CHAPTER II
THE CURTISS-ROBIN PLANE
Jack, a bit startled by his companion's sudden exclamation, took a goodlook and hastened to remark:
"Reckon now you hit the nail on the head that time, Perk and it'sheading this way in the bargain. Why d'ye suppose we didn't see thecrate before?"
"Huh! I kinder guess now," Perk went on to say, "she bust out o' thatlittle fog cloud right to the south--a'swoopin' up the coast, younotice, partner, don't you?"
"Sure is," assented Jack, as though that small circumstance assumed someimportance in his eyes, as well as those of his comrade.
"Ginger pop! but mebee I ain't glad we didn't show any hurry to kick offthis camouflage green stuff, thinkin' it'd served its purpose okay andcould be knocked into the discard. See how they keep dodging' in an' outlike they might be scourin' every foot o' shore line, little bays backo' these mangrove islands an' all. Strikes me they're a'searchin' forsomethin', Jack, which might be the pair o' us, eh, what?"
"Right you are!" snapped Jack, without hesitating a second.
"Which, I take it, would mean there might a'been some sort o' littleleak up at Headquarters, hang the luck, when we figured we'd got thegang buffaloed right smart. Don't think they c'n lamp us lyin' here, doyou, Boss?"
"Small chance of that, boy, if only we lie low, and make no move apt toattract their attention," Perk was told in a confident tone thateffectually calmed his rising alarm.
He hastened to settle down in a position where he could thrust hisglasses between interstices in the green covering of the fusilage andwings so as to keep close tabs on the advancing plane without making anyparticular movement of arms or body.
"How?" asked Jack, a few seconds later, when he fancied his mate musthave made up his mind as to the identity of the flying ship.
"Curtiss-Robin crate, that's right, Jack an' the same we saw before,"replied the observer, excitedly. "Hey! guess now they got a glass upthere too. I sure saw the sun shinin' on somethin' bright, 'cause theold boy's still on deck to chaps that high up."
"I've discounted that fact long ago, Perk; men engaged in the desperategame they're playing night after night would need such a usefulinstrument, so's to keep a sharp lookout for Coast Guard boats orbunches of revenue men lying in ambush close to the place they expectedto land a wet cargo, or a couple of high-pay Chinks, it might be."
"Then you got an idea they must have a spy up in Washington--a sneakerwho c'n find out what's bein' hatched up so's to cook their goose an'that he manages to get warnin' down here to the workin' crews so's toput 'em on their guard--is that it, partner?"
"Looks that way--that's all I can say, Perk. Now lie low and don't doany talking, though with their crate kicking up all that row I reckonthere'd be small chance of their hearing us even if we shouted."
Perk was chuckling to himself at a great rate and could not keep fromtaking advantage of the invitation Jack had really extended to say:
"Yeah! an' I kinder guess now we got one thing they ain't, which is asilencer on our engine that'll keep it muzzled, even if it does knockoff a bit o' our speed when we happen to use it. Luckiest thing ever youmanaged to get the Big Boss to send us such a bully contrivance thatseems to work jest great. Listen to the racket they're kickin' up rightnow--enough to tell any chump ten miles off a crate's headin' his way.Jerusalem crickets! but ain't I glad we're fixed as we are."
The ship far up in the heavens was almost directly over them by thistime and Perk relapsed into silence, being vastly interested in watchingit passing over.
Possibly he had his eyes glued on the figures--there were two occupantsin the Robin's cabin he could easily see--leaning over and doubtlessclosely scrutinizing the intricacies of the ragged shoreline below,hoping to make important discoveries.
If the leading figure, piloting the craft, was actually Oscar Gleeb,onetime noted Hun ace over in the Argonne, it might be Perk, with hispast war history rising up to thrill him afresh, may have found himselfhalf expecting to hear a terrific explosion close by on the shore as theGerman flier let drop some sort of bomb, with the idea of striking theirconcealed bus which his keen eyes might have detected despite theirwonderful camouflage.
But nothing like that came to pass and the cruising ship kept moving ina northerly direction, growing less distinct as miles were being coveredat the fast clip it swept along.
"Cripes! that was worth somthin' to glimpse, bet your sweet life,partner," Perk finally observed as he ventured to make a littlemovement, feeling dreadfully cramped and the danger of discovery growingmomentarily less as the first shades of coming evening began to gatheraround the secluded cove. "Jest as like as not they started away downtoward the tip o' the mainland, an' hev been examinin' every mile o' thecoast, bent on doin' a clean job while they're at it. An' if they meetup with no luck mebbe now they'll make up their minds it was only afalse alarm, and let her go at that."
Presently they could no longer glimpse the faintest sign of the scoutplane--when last seen it was still heading up the coast as though makingfor some destination where action awaited the members of its daringcrew.
"The passing of that crate settles one thing, anyway," observed Jackpresently.
"As what, partner?" queried Perk, who had already begun to denude theanchored amphibian of its covering, as though it was settled they needno longer fear being spied upon from above.
"We needn't bother striking into the south when starting out to look forsuspicious lights, such as would tell of business being putthrough--those boys are right now heading for their rendezvous and it'sour game to chase after them, as soon as nightfall makes it safe to geta move on."
"That suits me fine, Jack old hoss. I'm right sick o' keepin' our nosestuck so close to the ground--me for the high places where I c'n get mylungs filled with clean air--this swamp stuff don't make no sort o' hitwith me, I'm tellin' you. Gosh! looky at that bunch o' measly bigpelicans flappin' their wings as they fly close to the water, headin' tosome island where they have a rookery, like as not. An' Jack, honest togoodness if I didn't see the head an' knobby eyes o' a monster scaly'gator stickin' up out o' the water in the lagoon jest now. Got megoofy, this sorter thing, an' I'm asighin' for the air lanes two mileshigh."
"I understand just how you feel, Perk, but hold your horses a bit. Hurryis something we've got to fight shy of in this game of hide-and-seekwith these dangerous smugglers of the gulf coast. As smart a group ofmen as we can ever claim to be, have bucked up against the gang anddropped out of the chase--more than a few of whom have disappearedmysteriously, and up at Headquarters it's believed they've met with foulplay. This big Mex gulf hides a heap of secrets and has ever since oldBlackbeard and that crowd of buccaneers used to sink Spanish galleonsafter looting them of their gold cargo and sending hundreds of poorwretches to a watery grave."
"I'm wise to all them facts, partner," piped up Perk, grinning amiably,"an' I sure don't hanker after bein' sent down to that port o' missin'men in no hurry. I'll stick it out on this line jest as long as you sayan' try to keep from grumblin'. Thar goes the last o' the rotten stuffoverboard, Boss, an' we're all clear again. While we're a'waitin' tillthe last speck o' daylight slickers away, wouldn't it be right smart ifwe set our teeth in some o' that fine grub I laid in, to keep us fromstarvin' to death?"
"Suits me okay, buddy; suppose you trot it out and we'll pas the timeaway bolstering up our strength--no telling what we may have before ustonight if we happen to strike rich pay-dirt."
Accordingly they busied themselves with what to Perk especially was amost agreeable occupation, for it must be confessed that the Maine ladpossessed a fairly good appetite while his capacity for storing awaygood things was something close to marvelous.
So the night settled down around them--sounds indicative of a Floridacoast camping ground began to make themselves manifest--mullet jumped upout of the brackish water where some stream emptied its tide straightfrom the Everglades into the gulf, to fall back again with resoundingsplashes. Now and the
n there was a rush, and a great deal of agitationof the water close to one of the mangrove islands, showing where somefierce piratical deep water fish was making an evening meal of theunlucky mullet--several wild ducks came spinning along from other shoreplaces to settle further in where the reedy islands offered effectualshelter from night-raiding owls and hawks that could see in the dark.
"Gee whiz!" Perk was saying as he finished eating and started to putaway what sandwiches and other stuff had been left over, "this sure mustbe a dandy place to do some shore shootin' an' if I hadn't other fish tofry I'd like to hang around a week'r so, takin' toll o' ducks, turkey,an' deer up on the mainland, with like as not a bobcat, or even apanther in the bargain!"
"All very fine for those who are down here sporting for sport, brother,"Jack told him, "but our bunch has another kind of game to pull in andyou've got to forget all this temptation so as to buckle down tobusiness. Reckon it's time for us to be hopping-off and getting thattaste of cool, clean air a mile or so up. Shake a leg, buddy, and we'llshove off."
Jack, of course, had long since figured just what he meant to do whenthe moment arrived to leave their hiding place and take to their wingsagain, so after their little anchor had been drawn out of the mud,carefully washed, and then stowed away where it would take little roomand not be in the way, each of the occupants of the double cockpit setabout carrying out their customary duties when a launching was in order.
"All set, Mister Pilot!" remarked Perk, finally, "give her the gun,boy!"
With only a fraction of the rush and roar usually connected with astart, the amphibian, with cut-out choked down, commenced to glidethrough the water of the partly enclosed bay, heading straight for thejaws of land beyond which lay the open and mighty gulf.
Eagles of the Sky; Or, With Jack Ralston Along the Air Lanes Page 2