Part 7 (1/2)
Then he concluded to stop prea is settled until the last e down the coast continued steadily enough, thesteadfastly at his new job
Fro directly over his head, and was able to catch certain signals which he could understand because of a previous arrange sloop was not over a mile or so from the shore line, it was next to ilis
”Huh!” he told himself at one time after he had received instructions to draw a bit further toward the open gulf, as he was approaching so a shoal possibly covered with coon-oysters, on which he was apt to pull up hurriedly with disastrous results, ”this here is like flyin' blind at a five thousand-foot ceilin',--Jack, he c'n see the land by usin' the night glasses, so it's a good thing I c'n get tips froettin' some monotonous, keepin' this old motor hummin'
when it's on the blink so bad Must be a wheen past ht to be clost to the close watch on the stars and althougha first-class woodsht by the heavenly bodies setting one after another, which would account for his late confident assertion thatcould not be so very far distant
Once only during all this tiht out at sea It interested him more or less and naturally caused hiht have any connection with the great ga he had ever heard or read connected with the Mexican Gulf seeh his activeabout that historical sheet of salt water and while Perk was notso scenes he had recently read about, after learning that the next locality in which he and Jack would play their adventurous part was along the Florida Gulf Coast
Then he suddenly found hi of the old motor, with an occasional ”nal Jack was to give hi a turn toward the coast
”Bully boy, Jack!” Perk cried out when he found that he had not been deceived ”I'll be right pleased to drop this tiresome job an' think myself some lucky to miss havin' the tub run on a reef, or the bally motor kickin' off an' quittin' cold Yes, an' there's what looks like a bunch o' cabbage palainst the sky-line Better slow up, Perk, old scout, afore you hit soround off shore”
So he throttled theHe even found hiht stand by with a sounding pole in the bow of the sloop to sing out the depth and give warning of sudden shallows but it was too late now to atte, even if he had dared take the chance of the fellow juive warning as to the ler combine
But fortune was still kind and presently Perk found hirove islands Here, he remembered, it was his duty to come about and lay to until Jack could drop down and taxi over to where the sloop lay so as to consider their further plans in the corats, Perk,” said Jack, as soon as he ca up in first-class shape If all other jobs went back on you I reckon you could get your papers along the engineering line A bit tired in the bargain I take it, partner?”
”Lay off on that stuff, et what you'd call tired, but jest the saet sunk out there--hate to lose all this bottled juice we come by in such a queer way Climb aboard, Jack, an' let's have a little talk-fest while we rest up”
”Later on I'd be glad to do that,” he was told ”We'd be wise to push further in aer or fisherlimpse this pair of odd sea and air craft he'd spread the story far and wide and get us in Dutch I'll fasten a tow line on to the shi+p here, if you'll toss me a coil and taxi away back where there wouldn't be one chance in a thousand of our being seen”
”I get you, buddy,” Perk hastened to say, as hechuood with me Dandy luck we've been havin' for a fact, on'y hope it keeps on that way to the finish line Here you are, Boss!”
After Jack had made the small hawser fast he started the taxi stunt and presently they were roves with never a bit of trouble Perk ued for his muscles to the limit
This continued for some little tiside, ready to climb aboard the sloop
”We'll tie her up to this nearby cluroves, where you'll notice there's a bunch of tall palround, such as few of these islands can boast I'e pal up and betraying its location to any flyer passing over”
”I'd call that a hty fine idea, partner,” declared Perk enthusiastically ”Never would athought o' anything like that uess An' when I've done that cale thing down this-aways Great work, if I do say it ed to fasten the bow of the sloop to one of the palmetto trees, Jack crawled aboard He ed in the s, for he followed Perk's example and dropped down on the deck to stretch out while they exchanged opinions
”None too soon for our safety,” was the first reun to take on a faint rosy tint which s are workin' just lovely for us, I'd ood-humored chuckles that told hoell pleased he must be on account of thetheir way ”Let thewhen it pleases, it don't looe opinions concerning the reht just passed and in this way s that had not been very clear to Perk were estions that added to the stock of knowledge Jack already possessed so that it was a oing to get a surprise packet when I finish explaining just how this contraband sloop and cargo fell into our hands,” Jack was saying at one time, apparently vastly amused himself
”Fact is, I wouldn't bla bohen he hears about those tear-bombs you tossed out that scattered the crowd like I've heard you tell a shell used to do when it dropped into a dugout over in the Argonne”