CHAPTER IX
COACHING PERK
Of course it was in keeping with this exchange of confidences that Jackshould relate all that had happened to them since their arrival inAtlanta to secure the ship awaiting them, load it to capacity for a longvoyage, and finally start off from Candler Field.
Mr. Adkins listened eagerly to this modest account of what had alreadyhappened to them as a starter in the hunt they had undertaken; and hewas visibly thrilled at hearing of the bitter night chase, the desperatetactics undertaken by the pair of human wolves aboard the Ryanmonoplane; and particularly when Jack finally described in vividlanguage the astounding act of Perk in first shattering the bothersomesearchlight, to follow this with his lucky random shot that bore intothe gas tank of the pursuing craft and brought about an explosion.
Possibly the urbane gentleman had never in all his life listened to soghastly a true story as the graphic one thus modestly related by one ofthe two participants; looking at them, with Jack so calm and modest,giving all the credit to his grinning accomplice, he must have decidedin his astute mind that at last Slippery Slim was going to have a pairof human bloodhounds on his trail such as all his ingenuity andvindictiveness combined could not throw into the discard.
"Let me have," he went on to say to Jack, "as good a description aspossible of those same bills your friend Scotty found in that pocketbookdropped among his clothing by the unknown party whom you believe waslooking for your letter of instructions from Washington."
When Jack complied with this request the other nodded his headapprovingly.
"No question but what they were of the same stripe as all the othersthat have been brought to our attention," he told Jack. "You must knowit's been a mooted question as to whether the plates from which thesenotes are being printed in vast quantities (that make it a gold mine forthe gang) are counterfeits engraved by some master in the art or stolenproperty, which have somehow never been missed by the plant where muchof the printing is done for the Treasury Department--the bills are soperfect that cashiers and tellers are all at sea over the facts, so thatsomething of a near panic has resulted in banking circles as a result ofthis unknown quantity. Remember these are the old type of banknotes, andnot the new abbreviated form of currency, so that it is more difficultto discover the actual facts."
"It will all come out in the wash, sir," remarked Perk, sagaciously,with a sly wink at his pal.
"Just so, Perk," observed the gentlemanly official, smilingly; "but I'mmore concerned about your plan of campaign than anything else right now.During the time you stop over here in Orleans I mean to keep you postedwith regard to any fresh news that comes in to Headquarters for there ishardly a day when we do not learn of additional discoveries connectedwith this deluge of phony money that's been dumped on the wholeSouthwest by this hard working gang. I am telling you everything that'sknown or suspected, so that you can figure out your best line ofaction."
"We understand that, Mr. Adkins," said Jack, nodding, "and you can restassured we appreciate your kindness more than I can tell you. Before wejump off you will know what we've decided to do, so as to pick up a warmtrail; and after that, sir, don't be worried if you fail to hear asingle word from us for days, weeks, or even months; but depend upon itwe'll be working on the job every minute."
"And never forget, I beg of you, that this man is a devil for crueltyand craftiness--I'm sure you'll not delude yourselves that his arrestwill be an easy task; for as good men as were ever on the roll of ourSecret Service Department have fallen down on the job."
"Thank you again, sir, for your warning; but we're not meaning to feelanything like over-confidence, so as to let the bars down. I understandfrom my having been picked to take up this case, that the knowledge ofmyself and my assistant here along the line of aviation cut a big figurein the appointment, since it has been learned that Slim himself makesuse of a flying boat possibly to cross over from the wilds of Mexico, itbeing suspected he has his plant hidden away somewhere among themountains, where he doubtless keeps peace with the authorities by payingtribute that insures his being left undisturbed. We hope to change allthat sooner or later, sir."
"I admire your modesty, Jack," continued the Government official, whohad warmed toward the pair during the short time he had known them, andseemed to take a personal interest in their fortunes. "Remember to keepin touch with Headquarters while in the city, so as to notify me in caseyou need any assistance--I can later on place a posse of oldtime TexasRangers at your service, if the occasion arises for a necessity to showforce--they are now working for the Government as border patrols, and asyou can understand, are the same rough-riding, fearless type that playedsuch a leading figure in the early history of the Lone Star State; forwe have authority that covers such matters. And I'll be one of the firstto extend you my hearty congratulations should you win out, and bring inyour man; as I've no doubt your good pal here used to do when, as you'vetold me, he used to work with the Canadian Mounted Police force, inyears gone by."
"It won't be our fault, sir, if we make a flop o' the job," assertedPerk, who believed he ought to get in an occasional word; although therewere a good many things he did not wholly understand, and which he woulddepend on Jack to further explain when opportunity arose.
Mr. Adkins shook them both cordially by the hand, and took hisdeparture, leaving them to digest all the startling facts he had placedin their possession. By slow degrees they would figure things out, andsketch their plan of operation; then would come the hour when once morethey must depend on their wings to carry them many hundreds of milestoward the scene of action, where the air would be surcharged withdynamite, while deadly enemies might be lying in ambush, ready to takethem by surprise.
Perk started to spring his questions, and Jack was only too glad to makethe necessary explanations; for it was necessary that they work incomplete harmony if they hoped to be successful.
As far as they had gone, things looked hopeful to Jack, as he marshalledthe facts that had lately been placed in their possession. He wassatisfied that when every item had been arranged in its rightfulsequence they could fashion a plan of campaign that would at least havea better chance for winning out than any of those utilized by formerdetectives, who had not possessed the essential wings so as to meetSlippery Slim on his own chosen ground.
"No tellin' just how long we'll stick it out in this burgh, I guess,buddy?" suggested Perk, some time later, as they continued to takethings easy, resting up after a hard night's flight, and meaning to getaround the city after noon and lunch time had come and passed.
"Couldn't say as yet, Perk; we've got to comb out the stuff as handedover by our new friend, Mr. Adkins, and discard everything that doesn'tpan out as being worth while. Then there were a few leaders he droppedthat, if followed up, might turn out to be leading clues, the possessionof which would possibly turn the tide of battle. I'm meaning not to letanything make me show undue speed--Rome wasn't built in a day, we've gotto recollect, and so shape things from the standpoint of 'safetyfirst'."
"Huh! that's the boy!" gurgled the pleased Perk; "me, don't I rememberthat story o' the hare an' the tortoise runnin' a race, which the turtlewon 'cause he never even stopped to rest up; while the rabbit, thinkin'he could run loops around such a plodder, lay down to take a nap,overslept himself, and when he got to the goal there was Old Leatherbackawaitin' to turn the big laugh on him."
Perk wound up with one of his rollicking laughs; everything seemed tocreate merriment in his soul just now, after that royal breakfast;though perhaps he was running away ahead of the dry facts, and countinghis chickens before they were hatched out of the shell. But Perk wasconfident the sly fox of a Slim would find himself snagged in the netone of these days, and the clever guy who handled things would turn outto be an aviator and sky detective named Jack Ralston.
Jack some time afterwards, had just aroused from a short nap, when Perk,who had been pondering and grumbling to himself, toss
ed out anotherquestion, as if to disclose what was troubling him:
"How about it, old hoss, do you b'lieve them dicks we left behind afterthey'd floated down from a high ceilin' with their chutes, got outen thescrape, so they could a hiked to some nearby village or town, an' tookthe first train headed for Orleans, reckonin' we must a'been on the jumpthisaways?"
"I'd say the chances all point that way, Perk," Jack told him, withoutthe slightest hesitation.
"Jumpin' crickets! if that's a fact why, a feller might run acrost theslick pair any old minute--meet 'em right face to face!" Perk went on tosay, as if the fact gave him more or less concern.
"I suppose then you'd recognize the chappies with just one look, eh,what about that, partner?" asked Jack, laughingly; at which the othergrinned a bit foolishly, to admit he had serious doubts on that score.
"Shucks! didn't either o' us get a peep-in at their monikers, worseluck--had them helmets and goggles in place right away, like they didn'tmean to give us a single look-in. S'pose now they got the high sign onus boys?"
"On a venture I'd say that was always possible," replied Jack, soberly;for this very point had occurred to him, and was as yet unsettled in hismind. "Nobody knows how long they may have been in Atlanta--Mr. Adkinsassured us Slim seemed to have all sorts of strings out, so as to learnin advance of any bunch of Government agents taking the field againsthis giant bogus money monopoly; and for all we can tell those two mayhave been spying on us most of the time we were around Candler Field,getting our ship ready to take to the air."
"Rotten luck, I'm sayin', and too much one-sided to suit me," growledPerk, frowning savagely. "Here we got to do our work in the dark; whilethat smart cuss holds all the high cards in the pack, an' c'n trump ourace any time he takes a notion."
"No need to worry about that, comrade," said Jack, soothingly. "You mustremember that when we move along we mean to disappear as if heading intothe thickest belt of pea soup fog ever seen--in that way they'll loseall trace of us, and we can play our cards as we choose, making up for adifferent breed of sky travelers, so as to dope the cleverest kind ofspies he can send out. While they're left guessing what's become of uswe'll be doing our little tracking job, and hour by hour, day after day,keep on creeping closer to their secret stronghold, wherever that mayprove to be. Those are some of the things we figured on doing, Perk,don't forget."
The one addressed made no reply, but as he let his head fall back, as ifhe meant to pick up a few winks of sleep, there came a look of raptadmiration on his weather-beaten face that bespoke the utmost confidencein his best pal.