER V
THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG
Jack looked at Perk, and smiled.
"I certainly must ask your pardon, old chap," he hastened to say; "forkeeping you in the dark so long. Fact is, what came to me in this lettergave me such food for thought I clean forgot you were my side partner,and entitled to my full confidence. Forgive it, Perk, wont you?"
"Sure thing, Jack; then I kinder guess the letter must be fromHeadquarters?"
"No other, Perk."
"What's in the wind this time?" demanded the other, eagerly; as thoughhis nostrils could already sniff the burnt powder that went with action.
"That's a fair question, and I'll try to answer you," said Jack. "Itisn't the mere fact that we're ordered to duty once more, that I wasthinking about just now, because such a thing comes along every once inso often in the exercise of our duties--but strangely enough our meetingup to-day with the family of a man we'd help put in jail doesn't seem tobring our queer list of coincidences to a halt."
"Hot-diggetty-dig! naow yeou got me a guessin' good an' hard,partner--go to it, an' explain what yeou mean."
"Well, it looks as if a wish you expressed only a short time ago wasgoing to be fulfilled," Jack told him.
"Haow come, buddy?" queried Perk.
"We were talking about a certain scoundrel who's name we've seen sooften of late in the papers--remember, Perk?"
An expression of sublime delight passed over the face of Gabe Perkiser;showing how he understood, and what a sense of exhileration theknowledge afforded him.
"Kinder guess naow, Jack, yeou might be meanin' that same Ole King Colelike he goes to call hisself--the brazen guy that makes all kinds o' funo' Secret Service mokes--is _that_ the answer, brother?"
Jack nodded in a way that could have only one meaning.
"Okay, Perk; you're on.
"Shake on that, young feller--it's the most glorious news I ever did getouten Washington. If half what they says turns aout to be true, we're infur the hot time o' aour life, seems like."
"You never can tell, partner, which way the cat will jump--sometimeswhen you're expecting an easy windup things get mighty tough; then againif you're looking for a hard battle it sometimes turns out to be just amere walkover--a flash in the pan. We have to take things as we findthem, and let it go at that."
"Ole King Cole sent aout his nasty defi to the hull Secret Servicecrowd, an' so far he's been able to give the boys the nasty grand laugh;but they say a pitcher may go to the well jest onct too manytimes--mebbe we might be the lucky ones to smash the same, pronto."
"I've read that two different men of our staff have disappeared, aftergetting hot on the trail of this band of scoundrels; which goes to tellus they're a hard-boiled bunch, who wont stop at committing any crime soas to keep out of the pen."
Perk only grinned, as though the tougher they came the more he likedthem.
"That's all right Jack, I'm best suited when they make 'em that way," hehastened to assure his chum; although really there was no need of histhus doing, since Jack knew him like a book, with all his goodqualities, and shortcomings as well.
"Are you through eating?" asked the other; and on receiving anaffirmative nod he continued: "all right, suppose we adjourn to our roomfor a conference, where we can be dead certain of not being overheard.There are a few other things to tell that may open your eyes stillfurther, as they did mine; besides, the Big Boss enclosed a fewclippings, and typed reports, for us to study, as he believes they willgive us some important clues that are going to be of considerable helpin tracking these outlaws to their den."
"Gee whiz! things _do_ seem to be headin' aour way, don't they though,Jack? Yeou said there might be a sudden turn in the game, an' she sureenough did come hoppin' 'long, to make me laugh, an' feel so likesingin'."
"Well, please don't start that racket here, partner; if ever they heardyou singing they'd certainly put the bars against us; and we both likethe chow in this same little restaurant, remember."
"Go easy on a feller whose education in music must a been neglected whenhe was a kid. An' Jack, mebbe so yeou'll let me set my lamps on that eredocument, onct we get indoors at aour quarters."
"You're going to know everything that I do, Perk; that goes withoutquestion; for how could we work together as a team if we pulledcontrarywise?"
Leaving the eatinghouse they were soon back in their comfortable room,where they could take things easy while laying out plans for the nearfuture.
Perk started his favorite pipe going, as though getting ready to bevastly entertained by what was in prospect; he always looked as thoughat peace with the whole world, even counting those who defied the law tokeep them from doing whatever they pleased, however it might turn outfor other people--such was the beneficial effects of tobacco on hissystem, for there were times when he could never be supremely happyuntil he got his pipe going full blast.
"Naow fur it, partner;" he opened up with, "I'm settled, an' ready toimbibe the hull kittin' story, with nawthin' bein' held back, like yeoupromised me."
"I'm meaning to read the letter to you first, and then later on you canpore over it yourself, making a mental photograph of the contents, sothat every sentence can be recalled from memory upon occasion."
This was the way Jack generally arranged things, for he knew just how towork so as to get Perk fully interested; and accustomed to the programmethe other had never been known to take exception to Jack's methods.
"I get yeou, partner," was Perk's comment; "it's part o' aour reg'larprogramme to learn the big points o' aour job, so we aint agoin' to berattled when we come to settle daown to work."
"Now fix your mind on what I'm going to read, and forget everything elsebut the one business we're being given to carry through."
Accordingly Jack commenced, with Perk occasionally asking some pertinentquestion, which was cheerfully answered by the reader.
"Now," observed Jack later on, "we've covered much that the Chief hashad taken down by his stenographer; but the windup of the whole matteris the heart of the story; you want to hold your breath while I read itout to you, because, unless I miss my guess, you're in for the biggestshock of your life."
"Hot-diggetty-dig! that sounds right ser'us, partner, she shore do; butI'll stiffen aout, grip the sides o' my chair, an' gulp it all in like athirsty broncho would fresh water after comin' in from the sandy desert.Hit 'er up!"
"Listen then to what he writes here," Jack was saying, soberly, yetkeeping an eye on Perk's tell-tale face, which he never could whollycontrol: "'The enclosed suggestions are clippings, and reports from someof our agents who had started out to track this ugly gang to its secrethideout. Taken collectively and individually they will convince you asto the character of many of the knotty problems you will have to solvebefore success can be your reward in smashing this new King Cole mob oflaw breakers, cattle thieves, bank robbers, and what-not along the lineof up-to-date crime.
"'So you will understand the magnitude of this business when I tell youit is not only suspected, but fully believed, this so-called King Coleis an old offender, sailing under a new name--none other than a cleverconvict whose escape from the Atlanta penitentiary some months ago hasbeen purposely kept a state secret, in hopes of its being helpful inlocating his whereabouts, and bringing him back to his empty cell, withthe penalty of having his sentence lengthened on account of hisflight--an arrangement that so far has not been in the least profitableor successful.
"'You will understand what I mean when I tell you the name of thisrascal, whom I remember you and your comrade had the high honor ofbringing before the courts, and starting on the road to the Governmentinstitution--it is'"--Jack paused to watch Perk's eager face, and thenadded with considerable force: "'it is Slippery Slim Garrabrant!'"