Eagles of the Sky Part 14

They had aboard the amphibian a cleverly arranged collapsible canvas boat that could be launched in short order and was to be propelled by means of a short but serviceable paddle. While up in Canada with the Mounties, Perk had become quite proficient in the use of a paddle and also in balancing by sheer instinct while in a tipsy little canoe.

Accordingly he convinced his chum that since both of them could hardly expect to occupy the small shallop and carry any quant.i.ty of greens, it was up to him, Perk, to put the job through in good shape. Jack could be checking up his motor and taking a survey of the boat so as to make certain it was in serviceable condition.

"Cause you know, partner," Perk went on solemnly, "when we _do_ want to skip out it's bound to be in a hoppin' hurry an' there'd be no time to look her over then, by jiminy. Jest lie around an' take things easy-like--your work is a'goin to be mostly with the brain, while I'm the lad to use the muscle."

Jack felt that since the canoe was so diminutive, Perk's logic was unanswerable, so he agreed to the division of labor.

"Only, if it turns out that the job's a bigger one than you reckon on, buddy, you'll let me take a whirl at it," he suggested, to which the other simply grinned and nodded his head.

The work went on steadily and Perk eventually had every part of the amphibian covered with deceptive green stuff, well calculated to hoodwink any air pilot pa.s.sing directly over the spot.

This accomplished, he was ready to call it a day and drop down close to Jack for a resting spell. When they talked it was in low tones, almost bordering on whispers, for Jack took no chances of some enemy being within gunshot range of their hideout, whose ears would be likely to catch the sound of ordinary voices.

Jack, observing what his chum had accomplished, felt compelled to give the artist his meed of commendation.

"You sure made a fine job of smothering things with all this stuff, Perk," he told him, which was music in the other's ears, since he would rather have Jack praise him than any one he knew. "No easy thing to hide these stretched-out wings and the fuselage, too, as well as the shiny parts of the crate--motor, propeller, and such, but _you_ fixed it to beat the band."

"Can that sort o' talk, partner--it was a soft job an' anybody with sense could a'done it as good as yours truly. Goin' to be a sure enough long day, 'cordin' to my way o' lookin' at it."

"Oh! nothing like having a little patience," commented Jack calmly, for he seldom showed signs of being in a hurry. "Men in our line of business must learn to just hang on and wait for the proper minute to strike the hook home in the fish's jaw."

"Yeah, an' then hang on some more, after they git the barb well hooked, with the game fish kickin' up an awful row," chuckled Perk. "Huh! don't I know how impatience is my besettin' sin and ain't I always a'tryin' to curb it? That's why I'm crazy to work in double harness with you, brother, 'cause you hold me in when I feel like spreadin' myself brashly. Guess I know when I'm well off. Time to take another spin in dreamland, seems like," with which remark Perk a.s.sumed as easy a position as the crowded cabin of the ship admitted, closed his eyes, and so far as Jack could tell from his regular breathing was asleep.

It was indeed a long morning for them both.

Came noon and they again proceeded to enjoy a snack, for appet.i.tes have a habit of growing rampant despite any lack of expenditure in the way of muscular activity.

"I was jest thinkin," Perk remarked as they chewed their dry food, more as a duty than because they enjoyed it, "that we might be put on short rations if we're held up on this here job any great length o' time."

Jack refused to be disturbed by such a possibility.

"Oh! I reckon there isn't much chance of _that_ happening," he said in his usual optimistic manner. "If things get pretty bad we can make a foray on the pantry of the shack where our friend puts up when over here. Knowing that he's fond of his grub, with oceans of the long green to lay in the best of supplies with, I rather think he keeps a well-stocked larder at all times. I don't figure on either of us being starved out while there's a flock of eatables close by," and from the way in which Perk licked his lips on hearing this said, it was plainly evident he fully agreed with his pal.

After that wonderful sunrise, which even Perk had called glorious, the sky clouded up around noon and there were even signs to warn them that rain might come along by nightfall. The visibility, too, became somewhat poor which possibly was one reason that influenced Jack to make a certain decision which Perk heard later on with unbounded pleasure.

"It's getting on my nerves a bit, too, I must confess, Perk," was the way he started to state his case, "and since there would be small chance of discovery, thanks to this muggy atmosphere, what's to hinder our taking a little stroll, keeping a wary eye out for stragglers?"

"I get you, partner," was the eager way Perk snapped him up on the proposition which exactly tallied with what he himself had been wishing.

"I calculate now it means we c'n move around an' get tabs on this here hideout o' the gent we're so much in love with, eh, what?"

"Wouldn't do any harm to learn the lay of the land," Jack told him, "especially since we mean to do most of our snooping under cover of night. So let's step out and take our little saunter. We know right well in a general way that the shack must lie down the sh.o.r.e, by that point jutting out a mile away. Let's hope we'll be able to run across some kind of trail by following which we'll fetch up as close as we want to go for the first time. Both of us must make a mental map of everything we see so as to feel sure of our ground when darkness comes."

"That's the ticket, partner, let's go!"

Perk lost no time in picking up the small hand machine-gun, that could be used much after the fashion of a long barreled German Luger quick-firing pistol and when Jack looked dubiously at it his chum hastened to explain his reason for lugging such a weapon along.

"Huh! the weight don't count with such a husky as me, old hoss an' how do we know what's goin' to happen before we gets back here? These guys, I take it, are quick on the trigger and if we got to fight we'd have a better chance to pull out alive if we carried this little pill-box."

"Oh, well! have it your own way, brother," Jack told him, evidently impressed with Perk's logic; and so they started forth.

CHAPTER XX

DENIZENS OF THE FLORIDA SWAMPS

After all it was perhaps a wise determination on the part of Jack to thus take time by the forelock and endeavor to learn the lay of the land while a fitting opportunity lasted. To start out when darkness lay over everything, with no knowledge whatever concerning the prospect before them, would have doubled the chances for some grievous calamity overtaking them even before they were ready to strike their first blow.

Jack had a pretty strong suspicion they were in the neighborhood of some stretch of swampland--he was backed in this supposition by several things--the general low lay of the ground bordering the great lake and also the fact that snowy white egrets, as well as cranes, flew to and fro during the early morning, as though they must have a roost not far away and he had been told that as a rule these gathering places were to be found in the gloomy depths of a swamp.

If they should chance to lose their way in those dark and dismal swamps and find themselves mired in the mud holes, they would be in a sorry fix, and they might even be forced to shout for a.s.sistance in order to save their lives, thus revealing themselves to their enemy, for the tenacious muck had a tendency to act in the same treacherous fashion as quicksand, clutching the victim and dragging him down, inch after inch into its unfathomable depths.

Hardly were they started than one pleasing discovery was made. Just as Jack had hoped might be the case, a dim trail was struck not far back from the border of the silent lake, that gave promise of leading them in the course they planned to go.

Jack made certain that there were no signs of this trail having been used by human beings--at least in recent times; possibly it may have originally been an Indian trail in those days when Osceola and his gallant followers dared defy the powers at Washington and declare open war upon the few white squatters at that time in the southern portions of the Florida peninsula. Or, what was more probable still, it might be only the pathway used for ages by innumerable four-footed denizens of the swamp,--deer, panthers, racc.o.o.ns, 'possum, foxes, wildcats and the like.

It was a meandering trail, evidently following the path of least resistance for on both sides the shrubbery, together with wild grape-vines and various other climbers, made a solid barrier that even a weasel might have found difficult to negotiate.

Presently their road skirted the border of the swamp Jack had felt so certain could not be far away. Here new and wonderful sights greeted their eyes and Perk in particular stared with all his might, taking in the flowers that festooned many of the trees--palmetto, live-oaks, wild plum, gumbo limbo, and queer looking cypress, with their c.u.mbersome b.u.t.ts rising several feet from the ooze in which they grew. Most of the trees were festooned with long trailing banners of gray Spanish moss that gave them a most unusual appearance.

Since it was Perk's first hand knowledge concerning the looks of a genuine Southern swamp, he felt justified in making frequent halts in order to gaze and wonder. Particularly was he impressed with the giant alligator that had been sunning himself on a half-submerged log and had slid off with a splash at their approach, also the mult.i.tude of water moccasins to be seen on stumps and other objects, looking most vicious with their checkered backs and dusty bellies.

"You want to take particular notice of those dirty looking boys," Jack told him in a low tone, pointing to a bunch of the reptiles as he spoke, "for they are water moccasins, cowardly enough, but always ready to give you a sly stab and I've been told they are so poisonous that even if a man didn't die after being struck, his wound would never heal properly and his life become a burden to him. Give the critters a wide berth always, partner."

"Huh! you jest better believe I will, Jack--never did care much for snakes, even the harmless kinds an' I'd jump three feet in the air when out West, if ever I heard a locust buzz, thinkin' it must be a rattler.

Me an' the crawlin' breed don't mix, that's what."

Hardly three minutes after Perk had given expression to his dislikes, Jack caught him by the arm and with a trace of excitement that was really foreign to his nature, pointed to some object close to the trail they were following.

"Jeru-salem crickets!" gasped Jack, possibly a bit louder than discretion would warrant but Jack felt there was some measure of excuse for his outburst.

There a monstrous diamondback rattlesnake, fully five feet long and as thick through the body as a good-sized man's thigh, had just raised its enormous flat head and opened its jaws to display its terrible fangs.

Even as the two stood there and stared, the rattle began to whirr its deadly warning.

"It's all right, Perk," said Jack soothingly, not certain what the effect of so dangerous a neighbor might have upon his sensitive pal, "we can pa.s.s him by out of reach. A rattler, unless madly in earnest, never tries to strike further than his length for he has to get back in his coil in a hurry, being helpless to defend himself unless curled up."

Jack showed that this was true by pa.s.sing the spot, with the venomous reptile only increasing his rattle and drawing back his head. Then Perk shut his teeth hard and followed suit but it might have been noticed that he kept to the extreme edge of the narrow trail and had his muscles all set, as if in readiness to make a mighty spring if he thought the snake was about to launch his coils forward.

"Whew!" hissed Perk, after he had safely negotiated the peril that lay in the road, "I'm a'thinkin' what risks we got to run tonight when we come a'snoopin' 'long this way. Nigh makes my hair curl to figure on that baby comin' slap up against my leg. Wish now I had my old leather huntin' leggings with me to ward off them terrible fangs, each one an inch long, seemed like to me."

"Between us, brother, I myself don't seem to hanker traveling along this trail after dark, and I mean to carry that small flash of mine, turning the light on every few seconds for I don't believe it would be noticed.

But they tell me these whoppers are rather scarce around these sections--there may not be another inside of five miles."

"Glory! I should hope not," said the still trembling Perk, "but I just can't forget we've got even one here to bother us. If only I dared use my gun, I'd soon knock spots out o' him, bet you a cookey, Jack."

"Nothing doing, so forget that, partner. On the way back, if he's still holding the fort, we might get a couple of long, stout poles, and try to knock him on the head if it can be done with little confusion--he won't make any noise outside of whirling his rattlebox and we could keep our lips b.u.t.toned tight. Yes, that would be the best way to fix things, I reckon."