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Sky
Detective
Series
By
Ambrose Newcomb
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Jack Ralston and his pal,
“Perk”, famous air pilots,
he‘p “Uncle Sam” unravel
baffling problems of the
Secret Service. The adven-
tures of these two Detec-
tiveAviators form the com-
plete series, although each
book is a complete story
in itself.
Sky Detectives
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Donated by the
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The May G Qmgley
Collectmn
of Chlldren s Llterature
December 2001
The Umversnty of M1ch1gan-Dearborn
Marchglan Lnbrary









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Wyzhg.
THE COAST SKYWAYS
or Jack Ralston’s
Swift Patrol

BY AMBROSE Nzwcomn
duthor of
TRACKERS OF THE FOG PACK
WINGS OVER THE ROCKIES
SKY PILOTS GREAT CHASE
THE SKY DETECTIVES
EAGLES OF THE SKY
THE GOLDSMITH Punusnmc Co.
CHICAGO
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Copyright, I931
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:


FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
CHAPTER I
BY AIRLINE T0 ATLANTA
H
Big smoke dead ahead, partner!”
“I’ve been expecting to hear you announce that
fact, Per—I mean Wa1ly l”
“Kinder guess naow it mout be Birmingham, eh,
What, Boss?”
“No other—you hit the nail on the head that
time, Mr. Observer.”
“Huh! my native town, which I’m naow agwine
to see fur the fust time.”
“Better get out of the habit of making such
crazy cracks, brother—what if any one overheard
you, and took a notion in his head you might be
somebody other than just a Down-in-Dixie pro-
duct from Alabama,—raised in the North, where
you acquired a whiff of the dialect of a Canuck
—and by name Wallace J. Corkendell, though
generally answering to plain Wally.”
“Hot-diggetty-dig! that ere smoke cloud sure
looks jest like an ole peasoup fog-pack we done got
lost in not so far back. By gravy! I doant b’1ieve
we’ll even git one squint at the pesky city as we
fly over the same!”
I3


14 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“I can easily see where I’m bound to have a lot
of fun listening to you trying to talk in three dif-
ferent lingoes, all mixed up in one great mess—
Yankee, your native brogue; Canadian patios, con-
tracted while with the Northwest Mounted Police;
and now a pidgin English, such as a Southern
colored boy might use. I only hope such a mixture
doesn’t queer the big game we’ve got laid out ahead
for us, whatever its nature proves to be.”
“I er-reck0ns—yeou says I gotter use that word
right along naow, ’cause no Alabama white or
black boy never does guess anything—I reckons,
suh, I’ll git a strangle-holt on the way a gen-u-ine
cracker keeps up his end o’ a talkie——given a little
time fo’ practice.”
“That begins to sound like the real stuff, com-
rade,” observed Jack; and despite the clamor of
engine exhaust, and whirling propellers both of
them were able to hear every word uttered, simply
because they were wearing their usual earphone
attachments, without which they never made a
flight. “I’m beginning to feel encouraged to believe
you’ll come through with flying colors. There,
we’re directly over Birmingham, and going strong
to eastward.”
“Huhl I’m right glad yeou done tole me so, suh,”
Perk hastened to reply, doubtless with one of his
usual chuckles; “’case all I kin make aout’s a black


BY AIR-LINE TO ATLANTA 15
smudge o’ smoke ahuggin’ the ground, with a few
church steeples apokin’ a finger through the same.
So, there she lies, my own, my native city! Ain’t it
affectin’, though, ole pal, acomin’ back like this,
after many years, an’ discoverin’ that same thick
smoke fog asettled daown on the dear old place?
Gee whiz! I’m jest awonderin’ whether us South-
ern kids ever did have a gen-u-ine ole swimmin’-
hole in them won-derful days, eh, what?”
When they were positively alone, and no danger
of crafty eavesdroppers picking up their words,
the two cronies were pleased to extract a certain
amount of fun out of their assumed characters—
for Jack Ralston of course was also sailing under
a nom-de-guerre, as well as his best pal—with
him the new name was “Rodman Warrington,”
and he was supposed to be a rich and eccentric New
York City sportsman, weary of the routine of the
Carrituck Sound shooting club to which he be-
longed, and gardently desirous of exploring the
various bays, sounds and twisting rivers along the
wild coast of North and South Carolina, as well as
Georgia.
“To be sure they did, brother,” Jack was saying,
reassuringly, in reply to the skeptical question
propounded by his running mate; “if you stop
and think you’ll remember how every American
boy who grew up and amounted to shucks was


16 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
always getting a great thrill out of memories of
such a meeting-place, where all the boys took oc-
casion to show ofi' in doing stunts with a diving
board.”
“Say, naow ’at we’ve left dear ole Birmingham
in the rear, haow long ’fore we drop daown on
Candler Field outside Atlanta ?”
“Depends on what time we keep making,” Jack
informed him; “we’re speeding along at a hundred-
and-twenty clip just now, with only two motors
working; and if there was any necessity for fetch-
ing it up to an even hundred-and-fifty we could
easily enough do the same——and then some. I
reckon we’ll come in sight of Candler Field in
about an hour-and--a-half—the chart tells me it’s
something like one-fifty miles, as the bee flies, be-
tween this Southern Pittsburgh and the Capital of
Georgia.”
“Meanin’ to stop over in Atlanta long, part-
ner?” demanded Perk; who apparently was not
wholly advised of his 1eader’s plans, as far as they
were matured, and as usual “wanted to know.”
“Around twenty-four hours, possibly less,
buddy,” Jack explained. “We’ve an appointment,
made for us from Headquarters in Washington,
to meet up with a certain official connected with
the Secret Service, who holds forth in Atlanta
—from him we’ll receive a certain amount of
I


BY AIR-LINE TO ATLANTA 17
information, and be referred to another party,
high in the secrets of the Service in Charleston.
When we jump off from that South Carolina city
we’ll know all we’re expected to carry out—what
we’ve been called east to accomplish. There, that’s
everything in a nutshell; I’m as much in the dark
as you, even though I reckon I’ve figured things
out, if a bit hazily, to tell the truth.”
“We’re goin’ after some sort o’ big game, I er-
reckon, partner ?” Perk speculated, his manner
making the remark seem like a question.
“N o doubt about that, boy—they wouldn’t have
called for us to fly all the way from San Diego,
(with two necessary stops to prevent spies from
learning as to who we are, and why we’re heading
east) if it hadn’t been that some others in the
Secret Service had played their innings—and
fallen asleep at the switch.”
“Hot-diggetty-dig! I’d say that’d be a neat
compliment they’re givin’ us, ole hoss,” Perk ex-
ulted; as enthusiastic as a boy over a Christmas
present of a brand new shiny pair of club skates.
“Another thing I’d like to hear tell ’baout, Ja—er,
Mr. Warrin’ton, suh.”
“As what, partner—you’1l notice that I’m trying
to call you all sorts of chummy names—that’s for
the purpose of trying to forget I ever knew you as
Perk, or Gabe Perkiser. If you do the same there’ll


18 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
be less chance of giving our game away; for if any
kind of quick-witted spies should hear us exchang-
ing words they’d remember the real names of the
two sky detectives who were playing particular
hob with gents who gave Uncle Sammy the laugh.
Now, I reckon you’re referring to that letter I
had just before we lifted out ship at San Diego
last night.”
“Yeou said it, er-ole pal,” replied Perk, catch-
ing his treacherous tongue just in the nick of time.
“I kinder—reckoned it mout acome from the gent
over in San Diego, who’s been aour boss since we
started operations ’long the Coast.”
“A fair enough guess, brother,” Jack told him;
“because that’s the official who gave us the order
to break away, and what to do on the skyway east.
There was also some interesting information con-
cerning the job we finished up some weeks back;
and I meant to hand that over to you; but some-
how failed to connect.”
“I’m right tickled to hear that, suh,—fack is
I’d begun to feel they wasn’t zactly treatin’ us
white, not sayin’ as haow we’d done the Service
proud, the way we fetched Slim Garrabrant back
after he’d broke loose from the pen, an’ started his
ole tricks again.”*
“Oh! they were quite enthusiastic about the
success of our work, after others had fallen down
*See “Trackers of the Fog Pack.”


BY AIR-LINE TO ATLANTA 19
on the job—that is, as warm as those cold people
at Headquarters ever do get, it being against their
principles to over praise those working under them,
for fear of giving the poor guys the big-head.
You can read the letter before I destroy it, brother.
The Big Boss in L. A. also wrote that Slip-
pery Slim had been safely returned to his former
cell in Leavenworth, and with an added sentence;
so, as they’ll watch him closer from now on, there’s
small chance of our ever running up against him
after this.”
“Well, he was a good guy when it came to tack-
lin’ big games, I’ll tell the whole world," observed
the satisfied Perk; who again busied himself with
his reliable binoculars, eagerly surveying the
checkered landscape a mile or more under the bot-
tom of their fuselage; and which continued to
prove of considerable interest to Perk, this being
actually the first time he had ever passed over
that section of the Southland, despite his absurd
claim to having spent his boyhood days in Birming-
ham, Ala. j
»
The time drifted along, with their speed un-
diminished. Pine woods, tracts of corn, cotton,
tobacco; acres of fruit trees, pecan groves, even
sugarcane patches—all these signs of the South-
land he kept seeing as the miles flew past. -
“I kinder—er-reckons as haow we’ve done shot


20 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
past the dividin’ line ’tween Alabam ’nd Georgia,
boss,” he presently annotmced, with a grand air
of superior knowledge; “case I jest seen a town
squatted on a river, an’ painted on the roof o’ a
house was a name, fo’ the benefit o’ fliers like
weuns—Tallapoosa she read, which tells me that
must a been the river Tallapoosa—all bein’ ’cross
the line in Harlson County, Georgia, (’cordin’ to
my map here.) If that’s correct we right naow
ain’t more’n fifty miles from aour goal—less’n half
an hour yet to fly.”
“You are hot on the trail, comrade,” Jack as-
sured him. “Keep your eyes skinned to pick up
another smoke cloud dead ahead, which will be the
first sign of our nearing Atlanta, the New York
City of the South.”
Perk continued to watch and wait, until finally
he gave a half suppressed whoop, to add exult-
antly:
“It’s a big smoke smudge, all right, buddy ;' so
we’re rushing daown on aour goal like a river
afire; which pleases a feller called VVally okay,
yeou bet!”


CHAPTER II
THE CIPHER LETTER
Jack did not seem to be at all surprised when his
best pal made this abrupt announcement; but then
he always kept himself prepared for coming events.
“I was expecting to hear you say that, buddy ;”
he told his mate; “for the past fifty miles on, our
string up to date had about run through. I reckon
we’ll be on foot before many more minutes. Get
the airport yet—Wally ?”
- “Sure do, and right naow I kin glimpse a big—
looks like our Fokker, agoin’ to drop daown.”
“Yes, possibly belongs to either of the latest
lines using Candler Field for a base—Eastern
Air Transport, for passengers and mail; and
Southern Air Fast Express—covering the route
between Los Angeles and Atlanta—both now-a-
days carrying capacity loads, the papers have been
saying.”
I “Shucks! takes yeou to git things daown pat,
Big Boss,” Perk went on to comment. “Where
do we go from here, Mister?”
. “After we’ve made arrangements for housing
our crate,” explained Jack, good-naturedly—-—al-
21


THE CIPHER LETTER 23
bags,” greenhom air holiday makers, out to get
an experience that would give them a superior
advantage over friends who had never as yet gone
aloft. ' I
Jack made an exceptionally clever landing, and
then turned over the stick to his-mate, as if eager
to make it appear that Perk was the real article
when it came to being the head pilot of the multi-
motored cabin Fokker, that had not the least sign
of a name, nor yet a number to identify it.
A number of men came running toward the
rather retired spot where Jack had purposely come
down. Leading them was a little whipper-snapper
specimen, in a rather loud checkered suit, who
gave all the recognized signs of being a hustling,
live-wire newspaper man, always on the scent for
some unusual happening such as could be turned
into a thrilling story,—such keen investigators
are to be found at nearly every airport worth
while, eager to satisfy the curiosity of the multi-
tude of readers who are developing air mindedness
at a rapid rate.
“Greetings gents ;” he started in to say, with
a cheerful grin on his sharp features, and holding
a pencil in one hand while he had a pad of blank
paper all ready in the other. “If you would kindly
give me a few facts connected with your identity,
where you jumped ofi, whither bound, and so


24 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
forth the many readers of my paper would be glad
to extend to you a warm welcome to the Gate City
of the South.” i
Jack gravely shook hands with the diligent
worker, and obligingly fed him a little cock-and-
bull story, giving the names he and Perk had
recently taken upon themselves, and merely stat-
ing they were from Texas, bound to Atlanta on
private business connected with aviation circles.
He did this to quiet the news gatherer, until they
could dispose of their ship, and get started for the
hotel in a taxi to be hired near by.
Jack knew the breed to a dot, and felt confident
the lively chap would fill in enough imaginary
details to make an interesting account; so that
was that, and he was at liberty to turn to the one
in authority with whom arrangements could be
made for parking the big Fokker in a convenient
hangar at so much per diem.
Of course wise Jack had seen to it that never
the slightest clue could be discovered by the
shrewdest spy, to indicate what these air travelers
really had in view—he was quite willing that such
a sneaky investigator examine the ship from one
end to the other, and welcome—the gravest danger
of discovery would lie in some indiscreet remark
on the park of Perk; but even this did not give
Jack any considerable worry.
I


THE CIPHER LETTER 25
They were soon on their way into the heart of
wide-awake, bustling Atlanta, and presently
brought up at the noted hostelry, to which they
had been directed to proceed.
Jack, after dismissing the taxi, followed the
hotel attendant who had seized upon the two bags
they had with them. He registered without osten-
tation; and no sooner had the clerk taken a look
at their names, when about to assign them a double
room on the third floor, than he remarked casu-
ally:
“A letter waiting for you, Mr. Warrington,”
and after shuffling a pack of envelopes swiftly,
he handed Jack a registered letter, bearing the
Washington postmark across the stamps. 
Jack carefully deposited the same in an inner
pocket; then a minute later they both followed
a bellboy into the elevator and ascended.
When finally they found themselves behind a
closed door Perk turned an eager face upon his
comrade, as he remarked in a low tone, with a
nervous look all around, as though half expecting
to discover some eavesdropper peeping out from
a closet, or from behind an easy-chair:
“She kim okay, seems like, Ja—er Mr. Warring-
ton—then things they’re keepin’ on the move, an’
we’re a step closer to aour field o’ operations than
when we started aout, eh, what, suh?”


THE CIPHER LETTER 29
o’ aour headin’ fur Charleston after we kick aout
o’ this burgh, eh, partner?”
“There are a lot of things to be said and done
before we can break into the game; and we’ll get
fully posted by the Government agent in Charles-
ton. Besides, we’ve got to handle another kind of
ship,—in fact an amphibian, capable of dropping
down on water as well as on land, and taking off
the same way.“
“Glory be! naow ain’t that fine?” Perk ex-
claimed, ecstatically. “I never yet had anythin’ to
do with them crocodile type o’ boats, an’ never
’spected to; so this same is a big s’prise, as well as
a pleasure——thank the- Chief fur me whenever
yeou’re writin’, baby.”
“Okay, brother,” came the ready answer. “For-
tunately it happens that I’m somewhat familiar
with the handling of that type of boat. Besides,
we’re under orders not to hurry things along at all
—to take our own time, and get fully in touch
with our new craft before starting on the job for
keeps.”
“Air we meanin’ to handle this layout all by aour
lonesome ?” Perk questioned.
“As a rule, yes; but we are also expected to call
upon certain skippers of fleet patrol boats to lend a
hand. He’s given a list of four rum chasers whose
commanders will recognize the signal we give, and


30 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
place their craft at our disposal as long as we
wish; so you see we’re to really be in command
of a squadron, if the necessity arises. I’m mean-
ing to take down the names of the four customs
boats before I destroy this illuminating letter, ac-
cording to instructions.”
Then Jack went on to speak of other things the
letter had contained, with the intention of posting
Perk regarding the immensity of the task being
given over to their handling.
“He described this wide-stretching conspiracy
to smash the Coast Guard service as a species of
octopus, reaching out its myriad of arms, so as
to cover the entire coast line——deliveries have been
accomplished with almost clock-like regularity,
and the custom service is being made a laughing
stock among those in the secret. No wonder the
Chief is feeling hot under the collar; for I reckon
there never as yet has been a time like the present,
when all the best laid plans of his most skillful
and bravest men have gone on the rocks. I’ve a
feeling that if we manage to give this big conspir-
acy its death blow, there isn’t a favor too great
for the Boss to grant us.”
“What’si bein’ kerried in mostly, partner-does
he tell us that ?”
“He mentions expensive liquor, of course, as
the principal contraband,” Jack informed him


THE CIPHER LETTER 31
“but narcotics as well have been coming, in un-
known quantities, straight from China, also some
country in the Balkans, Turkey being suspected.
Then there are diamonds, and other precious stones
that carry a heavy duty; laces; expensive Havana
cigars from Cuban factories; and even Chinese
immigrants, so eager to land in the country of
Opportunity and dollars they are willing to pay
enormous sums for transportation, with a safe
landing guaranteed.”
“The more the merrier, sez I,” snapped Perk.
“Yeou was asayin’ a bit ago it’s b’lieved they done
got rafts o’ spies pickin’ up secrets o’ the customs
service, so’s to trick the boats into startin’ aout on
false leads, that leaves the landin’ places unguarded
-——mebbe, naow, ole scout, yeou even goes so far
as to reckon that slick newspaper gink might be
jest sech a peek-a-boo boy, aout to put the kibosh
on aour fine game.”
“You never can tell, buddy; if you meet him
again play the deaf and dumb racket, which is the
only safe plan.”


CHAPTER III
THE LEECH HANGS ON
“Hot-diggetty-dig! seems like the more we poke
into this here business, the warmer it gets !” Perk
exploded, banking on the safety of their hotel room
to keep his language from being heard.
“Oh! like as not all this is only the opening gun
of our new campaign,” was his companion’s cool
comment. “Later on, when we find ourselves neck
deep in the mixup, you’ll be looking back, and
smiling at what you’re saying now. From present
indications I’d say this affair is giving promise of
being the biggest case we ever had the nerve to
tackle.”
“The bigger they get the further they falls, part-
ner, doan’t make any mistake ’bout that ere fack,”
said Perk, grimly. “Huh! sometimes I get to
thinkin’ what happened up in that Hole-in-the-
Wall outlaw retreat, and I’m awonderin’ what ever
did come o’ that gang after we kicked off with aour
prisoner.”*
“Which reminds me I didn’t think to tell you
all the news that was contained in that letter from
Los Angeles—want to hear it now, brother ?”
*See “Trackers of the Fog Pack.”
32


THE LEECH HANGS ON 33
l( ' Y) ' H
Sure do, Mister, snapped Perk, greedily ; it’ll
amuse me while I’m awashin’ up here in aour
neat little bathroom.”
Jack followed him into the next compartment,
evidently so that he could keep his voice down to a
low pitch.
“Something like a week later,” he told the lis-
tening Perk, “they took off in the biggest crate
they could commandeer into the service—half a
dozen fighting men, heavily armed, and prepared
for anything that might come along. Good weather
favored them, and they came in sight of the valley
among the high clifis in the daytime.
“After circling, and lowering their altitude,
they could not see the least thing to indicate the
presence of a solitary human being; so finally the
pilot set them down exactly on the smooth landing
field the gang used when working their old wreck
of a ship, carrying the packages of counterfeit
notes out to distribute the same to different sta-
tions ; and fetching back assorted supplies, includ-
ing the best of grub.
“The place was abandoned, and looked like an
earthquake had struck that particular quarter—
the mouth of the pass leading into the wonderful
valley was filled thirty feet high with a mass of
rocks, thrown down by the tremendous force of
the bomb you exploded when we cleared out; and
I


34 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
some of the cabins and huts had been knocked to
flinders by the men in their rage at being kicked
out of their hidden retreat. Their old plane too,
was scattered all around the field.
“The Government agents found the plates from
which the spurious notes had been printed, and de-
stroyed all but a portion, which they wished to for-
ward to Washington for inspection by the Chief
and his staff. Then they amused themselves by
climbing to a five hundred foot ceiling, and mak-
ing a target of the hut where the work had been
carried on. Our friend in L. A. went on to assure
me a clever hit by a bomb had scattered that
squatty building we used to watch by the hour, to
the four winds; and the printing press too was
smashed to useless atoms by the force of the ex-
plosion.” ‘
“Bully! bully!” Perk was saying, joyously,
proudly, through the soap lather he had accumu-
lated on his face; “then we sure did a natty piece
0’ work up there in that God-forsaken neck o’
the woods. Seems like life has got some bright
spots in the framework arter all, an’ ain’t jest
a dinky fogbelt like I sometimes find myself
b’lievin’.”
“It has its ups and downs we’ve got to remem-
ber, partner,” advised sensible Jack; “especially
along the risky line of business we’re engaged in.


THE LEECH HANGS ON 35
So we’ve got to take things as ‘they come, wet
weather mixed with sunny days, and just keep on
doing our duty as we find it.”
“Huh gue—reckon we gotter jest grin an’ bear
it,” added Perk, rubbing his face and neck with
the course huck towel, as he loved to do on occa-
sion. “But haow long do we stick here in Atlanta
tell me, Boss?”
“For one night only, if things work as I hope
they will,” said Jack, promptly enough, showing
that his plan of campaign was beginning to shape
up.
“Mind if I step aout for a little while, partner;
I done forgot to lay in some tooth-paste, an’ I’m
kinder used to havin’ a tube o’ the same along with
me, yeou know, suh?”
Perk was the possessor of an unusually fine set
of teeth, of which he was inordinately proud, as
Jack had occasion to know full well; so that this
request on his part seemed perfectly natural.
“Certainly not, Wally,” Jack told him, purposely
emphasizing the name, as if to keep the other from
forgetting how necessary it was to be forever on
his guard, so as not to be caught napping. “Like
as not you’ll find a drugstore handy to the hotel,
and can get what you want easily enough. I’d
rather you didn’t go far away—a walk might seem
like a fine thing; but when it’s taken I want tobe


THE LEECH HANGS ON 37
“Easy enough,” quoth Perk, still with that quiz-
zical expression on his sun-tanned, homely face.
“Found there was a drugstore right handy; an’
seein’ I was thirsty I jest stopped over to pick up
a drink o’ soda an’ cream. That’s where things
begins to happen, yeou see.”
“Oh! they did,” echoed Jack, raising his eye-
brows as he watched the face of the other, and
noting how a grave look had succeeded the humor-
ous one. “Suppose you tell me what it was came
along while you were enjoying your soda ?”
“Well, yeou see, partner,” commenced Perk;
“there happens to be a gink astandin’ close by,
which I aint paid any ’tention to, bein’, wrapped
up in my own affairs jest then. I’d raised the glass
to take a fust sup when I done heard somebody say,
right by my ear seemed like: ‘Goin’ to stay with
us in Atlanta enny length o’ time, Mister Corken-
dall, suh ?”
Perk evidently had a little streak of the dramatic
in hiscomposition, for he stopped just then, and
eyed his companion eagerly, as if tickled to know
his communication had given the usually cool Iack
a bit of a start.
“Oh! you don’t say, brother?” the other was
remarking; “then after all the party at the soda
counter wasn’t quite a stranger to you seeing he
evidently had learned your name?”


38 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Darned if I kin make aout partner, haow he
ever got wise to the fack, so’s to call me Mister
Corkendall.”
“Go on, brother—what did you do then?” de-
manded Jack.
“Huh ! I was a bit flustered, yeou see,” explained
Perk, “ ’cause I’d got a side squint at his mug; I
reckoned I needed ’bout half a minute to git a
grip on my senses; so I tilted up my glass, an’
swallered a few times; and say it ’peared to me
like a thousand things flashed through my poor
ole brain like a stroke o’ lightnin’.”
“Did you answer him ?” demanded Jack, frown-
mg.
“I sure did,” came unhesitating the reply; “ ’case
I jest had to. Yeou see, partner, he’d been astandin’
thar right along, an’ in course he done heard me
order my drink; so if I tried to play that dumb
trick, as haow yeou tole me, he’d aknown things
must a been a bit mixed, an’ the fat’d be in the fire.
Did I do the right thing Boss, tell me?”
Jack smiled amiably again.
“That was certainly one time your mother wit
didn’t fail you, comrade,” he told the other. “Now,
go ahead and let me know what followed; because
I’ve already guessed the man at your elbow must
have been that Smart Aleck newspaper reporter
we last saw looking over our ship so suspiciously.”


40 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
yeour business, so I jest had to tell him as haow
yeow was on’y sportin’ fo’ sport, an’ undecided
whether to go on daown to hunt black bears in
the canebrakes '0’ Ole Louisiana; or else strike
aout fo’ Currituck Sound on the coast, to git a
whack at the wild geese an’ swans as kin be shot
on the club preserves.”
“You couldn’t have done better any way you
tried, brother,” warmly commended Jack, whack-
ing the other on his back, and causing him to fairly
glow with satisfaction. “Only I hope he didn’t
catch on about that three distinct language busi-
ness I was speaking about not so long ago.”
Perk shook his head briskly in the negative.
“I was mighty keerful not to say too much, part-
ner,” he continued; “with him afirin’ questions at
me like the rat-tat-tat o’ a machine-gun. So I pays
fo’ my soda, an’ tells the youngster I gotter hurry
back to where yeou was awaitin’ fo’ me to unpack
the bags; an’ with that I leaves him right whar he
was standin’, lookin’ at me outen them sharp eyes
o’ hisn like he’d bore into me with a gimlet, so’s to
know ever’thing I had in my head. That sap is
certain sure the mos’ uncomfortable bird to run
across when yeou got a secret up yeour sleeve, I
ever did tackle.”
“I can well believe you, brother,” observed the
relieved Jack. “Chances are you’ve left him in


guys--1-—*'—'_""W'
,.....‘ -:=:$:i
PERK HAS AN ADVENTURE 41
something of an uncertain frame of mind; but as
he’s built on the pattern of a bloodhound, he isn’t
meaning to give up the scent as long as we’re with-
in his reach. That forces me to decide on skipping
from Atlanta as soon as possible, for he’s marked
‘dangerous—keep out.’ ”
“What’s next on the programme, Mister?”
asked Perk, satisfied to have come out of his little
adventure with credit, and nothing like reproof
from the pal whose good opinion he coveted so
much.
“I must leave you here for an hour or so, and
keep my appointment with Mr. Justice, although
I hardly expect him to give me anything like the
full details of the work ahead of us—that must
wait until we get to Charleston, when everything
will be laid before us; together with coast charts
issued by the Government from surveys carried
out by experienced geographers, and which we
can rely upon to the fullest extent.”
“I done reckons then, partner, yeou got yeour
plans fixed up in case he is alayin’ fo’ yeou some-
whars, eh, what ?” 
Jack chuckled as if amused.
“I understand how you’re referring to our en-
terprising young scribe on one of Atlanta’s lively
papers; and especially vigilant in connection with
air travel matters at Chandler Field—nothing


42 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
would please me more than to take him on, and
give him a whirl or so. I think I can play my part
as a millionaire sportsman to the dot, and give
him a mouthful that’s apt to set him wondering
more than ever. I might even invite him to dine
with us, say tomorrow evening at the Grady here,
when he will be at liberty to ask all the questions
he wants about my love for outdoor sports, and
so on—that would be a good joke on the slick
lad, since we’ll be on our way east many hours
before that time.”
“Gosh all hemlock! but say, wouldn’t that be
rich, though; an’ what wouldn’t I give to be close
by, an’ hear haow yeou stuffed the duffer,” Perk
went on to gush, surveying his companion with
eyes that fairly glowed with sincere admiration.
“Lock the door, and under no consideration al-
low any one to enter while I’m away. Just say
you’re tremendously engaged, and can’t be dis-
turbed, if that everlasting busybody shows up.”
“Huh! jest trust me to lay the same aout if he
gets too fresh,” grunted Perk with a menacing
ring to his voice. “Course I wouldn’t knock him
any what yeoud call physically, only shut him up,
an’ send him off to mind his own business.”
“When I come back we can have another little
chin, for I promise to keep you fully posted from
now on, concerning everything connected with


PERK HAS AN ADVENTURE . 45
the latest weather report, especially as concerned
the promises for flying craft.
Eventually he found what he was after, and
read the report most eagerly. To his delight it
seemed to be favorable throughout the coming
night, a fact of considerable importance to all air
mail pilots, as well as others who were contemplat-
ing going aloft while the night lasted.
People passed the door of the room from time
to time; and twice Perk had an idea some one was
fumbling at the lock; but concluded it might have
been some tenant of a neighboring room, either
going out, or coming in, for at least nothing sus-
picious followed, and he breathed easy again.
The hour had just about slipped by when he
caught footsteps he knew right well; as he listened
he heard them stop before the locked door; then
came a light tap, and he caught Jack’s voice:
“Wally, it’s me—Warrington, you know !”
“Okay, suh!” sang out the one within, as he
stepped over and turned the key.
“How about it, partner—anything happened
since I left ?” Jack asked softly, after he had again
turned the key in the lock.
“Not any, suh—an’ I ketched the weather report
in the dinged paper, which gives us the pleasin’ in-
formation as haow it’s bound to be halfway decent
this same night, with wind from the southwest


PERK HAS AN ADVENTURE 47
that time. Yes, I gave him a nice little run for his
money—led him on interesting journeyings, and
along pleasant ways. He fell for it all, as far as I
could judge; and probably I managed to get the
fish well hooked; but they’re a slippery bunch, these
newspaper chaps, and can give the best detective
points, to beat him in the end in solving the great
mystery. I’m leery of the whole tribe, partner—you
never can tell whether you’re stringing them, or
they are playing you, giving you line so as to bring
you up with a round turn eventually. We shake off
Atlanta’s dust by midnight, brother—and that
goes!”


CHAPTER V
THEIR RUNNING ScHEDULE
“Hot-diggetty-dig! VVhat a big snap I shore
missed by not bein’ jest ’raound the corner, alisten-
in’ while yeou was afeedin’ that tall yarn to ’im,
what’s the name o’ that trail hound what builds
up thrillin’ yarns fo’ the readers o’ his paper to
swaller ?” and after taking a look at the card still
lying on the table Perk continued: “ ‘James Doug-
las Keating,’ huh! well, Jimmy, mebbe so yeou
didn’t run up ’gainst a buzz saw when yeou tack-
led aour—er, Mr. Rodman Warrington.”
“Wait and see,” cautioned Jack; “for all I can
tell that lad may have been feeding me some slick
medicine when he seemed to fall for my talk so
readily. I’m not going to feel dead certain I scotch-
ed the busybody until we’ve left Atlanta and
Candler Field well in our wake, with nothing
happening to prove a give-away.”
“Yeou would, partner—it’d be jest like yeou to
say ‘mebbe’ till things they got ab-so-lutely certain
—never yet knew yeou to jump at conclusions, so
I done reckon yeou was really born to be a scientist.
When do we eat, I’d like to know ; things are
48


THEIR RUNNING SCHEDULE 49
agettin’ near the danger line with me, right naow,
an’ there’s a ‘cry from Macedonia, come on an’
dine.’ ”
“Let’s go,” Jack told him, reaching out for his
head covering; for they had both doffed their
flying clothes before quitting the ship, and were
in ordinary garments that would not cause com-
ment or unusual notice on the streets of any city.
Over a very bountiful dinner they continued to
“talk shop” in low tones. Since their table was
a bit removed from any other, thanks to Jack tip-
ping the head waiter bountifully, with the orches-
tra playing softly, it seemed almost an impossibility
for any hostile ear to catch a single word they
uttered.
Thus Perk was put in possession of further
valuable information with regard to the probable
field of their forthcoming adventure, Jack having
managed in his customary clever fashion to get
hold of reading matter covering the entire roman-
tic coast country between Norfolk and Savannah.
“It seems to be a wonderful section, just teem-
ing with queer people and equally strange sights;
and for one I’m a bit eager to look things over.
Just the same, buddy, neither of us must forget
even a minute the main object that’s calling us
into the coast skyways. We’ve got a man’s size
job on our hands, and some mighty smart people,


50 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
as well as devil-may-care ones, to pack up against,
so that a slip is apt to set us back, and for all we
know even cost us our lives. I’m saying that not to
scare any one, but because I’ve posted myself on
the game, and know to what vile ends some of
these dicks would go if they thought men of our
trade were holding them under surveillance.”
“Well, so be it, partner doant forgit I’ve heard
the whine o’ lead pills close to my ears many a
time, so it’s an ole story with me !”
“When we manage to get in touch with one or
more of the swift Coast Guard patrol boats things
will begin to look brighter—as though there might
be something doing; but that wont come along
for quite some time. We’ve got to get things down
pat, know all about the regular routine movements
of those swift airships, and then begin to cut into
their number—first one must mysteriously disap-
pear, and then a second, possibly even a third.
By that time we’ll have certainly thrown a pretty
hefty scare into the bunch, and things are bound
to slacken, more or less.”
“Speed the day, sez I, partner caint come any
too quick to suit me, an’ that’s no lie either,” say-
ing which valorous, fire-eating Perk again attacked
his supper; for by this time they had reached the
dessert stage, and were discussing prime apple
pie, with the richest of thick cream to top it off,


THEIR RUNNING SCHEDULE 51
always one of Perk’s favorites, when given his
choice.
It will be noticed that when off duty these min-
ions of the Secret Service were apt to live like
kings, and with reason; for often they had to put
up with scanty rations, and poor at that, when
far removed from restaurant fare, and forced to
live ofi‘ the country. “First a feast, and then a
famine,” Perk was accustomed to saying when
Jack mildly reproached him for giving so much
thought to what he usually designated as “the
eats.”
Perk would have liked very well to have spent
an hour or so at some theatre or other, and had
even given a few hints about a screen play at the
Paramount but met with no encouragement from
his side partner.
“Best for us not to make any sort of an ex-
hibit of ourselves while we’re in close quarters
with that write-up newspaper chap,” he told Perk,
who, realizing that Jack meant just what he said,
allowed the subject to drop.
“Kinder gu—er-reckon as haow yeou’re ’baout
right there, ole hoss,” he admitted, with a slight
vein of regret in his voice; “course we kin see all
the picters we want when we’ve struck the wind-
up o’ aour trail—that is, providin’ we’re still alive,
an’ kickin’ as usual.”


52 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“That lad has got me guessing, and no mistake,”
Jack added; “in one way I admire such persist-
ence, especially in one of his breed, where there’s
a big scramble for fresh news stories; but they can
make it a whole lot disagreeable for other people
in the bargain. Makes me think of the leeches that
used to pester us by hanging on in the old swim-
min’ hole of my boyhood days—you just couldn’t
shake the blood-thirsty varments off, try as you
might, they were such stickers.”
Finishing their supper they strolled forth in a
leisurely fashion, as if, as Perk himself observed
in his quaint way: they had “the whole evening at
their disposal, with nothing to do but kill time.”
Picking up a late evening paper on the way to
their- room at the Henry Grady Hotel they settled
down to be as comfortable as possible, until the
time arrived to make a start.
“We’ll get a taxi to‘ take us out to Candler
Field,” quoth Jack, always arranging his plans
with meticulous certainty; “then change to our
flying togs, and get going as quietly as possible.
It’s to be hoped that sticking plaster wont be nos-
ing around out there, to see some mail ship start
off, or come into the airporteyou never can tell
about such fly-by-nights, who bob up in the most
unexpected places just when you don’t want to
see them.”


THEIR RUNNING SCHEDULE 53

~-
“Huh! yeou said it, partner,” Perk added,
whimsically; “jest like I used to see that queer
jack-o’-lantern in the country graveyard foggy
nights now here, an’ agin over yonder, fur all
the world like a ghost huntin’ fur its ’ticular stone
to climb under agin.”
Jack, having made himself comfortable, com-
menced glancing over the paper he had picked up,
briefly scanning each page as though skimming
the news.
“Haow ’bout the weather reports, buddy?”
asked Perk, later on, suppressing a big yawn, as
though time was hanging somewhat heavily on
his hands, being, as-he always proudly declared,
“a man of action.”
“Just about the same as a while ago—no change
in the predictions having come about,” he told the
other. '
“Like to be no storm agoin’ to slap us in the
teeth, then, eh, what?”
“I don’t see where it could come from, it being
clear in almost every direction, saving possible
rain in South Florida; so don’t let that bother you
in the least, old scout.”
“An’ fog—haow ’bout that same, suh? I opines
as haow I sorter detest. fog more’n anything I
know—’cept mebbe stones in my cherry pie.”
“No record of any fog over the air-route east,”


CHAPTER VI
BY THE SKIN or THEIR TEETH
Once settled down in the taxi Perk felt much
better. He had been casting suspicious glances
this way and that, eying a number of parties, as
though he more than half anticipated the slick
newspaper man might be hanging around the
Grady in some clever disguise, bent on tracking
them to the aviation field.
“Huh! kinder guess—ev’rything’s okay with us
naow-—glad Jack didn’t hear me asayin’ that for-
bidden word, er he’d be kickin’ agin. Tarnel shame
haow a life-long habit do stick to a guy like glue
—didtn”t realize haow things keep acomin’ an’
agoin’ year after year, when yeou git ’customed to
doin’ the same.”
Perk was muttering this to himself half under
his breath as the taxi took off, and immediately
headed almost straight toward the quarter where
the fast growing Candler Field lay outside the
thickly populated part of Atlanta.
He was just about to thrust his head out of the
open upper part of the door on the left side when
jack jerked him violently back.
55


BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH 57
course, an’ givin’ Jimmy the horse laugh. Caint
yeou git the shover to speed her along a little, ole
hoss ?”
“We’re already hitting up the pace as far as
safety would advise,” Jack told him, as they both
swayed over to one side, with another corner being
taken on the jump. “It’d spill the beans if we had
any sort of accident on the way to the ship; better
let well enough alone, partner.”
“Huh! the best speed a rackabones o’ a taxi kin
make seems like crawlin’ to any airman used to a
hundred miles an hour, an’ heaps more’n that,”
grumbled the never satisfied Perk ; but just the
same it might be noticed that Jack did not attempt
to urge the chauffeur to increase their speed at
the risk of some disaster, such as skidding, when
turning a sharp corner.
On the way Perk amused himself by taking
various peeps from the rear, gluing his eye to
the dingy glass. Since he raised no alarm it might
be taken for granted he had made no discovery
worth mentioning; and in this manner they pres-
ently arrived at the flying field, which they found
fully illuminated, as though some ship was about
to land, or another take off.
This suited them exactly, as it would be of
considerable help in bringing about their own de-
parture.


58 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
Jumping out Jack paid the driver, and after
picking up their bags they hastened in the direction
of the hangar in which they had been assured
their ship was to be placed.
A new field service motor truck was moving
past them, evidently bent on servicing some plane
about to depart east, west, north or south; which
Perk eyed with admiration; for he knew what a
comfort it was to have one of these up-to-date con-
traptions swing alongside, and carry out all the
necessary operations of fitting a ship out, which
in the old days had to be done by hand, with
the assistance of field hostlers.
“Anyhaow, we doant need a single thing to set
us on aour way, which is some comfort,” he re-
marked to his mate as they arrived at their des-
tination.
While Jack was making all arrangements for
their big Fokker to be taken out of the hangar,
and brought in position for taking off, Perk con-
tinued to look eagerly around him, as usual deeply
interested in all that went on in connection with
a popular and always growing airport, of which
Candler Field was a shining example.
“By gum! if there aint one o’ them new-fangled
air mail flags, painted on the fuselege o’ that
Southern Air Fast Express ship gettin’ ready to
pick off; an’ say, aint she a beaut though—regula-


60 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
of the common being, as he termed it, “pulled off”
—possibly the presence of that beautiful emblem
of the air mail service on the fuselege of the
western bound mail and express matter carrier had
to do with the occasion—a sort of honorary chris-
tening, so to speak—he was content to let it go
at that. 
Jack was still talking with some one he seemed to
know, some one who must surely be a fellow pilot,
for he was dressed in regulation dingy overalls,
and kept hovering near that fine multi-motored
Curtiss Kingbird plane that he, Perk, understood
belonged to the new fleet of the line to be operated
in a short time between Atlanta and Miami,
Florida, carrying passengers, the mail, and ex-
press between the two airports.
Thus far there had been no sign of the ubiqui-
tous newspaper man, and Perk continued to bolster
up his hope this might continue to be the case to
the very moment of their departure. It would be
a bit exasperating should the fellow suddenly burst
upon them, jumping out of a taxi, and tackling
Jack with a beastly shower of questions that were
suited to the ends he had in view of building up
a fanciful story that must tickle the palates of the
numerous readers of his department on aviation in
the paper he served.


BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH 61
There, thank their lucky stars, was his com-
panion giving the wished for call for him to stand
by, as everything was fixed for immediate depar-
ture. In less than three minutes they would be
taking the air, and leaving lighted Candler Field
behind them—once that happy event had taken
place and they could snap their fingers derisively
at any attempt on the part of their determined
annoyer to give them trouble.
“Huh! it’s to be hoped the pesky guy doant take
a notion to hire a ship, an’ try to stick to aour
tail, ashoutin’ aout his crazy questions like he
spected us to done hole up, an’ hand him his story
on a plate! Kinder gu—reckon as haow there aint
much danger ’long them lines—it’d be a whole
lot too hard fur him to manage. Okay, suh, right
away 1”
As Perk was supposed to be a pilot in the employ
of Mr. Rodman Warrington, of course it was only
right for him to be at the throttle of the ship when
they took off. Accordingly he hastened to settle
down in his seat where he could grip the controls,
and manipulate things in the dash along the field
that would wind up in a swing upwards toward
the starry heavens. .
Having given a last hasty inspection of his gad-
gets, and the numerous dials as arranged on the


62 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
black dashboard before him, Perk called out, the
propeller started to roar and spin like lightning;
and in that very last second of time, as the ship
commenced to leap forward, Perk caught a glimpse
of the man whom they had believed left in the
lurch—no other than Jimmy himself! i


64 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
1-
solutely out of the question for the one holding the
stick to twist his -head around so as to see what
their tormentor was doing; but then he felt certain
Jack must be taking in everything that occurred,
and in good time he would be told of each little
incident.
Perk had his instructions, and knew just what
he was doing. Accordingly, when the ship had
reached a comfortable ceiling of say half a thou-
sand feet, he banked, and swung around so as to
head toward the southwest.
“Shore thing,” Perk was telling himself, in a
spirit of pride and astuteness. “Sense the gent’s is
aimin’ to git a black bear in them canebrakes o’
ole Louisiana, we gotter be headin’ thataways at
the start. Hoopla! aint it jest the limit, apullin’ the
wool over the eyes o’ one o’ the darnedest sharpest
newspaper boys as ever was?”
It had been arranged that they were to keep on
that course for a brief time, and when sufficient
distance had been covered—so that the hum of
their exhaust could no longer be heard at Candler
F ield—,—they would change to another quarter,
swing around the distant city, pick up the light at
Stone Mountain, and from that point industriously
follow the beacons that flashed every ten miles or
so all the way to Richmond, Virginia.
Jack soon displaced his assistant pilot at the
controls, and Perk was able to take hold of other


ON THE AIR-LINE TO CHARLESTON 65
special duties, such as were usually left to his
direction.
One of the very first things he carried out was
to attach the harness of the invalua‘&'=-l1- telephone,
that, when connected with their ears allowed of
such exchange of views as they saw fit to indulge
in; and Perk was burning up with eagerness to
find out what Jack must have seen after they made
their start.
The big ship was speeding at a merry clip, and
before long Stone Mountain would be reached
with the first beacon flashing its welcome light to
beckon them on their well marked course.
“Was that him as I guess—reckoned I done seed,
jest as we started to move, hey, partner ?” Perk
demanded; and as Jack knew only too well he
would have no peace until he handed over such
information as he possessed, he lost no time in
making answer.
“N o other, brother—he came in a taxi, and was
in -such a hurry it’s plain to be seen he’d picked
up a clew at the hotel that sent him whooping
things up, and burning the minutes until he got
there at Candler Field. Unfortunately—for Jimmy
-—-he dallied a half minute too long, trying to get
some lead from that night clerk, and so we slipped
one off on him.”
“Yeou doant reckon as haow he’d be so brash


66 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
as to hire a ship, to try an’ sit on aour tail, do
yeou, ole hoss ?” demanded Perk, who had even
looked back once or twice, as though such a possi-
bility had begun to bother him.
“Not a Chinaman’s chance of such a happening,
Wally—we’ve got a clear field ahead of us, and I
feel pretty certain that’s the last we’ll see of our
friend Jimmy. Just the same, leave it to him to
concoct a thrilling yarn to feed to his readers to-
morrow morning—imagination will supply the
missing facts; and I’d like to set eyes on what he
hatches up.”
“Me too, partner,” echoed Perk, greedily; “an’ if
it’s possible while we hang aout araound Charles-
ton I’m meanin’ to look up all the Atlanta papers,
and read all the air news they carry.”
“Go to it, partner ; but that must be Stone Moun-
tain over there on our larboard quarter ; look sharp,
and you’ll glimpse a flashing light, for we’re about
to pick up our first beacon.”
“Bully for that, ’cause afterwards it’ll be the
softest sailin’ ever, with aour course charted aout
fur us most all the way.”
“I’m holding her down a bit,” explained Jack,
“because we’d better stick to the beacons until
dawn; after that we can depend on our compass
and chart to carry us the rest of the way to
Charleston.”


ON THE AIR-LINE TO CHARLESTON 67
‘I 9
I get yeou, ole hoss, an agree with yeou to a
hair. N o hurry whatever, yeou done tole me the
Chief sez in his cipher letter o’ instructions—slow
an’ sure, that’s agoin’ to be aour motto this cam-
paign,” and Jack must have chuckled to hear the
impetuous Perk say that, it was so foreign to his
customary way of rushing things.
The line of beacons was now picked up, and
Perk could see sometimes as many as three at
the same time—the one they were passing over;
that left behind shortly before; and still a third
faint flash at some distance beyond.
They had climbed to a ceiling of some two thou-
sand feet, which might still be increased when pas-
sing over such outspurs of the Allegheny or
Smoky Range Mountains as would be met on the
regular air mail course to Richmond.
As the air seemed unusually free from any ves-
tige of fog, being very clear, of course visability
was prime, which fact added to Perk’s happiness,
he being unduly fond of such favorable weather
conditions.
Such a voluble chap could not keep silent long,
when it was so easy to chat with an accommodat-
ing companion; and hence presently Perk found
something else to mention to the working pilot.
“I say, partner,” he sang out, “tell me who
yeour friend was, the pilot I seen yeou talkin’ with,


68 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
an’ who sure seemed to be ’quainted with yeou.”
“Knew you had that question up your sleeve,
buddyj’ Jack replied, always ready to satisfy any
reasonable amount of curiosity on the part of his
chum. “Yes, he was an old friend of mine, and I
expect you’ve heard me speak of him more than
a few times—one of the most adept pilots con-
nected with the Curtiss people,—no other than
Doug Davis, who back in twenty-nine won the
country’s speed race at Cleveland, with a record
of a hundred-and-ninety miles an hour.”
“Gee whiz! haow I’d liked to amet up with
him!” exclaimed Perk, showing a trace of keen
disappointment in his tone.
“I’d have introduced you, partner, only the con-
ditions wouldn’t admit it.” Jack threw out as a
bit of apology.
“But, say—what if that speed hound, Jimmy,
happened to learn he was atalkin’ with yeou,
wouldn’t your friend Doug be apt to give us away,
withaout knowin’ the reasons why we wanted to
keep shady right naow ?”
Jack gave him the laugh.
“Not on your life, buddy,” he announced, with-
out hesitation; “I managed to let Doug know what
line I was in, and how just at present I’m a New
York millionaire sportsman and aviator, Rod-
man Warrington by name, headed toward some


ON THE AIR-LIN E TO CHARLESTON 69
shooting-grounds for a whack at big game. He’s
a lad you could never catch asleep at the switch;
and make up your mind our secret’s as safe with
him as anything could be. Jimmy’d have all his
trouble for his pains, if he ever tried to pump
Doug Davis, who’s as keen as they make them in
our line.”
“But, partner, didn’t he introduce yeou to an-
other pilot—I reckon I seen him adoin’ that same,
an’ heow yeou shook hands with the other guy.”
“Yes, but I’d already tipped Doug off, and he
strung his friend with the story we’ve hatched up
about our meaning to try the shooting in those
wonderful canebrakes in Louisiana. And that’s
all he’ll ever tell connected with my identity, till
the cows come home, or water runs uphill.”
“An’ who did the other chap happen to be, if it’s
a fair question, suh ?” continued Perk, who, once
he started on an investigating tour, never would
let go until he had extracted every particle of in-
formation available.
“Sorry that I didn’t catch his name clearly; but
Doug told me he was connected with the U. S.
Air Reserve Corps operations functioning there
at Candler Field,” Jack explained
He certainly stirred up something when he said
that.
“Well, well, what dye know ’baout that naow,”


ON THE AIR-LIN E TO CHARLESTON 71
date flying experience by taking off in one of five
army training ships kept ready in the new reserve
hangar at Candler Field--—these are an Oil Cur-
tiss Falcon regular attack plane; a 2-B Douglass
dual control basic training ship, with 450 horse-
power engines; and three other primary training
ships. All the equipment connected with the Fourth
Corps hangar is at Atlanta headquarters,—so
Doug told me, and he ought to know if any one
does.”
“Gee whiz! an’ to think o’ what I been missin’
all this time,” moaned poor Perk, disconsolately.
“Mebbe though it wouldn’t ever do to apply fo’
admission to such a organization, ’jest ’cause we-
uns gotter to hid aour light under a bushel, while
serving aour Uncle Sam in his ole Secret Service.
Dye know I got half a mind to throw it all up,
an’ go back to carryin’ the air mail, when a guy
could show his own face, an’ not live under a dark
cloud ;—but not so long as yeou sticks on the job,
partner, I doant break away ever.”


SHIPS PASSING IN THE NIGHT 73
“which is a ray to beat the danged fog that mixes
things up like fun. When some wise guy finds a
way to send a ray o’ light through the dirty stuff,
so’s yeou kin see a mile away as if the air was
clear as a bell, then flyin’ blind is agoin’ to lose all
its terrors to the poor pilot. I shorely hopes to see
the day that’s done.”
Later on Perk suddenly made a discovery that
gave him a little fresh thrill—there was some sort
of queer light almost dead ahead, that he fancied
moved more or less; at any rate it was steadily
growing brighter, beyond any question.
“Hot-diggetty-dig !” he muttered, still watching
critically, as if hardly able to make up his mind
concerning its meaning. “Looks mighty like a
shootin’ star; but then I never did see one that
didn’t dart daown, like it meant to bury itself in the
earth. Must be a ship aheadin’ this way—mebbe a
mail carrier goin’ to Atlanta to land on the same
Candler Field we jest quitted——yep, that’s what
it is, with a light in the cabin to keep the passengers
from worryin’—sandbags ain’t any too joyful
when they got to sit in the dark, with the ship
hittin’ up eighty miles an hour.”
Having thus settled the identity of the strange
moving light, Perk hastened to inform his mate of
the discovery he had made.
“Ship’s agoin’ to pass us in the night, buddy,”


74 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
he called through the aid of the indispensable ear-
phones. “Yeou kin lamp the light straight ahead
naow.”
“Yes, I’d already noticed the same, partner,”
came steady ]ack’s answer, as if he were not in
the least disturbed, or excited by the occurrence.
“Gee whiz ! but I shore hopes we doant meet head
on, an’ crash,” ventured Perk, really to coax his
chum to express an opinion, and thus reassure
him.
“N o danger of that happening, old scout!”
snapped Jack; “but I’ll veer off to starboard a bit,
to make doubly sure against a possible collision.
Strike up our cabin light, boy, so’s to put them on
their guard.” -
Of course they could not catch the slightest
sound to corroborate their opinion, since their own
ship was making so much racket. The light came
closer and closer; at the same time Jack felt posi-
tive the other aerial craft must be following his
own tactics looking to safety, and steering some-
what to the right, as discretion demanded.
, Perk had snatched up a kerosene lantern and
hastily lighted the wick. This he now moved up
and down, then swung the same completely around
his head, as though he thus meant to give the other
pilot a signal in the line of fellowship and aerial
courtesy.


SHIPS PASSING IN THE NIGHT 75
Thus the two ships passed not three hundred
feet apart, yet only vaguely seen by watchful eyes.
Then they were swallowed up in the gloom of the
night, the moon being under a passing cloud at
the time.
“Fancy aour meetin’ in space,” Perk was saying,
as though rather awed by such a circumstance; “it
couldn’t happen again in a month o’ blue moons,
aour comin’ to grips thisaway, with millions o’
miles all ’raound us, an’ nawthin’ but chance to
guide both pilots.”
“You’re on the wrong track again, partner,”
Jack hastened to tell him. “Chance had little to do
with this meeting; but that chain of brilliant flash
beacons was wholly responsible. Just like two
trains passing on a double-track railroad line—
both airships were following the same marked
course, and couldn’t hardly miss meeting each
other. In these latter days flying has become so
systematized that the element of chance has been
almost wholly eliminated from the game.”
That remark kept Perk silent for some little
time, the subject thus brought up was so vast, so
filled with tremendous possibilities, he found him-
self wrestling with it as the minutes crept on.
So, too the night was passing by degrees, with
their reliable Fokker keeping steadily on its way,
putting miles after miles in their wake. Perk found
I


76 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
himself growing more and more anxious for the
first streak of coming dawn to show itself far
off in the east, where the sun must be climbing
toward the unseen horizon, and daylight making
ready to disperse the cohorts of night.
Still it was always possible for him to make out
the next beacon, with the aid of his binoculars, if
he happened to be using them, as was often the
case.
An hour and more after their “rubbing elbows”
(as Perk termed it,) with the south-bound air-mail
plane, once more Perk caught a suggestive beam
of light ahead that told of yet another aircraft
afloat, and advancing swiftly toward them, only
at a much lower altitude.
“Naow I wonder who that guy kin be,” he
mused, while watching the light grow steadily
larger. “Some kinder big ship in the bargain; but
hardly one o’ the mail line, ’cause they doant run
’em in doubles the same way. Hi! there, partner, we
got a second neighbor, agoin’ to pass under us in
a minit er so. Jest a bit to the left—no danger o’
bangin’ noses this time, seems like. Gettin’ to be
thickly populated, as the ole pioneer settler said
when a new fambly moved in ’baout ten mile ofl’.
Mebbe we’ll live to see the day when the air o’
night’ll be studded with movin’ lights thick as the
stars be—looks thataways to me, anyhaow.”
Again he signaled his good wishes with his


78 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
light commencing to show up far off to the east,
as though dawn could not be far away.
“Huh! aint agoin’ to be many more o’ them bully
flash beacons lightin’ us on aour course,” he was
telling himself. “Chances air we’ll be bustlin’ over
aour objective right soon; when it’s goodbye to the
air-mail route, an’ us a turnin’ aour noses near
due south, headin’ fo’ Charleston on the seaboard,
when the real fun is slated to begin. Caint come
any too quick fo’ a boob that answers to the name
0’ Gabe Perkiser. Yeah! that line is gettin’ some
broader, right along, which tells the story as plain
as print.”
Shortly afterwards he picked up a myriad of
gleaming lights, that proclaimed the presence Of
a city of some magnitude; evidently the first sector
of their flight had been reached, with a change in
their course indicated.


_ _~
‘pit
CHAPTER IX
WHEN THE DAWN CAME
ll
Kinder looks like we’d hit civilization again,
eh, ole hoss ?”
With the dawn coming along thus high up a-
bove the surface of the earth, it was still night
down below, save where numerous electric lights,
on the streets, and along the railroad lines, es-
pecially within the limits of the yards, dispelled the
shadows. Some of these were continually shifting;
and since Jack had dropped down latterly until they
were not more than five hundred feet above the
level ground, only for their hearing being over-
whelmed by the noise of their own speeding ship,
they might have easily heard the puffing of switch-
ing engines, together with the rumble of many
freight cars, possibly the loud whistles of some
factory warning its employees it was time for
them to be thinking of getting their breakfast,
preparatory to another long spell in the cotton
mills, or other places of labor.
“Here’s Greenville, where we strike off on our
own,” Jack announced, as he made a right turn,
and depending entirely upon the needle of the com-
79


WHEN THE DAWN CAME 81
they were swiftly passing over South Carolina, and
getting closer to their main objective, where the
remainder of their orders would be handed over to
them as per prearranged agreement.
He indulged in numerous speculations as to just
when and how Jack would make his attack upon the
entrenched forces of the defiant clique, latterly
giving Uncle Sam so much bother; and persisting
in their thus far successful smashing of the patrol
boat blockade along the coast, through the agency
of numerous swift air smuggling craft—how
many there might be Perk had no knowledge.
Well, just wait until he and his best pal got
fairly started in the good work, and possibly some
of those defiant pilots would be numbered among
the “has beens,” having mysteriously vanished
from the ken of their fellow law-breakers.
“I shore doant want to brag,” Perk told him-
self, as modestly as he could find the heart to be;
“but jest the same I been along with Jack more’n
a few times, when we run up agin sech gay birds;
an’ it was allers the same ole story over an’ over
agin. Right naow a good many cells in Atlanta,
Leavenworth, an’ a few more penitentiaries air
filled by lads what reckoned nawthin’ could beat
’em at their pet game; yet there they be, behind
stone walls, an’ nary one chanct in a thousand to
break away. Huh! hope hist’ry repeats in this new


82 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
adventure we’re right naow embarkin’ on, that’s
all.”
Such confidence in a comrade bordered on the
sublime, yet according to his light Perk felt he
was justified in believing Jack to be at the head
of his class—without a peer, yet modest withal,
shrinking from praise, and content to let the heroes
of unsurpassed air flights, as well as all manner of
broken records for speed, endurance, and like ex-
ploits, bask in the spotlight, while he was satis-
ficd to do his full duty, and afterwards remain un-
known to fame.
Jack apparently still had a little fear lest some-
thing his best pal managed to do, when off his
guard, might throw all their labors into the discard.
On this account, and because they were now bear-
ing down close to an important point in their sched-
ule, he took occasion to once more delicately hint
along such lines.
“For perhaps the last time, partner,” he went
on to say, soberly; “we’ve both got to get a firm
grip on ourselves, and try to actually live the parts
we’re about to play. Let’s consider we’re actors,
with a critical audience in front, watching closely
to see if we leave any break back of which our
real character may be seen.” ,
“Huh! I like thataway 0’ puttin’ it, Big Boss,”
snorted Perk, without the slightest hesitation; al-


WHEN THE DAWN CAME 83
though he must have suspected that Jack was try-
ing to impress this point particularly on his,
Perk’s mind—“I’ll try my darnedest to keep a-
thinkin’ a thousand eyes and ears they be on to me,
searchin’ fo’ some knothole in the fence to peep
through, an’ gimme the laugh straight. Go on an’
say some more ’long them lines, buddy—I kin stand
it okay.”
“An actor to be a success must have the power,
the ability to throw off his own ways and char-
acter, to assume whatever queer quirks marking
the role of the person he is pretending to be. Try
and forget you were Yankee born, and swap places
with a son of Dixie, filled with veneration for those
heroes in gray, soldiers of Lee, Jackson, Forrest,
and all the other leaders of the sacred Lost Cause.
You can do it, I’m dead certain, if you keep your
mind steadfastly on that business alone, and for-
get a lot of other less essential matters.”
“Shore I kin, an’ I mean to, partner—yeou wait
up an’ see haow I’ll pull the wool over their eyes—
I’m Wally Corkendall, an’ I was borned an’
brought up in Birmin’ham, where them bully
stories o’ the colored folks that make yeou laugh
like fun keep acomin’ from right along. Yessuh!
I done tole yeou I may be a man o’ the world ; but
Dixie is my dwellin’-place, Birmin’ham my ole
hometown.”


84 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
So jack let it go at that, and indulged in the
hope his pal would not fall down in a pinch—it
meant a matter of life and death with them, in
view of the desperate type of men with whom they
would soon be at close grips.


CHAPTER X
READY T0 STRIKE
Up to then everything had been comparatively
simple; but the worst was yet to come. They
could not do more than guess as to the nature of
the dangers and difficulties lying in ambush to
trip them up. For aught they knew long weeks,
crowded with perils and narrow escapes, would be
their portion; with the crowning possibility of
final disaster hanging over their heads day and
night. '
It was this uncertainty that made their job all
the more attractive and thrilling to the comrades
—in particular to Perk, whose restless soul seemed
never to be content to loll in idleness and safety;
but yearned to meet up with all manner of weird
scrapes, that for the time being satisfied the burn-
ing desire of his feverish blood.
Perhaps that was his heritage, coming down
from those ancestors who settled in New England,
at the time America was a British colony; and
when dread of Indian massacres kept every
one’s blood keyed up to the extreme; then again
it might be Perk got it from his contact with the
85


86 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
front line trenches in the Great War, where he
may have been gassed, wounded, and lived the
horrible existence that so many of our gallant boys
did in the fierce battles of the Argonne—himself,
he never bothered his head to figure out whence the
feeling came—he only knew he had it, and fairly
reveled in what he was pleased to term action; but
which really stood for deadly peril.
It can thus be seen how Perk was making his
life work along the right line for one of his dis-
position; since it would be difficult indeed to men-
tion any other vocation where a man would do his
daily stunt face to face with some calamity.
He continued to look down at the checkerboard
below, admiring this, grunting his disgust at an-
other spectacle, and many times glancing im-
patiently at his wrist-watch, as though he could
thus hasten the hour and minute when they would
be landing at their present destination.
Jack, on his part, while carrying out his ordi-
nary duties as pilot, was running over in his active
mind the various duties that must await their
reaching the landing field in Charleston.
First, after seeing their ship safely stowed away
in a convenient hangar-—-where it would stay until
needed again, if ever—he must call at the post
office for any letters that might have been sent
on—under his assumed name, of course; after


READY TO STRIKE 87
which it would be his business to drop in upon
the Government agent, from whom he would re-
ceive further secret instructions, as well as every
scrap of information possible, such as would be of
assistance in laying out and following up their
plan of action.
It pleased Jack to know how every detail was
being carried out with the prime motive of abject
secrecy—for instance, he had been instructed never
to call at the office of the revenue olficial, since spies
might have it under surveillance, and hold such
a swell caller under suspicion—on the contrary
the gentleman’s private residence had been men-
tioned as the place of meeting; and the secret
cipher of the Department must be invariably used
should an exchange of letters become necessary.
He was to call at the house in the capacity of a
distant relative of Mr. Casper Herriott in the
city while en route to other places along the At-
lantic seaboard, especially in the way of shooting
grounds; he being a famous sportsman—Perk
was not only his dependable pilot, but a skillful
guide as well, fully acquainted with most of the
sporting grounds of the great sounds and bays
along North and South Carolina shores.
Jack found himself smiling to remember how
his companion had at one time delicately hinted
that since the Government had been so kind as to


as FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS '
supply them with all manner of lovely guns, am-
munition, and even shooting clothes and tempting
high leather boots, all costing rafts of money, it
might be possible for them to better carry out their
assumed characters by indulging in a little foray
among the canvasback ducks, mallards, and even
wild geese—also remarking how it would be much
too bad if, having been given the name, they might
not also grab a handful of the game!
Already had Jack commenced to take copious
notes, mental, as well as written down in his new
notebook—in the secret code of course—and he
expected to add copiously to this record after he
had interviewed Mr. Herriott, and drank in all
that gentleman would have to tell him.
Besides that he would try to paint a complete
chart on his mind, covering the lay of the land
along the coast, its innumerable indentations cover-
ing the shores of the great Sounds, Albemarle,
Pamlico and others—also that section of swamps
and morasses lying further south, where he al-
ready strongly suspected the main part of their
work awaited them.
Already he had pored for hours over the Govern-
ment Geographical Coast Survey charts, which,
with others were contained in the waterproof case
aboard the ship, and had proven their worth on
a number of previous occasions; but as he could


90 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS ,
finest wet goods obtainable at some station of the
West Indies; only the landing places had been
transferred from the vicinity of Tampa and Mi-
ami, when those ports were too heavily policed to
admit of taking the desperate chances involved;
and were now transplanted to South Carolina ter-
ritory, where they seemed to be working without
the slightest molestation, with a daily flood of
stuff being safely landed.
It was hinted that this powerful rival of the
Government was going even a step farther—
carrying undesirable aliens from Cuba across to
the land they were so eager to reach, that they
paid enormous sums for the privilege of being
flown across the stretch of salt water—these were
not only Chinamen, but Italians as well, criminals
who had been chased from their own country by
the alert Facistauthorities as enemies of the realm,
and saw in rich America the Mecca where they
could soon acquire great wealth at easy pickings by
eventually becoming beer barons, racketeers, and
the like; after passing through a brief school
course as ordinary bootleggers, and hi-jackers.
“Some job, believe me I” Jack summed up his
reflections by saying, drawing in a long breath at
the same time; and then following it all up with a
laugh, as though even such a monumental task
failed to dismay him.
~“€ ““


READY TO STRIKE 91
“Cap, I kinder reckon we’re right smart near
Charleston, to jedge from thet bank o’ smoke lying
on ahead. I been keepin’ tabs o’ the miles we
left behind us, an’ it shore do tally with the dis-
tance marked on yeour map.”
“I feel certain you’re okay when you mention
that same, matey,” Jack assured the other; which
commendatory remark caused Perk to look as
pleased as a child when handed an all-day lollypop
to suck on.
“Hot-diggetty-dig! it makes me happy to know
as haow the waitin’ game’s ’baout all in naow, an’
we’re agwine—haow’s that, buddy—to jump into
action, and then more action. Me, I’m some hungry,
partner; but mebbe it aint wise to take a snack
when we’re so clost to aour airport, with a landin’
comin’ along soon, an’ real restaurant eats aloomin’
up in the bargain.”
“Try to hold your horses for half an hour or
more, and I promise that you’ll be filled up to the
limit, regardless of expense. And now begin to live,
breathe, and act as a Dixie bred man would do,
ready to knock anybody flat who’d be so brash as
to say one insulting word about your native South-
land.” i
“The finest country God ever did make, barrin’
none, suh; and don’t yeou forgit it; but I kin see
the airport a’ready, partner, off to the left a bit.”


 CHAPTER XI
WHERE WAR ONCE BRoKE OUT
Shortly afterwards the two adventurers found
themselves looking down at as entrancing an air
picture as it would be possible to conceive; with
Charleston Harbor stretching out to its further-
est extent before them.
' “See that island over yonder, partner,” said the
admiring Perk, pointing as he spoke; “I kinder-
reckons naow as haow that might be where ole
Fort Sumter stood, durin’ the war ’tween the
States—yeou knows weuns daown hyah allers
speaks o’ that little flareup that way, ’stead o’ cal-
lin’ it the Civil War.”
“So I understood, Wally, and I’m glad to find
out you’re so well posted on such facts, as it
strengthens your position considerably. When
you’re in Dixie it’s just as well to follow the crowd,
and do as all true Southerners do.”
It was a charming morning, the air “salubrious,”
as Perk said more than once, and everything
seemed favorable to the success of their great
undertaking— as far as they had gone, which was
not anything to boast of.
92


WHERE WAR ONCE BROKE OUT 93
Perk had already pointed out the landing field
they were aiming to patronize, and of course the
pilot circled the stretch several times, as he began
to lose his altitude.
There was but little wind, and that favorable
for making a successful landing. Then, too, a
number of men had started to run toward the spot
where indications pointed to their touching the
ground, so they would not lack for any assistance
required.
But Jack swung a trifle, and made contact
shortly ahead of the foremost runner; the glid-
ing, bumping ship gradually came to a complete
stop, and both of them had hopped out of their
cabin by the time several runners, breathing
heavily from their exertions, reached the spot.
Jack was as suave and smiling as ever, a faculty
that always made him “hail fellow well met” with
most people. He picked out a party bearing the
appearance of one in authority, and who, seeing
his friendly nod, hastened up, holding out his hand
with real Southern warmth.
, “Welcome to Charleston, suh,” he observed as
they clasped hands, evidently understanding that
the new arrival was not familiar with the ground,
being apparently a stranger to the airport; which
in itself was nothing remarkable in these days of
fast increasing aviation strides, with new people


94 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
coming and going on the up-to-date airways al-
most every day.
“My name is Warrington, and I am from New
York City, down here for the shore shooting. This
is my pilot and guide, Wally Corkendall, from
Birmingham, Alabama. I wish to set my Fokker
in a safe hangar for an indefinite space of time,
for we shall have to make use of an amphibian
during our month of sport, as it will be necessary
to make many a night’s camp on the waters of
your wonderful bays and rivers. Would you kindly
put me in touch with the party who has charge
of such arrangements; I should expect to pay a
week in advance and continue the same during the
time of my stay.”
That could be easily arranged, since it happened
he himself was in charge of all such matters, the
gentleman courteously informed his new guest;
apparently sizing Jack up as a young man of
wealth, willing to pay the price, no matter how
much it cost, in order to enjoy himself to the ut-
most.
So the ship was properly housed, and Jack took
pains to observe a lock on the doors, for which one
of two keys was handed to him later on, after he
had stepped over to the office, and finished arrange-
mcnts by paying the sum agreed upon.
“Anything we can do to help make your stay in


WHERE WAR ONCE BROKE OUT 95
our city pleasant, suh, you can depend on it we
shall be only too delighted to do,” said the gentle-
man, as the taxi which he had ordered came along,
to take them to the hotel he had recommended
as a quiet restful place, with a genuine old-fash-
ioned Southern table known far and wide by travel-
ers, and now being patronized by many air-minded
tourists.
Perk had carried himself most commendably;
this was easily done since he never once opened
his mouth to say a single word, only grinned
amiably whenever the courteous master of cere-
monies said anything complimentary.
They were speedily booming along toward the
adjacent city, with curious Perk bobbing his head
this way and that, eager to see anything and every-
thing that came in sight.
“Say, haow fine it seems to know yeou’re onct
again back in yeour native clime,” Perk observed,
talking rather loud, possibly for the chauffeur to
catch, and then again because he was still a bit
deaf, after so many hours with the clamor of a
running airship ding-donging in his ears much
of the time. “Talk ’bout yeour beautiful North, in
my ’pinion it doant hold a candle to aour Sunny
South, with its balmy air, the songs o’ the mockin’-
birds, the merry laughter o’ the niggers, an’ a
thousand other things yeou never do forgit.”


WHERE WAR ONCE BROKE OUT 97
IL I—

side. It also afforded them a splendid view from
the windows.
“I shore do hope, partner, you’re reckonin’ on
aour havin’ some fodder ’fore we tackle any busi-
ness; ’case my tummy it’s agrowlin’ somethin’
fierce; so I jest caint hold aout much longer an’
feel peaceable—have a heart, buddy, fo’ a guy
what was born hungry, and gets thataway five
times every day.”
“That’s all right, Perk,” he was told, with a
smile; “here are our bags, and we can fix up a bit,
for I feel that a bath would do me a heap of good.
Suppose we get busy, and by the time we look
civilized again it will be twelve, which you remem-
ber the clerk told us was when the doors of the
diningroom were thrown open.”
“Gee! I only hope I kin hold aout till then,” la-
mented poor Perk ; “when I lamped the window
display o’ a boss restaurant while we come along
I had a yen to jump aout, an’ duck into the same,
things looked so tantalizin’ like.”
“I can understand that yearning of yours,
brother; but the sooner we get busy the quicker
we’ll be sitting down with our knees under a table,
and ordering a full dinner for two. Go to it then,
while I take a warm dip.”
The agony ended eventually, and as it was then
a quarter after twelve they decided to go down to


98 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
the lobby, and partake of the fare which had been
cracked up to them as especially fine, as well as
indicative of typical Southern cooking—Perk kept
harping on that same string until Jack whispered
to him he must not overdo the matter.
Apparently they found everything to their lik-
ing, for they remained in the diningroom almost a
full hour; and when they came out Perk was
breathing unusually hard, like a person who has
done heroic duty in an effort to show the hotel
chef he appreciated his culinary arts.
“We’ll take things easy in our room for a short
while,” Jack informed his chum, as they ascended
by means of the “lift” or elevator. “Along about
halfpast two I’ll call up my friend, and distant
relative, Mr.—er, oh! yes, Mr. Casper Her-
riott, and make some arrangement for joining him
tonight at his home—I’ve always been a bit eager
to see just what sort of family my—er second
cousin Casper might have, and this will be an ex-
cellent opportunity to satisfy that—er yen, as you
would say.”
“Huh! jest so, suh, an’ it shore pleases me to
see how loyal yeou are to yeour illustrious fambly
tree—second cousin is real good, I’d say, suh,
mighty good connection.”
“Take it all seriously, partner, even when we’re
snug in our own room—such things need constant


WHERE WAR ONCE BROKE OUT 99
practice, and shouldn’t be thrown off and on just
as the occasion arises; such a habit breeds care-
lessness, you must know.”
“Jest so, suh, jest so; I takes the hint, okay,”
gurgled Perk.


CHAPTER XII
WHEN CoUs1Ns GET IN ToUcH
Jack was as good as his word.
At exactly half after two he was in touch with
the office where the Government at Washington
was ably represented by the gentleman he had been
instructed to get in close intercourse with, unbe-
known to outsiders.
“It this Mr. Herriott—Mr. Casper Herriott ?”
he asked, when he heard some one handling the
receiver after the house operator had heard his
polite request.
“It is,” came back in firm tones.
“Cousin Casper Herriott ?” continued Jack, a bit
mischievously. -
There came a slight exclamation, then—
“Who is it speaking, please?”
“Rodman Warrington, of New York, sir.”
“Ah! just so, Mr. Warrington; I’ve been rather
expecting to hearfrom you at any time. Glad you
arrived safely; was that your ship I chanced to
notice hovering over the airport about eleven?”
“That was the time we arrived, sir; to meet a
warm welcome from your gentlemanly superin-
100


102 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Just so, and on my part I shall be most charmed
to have you meet my good wife, and the children
also, who have heard me speak of you more than
a few times.”
Both of them seemed to be enjoying this little
chatter, meant to deceive any possible spy who
might be looking for someone to make a business
call upon the Government agent,—perhaps there
might even be such a snake in his office force, some
one who had been bought body and soul by the
syndicate, which would account for a leakage
more than once in the past, calculated to upset
certain deeply laid schemes for breaking up the
wide-flung conspiracy against Uncle Sam.
“I shall be particularly pleased to meet them, I
assure you, cousin,” continued Jack. “At eight
you said, sir?”
“Yes, and while you are in the city, later on pos-
sibly, I’d like you to fetch around that splendid
pilot chap you mentioned, I believe, in one of your
letters,—let me see, I think you wrote he was a
native of Birmingham, down in our own Alabama
close by, a sort of an odd genius, in the bargain, to
whom you had become greatly attached.”
“I see you have been well posted, Cousin Cas-
per,” Jack told him, understanding of course how
the gentleman must have had a duplicate of the
code letter sent on to him, Jack ; since they were to


WHEN COUSINS GET IN TOUCH 103
work in collusion as a team. “Yes, I shall try to
coax him to come with me later on—you know he’s
not at all gunshy when in the field, or at the traps,
a most excellent shot, and guide; but he doesn’t
take much stock in society functions, in which he
differs somewhat from myself. I’ll see you then
tonight, cousin.” .
“VVe’ll consider that settled; goodbye, Cousin
Rodman until eight.”
Jack was laughing as he switched off, as though
this part of his mission might be looked upon in the
light of a good joke rather than anything really
serious. But no one knew better than Jack what
lay behind this pretense—how it was to be taken
as only a bluff in order to deceive any argus eyes,
or hostile listening ears, that might be employed
by the powerful syndicate to further the ends of
the smugglers of the Carolina coastways.
When Perk heard what had passed he, too, had
his little fit of merriment; but looked serious when
Jack told him of the warm invitation received con-
cerning his being brought to the home of Mr.
Herriott some time later on.
“Shore, I’ll be glad to go with yeou, partner,”
he affirmed, taking a big breath at the same time,
as though he had succeeded in conquering his
prejudice; “ ’cause I wanter to meet up with this
gent, an’ hear what he’s got to say. His lady, I
,-I_I -
Q!
vi!
I I“II7?


104 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
done reckons, aint agoin’—agwyin’ I means—to
think much o’ a ignorant guy like me; but if he’s
got kids why I’m allers at home ’long with them.
Now tell me some more yeou two done talked
’bout.”
f ‘The real talking will come off tonight when we
get in touch, Wally; all we did was to make ar-
rangements; and whoever conceived this idea
about our pretending to be distant cousins hit on
a clever idea, and one that ought to throw any
prowling spy ofi' the track—whether in his office
force, if they were listening to our little friendly
chat, or even among the servants in his home.”
Perk wanted to start out and see something of
the city; and while Jack on his part would have
preferred staying there, and going over his sched-
ule of arrangements once more, he concluded it
might be wiser for him to give in and accompany
the other on his roving about the city; for truth
to tell he still felt a little dubious about Perk’s
ability to play his part naturally at any and all
times.
Accordingly they sallied forth, and securing a
taxi had the driver take them to such points of in-
terest as were within his ken. Perk was eager to
see the noted navy yard, at some distance north
of the city, but Jack convinced him that could very
well keep for another time.


WHEN COUSINS GET IN TOUCH 105
ll 9)
At any rate, brother, he concluded, by stat-
ing, “you’re going to look down on that same navy
yard every time we take off on a flight of explora-
tion, to learn whether the ducks are down from
the Far North in suflficient numbers to tempt us
sportsmen to locate, and build a duck blind.”
“Gee! I kin see where I’m agoin’ to enjoy a little
shootin’ fo’ a change, suh,” Perk went on to say,
accompanying his words with one of his wide
grins. “Aint done much practicin’ on wild fowl fo’
a heap o’ moons, so I done reckon I’ll show up kin-
der poor at fust; but it’ll all come back soon’s I
gits my hand adoin’ its cunnin’, an’ my eye on the
job.”
They were back in the hotel by sundown, with
Perk trying to guess what he’d like best for his
dinner.
“Wonder if so be they got any sorter dish I used
to be fondest of when I was atrapsin’ raoun’ ole
Birmin’ham as a gawky kid-——somepin naow like
stuffed possum with baked sweet yams—haow
even the mention o’ that lovely dish makes my
mouth fair water, an’ my eyes glisten like rain-
drops on the grass. Then there’s co’nbread, hoe-
cake we uster call hit in them days when—”
(I | '1
Oh. you ll be sure to pick all your beloved
dishes out of the menu, Brother Wally ;” Jack in-
terrupted to tell him; “only I hope you keep that
Z-—-I
mi


CHAPTER XIII
PICKING UP FACTS
VVhen Jack found himself shaking hands with
his newly acquired “second cousin” one keen
glance seemed quite enough to tell him Mr. Cas-
per Herriott was a man after his own heart—
genial, with a warm handclasp, yet possessing a
firm jaw, a keen eye, and all the marks to signify
that the Government had picked out the right type
of business executive when he was placed in his
present position of authority at the port of Charles-
ton.
So, too, did he appreciate the delightful lady
who gave him her hand and a wise smile, as
though she considered it rather amusing to thus
meet a relative of her husband who had ‘bobbed
up out of a clear sky, and seemed to be such a
worth-while young fellow, just the kind any lady
delights to have enter her home, and meet her
children.
These latter were a boy of about ten and a
delightful little miss of perhaps six or seven, so
pretty that Jack could hardly take his eyes off her
bewitching face. He decided that of course they
107
iii
{-1


l08 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
could not have been taken into the secret, and actu-
ally believed him to belong to their father’s family.
For some little time they sat and talked on gen-
eral topics; the children presently going to bed
as though their time had arrived; also expressing
the wish that they would see the new relation again
very soon——evidently Jack had made as favorable
an impression on the youngsters as upon their
parents.
Mrs. Herriott soon turned the conversation into
aviation channels, as though realizing that cer-
tain information she had been desirous of obtain-
ing along the line of the new fad might be fur-
nished by this wide-awake young chap, who
moreover, she had undoubtedly been told by her
husband, was one of the brightest and most suc-
cessful of the men of the Government Secret Serv-
ice active roll.
Jack, being filled with knowledge pertaining
to his life calling, the mastery of the air, took ex-
treme pleasure in giving her explanations to her
queries that apparently afforded the lady much
satisfaction.
Then along about half-past eight Mr. Herriott
made some plausible excuse for asking his guest
to accompany him to his “den,” where he wished
to ask his professional opinion in connection with
with a fine new hammerless Marlin repeating shot-


PICKING UP FACTS 109
gun, which he had lately purchased, with the in-
tention of later on spending a few days among
the mallards and black ducks at a club he had
joined.
It was indeed a fact that he had such a brand-
new gun, which he handed to Jack, with a whim-
sical smile; the other carefully looked it over;
tested the hammerless feature; saw that it was a
six-shot twelve-bore Marlin shotgun, and then
gravely handed it back with words of the highest
praise, just as though he had been examining a
new production of an old friend.
“I can well understand how you’ll have con-
siderable enjoyment out of that hard-shooting gun,
sir,” was his warm comment; “I’ve been out in a
sneakbox with one of the same pattern, and found
it trustworthy beyond description.”
“I’ll just lock the door so we may not be dis-
turbed by some servant, and then we can have a
heart-to-heart confab—Cousin Rodman!”
Both of them smiled in unison at the conceit;
and then, having fixed the door to his satisfaction,
Mr. Herriott drew his chair alongside the one into
the depths of which Jack had sunk, following a
wave of his host’s hand in that direction.
“In the start let me acknowledge that I’ve been
a bit keen about meeting you, Mr. Ralston,” he
went on to say, warmly; “I’ve heard certain mat-
- _-..._i


110 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
ters discussed, as far as such are spoken of in our
circles, and had conceived a very high opinion of
your abilities along the line of the hazardous pro-
fession you are following. I chance to know at
the same time how well they think of you up above;
and that they have shown this by the fact of en-
trusting such a difficult task to your working out.
I am in full sympathy with what you plan to attain,
and shall do anything and everything in my power
to assist you to a complete success.”
“I am sure that is most kind of you, sir,” Jack
hastened to say; “and I hope to pick up many valu-
able points through my association with you, which
is so fortunate; because there are still many things
I should know better than I do, and which must
be mastered before I can venture to make a real
start in the game.”
“It pleases me to hear you say that, since it
shows how you appreciate the terrible difficulties,
the overshadowing perils, and the enormity of the
syndicate you will find yourself up against. It
certainly requires a nervy chap to undertake to pit
his wit and energies against so powerful a group
as these men, of high and low degree, banded to-
gether for spoils only, have organized. And now,
I presume you have a list of important questions
which you wish to fire at me; so we had better be
making a start.” '


PICKING UP FACTS 111
All of this had been spoken in low tones, that
could never have been caught beyond a closed door;
besides, Mr. Herriott had cautioned his good wife
to see that such servants as they employed in the
house, all colored, and who were supposed to be
absolutely reliable, were where they should be at
that time of night, and not “snooping” about the
halls, or outside near the windows, over which
the shades had been drawn so carefully before-
hand. -
Accordingly, theway being now open for ac-
quiring more or less information, Jack drew out
a folded paper, and began to put the first question.
These things do not necessitate their being noted
here, although to Jack they meant a great deal,
serving to fasten in concrete form fragments of
his view of the situation; and by degrees make a
complete whole, thus giving him the grasp he re-
quired to accomplish his end.
Mr. Herriott answered slowly, as though anx-
ious to make no mistake that might cost the bold
workers unnecessary trouble or risk. He might
have been a lawyer on the stand, so studiously did
he tell whatever he happened to know of the point
Jack was trying to have made clear.
Jack was wonderfully heartened—with such a
clean spoken and well informed witness in the
chair he could already see things were bound to
.  l
ti


112 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
speed along, and bring him much grist for the
mill.
When in the end his list of queries was finished,
Mr. Herriott hastened to assure him he stood
ready to answer any others that might occur to his
new-found friend later on; for Jack had already
mentioned how he and Perk would “stay around,”
possibly for as long as ten days, or two weeks,
there was so much to learn, such great need for
him to investigate many regions in that wilderness
of swamp and watercourses marking the north-
ward shore line.
So far as he had gone in the matter, Jack felt
much encouraged; although knowing full well by
far the worst was yet to come. These preliminaries
seemed only in the nature of skirmishes, with‘ the
fierce battle in prospect.
Mr. Herriott had told him many things having
a distinct bearing on the great adventure; mention
of which will be made later on, when Jack starts
posting his chum.
This was only the first of several interviews
he expected to hold with the accommodating Gov-
crnment representative, as step by step he climbed
the heights, and reached the climax just before
plunging into the fray, on the principle that it was
his duty to “hew close to the line, let the chips fall
where they willed.”


PICKING UP FACTS 113
It was after ten when Jack arrived at the hotel.
Feeling particularly dry before ascending to their
room, he satisfied his thirst by stepping into the
convenient drugstore, and supping a cold cream
soda. This was on the principle that if he knew
Perk—and he had reason to believe he surely did
—the other might be expected to shower him with
questions of every variety, in his eagerness to learn
how their plans were progressing; so that his
throat would soon become too dry to keep up the
chatter necessary to appease the voracious one.
He found Perk drowsing in his chair, the eve-
ning paper scattered all over the floor, as it had
been tossed aside after being perused in search of
such items along the line of aviation and Govern-
ment work in suppressing lawless breaks in the
customs service and coast patrol, always matters
of supreme importance in the eyes of a loyal and
industrious Secret Service man.
Perk jumped up when the door opened, as if
suddenly realizing that after all he had neglected
to fasten it as Jack had advised.
“By gum! if I didn’t jest furget ’bout lockin’
that door, partner!” Perk went on to exclaim,
winking very hard as the electric light hit his eyes
after his “bit of a nap;” but Jack said nothing in
reproof, only settled down in a chair, beckoned the
other to draw alongside, and calmly remarked:
- -—--i


114 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Got an earful for you, brother—lots of inter-
esting things to tell; and you want to make a men-
tal note of each and every one, so’s not to forget
if the occasion arises. Now listen, and be prepared
to speak up if you’re puzzled.”
S


CHAPTER XIV
PERK GETs AN EARFUL
“Go to it, ole hoss; I’m all set!” was the way
Perk announced the fact that every atom of drow-
siness had fled from his eyes, and he was as wide-
awake as any hawk that ever darted down on a
farmer’s chicken pen.
Accordingly Jack started in to tell of the pleas-
ant time he had experienced while spending a
couple of hours with Mr. Casper Herriott and his
charming family.
Perk was mildly interested at first, which was
saying a good deal, considering how anxious he
felt to have the narrator “get down to brass tacks,”
as he himself would have expressed it; meaning
facts intimately connected with the perils and
anticipated progress of their present big adven-
ture. .
When, however, Jack reached the point where
his host had made him promise to fetch his best
pal along at some later date, as he was particularly
anxious to meet and know him, Perk manifested
fresh interest, and even asked several questions,
thus learning what Mr. Herriott had said about
115


116 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
having heard more or less concerning his, Perk s,
good qualities—and eccentricities.
“Shore,” he told Jack, soberly. “I’ll be glad to
meet up with the gent any time yeou see fit to
invite me along—-mebbe when yeou’ve sorter got
matters hitched to the post, an’ we’re figgerin’ on
jumpin’ off fo’ keeps. I doant know ’baout the lady,
since I aint much on talkin’ to sech; but I’d jest
love to see them kids—got a soft spot in my ole
heart fo’ awl boys an’ gals, ’specially them that
aint much—er soperfisticated—hanged if I know
haow to git that ere word; but anyway yeou ketch
my meanin’, partner.”
Then Jack began to branch off to other things,
with Perk sittingthere, his eyes never once leav-
ing the face of his chum, drinking in every low-
spoken word as though he meant to print the same
indelibly on the tablets of his memory—a bit fickle,
it must be confessed, when he was caught un-
awares.
One thing followed another, and the interest
seemed to increase rather than diminish; until
Perk was breathing hard, and making a whistling
sound between his set teeth, a little habit he had
when intensely excited.
“I asked about the amphibian that was to be
placed at our disposal,’-’ Jack informed the other
later on; “and Mr. Herriott apologized because, as


118 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“That’s the right answer, boy—you said it.
Well, another fine thing Mr. Herriott told me,
was connected with a suppression of the row
made by our exhausts. You know that’s been a
source of great annoyance to us in times past, when
it meant a whole lot if we could get close to our
intended quarry without kicking up such a tre-
mendous racket that every living thing inside
ten miles must know an airship was somewhere
around.”
“Hot-diggetty-dig! air yeou tellin’ me they done
got that squall muzzled at last—that yeou kin make
a grand sneak up on yeour meat withaout them
suspectin’ a single thing?”
“I/Vell, they do say it’s pretty close to having the
noise kept under perfect control,” Jack went on to
state. “Whenever you want to stop the staccato
sounds from publishing your coming to the entire
country, ten miles in every direction, all you have
to do is to press a button, and the mufiler gets
down to business automatically. Even the whirl-
ing sound of the propeller has been fairly quieted
in the same way.”
“Say, that shore is great news !” Perk exclaimed,
enthusiastically; “an’ I’ll be near crazy to see haow
she works, aput in practice.”
“Just hold your horses until tomorrow, when
we’ll go out to the field and take our first flight


120 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
smiling, as if he found his chum’s specious argu-
ment unanswerable.
“We’ll leave all that to the future, brother,” he
told Perk ; “it isn’t always advisable to cross a
stream until you come to it.”
Then he went on to reel off still more of the in-
formation passed along to him by his late host;
and while many things he told may not have seemed
as important in Perk’s eyes as the two just men-
tioned, nevertheless he tried to pay strict atten-
tion, and asked numerous questions, to convince
Jack he understood all he said.
“And before we take off for a spin,” ]'ack added,
as an after thought; “we must get all the raft of
things aboard the amphibian we fetched here to
use in our work. There will be other necessary stufl'
to pick up from time to time, as we advance along
our road; for we’ve got to remember that once
we make the grand getaway we’ll not see the flood-
lights or boundary zones of Charleston aviation
field again until we’ve won our game; or come back
defeated, as others have done before us, men sup-
posed to be as clever as they make them in our
particular line.”
“Then we got a big day afore us tomorrow, eh,
what, partner ?”
“Looks that way, buddy,” Jack lost no time in
saying; “and on that account I reckon now we’d
0


122 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
he needed to be in the best possible condition. Con-
sequently he had to deny himself a third helping
of sausages and fried eggs; as well as a fourth
plate of griddle cakes; dripping with fresh butter
and Southern syrup. However, he “opined” he
would be able to hold out until lunch time; for
which he meant to be provided by securing some
stuff at a bakery, together with hard-boiled eggs
aplenty—trust an old campaigner with vast ex-
perience for looking after the “eats” when backed
by an abundance of the “long green.”
When they had laid out a program that covered
everything for the day, they took a taxi, and ran
out in style to the aviation field. Jack assumed the
post of running things, as was his right, acting as
a wealthy young sportsman, used to doing just
about what he pleased, and “letting the world go
hang 1”
He had a little chat with his good friend of the
previous day, and they learned that their other
ship, the Curtiss-Falcon, was housed in the same
Blevins Aircraft Corporation hangar that now
sheltered their big Fokker tri-motored craft; which
made things doubly comfortable, when they would
start changing their possessions from one to the
other.
Jack only waited until some call took the super-
intendent off, leaving them by themselves, when


. . PERK GETS AN EARFUL 123
with Perk’s help he commenced the job of making
the transfer. This had been taken into considera-
tion before they left San Diego, and later on in the
Curtiss-Wright hangar at Candler Field, Atlanta;
so that everything had been placed in a series of
cartons, such ,as might be tossed overboard when
their contents were disposed of—particularly in
the case of edibles, and such perishable supplies.
These handy cartons would have prevented any
one from knowing what they were stocking up
with, and in such wise warded ofi‘ possible suspi-
cions that might have started a string of happen-
ings none too pleasant to contemplate.
After this job was completed came the running
of the antique Curtiss cabin amphibian out of its
hangar, and settled in position for the coming take-
ofi’; with Perk all agrin, as if he anticipated a
glorious cruise.


126 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
the two men in dungarees, for how were Jack and
his pard to know but that one of them might turn
out to be a clever spy in the pay of the never sleep-
ing Combine, -jealous of their hitherto unsurpassed
success in beating the customs, and in a way dar-
ing the Secret Service branch of the Federal Gov-
ernment to “do its level best to down them”?
Perk was not in the least averse to taking the
place of honor when the amphibian would start
its initial flight in their hands. He proved the ab-
solute truth of what he had said about being fairly
at home with the ship that belonged to both the
land and water contingent; for they made only ai
short run when contact with the ground was cut
off, and like a bird broken away from its brass
cage and soaring upward, they started to spiral
in the effort to gain altitude. '
When he had a ceiling of say about five hundred
feet or more, Perk commenced a wide swing, wish-
ing to circle the city on the seashore, to view it
from a different angle than their former experi-
ence had given them. ,
“Now point her blunt nose into the north, buddy
—we’re off!” Jack bawled in the ear of the pilot,
the ear-phones not having as yet been adjusted—-
all those things came under the line of Perk’s
duty, and would be attended -to in due time.
They speedily left the good city of Charleston


THE TRIAL SPIN 127
behind them, and were passing over the Navy-
yard; which place Perk meant to examine more
closely with his glasses on another occasion, when
matters would be easier for him.
“How does she go?” shouted Jack, later on,
when they could no longer catch even a fugitive
glimpse of the city, saving the cloud of smoke
that almost always hung over the high buildings
and steeples.
“Bang up, boss; works like a charm!” yelled
Perk, happily, as though he was not “caring a Con-
tinental” just how long Jack allowed him to hold
the post of honor. “Whoever looked after the job
0’ gettin’ this classic old-timer in great shape for
this work, he shore knew his onions, I’ll say. It’s a
snap to run this boat, if yeou want to know my
’pinion.”
“I think I’ll take a whirl at the controls, part-
ner!” cried Jack; “stay just where you are for a
while at least; I can play the game as a back-seat
driver. Here goes, then.”
He was pleased to find it no trouble whatever to
handle the amphibian as though he knew every-
thing about such craft; after all airships are
run pretty much alike; and it depends on the adapt-
ability of the pilot as to whether he caniwork the
same as with his own familiar type of craft-
there are some people who are able to master any
-~~~ "nail" i-—-er - '—- as-=*'"


128 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
and all models of automobiles, even though han-
dling them for the first time, especially men me-
chanically inclined by Nature,—and Jack happened
to belong to that class.
“You can go about your duties, Wally; I’1l work
over into the front seat okay, for its an easy job,
I reckon. When we make up our minds to dip down
and wet the pontoons in some body of water, fresh
or salt, I’ll let you handle the boat again; though
I imagine I could do the thing without much splash
if I was put to it. I’11 soon get the hang of the
trick, you can well believe.”
“Huh! yeou would, Mister—it aint much that’d
faize yeou, take it from me as knows.”
After that conversation was such a tremendous
effort that it languished until a better opportunity
opened up—this would come when Jack found it
expedient to make a test of the muffler system, with
which their boat had been supplied, and which
Perk was eager to see tried out.
To the delight of both fliers the device worked
to a charm, most of the deafening racket being
abated, even when they going at the fastest speed
of which the “has-been” Curtiss-Falcon was ca-
pable of exhibiting—much more than a hundred
miles an hour, Perk figured.
“Huh! mebbe naow they call this ship a relic
o’ the past,” he grunted, when the success of the


THE TRIAL SPIN 129
experiment was assured; “but I wanter say right
naow there aint amany up-to-the-minute ships as
kin run circles ’raound this tub, as some wise guy
pilot’d call her. See, yeou kin hear ev’ry word I’m
asayin’ an’ yet I aint ahollerin’ any to notice. It’s
a bully invention, an’ shows where we’re agettin’
in this science o’ aviation. From what I hears, them
ships as is acarryin’ smuggled stuff ’long the sea-
board aint great at speed, ’cause they don’t need
to be, their job bein’ to carry hefty loads each trip,
an’ be steady goers. If the chanct ever comes to
try this Falcon aout agin one o’ that dirty bunch,
I’m wagerin’ we’ll overhaul the same hands down,
an’ no takers.” 
“I hope your prediction proves a true one, broth-
er,” Jack told him; “for, come to think of it,
there’s a pretty good chance we may yet be up
against a hot chase, either the pursued, or better
still, the pursuer; in either case having the speedi-
est craft would be an advantage worth while. Yes,
that seems to be okay, and a big improvement over
all that row we’re accustomed to carrying along
with us wherever we go.”
They had been heading up the coast, keeping
within sight of the Atlantic most of the time; but
paying constant attention to inland pictures.
Or course Perk had before then brought his
faithful and much beloved glasses out of their
- —-.-.-.@--
ii


CHAPTER XVI
ALL IN A DAY’s WORK
“And I gotter to admit,” Perk was saying,
shortly after they had gained the altitude that
gave him a chance to sweep the horizon with his
glasses, “even the ole weather sharp stands in aour
favor. Look at that sky, buddy; did yeou ever in
all yeour life set eyes on a clearer stretch—nary a
single cloud pokin’ its nose in sight; an’ to think
o’ the measly days an’ nights I uster spend in the
mail-carrier business, asloggin’ ’long with a capac-
ity load, and mebbe ice formin’ on my wings to
beat the band. Yeah! this lay o’ aourn aint so bad
—some o’ the time.”
They swung over much of the territory for fifty
miles north of Charleston, with Jack noting the
lay of the land as cleverly as any topography ex-
pert charting a region, could display. In that won-
derful brain of his he undoubtedly must have been
engaged in making a mental chart of the ground;
the sinuosities of the streams that ran with such
eccentricity toward the nearby ocean; the numer-
ous more or less possible landing-places where
both boats from salt water, and those dropping
1-—i|
133


134 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
down from the clouds, might find a resting place;
where their contraband cargoes could be taken
aboard waiting trucks, and be transported to safe
havens, despite the utmost vigilance of the customs
ofiicers and coast patrol forces to apprehend them.
This initial survey of the vast territory open to
the expert smugglers, most of it absolutely famil-
iar to those engaged in the illegal traffic, undoubt-
edly must have impressed the Secret Service man
with the immensity of the task so recently placed
upon his shoulders.
Just the same, the only visible result of this
realization lay in a tightening of Jack’s firm lips,
and a fresh gleam in his steady eyes, as though he
might be once again dedicating all his energies,
his life itself, to the undertaking as yet so young,
so untried.
“So much for the territory close to Charleston,”
he told his mate, as he turned the nose of his air-
ship once more toward the city; “I’ve got that
down pretty pat for a beginning. The next time
we come out it will be to take up the survey about
where we left off today, and head further north.”
“]udgin’ from what yeou say, partner, I kinder
gu—reckons as haow yeou kim to the conclusion
they gets their business in further away from
dear ole Charleston—haow ’bout that, suh ?”
“Possibly so, Wally, ' but from what I’ve


136 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
Perk fell into the humor of the trick, and even
boasted of what a vacancy he meant to create in
the flocks of ducks and geese before the termina-
tion of Mr. Warrington’s vacation caused him
to start north once more to his regular “business”
of attending Board meetings in a bunch of com-
panies where he chanced to be a heavy stockholder,
and a director as well.
Really to Perk, who liked a joke as well as the
next one, this thing promised no end of fun; every
hour of the day found him more deeply interested
than before, and eager to push ahead.
That night in the sanctity of their room, (speak-
ing even there in low voices as if they more than
half believed the very walls might have ears)
Perk took occasion to mention the remarkable gift
his companion had with regard to a retentive mem-
ory. '
“I jest doant see haow yeou kin ’member things
like yeou do, ole hoss,” he was saying, evidently
fishing for light on a subject that had often con-
founded his intellect. “Onct yeou hears a long-
winded talk, an’ I’ll be hanged if yeou can’t spin
her off word fur word, an’ never a single slip-up.
Haow kin yeou do it, suh, I’d shore like to know ?”
“It just can’t be explained, brother, and that’s a
fact,” Jack told him in his smiling way. “All you
know is that Nature’s been kind in giving you such
I


138 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
and bringing out the most divine strains ever
heard. He could listen just once to some classical
and difficult sonata played by an eminent per-
former, (something “Blind Tom had never heard
before in all his life) and then sitting down he
would reproduce the whole selection exactly as the
famous artist had played it, with never a chord
missing. People used to be awed, as though realiz-
ing they were in the presence of a miracle!”
“Gee whiz! it must a been somethin’ fierce,
Boss,” was Perk’s only comment.
“You know they say the Chinese and Japanese
are wonderful imitators, and can reproduce any
pattern to the minutest detail that is placed before
them; but the best of them would be ten classes
below that negro genius. So don’t think I’m any-
thing but a tyro, brother, with my poor memory.
“Hot-diggetty-dig! but yeou’re good enough to
make a poor bucko like me take a seat way back;
that’s the honest truth,er Mr. Warrington, suh.”
As the following day broke with a promise of
more clear weather Jack decided to waste no time.
Accordingly they were off again, and speeding
toward the north at a pace well over a hundred
miles an hour. '
“Gosh-a-mighty! I never’d have reckoned this
here ole boat could hit it up so pretty,” Perk at
one time called out, when they had muffled the


ALL IN A DAY’S WORK 139
engine exhaust so effectually that they were well
able to converse without raising their voices to a
shout. “She muster been built outen A Number
One stuff -to hold together like she’s done. If we
got through this here job alive, partner, it’s gwine
to be up to us-uns to write a sweet letter to the com-
pany what constructed this here amphibian, an’
tell ’em jest haow much we thinks o’ aour boat.”
“Possibly we may, partner,” the other told him;
“but even that might break the Secret Service rule
of keeping identities well covered up, lest you lose
some of your effectiveness by getting too familiar.
Besides, I’ve got an idea this boat’s been recon-
structed—that as originally built she wasn’t in
the amphibian class at all—some gent who owned
her must have been fond of the model, and feeling
the necessity for having a ship that could land on
water, had her altered to suit his wants.”
“That may well be, suh,” Perk went on to assert,
with one of his nods; “but jest the same they
made a mighty good job o’ it, I’m asayin’, suh.
Huh! to tell the truth right naow I wouldn’t cry
much if I never did see aour ole bus, the big Fok-
ker, agin; I’ve fell so turrible hard fo’ this hyah
ship, built to imitate a duck, what kin swim on
the water, rise from the same when yeou wants
to git agoin’, an’ cut ahead at more’n a hundred
clean an hour. Huh!”
ii


I40 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
When they had reason to believe, (from land-
marks taken notice of on the preceding day by
Perk, as they turned for home) they were cover-
ing a fresh stretch of land and water, their vigi-
lance was once more centered upon the task of
closely observing every detail, and making more
mental notes.
During this cruise they discovered next to noth-
ing incriminating—as a rule they found them-
selves gazing down on a tangled mass of forest
growth, with silver threads of water running criss-
cross here and there; or it might be muddy look-
ing rivers and creeks meandering along in their
long march to the sea, covering at least ten miles
where a crow would fly the same distance in one
mile or possibly less.
Jack had noted a number of places where the
conditions seemed more or less favorable for such
secret work as the successful landing of illicit car-
goes necessitated; but while the spot seemed every-
thing that could be wished, there was never a sign
of its being used for such purposes—no sheds, or
even a well-used road leading into the pine woods,
such as must be required if heavy truck loads of
goods were to be carried off.
“It looks as if we’ll have to go over that first
fifty or sixty miles again, with a fine tooth comb,”
Jack told his comrade, as the afternoon caught


I
CHAPTER XVII
SPINNING THE NET
Again, after Jack had paid a visit to the home
of Mr. Herriott he repeated much of what fresh
information he had picked up during the evening,
some of which he deemed more or less important,
as the facts dove-tailed with other details, to make
something of a complete structure.
“Tomorrow we’ll hang around the city, as there
are a few things I’ve got'~ down on my list of
wanted articles,” he observed in conclusion. “Be-
sides, I promised him I’d fetch you around so as
to make his acquaintance, for he always asks about
you.” '
“Huh! Spose I jest has to get over there some
time’r other,” Perk remarked, as though not par-
ticularly eager to go. “But I shore hopes as heow
on the follerin’ mawnin’ we kin start ofi‘, an’ go so
far we’ll jest have to make camp in them there
dark gloomy lookin’ pine woods.”
“It must depend a whole lot on the kind of
weather they dish up for that day,” Jack informed
him. “It it’s foggy, and the visibility poor, we
might as well hang out here in the city, since we
142


144 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
tell his comrade as the afternoon began to wane,
“that we are invited to dine with Mr. Herriott
and his fine little family tonight. Oh! you needn’t
be so alarmed, partner; we’ll simply clean up, and
look a bit dressy; you’ll soon be on good terms with
both him and his charming wife; asto the kids I
warrant you fall dead for them at first sight.”
Perk, whose face had at first taken on an ex-
pression of sheer dejection, seemed to brighten up
at mention of the youngsters; for he even grinned,
and started to the bathroom, as if to begin wash-
ing up.
They arrived in good time, and Perk was soon
made acquainted with the entire little family-
of course under the name and character beneath
which he was hiding his own identity at that par-
ticular time.
Just as sagacious Jack had surmised would hap-
pen, Perk was soon feeling quite at home, making
“wise-cracks” with the two wideawake youngsters,
and even engaging in more or less conversation
with his host .and Mrs. Herriott. ,
It chanced that there seemed to be a dearth of
news that evening, so they could spend the time
after dinner in other ways than “going into a
huddle,” as Perk put it, and having a siege of
explanations and surmises.
Mr. Herriott coaxed Perk to speak of his early


SPINNING THE NET 145
experiences, partly when over in France, during
war times, then later on with the Mounted Police
up in Northwest Canada, and also as one of the
early pilots carrying the mails, as far as was done
in those bygone days and nights.
When Perk was once fairly aroused he appar-
ently lost his customary bashfulness, and could tell
a story that brought out more than a few laughs
because of what queer things he narrated, and his
comical way of relating the same, his expressive
freckled face all working with imitations of how
other men did their talking.
“I never sits so comfy in the cabin o’ a up-to-
date tri-motored airship these here days,” he went
on to remark, when well started, “with all sorts o’
instruments to navigate by, that I doant think
’baout heow we don’t fly any more by jest instinct,
like we uster do when the Wright boys was a per-
fectin’ their fust crude heavier’n air flyin’ ship. To-
day, suh, we sits at the controls, an’ k/eeps aour
eyes on aour instruments all the time, an’ doan’t
care a red cent what aour wonderful instincts say
’baout it.”
“I never thought about that fact, Wally,” Mr.
Herriott hastened to exclaim; “please go on, and
tell us something more along that same line. You
certainly must have passed through some strange
experiences, I’d say.”


146 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Shucks! but it shore does make me laugh aout
loud when I looks back to them early days, an’
’members the funny way we used to find aout
whether the silly bus was a movin’ up, er daown,
to the left, or to the right. The very fust instru-
ment, if yeou could call it that, to ease up on
the instinct way o’ doin’ was invented by one o’
them smart Wright brothers. Say, it was on’y
a light piece o’ string, tied jest in front o’ the
pilot’s face. When we was a goin’ near ten miles
an hour, mebbe fifteen at a stretch, we kept an
eye on that string right along, an’ could tell what
the ole ship was adoin’, ’cause like it might a been
if she floated in the wind straight at aour face we
knowed we was keepin’ on a level keel—if it went
daown a bit why we was climbin’ some; if the
string struck us in the forehead in course the plane
must be droppin’; and same way if it flowed to the
right, or the left. An: say, I never did know that
early Wright invention to kick over the traces, an’
fool me any.”
Even Jack apparently had never heard about
that clever device, however primitive it might seem
when placed alongside the wonderful means at
present used to ascertain the same things—such
as slipping, skidding, turning, climbing, or diving
—today the experienced pilot watches the air-speed
instrument, his compass, the bank and turn indi-


148 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
add, with a happy ring in his voice; for he did
yearn to eat one camp meal, when the chance came
along, and no harm might follow their change of
a set programme.
“That depends on a good many things,” Jack
warned him; “so I wouldn’t count too heavily on
our stick-it-out idea, if I were you, Wally, boy.
If all goes well, no accidents happen to our boat,
and we get so far away from home along about the
middle of the afternoon, why we’ll decide then on
our doings for the night. You might as well, I
suppose, carry a few necessary things along, such
as you’d like to eat at a campfire supper—if we
think it wise to have any fire, I mean.”
“Oh! please doant throw any gloom on aour
trip today, partner; we kin make shore to drop
daown in a region where there aint a Chinaman’s
chanct o’ a solitary Tarheel bein’ inside o’ ten
miles; an’ the swamps araoun’ makin’ it ab-so-
lutely impossible‘ fo’ sech to git to aour camp short
o’ six days anyway, havin’ to cut his path through
dense thickets; wade sloughs where the pizen water
moccasins air thicker’n molasses on a cold
mawnin’; with twelve-foot ’gators alayin’ in wait
to bite off a gink’s leg quicker’n yeou could wink an
eye. Shucks! we jest gotter have that same camp-
fire-—withaout the same it’d be like the play o’
Hanblett with him left aout.”
——_--_ --~ -:
.--—


SPINNING THE NET 149
]ack only grinned, but Perk seeing the look on
his face, took courage.
“There’s one thing I haven’t touched on as yet,
brother, which might just as well be taken up
now.” Jack was telling his comrade, as they sat
eating an early breakfast, there being hardly any
one besides themselves in the diningroom; so they
could talk in low tones,'and keeping an eye on the
waiters, so as to change the subject should one of
them draw near.
(C
Huh! sornethin’ mebbe naow Mr. H been atell-
in’ you-all, eh, suh ?”
“Just that, Wally; but a matter of the utmost
importance, it happens, as you’ll soon understand,
buddy. It concerns a certain party who’s going to
have a hand with us in closing the net, and making
a big dent in this same syndicate we’re up against.
His name-—bend a bit closer to me——is Jethro
Hicks.”-
, “Sho! never heard it afore, give yeou my af-
fidavy, partner !” returned Perk.
“Of course not,” snapped Jack; “neither did I
until Mr. Herriott mentioned the fact last night
that he would be waiting whenever we sent out the
word—waiting in a certain little bayou which we’d
have picked for our hideout—-—waiting in an old
battered powerboat he owns, to take us about in the
nest of swamps which we could never navigate


\
CHAPTER XVIII
BLACK WATER BAYoU
Fortune favored them again, it seemed, not only
with regard to the skies, but, probably owing in
part to the early hour, there were few persons
scattered about the aviation grounds when they
took ofi'; and the regular attendants already un-
derstood the pair constituted a duck-hunting party,
viewing the coast shooting stands with a view to
getting in some good sport when finally satisfied
as to location.
From the beginning they hit up a high pace,
fully equal to the best the amphibian had thus far
accomplished. Being what might be called “ambi-
dextrous”—doubly able to leave by means of
water, or solid land, it had not been necessary for
them to locate on any river or bay, where they
would not have the benefit of field mechanicians,
and a movable filling station, as well as shelter in
a comfortable hangar.
Jack had doubtless taken all such matters into
consideration when forming his plans, and decided
that the good points about staying at the regulation
aviation headquarters outweighed the poor ones.
~
151


152 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
They covered the first fifty miles in short order,
keeping at some distance further from the sea
than on their previous trips, Jack having a new
hunch, to the effect that possibly the rendezvous
of the smugglers after all might be situated deeper
inland than he had first suspected.
When later on Perk announced that he could
just make out some city far off on the right, Jack
pronounced it to undoubtedly be Georgetown,‘
which lay at the junction of the Pedee and the
Little Pedee.
They had flown directly over the same city on
their previous trip, showing how far west of their
original course they were now working.
“We’re going to patrol this region most care-
fully, partner,” Jack told his best pal, who as
usual was handling the binoculars to the best ad-
vantage, and calling out any discovery worth
while, so as to keep his mate posted. “It has all the
earmarks to make it a dandy hidingplace, where
these sinister operations could be pulled ofi, day or
night, and no one the wiser. What easier than for a
sea-going plane to swoop over or around George-
town, coming from some unknown point east, and
then vanishing in the distance, still going west?
Get that, don’t you, Wally F”
“Sounds all to the good with me, suh,” the other
told him, nodding as he spoke, “I’m atryin’ to make


BLACK WATER BAYOU I53
aout some queer things daown there; but it’s all
sech a scramble I jest caint do much. Mebbe if
we dropped a bit things’d seem different like.”
“I’m going further west, so as to cover the
ground,” Jack informed him, as though -his im-
mediate plans were made up, and he did not care
to change; “but later on in the day I reckon we’ll
be back this way, and possibly make camp for the
night. I’d like to find out what sort of doings are
taking place nights in this section; chances are
we’ll pick up some interesting points before strik-
ing Charleston again.”
“Which same’d please me a heap, Mister,” quoth
Perk ; who was by now beginning to grow a little
weary of what he termed “inaction;” and sighing
for more strenuous times to come along, when
there would be some real thrills experienced.
At noon they partook of a “snack,” devouring
a few sandwiches, so as to take off the sharp edge
of their appetites; Perk apologizing to himself
for eating so scantily. -
“If so be we’re agwine to dine ashore alongside
a gen-u-ine campfire,” he went on in his whimsical
fashion, “I wanter be in prime condition to do
justice to the grub I’m meanin’ to sling up fo’ jest
two gents, known to weuns as Mr. Rodman War-
rington, an’ er—Wally Corkendall, of Birmin’-
ham, suh. So take things easy, an’ jest forget


BLACK WATER BAYOU 155
with that cracker guide, Jethro Hicks, who knows
every foot of these water trails—I understood he
hid out in this terrible region for several years
when at loggerheads with the authorities, though
innocent of any crime. How does the ground look
to you, buddy ?”
“Like the ole Sam Patch, an’ that aint no lie
either, Boss,” Perk lost no time in telling his mate;
“I never did see sech a awful stretch o’ mixed land
an’ water nohaow, nowhere; but jest the same
that’s zactly what we want, so’s to make dead
sartin they beant nobody araound hyah calc’lated
to bother weuns, that’s the way I looks at hit,
suh.”
“Quite right too, Wally, boy !” snapped Jack;
“and such being the case here goes to settle down
on that Black Water Bayou—I think that was the
name Mr. Herriott gave the slough.”
“Gosh all hemlock! an’ it couldn’t have a better
name, I’m asayin’ suh—tough enough lookin’ to
give anybody a shiver; but as we’re itchin’ fo’ to
keep aourvcomin’ secret, it suits aour case to the
dot.”
There was plenty of room in the middle of the
mysterious little lagoon for their landing, if such it
could be called; and so cleverly did the pilot bring
the pontoons of his craft in contact with the sur-
face that hardly the slightest splash followed.
w-


' BLACK VVATER BAYOU 157
But it happens to be just what we were hoping
to find,” Jack continued, looking quite pleased at
the loneliness of the spot; “small chance of any of
those crackers coming in this direction, when they
have no business here. I reckon Wally, you’ll be
able to have that jolly campfire your heart’s so set
on, without its getting us into any trouble.”
“Huh! that all tickles me right smart, Boss,”
chuckled the other, rapidly conquering that sensa-
tion bordering on awe, and beginning to look at
things in a more sensible light. “Kinder gu—reck-
ons as haow there might be mebbe a ’gator or so
in sech a slimy place as this same—-—that is, if sech
critters do live as fur north as this South Carolina
swampy region; anyhaow I ain’t agwine to take
chances awadin’ in them nasty waters, where I
kin see snakes aswimmin’, and pokin’ their heads
aout to larn what in Sam Hill done drapped daown
in their private park. Gee whiz! this is ’baout as
cheerful a hole as the gateway to the Lower Re-
gions, if yeou asked me what I thought, suh.”
They soon discovered that they were not to be
allowed to take things as easy as Perk may have
anticipated; for presently both were employed
shooing swarms of voracious mosquitoes from
their exposed faces and hands.
(K
0’
.rn - M
. pi


THE LONELY CAMP 159
tainly need lots of pungent smoke in order to
drive these hordes of nippers away. So go to it,
partner, the more the merrieI'.”
Later on they sat down where the wind would
waft some of the smoke in their direction, and be-
ing at peace with the world just then found that
they could compare notes, and reach certain con-
clusions.
Although the sun was still quite some little dis-
tance above the horizon, as they figured, (being
unable to see anything through that mass of cy-
press, and hanging moss) it was already commenc-
ing to grow dusk back of the camouflaged airship.
“I knows as haow it aint time yet,” Perk finally
spoke up, getting to his feet with determination
written large upon his face; “but jest the same I
caint hold aout any longer—I got to listen to the
growlin’ daown below-stairs, as sez its past time
to stoke the furnace; so sech bein’ the case I’m
ameanin’ to start aour supper, if so be yeou aint no
’jections, suh.”
“Not in the slightest, Wally, so get busy as soon
as you like,” he was told.
The other did not wait for a second invitation,
but making his way back to the cabin of the am-
phibian presently returned with both arms full of
mysterious packages. After depositing the same
upon the ground near the blazing fire, Perk made


THE LONELY CAMP 161
Jack, presently, as no other similar sound followed.
“I’d say from over there,” Perk swiftly replied,
pointing toward the south as he spoke. “What dye
reckons, suh, it’d mean ?” he asked in turn.
“Oh! nothing that concerns us, I imagine,
Wally, boy—some chap might have run across a
hunting wildcat most likely, and couldn’t resist
giving him the works. But it settles the direction
where that secret landing place may lie, I feel al-
most certain. That’s one of the points I wanted to
pick up; and before the night is over we may be
able to prove my prediction sound.”
“Yeou doant reckons, suh, they kin see this heah
fire aburnin’, do yeou ?”
Jack laughed as though the idea had no standing
with him.
“Not in a thousand years, Wally; it must be a
matter of a mile, perhaps twice that between this
spot and from where that gun was fired; you see,
the night air heads toward us, and would carry the
sound quite a long way.”
He proved that he felt no uneasiness by continu-
ing the conversation that had been interrupted by
the sudden far-off shot; and so Perk did not hesi-
tate to toss more fuel on his cheery campfire.
They were thinking of turning in aboard the
nearby boat, and seeking their necessary rest, when
Perk, who had unusually keen hearing, sat up and


162 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
inclined his head to one side as though listening.
“Jest what she is, for a fack, partner,” he went
on to state; “an’ shore as yeou’re born, suh, they
aint no muffler aboard that ship, I’ll take my af-
fidavy on that same.”
“It is a ship, no doubt about that, and heading
this way out of the east, you want to notice,
buddy,” Jack indicated, as though that mere fact
had a deep significance in his eyes.
“Yeah! that’s so,” agreed Perk, readily falling
in with the conceit, as he usually did when Jack
was the originator of any proposition. “They air
acomin’ straight from aout on the ocean, where
mebbe a steamer is alyin’ anchored, an’ loadin’ its
cargo o’ contraband on fast blockade runners that
come ’longside; also sky-carriers in the bargain,
sech as drop daown close by on the sea, an’ take
on all they kin carry.”
The faint sounds rapidly increased in vigor un-
til even a novice could have decided it was an air-
plane making almost directly toward their strange
camp on Black Water Bayou.
“Keep on listening, brother,” advised Jack;
“and then we’ll compare notes as to where we
heard the last clatter. Things couldn’t be working
more smoothly to suit our plans; and we ought to
be pretty well primed by the time we come back
here to join up with Friend Jethro.” ,
Q


THE LONELY CAMP 163
Finally the now loud clatter ceased, which those
airmen knew full well meant it had succeeded in
effecting an apparently safe landing, whether on
land or water they could only surmise.
So carefully had they both tried to get the exact
locality fixed in their minds that when they came
to comparing ideas it was found they agreed almost
to a dot; so Jack was able by referring to his small
compass to make a note of the circumstance, as well
as their united conviction.
“I kin shut -me eyes an’ see what a busy bunch
is workin’ unloadin’ that same crate,” Perk ob-
served, a little later on. “Scent’s agettin’ a little
warmer, seems like, partner, when we ketch the
racket o’ a smuggler plane comin’ in from the
mother vessel away off shore, beyond the twenty
mile danger line.”
“I’d say it surely was,” agreed Jack,grinning
happily, as if in answer to the joyous look he de-
tected on his partner’s sunbaked face.
All had by now become as silent as the grave,
at least so far as suspicious sounds undoubtedly
caused by human agencies; but otherwise things
did not happen to be so quiet. From the nearby
swamp came a multitude of queer croakings and
gurglings, accompanied by harsh cries such as
night herons seeking their food, or other birds of
similar activities, might make while fishing.
M


CHAPTER XX
THE MOTHER SHIP
When Jack went over to the home of the af-
fable Mr. Herriott the following night he had
much to tell that gentleman, such as had a bearing
on his own campaign. The other heard what he had
to say, and then asked a number of pertinent ques-
tions that in their way were more or less helpful.
“From all you saw and heard, my friend,” the
other observed later on; “I am absolutely certain
you have found a bonanza, and discovered the land-
ing place used mostly by the planes that are carry-
ing such vast quantities of contraband from moth-
er ships to certain central depots, where doubtless
motor trucks are able to come over unknown
country shell roads, and convey the same to shore
cities, possibly even as far north as Baltimore and
Washington. You are getting close to your ob-
jective, I have no hesitation in saying; I only hope
it all turns out as well and profitably as your daring
and skill would warrant.”
Such words from one whom he had come to
admire as a “clean shooter,” as Perk designated
their official friend, gave Jack much satisfaction.
165


166 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Still, there’s no reason for undue haste, you
know, sir,” he told the other in his calm way.
“While I do not want to loaf on the job, at the
same time I am against trying to push things to a
decision. if by so doing I must take unnecessary
chances.”
“Quite right, too, Mr. er, Warrington,” he was
told. “It would have been much better for several
of your fellows who worked on this affair if they
had possessed a share of your caution; two in par-
ticular showed signs of getting somewhere but in
seeking to make a swoop before the time was fully
ripe they queered the whole game, and fell down
on the job. I would be willing to prophesy that such
will not be the result of your planning.”
“There was one subject about which I’d be glad
tohear something further, Mr. Herriott,” Jack
went on to mention.
“You have only to let me know what it is, and
any knowledge I happen to possess in regard to the
matter is at your service. Now tell me how I can
give you any further assistance,-lack.”
“It’s about that cracker guide who’s agreed to
take us to the secret landing-place of the mob—
Jethro Hicks. Do you feel the utmost confidence
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 of law-breakers, things


168 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
what I mean,” continued the other. “Some years
ago there was a sort of mountain vendetta existing
between the Hicks family and two other house-
holds in the same neighborhood. It had gone on for
a good many years, with occasional outbursts, and
some shooting. Later on it came about that one
particular man named Haddock made considerable
money since prohibition came in; and still hating
the name of Hicks found an opportunity to accuse
Jethro of certain things, building up false evidence
on which the young head of a family would un-
doubtedly have been sent to the pen if he had not
hidden out 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 unlike many of his class, he does
not wish to shoot his hated enemy down in cold
blood. But it is more than suspected that John
Haddock is one of the rich men backing up this
big syndicate, for it would come directly in line
with the way he managed to accumulate his own
fortune in a less extensive way, merely with moun-
tain dew as his stock in trade.
“Jethro swore to me he knew this to be a fact,
although he could hardly hope to prove the same
unless given an opportunity to raid their head-
quarters and find positive evidence there.


THE MOTHER SHIP 169
“Now you will understand just why he can be
depended on—Jethro is no law-breaker, and his
fierce hatred for John Haddock—all the Haddock
tribe in fact—wi1l make him a faithful assistant
for such as you. Are you 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 his de-
sire to get even with this rich schemer through
whom he has suffered so much.”
More of this confidential talk was indulged in,
with Jack fortifying such 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, he proceeded
to further astonish his best pal by giving a ver-
batim rendering of every item spoken by the
United States representative.
“So you see, brother, how well we are progress-
ing,” he concluded by saying; “and with such an
eager helper as this same Jethro promises to prove,
it looks as if something unexpected was going to
strike that powerful illegal combine of smugglers
at an early date—don’t you feel that way too ?”
“Shore I do, partner, an’ here’s hopin’ it aint a-
goin’ to be so very long naow ’fore we get in aour
fust crack. I’m near wild to knock one o’ them


170 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
smugglers’ first aid ships to smithereens, with a
nice baby bomb I got 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 ex-
cited face of his chum. “You’ve never completely
gotten over your boyish ways, brother—any-
thing in the line of excitement, and you fairly itch
to be up and doing. I am free to confess, however,
that when you do get into a ruction you know how
to give a good account of yourself.”
“Thanks, ole hoss, comin’ from sech as yeou
that’s the highest kind o’ praise I could ever ex-
pect. I sometimes reckon I must abeen in at least
one squabble ’fore I was hardly able to toddle
’raound, it comes so nat’ral to me.”
On the following morning their regular routine
was again taken up. They flew up the coast, and
turned out to sea, Jack wishing to learn whether
there was a mother ship lying off the coast, from
which all manner of prohibited articles, from
aliens, precious stones, narcotics and in great
quantity the finest of foreign strong drink, down
to the smallest things that had an intrinsic value,
were secretly imported into the States minus the
heavy duty imposed on their coming.
Once again his hunch proved a true one, for
they discovered a squat steamer hovering about


THE MOTOR-TRUCK CARAVAN 173
sign o’ any sorter vehicle sech as mout be atakin’
the stuff to market—is that so, suh ?”
“Good guess, all right, for you, Wally, boy,”
replied Jack. “Pick up your glasses again, and
keep an eye on the ground down below. If by good
luck you light on anything suspicious, let me know;
because I want to see for myself, as it might
help me figure out certain things worth while.”
“Ay! ay! Cap; here goes!” Perk told him, suit-
ing the action to the words with the greatest eager-
ness.
Jack loitered somewhat, not wishing to skip
over that prospective battlefield too speedily, lest
it fail to reveal some of its most valuable secrets;
accordingly he circled while still sticking to the
cloud screen, now in and out like a fluttering but-
terfly amidst the thistle blooms of an old quarry.
Their aerial steed could not be seen from the
far distant surface of the earth, unless one chanced
to have a very powerful pair of binoculars similar
to the beautiful ones Perk was just then handling
—the Government at least was a generous em-
ployer, since the question of price never entered
into the purchase of such instruments as were
necessary.
Suddenly Perk let out a loud crow.
“Gimme the stick, gov’nor !” he called out, shov-
ing in behind his mate. “Aplenty in sight right


I74 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
naow, I’d say, if yeou asked me. Jest peek yeour
eye on that ere stretch o’ marsh, I take the same
to be, clost alongside yonder stretch o’ pine woods
—must be some sorter corduroy road built through
the muck, screened mostly by cypress trees covered
with a heap o’ trapsin’ moss.”
“I’ve got it, partner—just as you’re saying in
the bargain, a corduroy road made of logs laid
parallel, and looking a bit new as if it had only
been constructed lately, for some special purpose.”
“See anythin’ amovin’, boss?” continued the ex-
cited Perk, eagerly.
“Not yet,” he was told; “but whatever you saw
may be hidden behind some patch of dense timber
at the moment. Ha !”
“Ketched ’em jest then, did yeou ?”
“One—two—three motor-trucks in a line, close
to each other, and making fair time over that
bumpy log-road, considering that they seem to
be heavily laden with something covered by dirty
tarpaulins.”
- “Somethin’—huh! weuns ought to know what
kinder stuff, eh, partner ?” laughed Perk, jubilantly
enough.
“Keep circling around, using these hazy clouds
for a screen, whenever possible, brother,” urged
Jack. “I want to get an eyeful of this same pic-
ture, because it’s going to give me the one thing
-~


THE MOTOR-TRUCK CARAVAN 175
that was lacking—a knowledge of the way they
get the stuff out of such a boggy country without
being detected by sharp-eyed revenue men.”
“But say, boss, didn’t we make up aour minds
they might have a bunch o’ landin’-places, so’s to
switch aroun’ when things begun to get too hot at
any one roost ?”
“Yes, and I still believe that way,” Jack told
him, his eyes continuing to be glued to his glasses,
as though what he saw fairly fascinated him; “but
just the same, they could make use of one main
road out of the swamp country.”
So he kept close tabs until eventually the line of
heavily laden trucks had passed from his sight.
“You can pick up the course to Charleston now,
buddy,” he told the acting pilot. “I’ve seen that
those trucks are heading north by nor-west, and
chances are they mean to make Baltimore before
they halt for good; though like as not they may
have a half-way station for stopping over during
part of a day, so as to cover the last and most
risky section of their long run by darkness, or
moonlight.”
“An’ partner,” Perk blurted out, as he relin-
quished the stick to the masterhand of his mate,
“do yeou know they’s somethin’ that’s been aboth-
erin’ me right smart.”
“As what, buddy ?” asked the other, keeping up
his run among the friendly screen of fleecy clouds.


176 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
l
“Things they seem to come an’ go with these
here smuggler lads like everything might be part
o’ a well greased machine—never a click, er a
squeak, but movin’ ’long with hardly a missfir<.~—
jest haowever do they fix it— how kin they know
near to the minute when a cargo’s acomin’ to port,
so’s to have them trucks and men awaitin’ fo’ the
same.”
“Oh! that’s dead easy, partner,” Jack sang out,
as though on his part he felt little doubt.
“Yeah! seems to me them chaps ’way back in
Columbus’ time said them same words arter the
man as diskivered America stood a egg up on end,
fust knockin’ the small end, and making a rest fo’
the same—anything’s soft enough arter you been
told haow—-—naow I wanter be shown.”
“Listen then, Wally, boy—there isn’t the least
doubt in my mind but what the gang has an ex-
cellent radio station rigged up somewhere along
the coast; they can keep in constant touch both
with the mother ships we saw anchored twenty
miles out, and also with headquarters on shore-—
down where those three motor-trucks loaded up,
after some speed boat ran in here last night. Get
it now, do you, old pal?”
“Gosh! seems like us boys gotter be settin’ up
nights fixin’ traps fo’ the sharp foxes, they’s up
to sech big stunts. Sometimes I find myself won-
.,


THE MOTOR-TRUCK CARAVAN 177
KS
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derin’ haow in Sam Hill weuns kin beat ’em atall
at their pesky games.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here to put through,”
Jack stated, off-hand like; “and it seems that
usually we do come out on top. But even if we suc-
ceed in putting their freight air ships, and fast
launches out of business, this game of ours can
never be called complete until we’ve managed to
discover the location of that powerful sending
radio station— and blown it sky-high in the bar-
gain.”
“Bully boy !” cried Perk ; “an’ more power to
aour elbow, is what I’m asayin’ right naow, Big
Boy. We kin do it, an’—watch aour smoke, that’s
all.”
“I begin to think the time for our departure is
getting close at hand, Pal Wally,” Jack remarked
some time later, as they glimpsed the familiar
smoke cloud hovering over the city ahead. “If my
last talk with our good friend tonight pans out as
I feel pretty certain it must, we’ll figure on making
our big jump some time day after tomorrow. That
will give us plenty of time to get everything
aboard we expect to need; for once we leave
Charleston we’ll not be likely to see the place again
in a hurry.”
“Sure pleases me a heap, suh,” Perk told him,
nodding his head approvingly, as though he might


178 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
be some species of war-horse scenting the battle-
smoke and acrid odor of burnt powder in the
breeze, calling him to action.
In due time the big amphibian dropped dbwn on
the field, and was hurriedly conveyed to its han-
gar; the two airmen hovering around for a brief
time examining certain parts of their ship, to make
doubly certain there was nothing amiss. Jack did
not intend going out on the following day, if things
worked as he was now planning; they would fix
up a last day program, by ‘following which every-
thing necessary would be carried out in the cus-
tomary way of such careful adventurers as they
had always proven to be.
“Huh! been a right full day, I’d call hit,” was
Perk’s last word, as they started back to the hotel,
so as to clean up for supper; after which Jack
meant to keep an engagement with Mr. Herriott,
who would be apt to have some news of importance
to communicate.
“Taking things as they go, it certainly has,
brother,” Jack told his “side push,” as Perk often
called himself. “We’ve picked up some facts that
plug the vacant holes in my scheme; and I feel
confident we’re getting close to the big finish.”


CHAPTER XXII
DOWN 'ro BUSINESS AT LAST
VVhen Jack came back to the hotel late that
night, he found Perk lounging in the lobby, and
keeping a watchful eye on the main entrance.
“Got too darned lonesome up in the den, suh,”
the latter explained, keeping up his character part
as an employee of the rich New‘ York sportsman,
who was so well liked that he had become a sort
of companion, and campmate in fact. “Jest couldn’t
stand it any longer, an’ had to come daown
hyah, so’s to watch the folks, an’ pass the time
away. Gwine up right naow, suh ?”
“Might just as well, for I’m a bit tired; and
besides we have some plans to settle on before
striking out for the ducking grounds day after
tomorrow. Got those chilled-shot shells I want to
try out, did you, Wally ?”
“Sure did, suh,” answered the other, with a
wide grin, knowing that this had been spoken be-
cause the hotel clerk was close by at the desk, and
watching them a bit curiously. “An’ I done reck-
oned as haow I might jest as well fotch ’long
double the number o’ boxes yeou-all asked me

179


180 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
to. They sure slips away right speedy like, suh,
when the birds air atradin’ good.”
Once behind the closed and locked door, Jack
started to explain such fresh facts as had come
within the circle of his knowledge in the last chat
with Mr. Herriott.
“He will make all arrangements with Jethro in
the morning, so we can expect to find the man
waiting at the rendezvous—Black Water Bayou,
two nights from now; for I calculate to drop down
there just while the twilight holds. That is the
main thing we settled; and he assured me there
would absolutely be no hitch to that part of the
program. When such a man as our good friend
gives a promise like that you can depend on it being
exactly so.”
“Bet yeour boots that’s a fack, partner,” Perk
took occasion to add most fervently, having con-
ceived a great liking for Mr. Herriott, his charm-
ing betterhalf, and the two youngsters with whom
he had had such a riotous time on the occasion of
his late visit.
Jack took some object out of his pocket, and
holding it between his fingers seemed to blow
softly into the same with a certain quavering in-
flection. The result was an odd quacking sound,
several times repeated.
“Gosh all hemlock!” Perk exclaimed, a little too


DOWN TO BUSINESS AT LAST 181
-II-' T
loud for discretion as he himself appeared to real-
ize, since he immediately moderated his voice as
he went on to say: “If that ere aint a reg’lar duck-
call I’m a rank piker. What dye know ’baout that,
if we didn’t forgit to supply aourselves with a
quacker—two on ’em in fact, one to coax the
ducks within gunshot; an’ tother fo’ wild honkin’
geese. Takes yeou to think up the small but im-
portant things, ole hoss.” 
“Well, we may some day have a chance to use
this call for the purpose it was intended,” stated
Jack, handing the queer little article with the split
and brass tongue crown over to Hank for exami-
nation; “but I got it for quite another reason.
When I put this to my lips, and give a number of
loud quacks, it’ll be after we’re lying there on the
surface of Black Water Bayou—as a signal agreed
on with Jethro. You must remember he has never
met us, unfortunately, and this game is too risky
for any one to take chances. He’ll answer my signal
by six quacks in quick succession, and I’ll give him
another four in reply—then both will have made
sure covering the identity of the other.”
“Jest fine as silk, I’d say, suh!” Perk assured
him, with that look approaching adoration such as
came to him most naturally, whenever his pal Jack
sprang some unusually neat piece of work upon
him. .
5


182 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
Perk tested the duck-call several times, blowing
softly, so as not to cause any guest, or possibly
even a spy, in an adjoining room to wonder what
such a series of queer sounds could mean.
“Huh! been a long time, suh, since I done used
one o’ these contraptions,” he finally advanced.
“They do fotch the s’picious birds aswimmin’
closer in to the stools—yeou knows I gotter to buy
a bunch o’ cedar decoys tomorry, ’case no shooter
ever goes aout to bag ducks withaout a flock o’ the
same.”
-“That’s down on your list of last supplies to be
picked up, I remember, Wally. And when I’ve told
you a few more things that come to me tonight
we’d better turn in for a good snatch of sleep.
No telling how much time we’ll be spending keep-
ing wide-awake night after night, once we em-
bark on that part of our big game. In fact, it’s
possible we’ll have to change things around, and
do about all of our sleeping daytimes.”
“Suits me right well, suh—so long’s I gits fo’
hours at a stretch, with a few halfway decent eats
thrown in, I doant never kick.”
Less than half an hour later and they were get-
ting ready for a spell of forgetfulness. Perk, as he
crawled intoibed, was muttering something to the
effect that there would be only one more occasion
when they could treat themselves to the real luxury


DOWN TO BUSINESS AT LAST 183
of a decent bed, with a fine bathroom conveniently
close at hand.
“But what do it matter with sech a ole cam-
paigner as me—anything we kin strike aint agoin’
to be one-tenth as bad as when I was over in them
stinkin’ trenches, up to my knees in water, an’
listenin’ to hell broke loose all raound, with the
Heinies throwing shiploads o’ shells, an’ other
devilish explosives—awful pizen gas in the bar-
gain, every-which way—I ain’t complainin’ 0’ any-
thing after what happened to me there, no siree,
I aint.”
In the morning they took a leisurely breakfast,
and then separated, each of them having a com-
plete list of certain necessary things that had to
be attended to.
Jack had declared it his intention to take-off
around midday, for they could once more follow
the course now becoming quite familiar—passing
out to sea, and from a great hight learning
whether a mother-ship lay ofi’ the coast, with fast
speedboats tied up alongside, taking on cargoes—
although no attempt would be made looking to
coming in to the mouth of some estuary, up which
they meant to push under cover of darkness.
Only one thing could keep them from making
their start as planned, and this would be a bad
weather report covering the coastal region from
'___—'___I_ — —


CHAPTER XXIII
AT THE RENDEzvoUs
The big amphibian, well loaded down, made a
creditable take-oif, and they were soon mounting
up toward cloudland. As on the previous occasion
there chanced to be a never ending flock of beauti-
ful white fleecy clouds passing along, with the sun
shining most of the time, since the banks of vapor
were “1ight-weight,” as Perk poetically described
them.
Looking back Perk took his last view of Charles-
ton, a bit regretfully, since the quaint aspects of the
city, connected with oldtime buildings, and other
agreeable sights, had somehow gripped his heart.
Jack again soon headed off the coast, it being his
intention, if the conditions were at all favorable, to
drop down on the sea, and float there, waiting until
the afternoon was well advanced before heading
in to the shore.
After they had passed for many miles up the
coast he picked out a spot—after being warned by
the lookout that there were two large vessels stand-
ing olf beyond the twenty-mile line, undoubtedly
mother-ships loaded down with fresh supplies of
186


AT THE RENDEZVOUS 187
contraband—where they could lie upon the sur-
face of the water undetected by any one passing
far above, or at such a distance away as the foreign
ships appeared to lie.
Jack could not remember having ever known the
restless Atlantic to remain almost perfectly calm
for such a long stretch of time-—he felt like tak-
ing it as a favorable sign concerning the carry-
ing out of their individual great plan—even the
elements were apparently in league to render them
assistance, which he took it to be most kind and
reassuring on their part.
Along about three in the afternoon Perk, again
searching everywhere for some sort of discovery,
announced that he had picked out a plane ducking
in and out of the white battalions of clouds still
passing overhead.
“Seems like she might be acomin’ from that
quarter where we got aour hunch the landin’ field
o’ their airships must lie,” he went on to say, as
though his mind was made up along those lines.
“Rcckon as haow they caint pick weuns off daown
hyah, suh, seein’ aour wings air abaout the same
color as the sea all ’raound this same spot.”
“Not the least chance of such a thing, partner,”
Jack assured him; “I had them colored that way
purposely, seeing that we’d be likely to squat down
this way when spying on the mother ship further


188 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
out—not even if they have binoculars aboard,
which they undoubtedly must, could any one make
us out. Heading for that foreign steamship, isn’t
that cloud chaser ?”
“Straight away, suh, as sure as shootin’. Course
they reckon on loadin’ up with somethin’ that’s
aboard, an’ wants to git ashore the wust kind-
mebbe a bunch o’ Chinks it might be; or else some
sorter stufi like high-toned laces, Cape diamonds,
or sech expensive big things as allers come in small
packages.” ,
“At any rate,” Jack went on to mention, “they
are heading for one of those two foreign boats
further out. You say there were several speed
boats and launches fast to the sides of the big
freighters, when you glimpsed them? Strikes me
things are breaking about right for our making a
start in the big racket tonight—-of course depend-
ing on Jethro’s bobbing up all serene.”
Perk followed the course of the airship dipping
in and out of the cloud belt, and after quite some
time had elapsed made his announcement.
“They sure is acomin’ daown ashootin’, Big
Boss. Reckons as haow there must be a good hand
at that ere stick, a lad as knows his business okay
-—there, he’s flattened aout, an’ takes things some
easier, seein’ as haow the ship’s ready to make
contact with the sea. Aint this a reg’lar picnic o’


AT THE RENDEZVOUS 189
a time, when weuns kin jest lay here like a gull
afloatin’ on the water, an’ see haow them smugglin’
devils work things. Little do they suspect that
there’s sumpin’ hangin’ heavy over ther heads, an’
liable to crash any ole minit from naow on.”
It was by now getting close to the time Jack
figured on making a start. He planned on taking a
leaf from the routine methods brought into service
by the expert pilots manning the illegal air car-
riers, passing in and out from mother ship to their
secret landing place—by making a high ceiling,
and depend on a curtain of lofty clouds to effectu-
ally screen their presence while hopping over the
danger zone.
“Time we skipped out of this,” he told Perk,
who emitted a muffled roar which was possibly
meant to be an expression akin to applause.
The waves were picking up somewhat in the
bargain, which may have been one of the reasons
why the ever cautious Jack wanted to get moving:
he did not have any particular yearning for a head-
long dash amidst rolling billows, such as might
cause considerable trouble, even bring risk in their
train should they find themselves compelled to
make the venture.
However, they made the ascent without great
trouble, even if there was a certain amount of
splashing done. Perk looked pleased when the ship

-i_


190 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
arose from its salt water contact, and began climb-
ing at a steady pace.
Jack held out for some little time as though
meaning to pass inshore far to the north of the
point he was really aiming to attain; this he did
to hoodwink any one who might chance to see them
through strong glasses, and feel a little curious to
know who they were, also, what their object could
be in carrying on after such a fashion.
Eventually he turned more into the west; then,
after passing over the shore line, faced due south-
west, and sped on.
Finally when Perk warned them they were ap-
proaching their proposed‘ landing-place Jack
brought his charge lower until presently, as eve-
ning drew on apace, they could be seen sweeping
along not five hundred feet above the tops of the
tall cypress trees with their queer festoons of trail-
ing Spanish moss.
Then came a glimpse of Black Water Bayou,
bordered by the mysterious gloomy looking swamp,
from whence had come all those uncouth sounds
on the occasion of their stopover some time pre-
viously.
“Huh! mebbe we’ll git right ’customed to them
awful noises,” Perk was assuring himself, as their
pontoons glided along the smooth surface of the
lonely lagoon, and the boat headed directly toward


AT THE RENDEZVOUS 191
that artificial curtain behind which they had pre-
viously pocketed their “Windjammer,” or as Perk
sometimes called their craft the “crocodile”—
partly because, as he affirmed, such a reptile was
the only real amphibian, able to negotiate both land
and water in turn, and feeling at home in both.
“So far, okay,” he observed, softly, after the
boat had come to a stop, close to that friendly
ambush where they could readily hide their craft
should they choose to start forth with Jethro
aboard his smaller ducking powerboat; “an’ naow
let’s on’y hope the gink shows up on time.”
“I wouldn’t speak of Jethro in that sort of way,
buddy,” remonstrated Jack. “It’s true he is a
Southern cracker, without much education; but
that I’d call his misfortune and not his fault. Mr.
Herriott says he’s a chap with considerable prin-
ciple, and his one weakness is about the wrongs
this bunch of men have done him and his family.
He is ready to encounter every risk if only he can
show them up, cripple their big business, and pos-
sibly send some of the lot to Atlanta for a term of
years.”
“I get yeou, partner,” said Perk, contritely;
“shore didn’t mean anything by sayin’ what I did ;
an’ I’ll be glad to shake Jethro’s flipper whensoever
we meet.”
“I knew you’d feel that way, Wally; and it may


192 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
not be a great many minutes before the chance
comes along.”
“Meanin’, I take it, Boss, he orter show up right
soon?” demanded the other. ,
“This is the rendezvous place you know, where
we agreed to wait for him,” explained Jack; “he
may be a bit late getting up here, for his boat
is an old one; though Mr. Herriott did tell me he
himself had had it fixed up some, to work a lot
smoother—Uncle Sam stood the racket, too; and
you know when he foots a bill nothing is too good
to be utilized. We may be surprised when we see
that same dinky powerboat.” ”
“As haow, partner ?” queried Perk, his curiosity
aroused immediately.
“Wait and see, brother,” Jack told him, tanta-
lizingly. “Our first duty right now is to poke the
nose of our airship back of this dandy natural
curtain, where it just couldn’t be seen, unless a
close search was being made, our plans possibly
having been given away. That couldn’t happen in
a coon’s age, we’ve been so cautious, so secretive,
and made no confidents except Mr. Herriott—
and through him necessarily Jethro. Take hold, and
help me swing her along back of the trailing moss
and vines.”
When this had been effected Jack again whis-
pered:


AT THE RENDEZVOUS 193
“Listen while I give the signal, partner; if by any
chance hostile ears were to catch the quacking of
a duck, it could hardly excite the slightest notice;
for such a sound often breaks out in the darkness
of night down here, since a duck on the water acts
as sentry to the sleeping flock. Here goes, then:”
L


196 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
“Hello! thar !” came in a low, discreet voice, as
the oncoming boat slowed up by degrees.
“It’s okay, Jethro-——we’re on hand as promised !”
As Jack said this the other gave a low laugh, as
though greatly pleased to find his new employer so
prompt, and evidently a man of his word.
He was soon leaning from his seat in the cock-
pit of his ancient powerboat, (in which he had
for some years been engaged taking parties out
from Charleston for their fishing, or shooting)
and grasping first the extended hand of eager
Perk, then that of Jack Ralston.
He had been put wise as to their real identity,
but warned to meet them under their assumed
names, so as to ward oil’ any possible risk of dis-
covery. So it was he lowered his voice to a hoarse
whisper as he spoke after the handshake.
“Ah ’low as how yuh reckoned ah mout be some
slow agittin’ hyah, suh; but since they fixed up my
ole dickey boat, she shore do step along like smoke.”
“Glad to know that, Jethro,” said Jack, to whom
the other had turned as if readily recognizing
which of the pair must be the leader of the des-
perate enterprize with which he had committed his
fortunes so gladly. “Looks like a fine night for us
to make a beginning.”
“Jest what hit is, suh; couldn’t be no better,
ah’d say. An’ ah done reckons as how they be


198 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
bunch, ’case they don’t reckon they’s a single stran-
ger inside o’ ten mile. They’d shore skun me alive if
they’d run ontuh me; but I knowed my beans, an’
how tuh fool ther best o’ ’em.”
Jack liked the way the other talked-—-it showed
that Jethro had considerable self-confidence; also
that the consuming passion running like hot lava
through his veins was not apt to warp his judg-
ment in the least. He could be depended on to keep
fairly cool and discreet under any trying condi-
tion; and should matters ever come to a show-
down, such a man would fight like a South Caro-
lina wildcat,‘ of that Jack also felt assured.
“Then we’ll leave the ship concealed here back
of this screen, and climb aboard with you, Jethro,”
Jack told him. “I put it up to you to say when we
ought to make a start.”
“Right away’d be ther right thing ter do, suh,”
cam.e the answer; after both Jack and Perk had
changed to the reconditioned powerboat. “Yuh see,
it’s sum way tuh go, the river’s so crooked in
places; so I kalc’late things they’ll be fair hummin’
by ther time we gits thar.” /
“Just as you say, Jethro ; but perhaps we ought
to take certain things with us—no telling just how
soon we might find a use for the same. Wally,
climb back, and pass them over to me—you know
what I mentioned I’d like to have along.”


200 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
understand how there might be a variety of ob-
stacles here and there, blocking their passage——
logs, and huge boulders, which would surely cause
the boat to founder, should they crash against some
snag head-on.
On the return journey, whenever they chose to
come back, the case must be different, since they
would have the current to buck against, and neces-
sarily much more power would be called upon to
make decent progress.
However, Jack was not figuring as to just when
that retrograde movement would come about-
Perk had handed over a variety of things they
would require if they chose to linger for a day
and another night at least, even to some “eats”—
catch Perk neglecting that part of the supplies-
not if he was in his sane mind, he had told himself
with unction.
Well, here they were gliding along down the
river, just as Perk had so many times vividly pic-
tured in his mind, with darkness all around them,
and only Jethro’s intimate knowledge of the in-
tricacies of the stream, and itsivarious outjutting
snags, standing between themselves and a cold
bath.
Perk thrilled with deepest satisfaction. From
this time on he felt assured all sorts of exciting
happenings would be the order of the day or night ;


202 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
So, too, did he glimpse signs of growing light,
and figured that doubtless fires might be burning,
with supper cooking. Fed up with a desire to set
eyes on what lay so close by, Perk counted the
minutes as the boat continued to move smoothly
along.
Finally he found that Jethro was propelling it
by hand, the noiseless engine having stopped its
pulsations; and a minute later they lay back of a
screen formed of hanging Spanish moss and cling-
ing vines, quite as eiiectual so far as concealment
went as the curtain hiding the airship.
“Git out hyah, suh ;” whispered Jethro in Jack’s
ear; “rest o’ ther way we gotter tuh go afoot.”


A WELL OILED MACHINE 205
sirous of attracting his comrade’s attention. See-
ing that the other was so persistent Jack inclined
his ear as a sign for the other to only speak in the
faintest possible whisper, which of course Perk
only too well knew was absolutely necessary.
“Looky—over there jest back o’ thet tree, an‘
away from the fires—aint that some sorter crate
yeou kin lamp ?”
“Just what it is, a plane, and a whopping big one
to boot,” Jack assured him, when he could find
Perk’s ear. “No seaplane after all, so it can’t be
used for going out to the mother ship ; but flies
over the land, taking some sort of stuff to a certain
depot—may have fetched a bunch of Chinks over
from Cuba on its last trip. Keep still, now, Wally,
and just watch.”
The time dragged on until several hours had
passed since they arrived at the landing field and
camp of those busy bees engaged in hoodwinking
Uncle Sam, and all his efficient coast patrol both on
sea and the land.
Then a throbbing sound reached their ears; at
the same time they could notice how the men no
longer rough-housed among themselves. On the
contrary they began to gather at a small wharf
built so that a boat could draw alongside, and let
the cargo be transferred to the waiting trucks for
further transportation.


206 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
Perk again touched his best pal’s arm, to whis-
per:
“Boat’s a kickin’ up agin the current, an’ gettin’
nigh here,” he said.
“Okay, but put a stopper on your tongue, matey
—eyes are all we need right now—maybe ears as
well, to pick up anything that’s said worth while.”
Thus crushed Perk fell back, and concentrated
his observation upon the stirring little night drama
that would soon be moving along at full speed—-
a common enough event it must be, judging by the
long security from interruption these reckless
worthies had enjoyed.
The strong glare of a large searchlight down
on the waterway grew brighter continually, show-
ing that the approaching boat must be close at
hand. Presently they were able to make her out,
although almost dazzled by the brilliant light up
in her bow, rendered necessary by the snags and
rocks scattered at intervals all along the Yama-
saw.
No sooner had the boat been warped to the
dock than men flocked aboard, and began to tote
the heaped-up heavy sacks ashore. There could
be not the shadow of a doubt concerning the nature
of their contents, for occasionally the eagerly lis-
tening trio caught the sound of flint glass striking
against a similar clinking object; and when one


A WELL OILED MACHINE 209
without any delay that to thus let that swift con-
traband runner get away unscathed was really too
bad.
So he had to crouch there behind the network
of bushes, and see the vessel back away from the
rough-looking dock, swing around in the narrow
but deep creek, and then disappear down-stream,
the light of its glowing reflector gradually dying
out as it drew farther away.
“Huh! nawthin’ doin’ seems like,” Perk was
telling himself in bitter disappointment. “I’d a
given a heap jest to slip one o’ my bally time-bombs
aboard that ere craft, so she’d bust into flames
when far away down the river; but Jack, he doant
seem ready to hit the fust crack.”
Next the two laden trucks pulled out, and could
be heard bumping along the road, to take their
chances of getting through without being stopped
by either high-jackers or revenue men.
“Makin’ straight fo’ that same corduroy road
as runs plumb through the marsh; an’ headin’ due
north, too,” Perk further told himself, seeing that
evidently trying to talk with his chum was taboo
for the time being, “Goin’ up to Baltimore, I reck-
on, whar they got a big taste fo’ strong stuff,
‘specially sech as comes in from abroad—reg’lar
goods, with a big kick backin’ same. Huh !”
Jack had for some little time been looking ear-


210 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
nestly first at the nearest campfire, and then divert-
ing his gaze, seemed to stare over to where the
outlaw plane rested. It was as though it might be
waiting for some particular event, when possibly
it would start off, after taking aboard certain valu-
ables that would come by another airship from
some point in the West Indies, evading the cus-
toms, and giving a rich bonanza to whoever was
interested in thus beating the Government revenue.
“I say, Perk,” he whispered in the ear of his
mate.
The other must have sensed something of un-
usual importance coming, for he displayed con-
siderable eagerness as he moderated his own voice
to its very lowest pitch, and made answer:
“On deck, suh!”
“That plane—-I’ve been noticing how it’s left
high and dry there,” Jack was saying, significantly,
Perk thought.
“Shore is, suh,” the latter went on, invitingly.
“I figure that any clever lad might be able to
creep close to the same—coming along by that
line of bushes you can notice on the side away
from the fires, and the big searchlights they use
when a ship is taking off at night.”
“Easy—reg’lar snap, I’d say, suh.”
“I’ve also figured out that it wouldn’t be im-
possible for any clever lad to creep around from


A WELL OILED MACHINE 211
here without being seen, and so get in close grips
with that same plane—how ?”
Perk lifted his head a trifle, and appeared to
study the conditions, which was not at all surpris-
ing since up to that minute it had never once oc-
curred to him there would be any call upon him
for such services. - -
“I’d be tickled pink to tackle the job, suh—jest
try me !” he finally declared, and at that without
even asking why such a dangerous mission should
enter into the head of his superior.
“Can you first of all sneak back to the boat, and
pick up that little bottle you filled with gasoline
before we left the Crocodile ?”
“Easy as all get aout, that’s right, suh.”
“Well, make sure you’ve got plenty of matches
that strike without making any snap,” warned
Jack; “because we have a chance to get rid of the
first outlaw airship, and so make our initial dent
in the ironclad syndicate l”


CHAPTER XXVI
STRIKING QUT
Jack was able to say all he did simply because
they were separated from the nearest group of
men by considerable distance; moreover, the pack
persisted in talking and laughing, as though ab-
solutely free from care, doubtless filled with the
belief that their lot was a most enviable one-
which apparently was the case.
Perk kept as tight a rein on his enthusiasm as
he possibly could. He understood just what a peril-
ous mission Jack was entrusting to his sole care;
and how success, or failure, would depend on his
ability to measure up to the confidence reposed in
him.
“Jest where am I to meet up with yeou agin,
after I finish my job, suh ?” he whispered; even
trying to carry out his assumed character when
there was really no need for such a thing, showing
how the habit was apparently getting a pretty stiff
grip on Perk, it would seem.
“When I think it’s about time for you to start
things going, we’ll slip away, so as to be on our
road when the fun gets hot and furious; they
212


STRIKING OUT 213
might begin to scour the whole neighborhood if
they suspected some enemy of starting the racket.
So look for us where Jethro’s boat’s hidden. Hold
on, partner—come to think of it, give us a bit of
a signal when you’re on the job—nothing to attract
their attention, you understand—just hold up your
red handkerchief; but don’t wave it, remember.
Then three minutes after you’ve done this—get
busy!”
“Huh! leave that to me, boss—I gotter hunch
a’ready jest haow that I kin work the game. So-
long !”
So matter-of-fact way his leave taking, so
informal, that it was plain to be seen Perk must
be taking things coolly; a fact that pleased his
chum vastly, Jack told himself as the other crept
away, heading along the back trail, and making
no more noise than a writhing cotton-mouth moc-
casin snake might have done.
Jack and Jethro waited as the minutes crept
past. The latter being advised in low whispers just
what was on the bill of fare, might have been
heard to chuckle to himself when he finally under-
stood—possibly he was feeling a bit disappointed
because this particular mission had not been turned
over to his care; but then he must have realized
that he was having a share in everything that was
attempted looking to the smashing of the powerful


STRIKING OUT 217
inflammable gasoline spilled when the tank had
been last replenished.
Let them think what they pleased, it mattered
nothing to Jack—the one prime object of his self
congratulation lay in the fact that their initial
blow had been struck, and the contraband carriers
of the air reduced by one useful factor. . .
The volume of the shouts was gradually becom-
ing less and less; which fact must have resulted
from their placing more distance between them-
selves and the aroused camp; also through the men
ceasing to give voice to their excitement, under
the conviction that there was no possible remedy
for the disaster—and then again the Combine,
being swollen with gross profits, could stand such
a loss, so easily replaced.
In due time Jack and Jethro approached their
goal. It was to be hoped they would find Perk al-
ready there; or that he must show up soon after
they arrived. They lay among the bushes, and
waited, Jack knowing Perk would be apt to give
a certain little sound, very like the cheep of a night
bird, such as they had frequently used under simi-
lar conditions.
A few minutes later sure enough he caught the
expected signal, which, upon being immediately
answered brought a stooping figure reeling into
view. Jack hastened to reach for his chum’s right
I


Z24 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
would be no rain fall inside of twelve to twenty
hours; although beyond that he was not prepared
to say, and felt there was a fair chance the clouds
would wet things pretty well before giving way,to
clear skies again.
“Mebbe then we kin put in one more good blast
’fore we git ‘housed up here in aour houseboat,”
Perk advanced, as both his opinion and his secret
wish.
“Let’s hope so,” Jack told him, to bolster up his
already drooping spirits. “Anyhow, if it hasn’t
started to rain when we’re ready to pull out to-
night, it’s agreed we’ll not hold back on account of
a little ducking.”
“Yeou sed it, buddy,” Perk snapped with avid-
ity, accompanying the words with one of his old-
time grins, that told of renewed expectation of
fresh achievement.
So after they had partaken of some cold refresh-
ment to stay their hunger, they completed their
preparations for sallying forth to inflict further
damage on the enemy, and add to their consterna-
tion by all possible measures.
Their course was identical with that pursued on
the former occasion. It was darker than on the pre-
vious night, owing no doubt to the curtain of
clouds that shut off even the friendly starlight.
Jethro, however, proved to be equal to his task,



226 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
back to some island like the depot at Bimini,
where another cargo could be taken on.
“But they mebbe might slip in some time to-
night,” Perk told himself, in deadly fear that they
were to have all their work for nothing, which
would certainly have been too bad, and must grieve
the honest fellow terribly.
As for Jack, he chanced to be thinking in quite
a different direction.
It began to grow somewhat monotonous, just
lying there and listening to what hilarious jokes
and slangy conversation passed between the rough
hired workers, smoking and drinking alongside the
comfortable fires.
It was now getting along toward midnight, and
they had been lying in that cramped condition for
several hours. Some of the men had thrown them-
selves down near the fires, as though to pick up
some sleep; but sagacious Jack noticed an air of
expectation among them as a whole, which assured
him they anticipated some fresh arrival, whether
from the air or the river of course he could not
say with certainty.
' Presently he did notice that two of men who
appeared to be leaders walked down to the crude
wharf, and seemed to be changing things around
as though preparing for coming shipments of con-
traband stufl‘.


228 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
livered their valuable load of wet goods in security,
they ran no risk of being seized by a revenue cut-
ter, or contraband-chaser, if dawn should find
them close off shore.
The two officers were sitting at a rough table
chatting with several of the leading smugglers,
and drinking something that looked like real cham-
pagne ; while the balance of the crew had mingled
with the campers, and seemed to be taking an hour
or so off.
Jack having kept close tabs on all that went on
felt confident there was not a single man aboard
the speedboat. His hoped for opportunity was at
hand, and no time must be lost.
So, having previously notified his mates what he
meant to attempt, he now left them, carrying some
small bundle along, the nature of which Perk un-
derstood very well since it was he himself who
had hooked up the fire bomb with the time-clock-
work that could be set for any minute necessary-—
and which was now arranged two hours ahead.
Jack soon found himself alongside the boat; and
watching his chance he slipped aboard. He was not
over five minutes at Work, when he again appeared
in the shadows alongside the rough wharf, from
whence he readily made the shore.
When he a little afterwards rejoined his com-
panions the order must have been given for the


THE LUCKLESS SPEEDBOAT 229
crew to get aboard, as the boat was scheduled to
take oif, perhaps to head for Charleston, or
Georgetown, to pick up needed supplies that were
regular, and not in the contraband class.
Those ashore gave their allies a round of cheers
before the vessel vanished down the stream—why
not when they surely had not anything to fear in
the line of discovery? Those sneaking Secret Serv-
ice agents had never bothered them seriously ever
since the headquarters rendezvous was stationed at
this hard to reach point on the twisting, turbulent
Yamasaw.
“We’ll hang out here for another hour and
more,” Jack whispered to his two backers. “I’m
hoping to pick up some more valuable points from
hearing the men chaffing one another—I’d give a
lot just to know where that radio sending and re-
ceiving station is located, as it would save us con-
siderable trouble in combing the entire coast of
South Carolina.”
“Yeah,” Perk was saying, oh! so softly—no one
hearing his customary manner of speech would
ever imagine he could modulate his voice so won-
derfully—“an’ I shore reckons we kin see the fine
light that’s laid aout for Fo’th o’ July celebration
on this late Fall night, jest as good up hyah as
daown thar.”
“A heap better, Wally,” Jack assured him.


230 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
The time passed tediously to active Perk. He had
listened eagerly as long as the sound of the work-
ing engines of the elegant speedboat could be heard
down the river; but by degrees they grew fainter,
until even keen-eared Perk was unable to place
them.
Long afterwards he drew the attention of his
mates to what seemed a queer illumination up in
the clouded heavens toward the southeast.
“Huh! kinder seems like sumpin’ might be agoin’
on over yonder, suh,” was what he said in Jack’s
ears; “which I has a most pow’ful notion has to do
with aour purty racin’ boat what’s more’n likely
kicked her heels at many a rev’nue cutter that
couldn’t close in on her nohaow.”
“You said it that time, Wally,” Jack assured
him, feeling a little thrill himself over the probable
success of his attempt at wiping out yet another
of those swift air and water vehicles engaged in
doing the transportation for the wholesale smug-
glers’ combination.
Some of those in the camp had by this time also
taken note of the tell-tale crimson stain on the low-
hanging clouds, for they began to watch it in
considerable surprise, as well as uneasiness. VVhat
had happened on the preceding night was only too
fresh in their minds for them to forget the un-
accountable nature of the disaster.


READY FOR ANOTHER BLOW 233
Jack knew there would be nothing doing on the
following night, since, even if the persistent clouds
did choose to disperse, the ground and bushes
would be much too well saturated for them to think
of crawling on hands or knees, or “snaking” it
along on their stomachs, so close to the hostile
camp—they must exercise their patience, and await
yet another twenty-four hours.
This long stretch of idleness was especially hard
on poor Perk. From the day of his birth he had al-
ways been a “doer,” and no shirk; so that when
compelled to just “loaf around sucking his
thumbs,” as he so eloquently described the situa-
tion, he felt absolutely dejected.
Indeed, there were times when Jack had to al-
most use force in the effort to compel his near pal to
“hold his horses,” and wait for the sky to clear up.
Perk grumbled, and incessantly poked his head out
of the cabin to ascertain if the expected break was
yet in sight.
So another night gathered its shades about
them; but they had seen the sun go down amidst a
generous flush, which welcome sign of fair weath-
er in the offing was accepted as most promising.
“Hot-diggetty-dig !” Perk was heard to say time
and time again, as he prepared the evening meal;
from which service he seemed to extract a meed of
comfort; “mebbe naow I aint joyful over the


READY FOR ANOTHER BLOW 235
should arise any hitch in the plan through want of
forethought on his part.
The start was made in complete darkness.
Jack found himself hoping that their luck might
stay by them for another spell; and that Jethro,
who up to that hour had done so exceptionally well,
might be able to keep up the good work.
It was bound to be a bit more difficult reaching
their former hiding place, for several good rea-
sons, Jack figured. In the first place the gloom that
wrapped such a cloak about them would cause their
guide additional trouble, in order to avoid coming
into rough collision with one of those ambushing
snags, or half concealed rocks.
Then again by this time they might expect the
suspicions of their enemies must have been more or
less awakened, making them more watchful, also
restless.
Probably those at the camp rendezvous may
have before then been informed concerning the
mysterious burning of the speedboat carrier of
contraband stuff, while on the way down the Ya-
masaw heading for the sea. That significant fact,
coupled with the destruction of the airship within
hand-throw of their campfires, would surely begin
to awaken certain fears to the extent that some
strange series of disasters had overtaken the long
run of luck they had been enjoying in landing


236 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
all their precious cargoes without a single break.
Jack noticed how their cracker guide kept on
his way at a slower speed, and he found himself
mentally commending this degree of caution. Evi-
dently Jethro too, was bent on making certain
nothing in the line of an upset to their game could
be laid at his door.
Just after they started the sound of a motor was
clearly heard, and somehow every head was im-
mediately lifted toward the heavens; for there
could not be any difficulty in realizing the racket
came from that quarter, making it clear an air-
ship was passing by.
“There she blows, mates !” Perk breathed, exult-
antly. “Things air aworkin’ agin in aour favor,
seems like. Go it, ole boy; we got yeour number,
and kin fix yeou aout right smart.”
“Lower your voice if you must speak, Wally,”
cautioned Jack, apprehensively, since there was
no knowing what the darkness concealed from
their eyes.
“But she’s amakin’ fo’ that same camp, I kinder
gu—reckon—aint she, Boss ?” continued the irre-
pressible Perk.
“To be sure,” Jack told him; “and now please
dry up, brother.”
The clatter died away, from which they fancied
the incoming ship must have made a successful


READY FOR ANOTHER BLOW 237
landing. In imagination Perk could vision what
was taking place—the eager workers picking up
whatever the pilots of the air carrier tossed out
of their spacious cabin, and possibly loading the
same on some waiting truck, or at least a speedy
automobile, functioned by a capable chauffeur,
who had interest in the stake.
Onward they continued, and all kept going well,
from which fact Jack figured that thus far the
smugglers had not deemed it essential to have vi-
dettes posted along the river, in order to keep tabs
on what might be going on.
To himself Jack was deciding that, should they
be fortunate enough to make way with yet another
cargo carrier on this present night, he would feel
it judicious to change his base of attack, and go
after that mysterious radio sending station, with-
out which the plans of the lawless crowd would be
just about “knocked on the head.”
“They must be depending absolutely on the in-
formation that passes between the mother ship and
the shore, to shape all these successful landings,”
was the way he mentally put it; “and once we put
the kibosh on that secret radio shop their hands will
be tied; so that the regular force of Coast Guards,
backed by the fast revenue cutters, and speedboats
taken over by the Government, will be able to keep
things down at a low ebb.”


238 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
Much depended on whether they would be able
to accomplish a third stroke, so as to complete the
perplexity, and awaken the concern of the smug-
glers. Jack felt tolerably certain that once they
had aroused a lively feeling bordering on fear
among those rough men, they would be apt to
magnify things, and fancy that the long arm of
the Law was reaching out with irresistible power,
to clutch them with remorseless tenacity, and start
them on the road to the penitentiary at Atlanta.-
That was his present goal——if only he might in-
stitute a reign of apprehension among them
the end would be in sight—from the beginning
this had taken its place in his mind as the main
object of his crusade; and so it meant a great deal
for them to hit again at the enemy without any
further delay.
Arriving at the place where the powerboat was
to be secreted they soon found themselves making
for the vicinity of the camp, the fires of which
served them as a target, such as pilots on a crooked
Florida river use in order to avoid pitfalls in the
shape of snags along their course.
When they were once more installed in their
customary shelter Perk saw with a feeling of vast
relief that sure enough another plane was in sight.


240 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
got to work fast for they’ll take off any time now.”
Jack having already about decided on their line
of action was not long in reaching a conclusion.
It was to be the turn of Jethro now—he had prom-
ised the other he should have his inning, under the
conviction that the guide had earned a right to
strike one good blow, so as to feel he had thus
avenged his family wrongs at the hands of John
Haddock. 
A hurried consultation in whispers followed.
Then Jethro backed away, with some object care-
fully tucked under an arm. When he was beyond
the range of their limited observation Jack
touched Perk on the arm.
“We’re moving our base, brother,” he told him
most cautiously. “Jethro has only a regular bomb
to set, and will have to scuttle out of that in some-
thing of a hurry. They may start a search, and
come this way; so we ought to be on our way to
the boat.”
“Shucks! naow aint that jest too bad—yeou’re
abreakin’ my heart, Boss—I shore did want to
see that ship smashed to flinders,” whispered the
chagrined Perk.
“We may yet—I know of another place further
back, where it’d be safe for us to stop, and .then
hurry off after it happens.”
In this fashion then did Jack smother the bud-


JETHRO TAKES A HAND 241
ding mutiny on Perk’s part; so they began their
retrograde movement, with all their senses on the
alert to avoid any hovering danger.
From all the indications Jack had already guess-
ed the smugglers were on nettles and pins con-
cerning the meaning of the late disasters that had
struck their hitherto smooth running machine—
they had been turning their heads this way and
that, as if uneasy, casting frequent anxious glances
toward the big and costly airship (that undoubt-
edly had only lately become a regular visitor at the
rendezvous camp), as if tempted to believe it too
might suddenly burst into flames, as though some
mysterious and powerful electrical ray were at
work, bringing destruction in its wake.
Arriving at the back refuge mentioned by ob-
serving Jack, they crouched down and waited for
whatever was fated to come to pass. Jack himself
felt a bit anxious, wondering whether it had been
a wise thing to allow inexperienced Jethro to
handle this last hazard—what if he managed to
make a mess of it in spite of his good intentions,
and all the teaching he, Jack, had given him? On
the other hand there was always a possibility that
some restless member of the gang suddenly decide
to step over, and see if everything was well with
the expensive addition to their air force—should
such an investigator run smack up against their
— ii - M


242 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
cracker guide in the act of setting his bomb, the
result might be a premature explosion that would
prove disasterous to poor Jethro, even though it
also destroyed the expensive ship.
Perk was holding his breath with eagerness,
only taking an occasional gulph when it became
absolutely necessary. Jack, too, admitted to feel-
ing his usually well trained nerves tingling with
mingled sensations as the minutes crept on and
nothing came to pass.
Then suddenly without the slightest warning it
happened—there was a most dazzling illumination,
very like a nearby flash of lightning, and accom-
panied by a frightful explosion that actually al-
most caused the two watchers to fall flat on their
backs.
They had a glimpse however, of a vast up-
heaval, as the new amphibian was cast up sky-
ward in fragments, even the weighty motors being
hurled aloft, to speedily come back to earth with
dreadful force. Every man in the camp had been
blown ofi’ his feet, and could be seen toppling in
all directions. -
Jack clutched Perk by the arm, and gave him
a tug which the other understood meant they must
cut for the boat with another instant’s delay.
The last thing they glimpsed was the various pros-
trate figures scrambling to their feet, and naturally


JETHRO TAKES A HAND 243
hurrying forward, risking being injured by the
still falling fragments of what had so recently
been a beautiful sample of the very latest up-to-
date cabin tri-motored passenger airship, spon-
sored, if Jack had guessed rightly, by one of the
foremost building corporations known to the world
of aviation.
They managed to arrive in safety at their goal,
and to Jack’s great relief found faithful Jethro
awaiting their coming, full to the brim with joy
over the consummation of his scheme for revenge
long since over-due.
The clamor from the camp was still at high ebb,
men shouting all manner of exciting things, as
they endeavored to recover their wits enough to
try and figure out what it could all mean.
Once upon the river and the fugitives began to
make some sort of speed. No longer did they feel
any necessity for using caution, save to avoid the
traps formed by those persistent snags, and other
obstructions to a safe passage. No one could over-
take them, thanks to the speed of the old recon-
structed powerboat, as well as the skill of its pilot;
and once they reached the hidingplace of their am-
phibian how easy for them to take to the air, leav-
ing Jethro’s boat where the plane had been hidden?
Then for the grand climax to their adventure—
finding the secret radio station, and sending it in


THE WIND-UP—CONCLUSION 247
to defy the elements that usually played such rough
pranks along this particular stretch of shore.
Some people of a romantic turn of mind even
said the old captain had lost his wife and daughter
in a wreck close by that very part of the coast,
which fact had been mainly instrumental in his‘
carrying out his queer conceit. After all, he had
really died there, being found lifeless by a party of
shipwrecked men who chanced to reach land at that
place, and anticipated being fed and warmed by
some genial light keeper, only to discover but a dead
man there. A nephew had seen to his burial,
stripped the “observatory” of everything of value,
and forsook all else. Now the tower was a near-
ruin, and in danger of toppling when some un-
usually severe gale swept the water over the sand
ridge, and against the “castle” wall.
When Perk glimpsed the object of their solici-
tude far away Jack brought his ship down on the
beach, and taxied back to where he had reason to
believe it would be safe from the highest tide.
Then they set out to stalk their intended prey,
keeping far enough back so as to avoid being de-
tected by any trained eyes from the room in the
top of the dead sea captain’s lone tower.
By noon they had gained enough distance to be
able to keep watch on the tower through means of
Perk’s glasses. They soon discovered signs of


248 FLYING THE COAST SKYWAYS
life about the place, which fact gratified them
greatly; surely no rational human being would
ever take up his abode in that ramshackle affair
unless he had some unusually important reason for
so doing, such was its inaccessibility, and lonesome
condition, there being not even duck shooting
available, while the fishing must be equally non est.
By one o’clock they were able to figure that there
were just two men in the tower, which reckoning
allowed the formation of a concrete plan of action.
It appeared that just one of these fellows was
on duty at a time, the other apparently being free
to wander ofif, if the notion struck him. Possibly,
too, most of their work came along after night
had set in, since business picked up at that hour.
“The next time either one steps out to take a
little saunter I’ll follow in a roundabout way, and
nab him when he isn’t dreaming of danger. After
I’ve stopped him from giving the alarm, and put-
ting his mate on guard I’ll give a signal for you
lads to swing around and approach the junk-shop
by keeping hidden behind that sand hill. Once I
get my foot on the steps leading up inside the
tower it’ll be all over but the shouting. Soak that
in, both of you boys?”
Which they said they would; and so Jack a little
later on, crept ofl, exercising great care as he
picked up his duty to keep hidden from those look-


THE WIND-UP—CONCLUSION 249
out windows at the summit of the said tower.
He managed to take up a position where it was
most likely the walker would pass close by, and
there he stood, sheltered from view. The chap was
amazingly stunned to have something thrust him
in the back, and to hear a stern voice say:
“Not a single word or you’re a dead man! We’ve
got the tower surrounded, even if you don’t see
my men; and the game is played out. You’re under
arrest for sending out illegal radio calls that are
in the interest of coast smugglers and other crim-
inal parties. Silence now, or I’ll crack you over
the head.”
It was almost what Perk would call a “picnic,
things fell into their hands so easily. Having bound
and gagged his prisoner Jack made his way back to
a point close to the leaning tower, when he gave
the promised signal; and was speedily joined by
his two mates.
After that they all three went cautiously up the
winding stairs, and suddenly took the remaining
radio man by surprise, by covering him with three
guns, and cowing him in the bargain. Realizing
that the game was queered he did not dare take
desperate chances by putting up any resistance;
simply grinning, and holding out his hands for
Jack to slip the bracelets over his wrists.
“Now,” explained Jack, “the only thing we want











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Newcomb, Ambrose
Flying the coast skyways,
or, Jack Ra1ston's swift [
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In selecting the books of this series we, as publishe
tried to present a varied assortment, which will 1
imaginations of all boys. At the same time we ha
these stories from being nerve-wreckers.
HERMAN M. APPEL
Secret of the Flambeau, The.
WALTER Burrs, JR.
Brothers of the Senecas.
GRAHAM M. DEAN
Agent Nine and the Jewel Mystery.
A en t Nine Solves His First Case.
E
Circle 4 Patrol.
During Wings.
Herb Kent, West Point Cadet.
Herb Kent, West Point Full Back.
Slim Evans and His Horse “Light-
ning.”
Treasure Hunt of the S-18.
EDWIN GREEN '
Air Monster.
Secret Flight.
WILLIAM HEYLIGER
Big Leagner.
Detectives. Inc.
Fighting Blood.
Lnser’s End, The.
NoRroN H. JQNATHAN
Dan Hyland, Police Reporter.
G1LRt:Rr A. LATHROP
Whispering. Rails.
Mystery Rides the Rails.
Gsoncs Monsr.
Crcus Dan.
7 \lt£t.
‘\:
i-hitjg Liner

AMBROSE NEwco
Eagles of the Sky.
Flying the Coast Sky W
Sky Detectives.
Trackers of the Fog Pal
WARREN F. Romr
“G” Man’s Son, The
“G” Man’s Son, at Porpo
Phantom Whale, The.
IJEUT. NOEL SA1Nsr
Bill Bolton and the Fly
Bill Bolton, Flying Mid
Bill Bolton and Hidden
Bill Bolton and Winged I
HARoLn M. Sum
Captain of the Eleven.
Down the Ice.
Interference.
In Wrong Right.
It’s A Pass.
Over the Line.
Strike Him Out.
Tahara, Among African
Tahara, Boy King of t
Tahara, Boy Mystic of
Tahara, in the Land of
Under the Basket.
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Books for Boys



GEoRcE MoRsE
In selecting the hooks of this series we, as publishers, have
tried to present a varied assortment, which will stir the
imaginations of all boys. At the same time we have kept
these stories from being nerve-Wreckers.
HERMAN M. APPEL
Secret of the Flambeau, The.
WALTER Burrs, JR.
Brothers of the Senecas.
GRAHAM M. DEAN
Agent Nine and the Jewel Mystery
Agent Nine Solves His First Case
Circle 4 Patrol.
During Wings.
Herb Kent, West Point Cadet.
Herb Kent, West Point Full Back
Slim Evans and His Horse “Light-
ning.”
Treasure Hunt of the S-18.
EDWIN GREEN
Air Monster.
Secret Flight.
WILLIAM HEYLIGER
Big Leaguer.
Detectives, Inc.
Fighting Blood.
Loser’s End, The.
NoRToN H. JONATHAN
Dan Hyland, Police Reporter.
GILBERT A. LATHROP
Whispering. Rails.
Mystery Rides the Rails.
Circus Dan.
L \-tra.
'mishilgg Liner
J
,. ' Q ' ?~'
“I illinl|||lI'"lii‘i..|anllliillliiIlwn
AMBROSE NEwcoMB
Eagles of the Sky.
Flying the Coast Sky Ways.
Sky Detectives.
Trackers of the Fog Pack.
WARREN F. RoRINs0N
“G” Man’s Son, The
“C” Man’s Son, at Porpoise Island
Phantom Whale, The.
LIEuT. NoEL SAINsBURY, .lR.
Bill Bolton and the Flying Fish.
Bill Bolton, Flying Midshipman.
Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger.
Bill Bolton and Winged Cartwheels
HARoLn M. SHERMAN
Captain of the Eleven.
Down the Ice.
Interference.
In Wrong Right.
It’s A Pass.
Over the Line.
Strike Him Out.
Tahara, Among African Tribes.
Tahara, Boy King of the Desert.
Tahara, Boy Mystic of India.
Tahara, in the Land of Yucatan
Under the Basket.