VII
THEY ARE OFF!
Jack lost no time in answering the pleading look in Perk's eyes.
"Order's come at last, brother and we're due to skip out of this burgjust as soon as we can get a bite to eat."
"Where to, Jack--north, east, south or west?" babbled the pleased Perk.
"Looks like it might be the last you named," he was told.
"And if it ain't a dead secret would you mind tellin' me what sort of ajaunt we're pushed on to this time--is it to be a hunt, partner?"
"I'd say it was, and with a vengeance too," admitted Jack, still holdinghis chum over imaginary hot coals in that he declined to hasten with theinformation so urgently desired.
"So that's all settled, hey? And what are we supposed to be huntin', ifit's just the same to you to cough up that necessary information--morerum-chasers--bogus money-makers--check raisers, mebbe--runaway cashierwith all the bank funds--which is it buddy?"
"Never came within a mile of the right answer," Jack assured him withone of his puzzling smiles. "Fact is, it's a pilot we're ordered tofetch in."
"Pilot--say, do we have to shoot out to sea after a steamship that'scarried off its harbor pilot--such rotten luck, when we expectedsomething real big to take up our time and labor--shucks!"
"Wait, you jump at conclusions all too soon, Perk my boy. There happento be several other kinds of pilots besides those who fetch oceansteamships in and out of New York harbor or the Golden Gate at SanFrancisco--for instance those on river steamboats, it might be, or thoseof airplanes!"
"Airships did you say, Jack?" roared Perk, his eyes widening while heclutched the hand that held the telegram as though tempted to try andread the printed words he could just manage to see upon the sheet.
"Yes, air-mail pilot in the bargain," Jack fired at him.
"Hot ziggetty dog! do you mean a _missing_ mail pilot and his nameis----"
"Buddy Warner--that's right Perk, no other."
The most ecstatic expression imaginable crossed the face of the amiablePerk to proclaim better than any words could ever tell just what hethought of the great news he had just heard.
"I'm _so_ glad, partner--nobody could've fetched me better news thanwhat you're telling me right now. If I was asked what I'd like best todo--jest what line o' work I'd be crazy to handle, I'd say it was totake a look in at every pesky canyon and sinkhole along the mountainranges in hopes o' findin' that fine lad an' fetch him back home to hisold mammy. And now you're givin' me my best wish right off the bat. Goon an' tell me what it says, that wire they sent you."
"That we are to drop anything and everything else and start out to helpfind Buddy Warner; they must think a heap of that mail pilot for ourBoss to issue such a broad order as that. It means we've got to jump offbefore night sets in and head for the western town where he was lastseen. It also means we'll be on the job for days, or anyway until we getorders it's no use combing the gullies and ravines and canyons anylonger for the missing pilot must be dead."
"Can't strike off any too soon to please me, Jack. I'd even go withoutany grub if by saving an hour we could have a better chance o' strikin'pay dirt an' turnin' him up alive."
"No such desperate hurry as all that," the other assured him to put aquietus on his nervous desire to be winging their way toward the sceneof all the excitement and thus add one more ship to the flotilla alreadyseeking information concerning the whereabouts of the missing mailpilot. "Also, Perk, as nobody knows when we may get another chance toeat, it would be wise for us to take advantage of the presentopportunity as well as lay in a little grub for emergencies. For all anyone can say to the contrary it may be our hard luck to get caught in anair pocket and take a tumble just as Buddy probably did when such thingswould come in mighty handy. I'm leaving that little task for you tohandle, Perk, because you're right clever when it's grub that's needed."
"Yeah, I always aim to be that way an' I take it as a compliment you'repayin' me when you talk that way. Nobody c'n amount to thirty cents whenhe hasn't stoked his engine properly with fuel."
"I don't know whether you're on to it or not, brother," pursued Jack asthey began to hastily assemble their few possessions preparatory tostepping out; "but I've been clipping every account I could find in thepapers you fetched home, covering Buddy's dropping out of sight."
"Huh! I sure did take notice of the fact, but never dreamin' we'd have apeep-in at this wide search. I jest guessed you was enough int'rested towant to compare these here wise-cracks about the cause o' his troublewith what it really must a'been, in case they found the remains o' hiscrate in some canyon or gully."
"That was one reason," admitted Jack candidly, "but somehow, though Inever let on to you, I seemed to have a sort of feeling we might beworking on that mystery sooner or later--you might call it an_inspiration_ and let it go at that."
"Glory be Jack, an' what have you got in that wise coco o' yourn, ifit's all right for you to up an' spill the game?"
"Some time while we're on our way," the other explained just as if hehad the thing all laid out, even to the smallest particulars, "whileyou're running the ship, I mean to go carefully over those newspaperreporters' accounts and try to figure out just what could have happenedto bring about Buddy's disappearance--also, find what sort of weather hemust have struck right after jumping off from his last port of call todrop mail sacks and pick up others."
Perk thereupon wagged his head as though he began to understand what askillful way his chum had of getting at the "meat in the cocoanut."
"No wildcat skirmishin', an' heatin' about the bush for _you_, ehpartner?" he blurted out in sincere admiration. "An' I'd wager all I gotin my jeans you're bound to hit on the real facts when everything'sfiggered up."
"Don't be too sure about that brother," advised Jack, shaking his headas he spoke, "I'll certainly do my level best, but you never can tellhow the cat's going to jump. It's one thing to theorize and quiteanother to hit on what's the truth. I'll try and separate the wheat fromthe chaff and by degrees build up a little story of my own that may, andagain may not, cover the ground. Now let's clear out of this after we'vepaid our landlady what we owe for our room, and thank her for being sokind to a couple of forlorn bachelor flyers."
This was soon done and shortly afterwards they sat down to have a lastmeal in their favorite restaurant, Perk meanwhile having laid in acertain amount of supplies in the way of such food as they could takecare of while on the wing.
Then they hastened to the flying field to have their ship hauled out ofthe hangar, tuned up for the last time and give them an opportunity to"kick-off," as Perk was pleased to call it, before darkness fell.
Perk secretly had been entertaining a little fear lest at the lastminute something not down on the bills might spring a leak and bringabout an unfortunate delay in their departure--so much time had alreadypassed since the disappearance of the air-mail pilot that another six orten hours must seem deplorable--but fortunately nothing untoward camealong. The ship was trundled to a nearby point where Jack figured theyshould take off, basing his decision on the way the wind happened to beblowing and after a brief examination they pronounced their air steed tobe in perfect trim.
Jack shook hands with the late guardian of their plane as he slipped anextra bill into his possession so too, did Perk thank him warmlyconcerning the way he had performed his duty for since those enemies hadfailed in their attempt to "take them for a ride," it had always beenpossible for them to cripple the new cloud chaser so that somethingdreadful was likely to happen when they were a mile from the ground.
Nothing now remained for them to do save settle down in theirseats--they had donned their dungarees, fixed their helmets and chutepacks and in other ways prepared for a long flight into the west.Already it had grown dusk, although the sun could not be far down belowthe horizon and very likely they would glimpse his smiling face againwhen they had climbed toward cloud-land so Jack gave her the gun andw
ith a roar they sped down the field.