XIX
OVER-ZEALOUS PERK
"Perk!"
Strangely enough, while the late sharpshooter had seemed so positiveconcerning the identity and present status of his victim, he had notdisplayed the eagerness one might reasonably expect in such a sturdyguardian of the camp, to follow at Jack's heels.
"Yeah! what is it, old hoss?" he now asked, keeping one eye on thecockpit of the nearby Stinson-Detroiter, under the belief he saw aslight movement there, as though the girl pilot had been suddenlyawakened from her sound slumber and was peeping out to ascertain thecause of the late terrific bombardment.
"Come over here and see your monster timber wolf," Jack was saying.
Perk shrugged his shoulders, as though some dim suspicion of the truthmight be already knocking at the door of his valiant heart, but sincethere was nothing else to be done he stiffened up and walked withsoldierly tread to where Jack ominously awaited his coming.
"There he lies, fairly riddled," the other was saying, pointing as hethus greeted the arrival of the vigilant one. "He never had a chance toeven give a single peep after you opened up on him--must have imaginedyourself away back again on that Argonne front and sending another Hunship down wrapped in flames, eh Perk?"
"Huh! he don't look _quite_ as big as I guessed he was," admitted thenow contrite marksman, beginning to weaken. "Mebbe I wasted too manyslugs on the onery critter--sorter shot him to pieces you might say."
Jack laughed and Perk started, under the belief that evidences offeminine amusement drifted out of their cockpit close by as thoughSuzanne understood, and was not only interested but highly entertainedin the bargain.
"That's a good one partner, for you sure _did_ knock spots out of thepoor little yellow sap--chances are he followed some party down hereyesterday, got to hunting around on his own hook, and missed them whenthey started up Angel Trail. Then he discovered the light of your firehere and hoping he'd run upon real friends who'd toss him a scrap ofmeat, was crawling up to investigate when you blasted him with thatfierce volley. Poor confiding little beast, a victim of mistakenidentity."
"Migosh, a prairie dog!" muttered the astonished and mortified Perk,gazing ruefully down at the huddled mess before him, not too plainlyseen on account of the fire flashing up only fitfully, being in need ofmore fuel.
"It's all right, Perk old man," soothed Jack, knowing just how mean hischum must be feeling, with that unseen girl a witness to his upset andher low gurgles of laughter coming distinctly to their ears in thebargain, "your intentions were okay, and you certainly did pot himneatly. No danger of any poacher stealing from a camp where you've takenup your post as sentry. That vivid dream you mentioned must have got onyour nerves and when you discovered a moving figure, naturally enoughyour first thought was of sneaking four-footed mountain wolves about tomake a raid."
"Hot ziggetty dog! I sure must 'a' had the jimjams all right," chuckledPerk, beginning to throw off that stupid feeling of being only halfawake and even able to laugh at the joke on himself.
"Jack," said a merry, girlish voice just then, "tell your friend not tobe worried about me. I've shot more than a few wolves and coyotes for Iwas born and brought up in the cow country you see. It's all right,Perk, don't feel badly about it. I know it was just to stand up in mydefense that made you so speedy on the trigger. Only gave me a littlescare until I guessed what it all meant. I'm going to sleep some more,though it's a hard job to get Buddy's frightful predicament out of mymind."
"And Perk," said Jack, throwing an arm affectionately across theshoulders of his mate, "you turn this job over to me now and get a fewwinks before morning comes creeping along out of the east over there tostart us on our way again. I'll sit right here, holding your old cannonand woe to the wolf, coyote or even another yellow cur that dares tosneak in on us."
So after all Perk was not feeling so very badly on account of hisfiasco, though it did make him grimace to remember that those brighteyes of Buddy's best girl had been an amused witness to his humiliation.
He did not say another word, but humbly handed over the sub-machine-gunto his companion and dropped down near the fire upon which he had tosseda fresh supply of fuel. Secretly he was meaning to be up at peep of daybefore Suzanne would be stirring, in order to drag the victim of hisfusilade some distance away from their camp so that her curious eyesmight not be offended by sight of the wreck of a little harmless prairiedog.
The balance of that wonderful night, spent alongside the Colorado in thefamous canyon of the painted walls, passed without a single thinghappening to further disturb them.
In the east, where the mountain peaks made a ragged horizon, the firstfaint fingers of pink were commencing to streak the low heavens whenJack saw his chum moving off toward the spot where lay the victim of hisdeadly aim. He instinctively understood what Perk was aiming to do andon that account refrained from calling out or otherwise taking anynotice of his being abroad.
When Perk came back ten minutes later and washed his hands down at theriver brink, Jack only chuckled, as though it tickled him to notice howthe flinty-hearted Perk--only with regard to his indifference toward allfemale persons--had discovered that there might still be a few--notmany, perhaps--girls who were sincere and loyal to the one to whom theyhad pledged their hearts--lucky Buddy Warner, with all this uncertaintyregarding his fate--at the worst there would be _some one_ to alwaysmourn his passing.
On came the day, and Perk busied himself in getting a good cooking firegoing, remembering what a delicious supper the girl had prepared on thepreceding evening; and his mouth now fairly watering with hopes ofanother turn at that royal ambrosia which some people without sentimentwill call plain "coffee."
Suzanne presently joined them, after washing her pretty face down at therunning water, which was icy cold, and most refreshing indeed. Then shebusied herself at the fire, ordered the meek and obedient Perk aroundafter the manner of most petty and pretty kitchen tyrants; but the fineodors that were soon filling the rarified air buoyed up Perk's spiritswonderfully and he raised no rebellion.
And the breakfast to which they soon sat down was just as delicious asfancy had pictured; indeed, the only thing amiss so far as the ravenousPerk could discover was the fact that it might give out before all ofthem had had a sufficiency.
"Now, let's get busy transferring that gas to our tank, Perk," Jackobserved, as they finally arose. "We'll have to get our boat up on theshore, you observe--a case of Mahomet going to the mountain--let's go,partner."
This was not so difficult as it might seem; for the sandy shore wasshelving, and once Jack gave her the gun the amphibian literally "walkedup" to where they wanted her to be, alongside the Stinson-Detroiterplane.
Perk produced a length of small rubber tubing, and made use of it as asiphon. Once the gasoline was started, by suction--Perk attended to thatpart by sucking the air all out, and getting a mouthful of liquid to payhim for his trouble, which he ejected with a grimace--it continued toflow until the tank aboard the amphibian was plumb full.
"I can scare up several five-gallon empty tins," suggested the wisePerk, "that might be filled, and stowed away somewhere--that would giveus a reserve stock, plenty I guess to carry us to the nearest supplybase in case our tank went dry."
"A mighty good idea, boy," was Jack's comment, he being glad to see howthe other was recovering from his late depression.
They finally had everything settled--Suzanne had put up her little"sign," to let curious-minded folks wandering that way know who ownedthe abandoned crate, and that it was to be let absolutely alone untilshe came to salvage it. Then, too, she had made up her little package of"essentials," which she meant to take along when they zoomed off tostart the real search for lost Buddy Warner.
As they settled down in their places, room having been found for thegirl pilot, Suzanne waved her hand a bit sadly toward her impotentcrate, as though certain high hopes she had been entertaining were nowfallen in ruins; th
en she smiled again, watching closely to see Jackgripping the stick and letting in the gas to the attendant spark, whenthey were off.
Wings Over the Rockies; Or, Jack Ralston's New Cloud Chaser Page 19