CHAPTER XXVI
THE FIGHT AT THE WELL.
"Gosh!"
Perk hissed this one word even as he ducked down behind the well curbingat sight of the figure in the doorway. Jack was not a breath behind him,both acting through mere intuition or instinct.
Whether they had been seen was the important question flashing throughthe mind of each. There was no sudden outcry which seemed a favorablesign, Jack decided and the short, muscular man was even then emergingfrom the interior of the shack, evidently bent on replenishing thedrinking water supply.
Perk thrust his eager hand into the pocket of his leather jacket to griphis automatic with the idea that he would be needing it before many moreseconds had ticked off. In his mind he entertained a comprehensive viewof what their plan of action would most likely be--to down this huskychap, either by means of a blow or else a bit of lead delivered where itwould do the most good--then a swift rush into the shack and crushingthe ex-war veteran before he could fully grasp the meaning of it all.
Easy enough to figure it out after this manner, but there must beconsiderable chance that matters would not work so smoothly. For onething it must be considered that Oswald Kearns was no weakling, but amore or less athletic figure, accustomed to feats of strength andagility beyond the measure of an ordinary man. Then, too, he was knownto be irrational, even to the length of being considered dangerous whenthoroughly aroused and it went without saying that he must always bewell armed for in his reckless way of living he must many times be inclose touch with desperate characters, some of whom might conceive itworth while to plot against his liberty, with a heavy ransom in theirmind's eye.
It was quite too late for either of them to think of slipping off, sincethe light from the interior of the shack poured through the open doorand dissipated the friendly darkness in that especial vicinity.
Consequently all they could do was to continue to crouch there in theshadow of the well curbing, and await whatever was scheduled to come topass.
If Perk had been so eagerly praying for something to breeze along thatwould give him the thrill he loved so well, his wish seemed well on theroad of being realized since everything was set for a dramatic discoverywith its attendant speedy action.
It was apparent that after all the man could not have glimpsed theirvanishing faces as they ducked so swiftly, for he continued to advancein the direction of the well and Perk could hear him softly singing,just as though he might be a "musical cuss," as Perk told himself withone of his customary chuckles since his first stab of alarm had passedoff under the realization that they had another chance.
Jack, too, was telling himself what a peculiar state of affairs had comeupon the stage--here, with an ambush lying in wait before him, this mancould step blithely along, swinging his aluminum bucket and softlywarbling one of the most recent hits from a comic opera--Jack hadhimself heard the song on the boards of a great metropolitan theatre inNew York--had even caught himself whistling the catchy air more than afew times since.
The man who seemed to be so well pleased with his fortunes while baskingin the favor of the wealthy chief of smugglers had a little surprisewaiting for him at the end of his rainbow--if those lurking shadowyfigures knew their business and managed it as they should, he would besinging quite a different air before a great while, perhaps interlardinghis humming with a choice variety of expletives concerning the crueltyof Fate.
A few more steps and he would have reached the well--then what must takeplace? Perk was asking himself as he crouched there, his muscles set andhis breath coming in little noiseless gasps--he resembled nothing somuch as a cat ready poised to make a deadly leap upon a fat robinstruggling with a worm that it had pulled halfway out of its hole.
There was not one chance in twenty that the man could actually reach thewell, drop the bucket down, switch it around in order to induce water toenter and then make use of the windlass so as to draw it to the top,without discovering the presence of those two huddled forms; so Perk didnot deceive himself in the least with any extravagant hopes of theaffair passing off smoothly and their plans being uninterrupted.
Now the man had set his pail down and was giving the well bucket aswitch as though intending to dislodge any stale water it might contain.From this little incident Jack understood that undoubtedly the man musthimself have left the water they had used up in the bucket when last atthe well and subconsciously remembered the fact.
He went about the job of lowering the rope with the manner of one quitefamiliar with the necessary movements, pulling the rope from the barrelof the windlass hand over hand. Then there came a splash, a gurgle andfollowing these symptoms of success the man, with a jerk at the rope,managed to sink the bucket.
Next he started to turn the handle in order to fetch the bucket to thetop of the well. In order to get a better purchase on the handle, hetook a step to the left, and as luck would have it, struck his kneeagainst the crouching form of Perk.
Then came a quick look downward, since he was naturally curious to knowwhat sort of object he had collided with--possibly he may even have hada sudden suspicion it would turn out to be some native beast from theneighboring swamp--possibly a panther, since such animals had been knownto frequent the western shore of Okeechobee as a hunting-ground in daysgone by.
Of course he instantly made a startling discovery, since there wasenough light to show him the form of a man doubled up against the rockywell curbing.
It would have been instinctive for the man to have let out a yell onmaking this discovery but he did not have the chance to give tongue, atleast fully, for Perk made a lightning-like spring and had both handsclasped about his throat effectually throttling the intended shout sothat it emerged only as a queer sound, rather on the order of a bullalligator's bellowing suddenly cut short.
That was but the beginning of the affair as Perk knew only too well itmust prove to be. He found he had a tough proposition on his hands forthe man struggled desperately, as who would not on finding his windsuddenly cut entirely off with a pair of iron-like hands pressing histhroat as though it were gripped in a vise?
Jack sprang up, ready to lend his pal any necessary assistance if onlythe opportunity showed itself. Just then all he could make out in thedim light was a whirling set of wildly struggling figures, looking forall the world like one of those teetotums children delight inspinning--only on an exaggerated scale.
Then they went down with a crash, first one on top and then the other inrapid succession. It would have made an excellent picture for the silverscreen, Jack could not help thinking while he drew his automatic andkept tabs on that open door, more than half expecting to see OswaldKearns dash wildly out with some sort of machine-gun in his hands, readyto take a chance in the game, knowing that the attack must haveeverything to do with his own safety.
Perk seemed to be hanging on with the tenacity of a bulldog, for notanother peep did the wolfish man, whose throat he squeezed, give vent toas the slam-bang fight continued. It was lucky indeed there chanced tobe a raised wall about the well or in their frantic staggering this wayand that the wrestlers might have plunged down into the yawningaperture, much to their mutual discomfiture--as it was they smashed upagainst the curbing several times, to emit grunts at the rough contact.
Finally, Jack, to his relief, saw Perk slam his now weakening adversaryto the ground and immediately follow this up by sending in a number offurious blows that took every atom of fight out of the unfortunate chapwho collapsed as if wholly done for.
Perk himself was far from fresh--his breath came in gasps and he musthave been trembling in every joint from the tremendous exertion putforth but as always, victory was sweet in his nostrils and afterassuring himself that nothing further need be feared from the man he haddowned, he struggled to his feet, and ranged himself alongside Jack, asif to declare his readiness to fight it out along those lines if it tookall night.