CHAPTER XXVII
AT BAY
Jack had been keeping a watchful eye on the nearby shack, not knowingwhat moment a raging figure might come dashing forth armed with arapid-fire gun and ready to sweep up the earth with the mangled bodiesof himself and Perk.
Somewhat to his surprise, and greatly to his relief as well, nothing ofthe kind came to pass. Suddenly he realized that the door of the squattylittle coquina rock building had been closed, for no longer did thelight spread a banner out into the black night.
"Drag him back of the well here, Perk," he said softly, "we've got tomake certain he'll give us no further trouble. Got that piece of stoutrope I gave you?"
"Right here, partner--wrapped around my waist," and as he thus managedto make himself heard, even while so short of breath, Perk caught holdof the nearest leg of his late antagonist and without the least ceremonydragged the senseless man several feet just as he might a bag ofmeal--when head-over-heels in a real scrap Perk counted his opponents asso much junk whose fate it was to be handled without ceremony and yetafter the row was over, no one could be more solicitous about binding uptheir hurts than Gabe Perkiser.
"Use the rope to fasten his ankles together," advised Jack, standingguard meanwhile with his automatic ready for business and his keen eyesroving around in search of signs along the trouble line, "and knot ithalf a dozen times so it would take a knife blade to get free."
"All done up brown and slick, Jack old hoss, now what?" announced Perk aminute or so later.
"Clap that new pair of bracelets on his wrists," further explained thehead pilot briskly, "and be sure to frisk him for a gat or even a knife.You see, we're going to have our hands full with the boss and can't foolaround with this chap any longer."
"His name is Mud!" scornfully declared Perk briskly as he completed histask with the manner of one to whom it had become an old story.
The fellow, it seemed, had recovered his senses for he tried to bitePerk's hand and received a solid thump on the head for his pains.
"So far, good," Jack was saying, half to himself. "Now let's move alongto the house and make sure our bird hasn't skipped out while we were sobusy at the well here. Got all the drink you want, Perk--we can't becoming back every little while just to wet your long neck!"
"It's okay with me, boy, let's go," the other announced with a chuckle.
Leaving their prisoner lying there they started an advance on the shack.Both eyed it carefully as they crept along and it was Perk who noticedthe first favorable sign.
"Door's shut, partner, but the light's still on--you c'n lamp a streakdown near the sill, think he's on deck yet--ain't cut an' run like ablue streak?"
"We'll soon find out," Jack assured him. "'Twouldn't be like a guy withhis reputation as a scrapper to clear out so quick. I'm wonderingwhether he's fixing up some hot reception for us when we break in."
"Hot ziggetty! that is sure some rummy scrap," Perk muttered as he keptclose tabs on the shack now close by as though he more than halfanticipated seeing it suddenly burst into flames, or go up in fragmentsunder the influence of an explosion.
Now they had reached the door and Jack made a slight effort to open it,but with no success.
"No use," he whispered to his kneeling mate, "it's got the bar down inplace. Listen and see if you can catch a sound from inside."
A minute passed with both straining their hearing to the utmost--Perkeven laid his head against the closed door so as to better catch anysuspicious sound from within.
"Huh! guess they ain't nothin' doin', partner," he hissed in adisappointed tone, "thought I did get a little ruslin' sound, like paperbein' crumpled up when you're a'makin' a fire, but don't hear it nolonger."
"Paper, you say?" snapped Jack uneasily, "I don't like that any toomuch."
"Why not?" asked the other, evidently at a loss to understand why such asimple little thing like that could annoy any one--what if the man atbay figured on setting fire to the hidden little retreat he had arrangedhere close to the lonely lake where he could slip away whenever he feltlike shunning those society people over at crowded Miami--he surely hadno intention of cremating himself and they could nab him if he startedto make off.
"Paper--don't you know what he was doing when we peeped in--that bookought to be worth its weight in gold to us as evidence and that stack ofpapers that he was looking through--if he's given enough time he may puta match to the bunch and destroy everything that could be used againsthim. We've got to keep him from doing that, brother."
"Yeah--but how?" gasped the other, showing renewed signs of excitementas he visioned the holocaust with their fine plans going up in fire andsmoke just when they seemed about to corral success.
Jack answered that question by striking the door with his foot, theresult being a loud thump. Then he caught hold of his chum and draggedhim to one side. None too soon was this done, for there came a series ofstaccato explosions from inside the shack and tiny gleams of light invarious sections of the door told that bullets had passed through thewood in a number of places. Only for this prompt action on the part ofthe cautious one, either or both might have had leaden pellets lodgedpromiscuously about their persons with resultant painful sensations.
"Wow! that was what I'd call a close shave," whispered the kneeling Perkas he surveyed those suspicious holes in the badly riddled door, all ona line with any crouching human figure without.
There could no longer be any doubt as to the warlike intentions of theman they had at bay, his fighting spirit, first fed during those bloodydays and nights in the Argonne, had burst into flame again and he shedhis free and easy character as the lord of that wonderful palace atMiami to assume the rough and ready type of an adventure-loving smugglerchief, quick to defy all authority while the red blood rioted in hisveins.
"We've just got to keep him on the jump," Jack was saying, "so's tooccupy his attention and keep him from putting a match to those papersand that priceless account book with its addresses. Here, find a way toget in a smash or two on the door, like we meant to break in--I'll sliparound and see what can be done at the window."
"Jack, I 'member there's a log a'lyin' right over there--why couldn't Iuse that an' really break through?"
"Too dangerous, buddy--he'd turn that terror of a machine-gun on andwipe us off the map. Do what I'm telling you, only keep back so he can'tget you when he shoots again."
"Just watch my smoke," grunted Perk, stooping to feel around for someobject that could be made available for the purpose of a door knocker.
"Wait," he heard the other saying as he was starting to move off."Here's a little pile of rocks--pick up one and toss it on the roof ofthe shack--make him think we're climbing up, meaning to break in thatway--anything to keep him so busy dodging and firing he'll have no timeto start that blaze."
Perk grasped the main idea, which was to fight for time--given even halfa chance, he knew his pal would find some way to accomplish the end hehad in view which was to take Kearns a prisoner with enough positiveevidence of his guilt to convict him when placed on trial in a Federalcourt.
Hastily then did Perk scramble for the rocks mentioned by hiscompanion--it was much too dark for him to see where they lay, but heused his common sense with such signal success that almost immediatelyhe found what he sought.
To toss up a good-sized rock with such vim that it came down on the roofwith a loud bang was the work of a few seconds. Hardly had the crashsounded than Perk had another missile on its way and as long as the pileheld out he meant to keep up a continual fusillade that would have theman inside guessing.
Eagles of the Sky; Or, With Jack Ralston Along the Air Lanes Page 27
