VII
PERK HEARS THRILLING NEWS
"On your way, partner--gimme a clue to save me from crashin'!" beggedpoor Perk, his wits in a huddle that would have made any footballenthusiast take a back seat.
"It's our order to get busy, okay," said Jack with a gleam in his eyeshis pal loved to see, since it meant _action_ and plenty of it.
"Where bound, for the love o' mike?" continued the other.
"I've made out one name here which may be our destination, Perk."
"Yeah?"
"Spokane," he was told at which Perk lifted his eyebrows as if to denotemore or less surprise, likewise disappointment.
"Huh! 'bout a short day's flyin' from this joint," was the way theambitious Perk voiced his feelings, just as if his expectations had beentaking wings and soaring across the Pacific or some such long distance.
"Go slow, brother," his mate advised him, "give me half a chance to makethis puzzle out--so far I've caught just a word or two here and there.From the size of this message there's a heap back of it. If you're donestoking, let's pass up to our den where I can get out my code anddecipher this thing."
Perk was out of his chair in a jiffy.
"I'm with you, laddie so let's get a move on. I kinder guess now I'lljump out o' this here lowdown fit in a hurry, once we get goin'."
He already looked a hundred per cent more awake than he had been forseveral days and Jack chuckled as he led the way to the elevator,knowing how new life had been pumped into his chum's veins by thereceipt of the order to go.
Once seated in the room they shared in common, Jack took his secret codefrom its hiding place and set to work in earnest. Perk could see himwriting down word after word and filling in vacant places. The minutesfairly dragged like lead to the impatient one and when Jack sat back,nodding his head as if wholly satisfied, the other again begged him tolift the lid and give him a peep-in.
"What's the matter at Spokane? Some o' them Bolshevik miners broke looseover in Idaho an' threatenin' to kick up general hell again like they'vedone so many times?"
"A rotten guess brother," Jack told him. "Nobody said we were going tostop long at Spokane--just ordered to look up a certain party therewho'd pass on a bunch of information he's been collecting this longwhile back and so help us on our way."
Perk beamed again, as though quite a load had been lifted from hischest.
"Sounds better to me, ol' hoss," he hastened to say. "An' tell me, wheredo we go from Spokane?"
"Due north!" snapped Jack smilingly, "in the direction of an oldstamping-ground of yours."
"Across the border--into Canada, partner?" demanded Perk.
"Just where we'll be aiming for and moreover, buddy seems to me I'veeven heard you speak of a fur-trading post known as Frazer's, with aScotchman as factor of the Hudson Bay Company, name of McGregor!"
At that Perk let out one of his whoops as though unable to contain hisoverpowering delight.
"Ol' Jimmy McGregor you mean, Jack! Don't I know him from his moccasinsup, the queerest but straightest man in the whole Northwest Territory?Why, I was located not many miles away from his store an' many a timedropped in to get my 'baccy at his counter. I'll be as happy as a larkto shake his honest hand again. Now wouldn't that jar you though--suchgreat luck?"
"Here's another name you may chance to know. We're to pick up one of theMounties at the post and take him along as a sort of guide and backer,so as to show we're playing our game in conjunction with the legalauthorities of the region. Ever meet up with Sergeant Lowden, Perk?"
"Say, I was in cahoots with a mighty fine lad by that name," came thespeedy reply, "but if it's _him_ they've given Red a big boost since Iquit the game and went back to flyin'."
"That sounds good to me, just the same," Jack told him, "because we'reset to see a heap of the Sergeant before we skip back to our own side ofthe border and with him being an old pard of yours it's likely he'llfeel it's up to him to do his level best to help us corral thatwildcat."
"Meanin' who, if it's all the same to you, partner?" Perk observed.
"Listen then and get it pat, brother. Some time last year a certain manescaped from Leavenworth Penitentiary--it's never been learned just howhe managed it, or who on the outside or in gave him a lift. Seems thathe was a man Uncle Sam particularly wanted to keep shut up for a longterm--a dangerous man to be at large. This brought about a bunch oftrouble at Washington, and a number of high officials felt the finger ofsuspicion. Lax methods and such, you understand, being leveled at them.Rewards have been posted everywhere and I can remember seeing several ofthem in my travels, but up to now never has the first bit of informationfiltered in to Headquarters. They seemed to infer from certain hintsthat the escaped prisoner had gone West, but then again it was said hehad skipped to South America where he could change his name and keep onplaying hob with other people's wealth. His name, Perk, before he washauled in and sent to the pen was Leonard Culpepper!"
"Hot ziggetty dog! so, _that's_ the way the scent leads us, is it?"cried Perk, evidently fully aroused by the disclosure. "Sure, I've seenthem posters in mor'n a few post offices north an' south, east an' westand wondered who'd be the lucky dick to snatch that fat reward they putup. Gee! you've got me near goofy partner, with that news."
"Listen again then, Perk, and get the gist of what this message hasgiven to us. Information had trickled in through several sources tostate positively that a man answering the description of LeonardCulpepper has been playing hob up in the Northwest Territory for somemonths now. He's got a few tough bad men he runs with and they taketheir orders from him. That's another proof of his identity, sinceLeonard never would play second fiddle to any living man. It was rule orruin with him every time."
"Huh! gettin' hotter right along I'd say, Jack--suits me to a dot, an'sure worth waitin' for in the bargain," and if any one could judge howhappy Perk felt just then, the grin on his face, as well as the way inwhich he kept rubbing one hand over the other, just like a misergloating over his gold, would be enough to tell the tale.
"Remember, boy, this man is reckoned a desperate character, ready to goto any extreme to keep his liberty. Even your old comrades the Mountieshave so far fallen down on the job of taking him in. He seems to playtoo slick a game for the whole posse and we understand that at least oneofficer has mysteriously disappeared when trying to track him to hislair. So make up your mind we'll have to match wits with even SherlockHolmes if we hope to get the better of this hard hitter."
"What's the name he goes by up there?" asked Perk.
"No name at all--they call him the _Hawk_, because he swoops down on hisprey unawares and is absolutely merciless. Two gold prospectors who weresaid to have struck it rich somewhere further north have disappeared andit's suspected they fell in a fight with his gang. Sometimes he's hereand in a few days they tell of him bobbing up a hundred miles away."
"Jest like a flea," suggested Perk, "gone afore you c'n put a finger onhim. Wall, I kinder like the way our job's laid out for us, partner. Thebigger they are the harder they fall when Uncle Sam's men get goin'. Sowe're meanin' to pick up a bunch o' news at Spokane, are we? An' if it'sa fair question, ol' hoss, _when_ do we cal'late to pull out o' thisburg?"
"No particular hurry, understand, Perk, we can take our own timegoing--slow and sure is to be our motto. But I'm a little like you inwanting to make a start, then, if we feel so disposed, we can loaf awhile or turn aside if we see a chance to play a trick for Uncle Sam.That gives us a lot of leeway, you see."
"Nearly two o'clock right now--c'n we get off this afternoon, partner?"hinted the anxious one, appealingly.
"By four we ought to be on our way, buddy. Now let's get busy!"