XXV
THE NEVER SAY DIE SPIRIT
"Hot ziggetty dog! all set now for another long spin, combin' thecountry as we go along, eh partner?"
Perk had no sooner arranged his head-phones after seeing that Jack hadhis fixed for service, than he commenced business at the old stand. Perkwas just burning to get certain things out of his system that had beendammed up by his playing dumb on the previous evening.
"So far as I know nothing has been overlooked Perk--if only that leftwing aileron doesn't play us a dirty trick and fall off, we'll bealright."
"I tell you I tested it an' it's okay, Jack, don't crab my game if youhave any respect for my feelin's. When I say a thing's all to the goodit's there, every time."
"Forget it brother, we've both been under a heavy strain lately and aptto show undue anxiety. Today ought to prove which way the wind's goingto blow for us. See, already she's at the old job, covering every rod ofground with the powerful glasses. All I can say is I wish her all theluck going, poor kid."
"But just the same you ain't any too--er--sanguine--is that the word Iwant, partner? A sort o' yearnin', hopin' but kinder afraid thingsmightn't turn out so well in the end?"
"I get you, Perk, and according to my notion there are three of us inthe same boat right now. I'm holding the ship in right along, so we'llmake certain nothing gets away from us."
"Yeah, an' by the way Jack, didn't I see our good pal, Bart, sticksomethin' in your pocket jest before we skipped off--looked kinder likea piece o' paper to me--did you ask him for his home address orsomethin' like that?"
Jack laughed.
"So you saw him do that, did you, old Hawk-eye--no, I didn't ask him foranything in that line--he did more than enough for us as it was."
Perk seemed to be consumed with curiosity which he made no attemptwhatever to smother, for after a bit of grunting he went on to saysuggestively:
"Huh! that looks a whole lot queer to me, partner. Why should Bart Hickswant to act like he might be an informer, tryin' to hand you a leadin'clue to a smashin' big mystery an' on the sly in the bargain? Huh! seemsto me he must 'a' had some good reason for doin' sech a stunt as that!"
"Thunder! Perk, if you don't make me think of the picture we used to seein the magazine ads, where a baby in a bathtub is reaching out to gethold of a cake of soap with a well known brand on it with the words 'Hewon't be happy till he gets it.' Right now you're just eaten up withcuriosity about that slip of paper Bart crammed down in my pocket andthere'll be no peace in the camp till you know its contents."
Perk unblushingly chuckled, as if ready to "acknowledge the corn."
"Lemme have the stick, partner," he hastened to suggest, "I'm jest asfit as a fiddle to lay things out for a few hours, an' mebbe it'll toneme down some."
"Oh! all right brother, here you go then."
The transfer was made "as slick as grease," according to Perk's mind andso Jack felt in his coat pocket to immediately draw out a sheet ofpaper, evidently torn hastily from an account book, and upon which therewas considerable writing, none too legible.
He fastened his eyes on this and Perk could see that whatever the tenorof Bart's secret communication was, it appeared to afford Jackconsiderable interest. Several times as he read on he nodded his head,as if agreeing with certain statements in the missive, all of whichredoubled poor Perk's eagerness to have a share in the proceedings.
"Well, that certainly takes the cake," Jack was heard to say after hehad evidently reached the finish of the note.
"Ain't you goin' to let me in on the fun, partner?" begged the otheralmost pathetically. "I'm sure all het up with a desire to know what'sgoin' on."
Jack nodded his head again and then started to relieve his chum's mentalburden.
"Seems like the joke's on us, Perk, old boy," he began.
"Joke hey? Bart Hicks played one on his unsuspectin' guests then, didhe?" Perk grumbled as if terribly upset. "I didn't think he was thatsorter cad."
"Oh! you'll take that back after you find out what I meant by the word'joke'," Jack hastened to assure him. "Listen, partner, I'm going toread you the whole letter, because it's no easy job to get the hang ofBart's handwriting. Reckon he wasn't great shakes at penmanship when hewent to school, for he does spell something fierce, but I'm going tokeep this, all right, for it's a cinch Bart outsmarted two fellows whoreckon themselves some clever at their business. But listen and grabwhat he says here."
"Go to it, old hoss," begged the waiting Perk most eagerly.
"'Hats off, boys--I'm on to your curves okay. Happens I got a youngerbrother a holding down a job in the same crowd you run with--mebbe youremember young Doug Hicks, him that fetched in all by his lonesome thefour ginks makin' up that slick gang of international crooks doin'business as the Keating Bunch'--what d'ye think of that, Perk, DougHicks turning out to be the kid brother of our new friend, Bart, isn'tthat the limit though? Well he goes on this way: 'He often mentionedboth you lads in his letters to me, and when you introduced yourselves Ijust knocked wood, but didn't let on I got the drift of things. But say,don't you worry any, boys, I'll never leak a drop, so your secret is assafe as a new dollar bill. Go to it, and fetch in Buddy Warner, for ifanybody can do that, it's bound to be you two. So-long. Your friend,Bart Hicks, all wool and a yard wide.'"
Perk was making all manner of queer faces as though this wonderfuldisclosure had taken his breath away but through it all there struggledthat happy-go-lucky grin of his, to proclaim his full appreciation ofthe contents of the flying field test pilot's unique communication.
"Jest what that gink is--all wool and a yard wide--honest goods, you betevery time," he finally managed to say with numerous chucklesaccompanying the words. "Sure we know Doug Hicks, the boy who's goin' tomake a name for himself in the Secret Service one o' these days, if hedon't get bumped off by some hijacker's lead. Queer what a little oleworld this anyhow--kickin' up against Bart Hicks in this jumpin'-offpart o' the country. We sure do strike the strangest happening in ourline o' work, don't we?"
"We certainly do," came the quick reply as Jack folded up his letter andput it carefully away. "While you're doing duty brother, I'll get busywith some calculations I have in mind. Keep her headed just as she is,and in half an hour we'll bank and come back along a parallel line, soas to cover all the ground up and down, up and down, through the wholeday."
It was gruelling work, but the only possible thing they could do if theymeant to make certain that they had investigated every rod of thatterrible terrain that lay on every side, looking as though at someremote time in the past, nature had been turning things topsy-turvy andmaking a mad havoc with the entire land of gigantic rocks and sinkholes.
So two whole hours crept along with a number of abrupt turns, now north,again south, steadily covering the ground. But sad to say there had asyet been discovered nothing to breed sudden hopes and expectations. Hazethere had been in patches, owing to some humid condition of theatmosphere in certain quarters, but never the first sign of friendlysmoke curling upward in spirals, nor yet a glimpse of any sort of halfconcealed mountain lake such as had been described to them by BartHicks.
It was now drawing on toward the middle of the day and Perk havingturned over the controls to his chum at the latter's request, was takingthings easy, having relieved Suzanne of the binoculars which he handledwith the skill born of long practice.
Several times during the morning the girl had begged Jack to take a lookand tell her if she had deceived herself in thinking there was somefavorable sign ahead or on either side. Much as he would have loved toconfirm her wildest hopes, Jack found himself doomed to give adisappointing answer and so see the look of anguish that passed over hererstwhile eager, smiling face.
The grim truth must be faced--there was no break so far to themonotonous cruelty of the landscape with its unpromising features theonly result of all this search.
Then too, other discouraging happenings came along
to add to Jack'sconcern. For one thing, the wind was increasing and at times strikingthem head on so as to cause more or less unsteadiness to the flyingboat, as well as upsetting certain of his calculations.
This was not at all to Jack's liking and he showed it by his repeatedupward glances, as though endeavoring to read the impending weatherconditions by the looks and movements of the clouds passing over.
It was also becoming more and more treacherous as their work took themup and down, now soaring above some outlying crag mass and again dippinginto a valley that seemed only a fit abode for the grizzly bear insearch of lonesome districts where the feared human, with his magicstick that spit fire and smoke and painful missiles, could never come.
Would their entire day be put in without a breath of cheering hope? Mustthey turn back, and possibly spend yet another dreary night in thelittle valley town, dispirited and with the poor girl in despair?
It began to look that way, even if worse might not be their portion. Soit can be easily understood that when Perk got out some of hissandwiches nobody seemed to be hungry save himself, which deplorablefact was not at all to the genial fellow's liking.
Even the usually even-tempered Jack was beginning to show signs of thelong strain, though he managed to conceal it as much as possible out ofconsideration for the suffering Suzanne; but it was hard to assume ahopeful face when up against a tough proposition as they undoubtedly nowwere.
The wind was getting stronger, there could be no discounting thatpositive fact which added to Jack's concern not a little, for herealized that should a storm come along it would put an effectual end toall their hopes of accomplishing anything. Perk too, had taken the alarmand was also sending occasional glances aloft.