CHAPTER IV
PERK HAS AN ADVENTURE
Perk might have been observed swelling out his chest somewhat, as thoughthis praise on the part of his ally went straight to his head like richwine.
"I done tole him it was all up to yeou, Mister Warrington--seein' ashaow I was jest a humble air pilot aworkin' fur yeou---we might be inAtlanta a hull week, mebbe so, fur all I knowed."
"That was another clever thing for you to say, brother," Jack assuredhim, only too ready to praise when praise was due; "it might serve tothrow him off the scent; but no matter how long or how short our staychances to be, I've a hunch we're bound to see more than we want of thatnosey chap. Like most of his breed he means to find out all he can,either to make a story that will give his readers a fine kick; or on theother hand, if he does happen to be one of that syndicate's paid spies,to learn who and what we really are, and why we're in Atlanta, comingout of the west--for I reckon he saw our first approach this same day,and jotted that fact down in his mind."
"He done tried hard to start me talkin' 'baout yeour business, so I jesthad to tell him as haow yeow was on'y sportin' fo' sport, an' undecidedwhether to go on daown to hunt black bears in the canebrakes o' OleLouisiana; or else strike aout fo' Currituck Sound on the coast, to gita whack at the wild geese an' swans as kin be shot on the clubpreserves."
"You couldn't have done better any way you tried, brother," warmlycommended Jack, whacking the other on his back, and causing him tofairly glow with satisfaction. "Only I hope he didn't catch on aboutthat three distinct language business I was speaking about not so longago."
Perk shook his head briskly in the negative.
"I was mighty keerful not to say _too_ much, partner," he continued;"with him afirin' questions at me like the rat-tat-tat o' a machine-gun.So I pays fo' my soda, an' tells the youngster I gotter hurry back towhere yeou was awaitin' fo' me to unpack the bags; an' with that Ileaves him right whar he was standin', lookin' at me outen them sharpeyes o' hisn like he'd bore into me with a gimlet, so's to knowever'thing I had in my head. That sap is certain sure the mos'uncomfortable bird to run across when yeou got a secret up yeour sleeve,I ever did tackle."
"I can well believe you, brother," observed the relieved Jack. "Chancesare you've left him in something of an uncertain frame of mind; but ashe's built on the pattern of a bloodhound, he isn't meaning to give upthe scent as long as we're within his reach. That forces me to decide onskipping from Atlanta as soon as possible, for he's marked'dangerous--keep out.'"
"What's next on the programme, Mister?" asked Perk, satisfied to havecome out of his little adventure with credit, and nothing like reprooffrom the pal whose good opinion he coveted so much.
"I must leave you here for an hour or so, and keep my appointment withMr. Justice, although I hardly expect him to give me anything like thefull details of the work ahead of us--that must wait until we get toCharleston, when everything will be laid before us; together with coastcharts issued by the Government from surveys carried out by experiencedgeographers, and which we can rely upon to the fullest extent."
"I done reckons then, partner, yeou got yeour plans fixed up in case heis alayin' fo' yeou somewhars, eh, what?"
Jack chuckled as if amused.
"I understand how you're referring to our enterprising young scribe onone of Atlanta's lively papers; and especially vigilant in connectionwith air travel matters at Candler Field--nothing would please me morethan to take him on, and give him a whirl or so. I think I can play mypart as a millionaire sportsman to the dot, and give him a mouthfulthat's apt to set him wondering more than ever. I might even invite himto dine with us, say tomorrow evening at the Grady here, when he will beat liberty to ask all the questions he wants about my love for outdoorsports, and so on--that would be a good joke on the slick lad, sincewe'll be on our way east many hours before that time."
"Gosh all hemlock! but say, wouldn't that be rich, though; an' whatwouldn't I give to be close by, an' hear haow yeou stuffed the duffer,"Perk went on to gush, surveying his companion with eyes that fairlyglowed with sincere admiration.
"Lock the door, and under no consideration allow any one to enter whileI'm away. Just say you're tremendously engaged, and can't be disturbed,if that everlasting busybody shows up."
"Huh! jest trust me to lay the same aout if he gets too fresh," gruntedPerk with a menacing ring to his voice. "Course I wouldn't knock him anywhat yeoud call physically, only shut him up, an' send him off to mindhis own business."
"When I come back we can have another little chin, for I promise to keepyou fully posted from now on, concerning everything connected with thebig game. After that we'll have a full dinner, and decide about pullingout of Atlanta while the going is good."
"Tonight, does yeou mean, partner?" queried Perk, craftily.
"Possibly, yes," came the ready reply. "We'll take a look over theafternoon _Journal_, and see what sort of flying weather is offered forthe next twelve hours; and if at all favorable we can make our plansaccordingly, so as to jump off before midnight. Candler Field is keptfully lighted nights, with so many ships of all types coming and going,on schedule and otherwise, that there'll be no difficulty about thatpart of the deal."
"Huh! which makes me remember I done got a copy o' that same paper whenI was in the drugstore," explained Perk, pulling it out of his pocket ashe spoke; "so I kin be amusin' myself while yeou're gone. I'll suckevery bit o' weather information outen the paper, bet yeour boots, so'sto be all primed when yeou come back; it'll be suppertime 'baout then,an' right naow I'm feelin' them grippin' pains daown below, sech asallers warns me the fires they need stokin', so's to keep the engineworkin' full speed."
This arrangement pleased Jack perfectly; he realized how Perk was apt tobe more or less "fidgetty," and it was just as well he had something toread while standing guard over their luggage, so as to keep his mindfrom other subjects.
Jack waited outside for a brief space of time, and thus heard the keybeing duly turned in the lock, which relieved him of any further anxietyconcerning the one left behind.
Perk, left to his own devices, settled down in an easy-chair to makehimself comfortable. Beginning with the first page he read everythingthat had any promise of interest, applying himself particularly to suchitems as covered aviation matters. As is the case in these enlighteneddays of intense activity in air circles, he came upon a number of briefarticles along those lines, all of which he absorbed with deepestinterest.
Then for five or ten minutes he allowed himself to sit there, his mindfilled with the magnitude of aerial inventions that had been sprung onthe market within the last ten years; and marveled at the vast gapseparating the bustling present with those lean years when he wasserving his country over in France, attached to the observation corps,with their clumsy sausage balloons that could be let soar at a limitedheight, and then drawn down by rope and windlass when some enemythreatened their safety.
Arousing himself presently Perk next busied himself in searching thecolumns of his paper for the latest weather report, especially asconcerned the promises for flying craft.
Eventually he found what he was after, and read the report most eagerly.To his delight it seemed to be favorable throughout the coming night, afact of considerable importance to all air mail pilots, as well asothers who were contemplating going aloft while the night lasted.
People passed the door of the room from time to time; and twice Perk hadan idea some one was fumbling at the lock; but concluded it might havebeen some tenant of a neighboring room, either going out, or coming in,for at least nothing suspicious followed, and he breathed easy again.
The hour had just about slipped by when he caught footsteps he knewright well; as he listened he heard them stop before the locked door;then came a light tap, and he caught Jack's voice:
"Wally, it's me--Warrington, you know!"
"Okay, suh!" sang out the one within, as he stepped over and turned thekey.
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"How about it, partner--anything happened since I left?" Jack askedsoftly, after he had again turned the key in the lock.
"Not any; suh--an' I ketched the weather report in the dinged paper,which gives us the pleasin' information as haow it's bound to be halfwaydecent this same night, with wind from the southwest up at threethousand feet ceilin', which makes things look kinder promisin', I'dsay, suh."
"That settles it then, buddy; we'll get a move on, and climb out beforetwelve. Might as well strike Charleston with as little delay aspossible, for we'll possibly have to hang around that place some time,tuning up our new crate to know its possibilities. Besides, I've afeeling this town wont be big enough to hold both us, and that cub of areporter, and keep him from whiffing some of our secrets with thatinquisitive nose of his."
Perk grinned.
"Strikes me, partner, yeou done run up against that nosey critter, samelike I done, aint that a fack, suh?"
Jack drew a card out of his vest pocket and tossed it on the table nearwhich the pair of them were just then seated.
"That's the card he pressed into my hand, with the name of his sheet onthe same. We've an appointment to dine with him here at the Gradytomorrow night, when he will be at liberty to ask as many questions ashe pleases, connected with a rich sportsman's love for the game fields."
"Hot-diggetty-dig!" spluttered Perk, fairly aghast; but without waitingfor him to say another word Jack continued, with a chuckle:
"Always providing we are still in Atlanta at that time. Yes, I gave hima nice little run for his money--led him on interesting journeyings, andalong pleasant ways. He fell for it all, as far as I could judge; andprobably I managed to get the fish well hooked; but they're a slipperybunch, these newspaper chaps, and can give the best detective points, tobeat him in the end in solving the great mystery. I'm leery of the wholetribe, partner--you never can tell whether you're stringing them, orthey are playing you, giving you line so as to bring you up with a roundturn eventually. We shake off Atlanta's dust by midnight, brother--andthat goes!"