XXVI
CRATER LAKE
Along about an hour after Perk had made his lonesome midday lunch andmarveled at the fact of his being able to only devour three of thosetoothsome sandwiches the chef at the hotel had put up at his order,things had arrived at such a point that Jack felt it was only the partof wisdom for him to do whatever lay in his power to keep track of theirbearings.
If that rising wind kept on increasing in strength so that it eventhreatened to wind up in a genuine smashing gale, the chances were theymust either make some sort of a forced landing, or else climb up abovethe storm clouds so as to avoid new and more appalling perils.
In so doing they would lose track of their points of contact and becompelled to go all over the same ground again or take chances ofpicking up the broken thread of their search wherever they had to dropit.
Thus hard set, Jack began to try and take note of various unusualformations--using the binoculars in so doing--that, stamped on hisreceptive mind might serve as landmarks just as "targets" do the harborpilots when fetching a deep sea vessel in through the shallows to portand safety.
Sometimes small fishing smacks, driven from a promising field by windand huge billows, are able to mark the spot by an anchored empty waterkeg and in this way are able to find the fruitful spot when the weathermoderates. Such a stratagem however is not available to the air voyager,whose only resource lies in a retentive memory.
When another half hour had slipped by, Jack began to once againentertain a hope that this emergency might not reach a culmination. Ifanything, the wind had lost a modicum of its fierceness and twice hediscovered a little break in the cloud ceiling by which they werecovered, as though the sun were trying to peep through.
Thus things were going along as the middle of the afternoon was reached.Perk at the controls was mentally comparing their condition to that of ashipwrecked crew of a sunken vessel; out of water with their heartsalmost in their throats with anxiety, shading their eyes with theirhands and searching along the horizon for signs of a sail. Somehow thecomparison gave Perk much concern, and he tried to imagine the great joythat must fill the souls of that forlorn little company when suddenlyone of their number shouts out the glorious news: "Ship ahoy--asteamer's smoke smudge to larboard!"
But it was only Suzanne asking Jack to please take a look and tell herwhat that lumbering, ungainly object might be which she had discoveredmoving across the rocks under the keel of the flying boat.
"I never happened to run across one before," Jack presently explained,"but I'm sure it must be a Mountain Charlie, as I understand people outin California call the silvertip grizzly bear. Some monster in thebargain, Miss Cramer and you'll agree with me when I say I'd rather behere than there."
She nodded her head as if to let him know he was right but when Jack sawa shadow pass over her face he understood what was in her mind--that herpoor wounded Buddy might be lying there helpless, with that savagemonster drawing nearer and nearer, sniffing the air and following thescent that sooner or later would take him to the spot where the fallenair mail pilot lay.
She shuddered and put a hand in front of her eyes nor could she beinduced to make use of the glasses again for quite some time. Sheevidently feared lest she once more glimpse that horrid hairy animal,shuffling along in his shambling fashion, ready to attack any creaturethat came in his way, be it bird, beast or human being for was he notthe king of the mountain fastnesses, utterly unafraid?
Jack felt convinced fortune was proving kindly disposed toward theirmission of humanity. That troublesome wind was slowly but surelydiminishing in force and gave promise of finally dying out in anotherhour or so. At least they were not going to be forced to call the searchoff as long as daylight served. Jack had not as yet decided in his mindwhat to do after twilight came and the face of the country becameblotted out in the gathering gloom of night.
It might be possible for them to keep going, in hopes of discovering thetempting glow of a campfire among the tall trees of the timber belt; butdiscretion would more than likely force them to give up operations untilyet another day.
The risk would be much too great, flying at that low altitude acrosssuch a dangerous wilderness where at any minute some unseen rocky cliffmight suddenly rise up before their speeding aircraft bringing about anunavoidable crash, an explosion and--oblivion!
And then it came to pass, after all those weary and distressing hours ofsearch--this time Suzanne uttered a shrill shriek and trembling all overheld out the binoculars toward Jack crying:
"Oh! tell me if I am going out of my mind Jack! Is that really and trulysmoke curling up from over there?"
She clung to his arm and continued to point, trying to keep her handfrom wobbling to and fro because of her emotion.
Jack quickly focussed upon the object that had caught her attention.Perk understanding what it must all be about, even if unable to catchthe meaning of what was being said, watched Jack's face, well knowinghow it was sure to register his thoughts.
"Smoke it is, for all the world!" Jack declared, immediately addingfurther words of good cheer; "and as true as you live, I can catch agleam of sunlight falling on clear water!"
"Crater Lake, Jack?" demanded the duly thrilled girl, now all aglow withrenewed hope and expectation.
"It must be," admitted the other, still looking through the glasses, "wewere told there is no other body of water in this entire section. Youknow Bart said that old hermit was believed to have his hideout close bythe ice water lake, for smoke had been seen rising of mornings when theair-mail carrier went through a bit off his course."
He made a gesture to Perk the other readily understood. It meant that heshould immediately bank and go back again on the same track so theycould have yet another opportunity to use their eyes and learn if thingswere as hopeful as they had been led to believe.
Jack managed to glance in the direction of the girl close by. It wasplain to be seen that Suzanne was tremendously agitated by this suddendiscovery of both the secret hideout of the so-called hermit and thenearby Crater Lake, concerning which they had heard accounts from BartHicks.
Not a single word passed her tightly compressed lips but in her wholedemeanor there was an expression of wonder, eagerness and fear--the lastno doubt on account of certain possibilities that, after all theirefforts they might have arrived too late or else that the hermit hadseen nothing whatsoever of the long missing flyer.
Jack too, knew they were banking on what must be called a long chancefor thus far it was only a mere surmise that caused them to seek out thehidden retreat of the man who shunned his fellows. Not a single thinghad come to their notice to affirm that Buddy Warner had ever flown overCrater Lake in any of his passages to and fro, although his usual courselay within a few miles of the extinct volcano.
"I'll take the stick now, Perk," he announced as they once more caught aglimpse of that curling, eddying smoke column and then sighted the cliffencircled lake of the mountains.
One thing Jack had already settled that the sheer rocky walls did notentirely encompass the sheet of water. There was a section at the nearend where the ground sloped down to the very edge of the lake. Jackcould see this with his naked eye--no further necessity existed forusing the magnifying binoculars, he concluded.
Then of a sudden Jack felt a warm glow pass over his whole body. Whatwas this he saw projecting from the lake close to the shore? He had onsome other occasion looked upon a wrecked plane partly submerged in somebody of water, fresh or salt and here he found himself staring down at asimilar object.
This would tell the story, Jack thought, better than any words could do.Some aviator must have attempted to drop down upon the lake, perhaps toease the shock of contact when forced to descend through an accident tohis outfit, that was a positive thing and what was more reasonable thanto conclude the unfortunate airman must be the missing pilot for whom somany flyers were scouring the whole country up and down, east and west?
He half opened his mouth as though to call the attention of Suzanne tohis thrilling discovery and then stopped short. She would find it outfor herself quickly enough and if there was a bitter disappointmentawaiting the brave girl, far be it from him to hasten the coming of hergrief.
Now they had begun to circle the lake itself and once directly over thebody of water, Jack could see it was indeed a real gem. A small butselect sheet that, save for the presence of the hermit close by, hadprobably never been fished by a single white man. A perfect troutpreserve, he told himself, in the ecstasy of a born fisherman.
It was what Perk would call a "reg'lar cinch." There was not theslightest reason to hold back, for never an obstacle could Jack discovercalculated to give them trouble in making contact with the water. Oncesafely floating on the surface of the mysterious lake, they could taxiover to a position close to the sloping beach where a landing might beeffected in order to search for the hidden retreat of the lone settler.
Once, twice, three times did he make a complete turn around the circularpond and then having his plan laid out, he dove down until close to theshimmering surface when he suddenly leveled off and then gentlycontinued the drop, to fall upon the bosom of the beautiful harboralmost as lightly as a wild duck would splash down from on high.
And then Suzanne discovered the half submerged ship, with its nose outof sight and its tail pointing up at the northern sky. It was amelancholy and ill-omened spectacle indeed, speaking as it surely did ofsome unfortunate airman's swift plunge from lofty heights to strike thetiny lakelet. Indeed, it might even have been his intended target whenthe terrible drop was first begun. Suzanne gave a cry and held out herquivering hands toward the wrecked plane as though all doubts were nowremoved as to her Buddy having dipped down into this pool when his shipbecame unmanageable.