CHAPTER XX
THE MOTHER SHIP
When Jack went over to the home of the affable Mr. Herriott thefollowing night he had much to tell that gentleman, such as had abearing on his own campaign. The other heard what he had to say, andthen asked a number of pertinent questions that in their way were moreor less helpful.
"From all you saw and heard, my friend," the other observed later on; "Iam absolutely certain you have found a bonanza, and discovered thelanding place used mostly by the planes that are carrying such vastquantities of contraband from mother ships to certain central depots,where doubtless motor trucks are able to come over unknown country shellroads, and convey the same to shore cities, possibly even as far northas Baltimore and Washington. You are getting close to your objective, Ihave no hesitation in saying; I only hope it all turns out as well andprofitably as your daring and skill would warrant."
Such words from one whom he had come to admire as a "clean shooter," asPerk designated their official friend, gave Jack much satisfaction.
"Still, there's no reason for undue haste, you know, sir," he told theother in his calm way. "While I do not want to loaf on the job, at thesame time I am against trying to push things to a decision, if by sodoing I must take unnecessary chances."
"Quite right, too, Mr. er, Warrington," he was told. "It would have beenmuch better for several of your fellows who worked on this affair ifthey had possessed a share of your caution; two in particular showedsigns of getting somewhere but in seeking to make a swoop before thetime was fully ripe they queered the whole game, and fell down on thejob. I would be willing to prophesy that such will not be the result ofyour planning."
"There was one subject about which I'd be glad to hear somethingfurther, Mr. Herriott," Jack went on to mention.
"You have only to let me know what it is, and any knowledge I happen topossess in regard to the matter is at your service. Now tell me how Ican give you any further assistance,--Jack."
"It's about that cracker guide who's agreed to take us to the secretlanding-place of the mob--Jethro Hicks. Do you feel the utmostconfidence in his honesty, sir? You can easily understand why I ask,since if it turned out that he himself was in the hire of this gang oflaw-breakers, things would turn out badly for myself and my friend."
"Let me reassure you on that score then," came the immediate answer; "Iam positively certain Jethro will be found as true as steel. I know thisfrom a number of reasons. First of all, I've been acquainted with theman for some years now, and I think I'm safe in saying that he thinksconsiderable of me as a staunch friend. I had an opportunity once upon atime, to do him a favor, when it seemed as though the whole world hadturned against him, and kept him a fugitive from the law, hiding in theswamps and backwoods for some years; and he will never forget the littleI was able to do for his family then. That is one reason why he has sogreedily taken me up when I asked him to work hand in glove with you."
"Yet you say he had broken the law--was hiding from arrestapparently--hardly a fact to commend him as an honest man, sir, I'dthink."
"But Jethro was entirely innocent in that nasty affair, as was later onproven without a doubt; he is now walking openly, and without a fear ofarrest. On that same fact hangs his chief desire to help you break upthis powerful gang of smugglers infesting the seaboard of our State."
"How come, Mr. Herriott?" questioned the surprised as well as deeplyinterested Jack.
"Listen, and you will, I am sure, understand what I mean," continued theother. "Some years ago there was a sort of mountain vendetta existingbetween the Hicks family and two other households in the sameneighborhood. It had gone on for a good many years, with occasionaloutbursts, and some shooting. Later on it came about that one particularman named Haddock made considerable money since prohibition came in; andstill hating the name of Hicks found an opportunity to accuse Jethro ofcertain things, building up false evidence on which the young head of afamily would undoubtedly have been sent to the pen if he had not hiddenout in the swamps. While there this rich man also persecuted his family,and protected by his money could do this without hindrance.
"Jethro has never forgotten or forgiven those wrongs; and yet unlikemany of his class, he does not wish to shoot his hated enemy down incold blood. But it is more than suspected that John Haddock is one ofthe rich men backing up this big syndicate, for it would come directlyin line with the way he managed to accumulate his own fortune in a lessextensive way, merely with mountain dew as his stock in trade.
"Jethro swore to me he knew this to be a _fact_, although he couldhardly hope to prove the same unless given an opportunity to raid theirheadquarters and find positive evidence there.
"Now you will understand just why he can be depended on--Jethro is nolaw-breaker, and his fierce hatred for John Haddock--all the Haddocktribe in fact--will make him a faithful assistant for such as you. Areyou satisfied now, Jack?"
"Unquestionably so, sir; and I thank you very much for telling me this.I'll have a better opinion of Jethro, and feel a sympathy for him in hisdesire to get even with this rich schemer through whom he has sufferedso much."
More of this confidential talk was indulged in, with Jack fortifyingsuch conclusions as he had already reached.
And when he got back to the hotel room, to find Perk sitting up,reading, but eager to know if anything worth while had happened, heproceeded to further astonish his best pal by giving a verbatimrendering of every item spoken by the United States representative.
"So you see, brother, how well we are progressing," he concluded bysaying; "and with such an eager helper as this same Jethro promises toprove, it looks as if something unexpected was going to strike thatpowerful illegal combine of smugglers at an early date--don't you feelthat way too?"
"Shore I do, partner, an' here's hopin' it aint agoin' to be so verylong naow 'fore we get in aour fust crack. I'm near wild to knock one o'them smugglers' first aid ships to smithereens, with a nice baby bomb Igot hid away aboard aour dandy amphibian cruiser."
"Your hour will strike in due time, Wally, boy," said the amused Jack,with a fond look at the excited face of his chum. "You've nevercompletely gotten over your boyish ways, brother--anything in the lineof excitement, and you fairly itch to be up and doing. I am free toconfess, however, that when you _do_ get into a ruction you know how togive a good account of yourself."
"Thanks, ole hoss, comin' from sech as yeou that's the highest kind o'praise I could ever expect. I sometimes reckon I must abeen in at leastone squabble 'fore I was hardly able to toddle 'raound, it comes sonat'ral to me."
On the following morning their regular routine was again taken up. Theyflew up the coast, and turned out to sea, Jack wishing to learn whetherthere was a mother ship lying off the coast, from which all manner ofprohibited articles, from aliens, precious stones, narcotics and ingreat quantity the finest of foreign strong drink, down to the smallestthings that had an intrinsic value, were secretly imported into theStates minus the heavy duty imposed on their coming.
Once again his hunch proved a true one, for they discovered a squatsteamer hovering about twenty-five miles from the coast, with severalfast smuggling power-boats alongside; and as Perk reported, a number ofmen passing weighty sacks over the side of the larger craft.
"No need of our going any closer, partner," Jack announced, as he bankedsharply, and turned the nose of their boat toward the north. "We'll justknock around for a spell, to experience the sensation of slipping alongabove the great salty sea, something neither of us have had muchexperience in doing; and in good time we can pass on down again, so asto cover the ground where we expect to get in our heavy work."
Which same they did, to their own satisfaction; and much to Jack'ssurprise to also discover a second large foreign ship apparently alsoladen to the gunwales with piles of goods in suspicious looking gunnysacks.
"It seems as though it might be high time something was being done tocut this traffic into ribbons, d
on't you think, Wally, boy?" Jack asked,as again he made a steep bank, this time heading into the west, towardthe distant streak of land which told of the coast of Virginia.
They struck out for shore, passed as far inland as Jack consideredtactful, and through his clever work in piloting the airship actuallypassed directly over Black Water Bayou.