“Well, get a move on you, Perk, and let’s have the story of your fight–did he drop down, and have it out with you on the water; or was he circling above your head all the while?”
“If you’ll take another squint at these bullet marks, old hoss,” said Perk, reproachfully, “you’ll see they passed along on the level. Yeah, he was a square shooter I want to say and some day I’m hopin’ me’n Oscar c’n shake hands, since the war’s long past an’ German is being taught again in our public schools.”
Then he launched forth in a graphic, if terse, description of the remarkable battle that had so recently taken place. The others listened with intense interest, for if Perk did have a way of cutting his sentences short and never going into lengthy descriptions, nevertheless he made his points tell, and kept his audience of three breathing fast with the thrill they received.
“Now let’s get a move on,” Jack was saying after Perk had finished the exciting description of his adventure, “and go over all this mess of cases, so these boys can give us a little document to say how we turned over that number of boxes to their charge, together with the sloop. McGrath here used to run the engine of a tug in New York harbor and is well able to manage this rusty cub here–we found it capable of doing a day’s work, you know Perk, on the way here.”
Jack’s word was law, since he was in command. Accordingly they started a systematic check of every case of bottled goods to be found aboard the confiscated vessel, above and below decks.
“Just an even two hundred and twenty-six,” announced Jack, after they had gone over the entire lot twice with the same result. “I reckon a few got away aboard that speedboat but they didn’t have much time to work the racket before the hijacker mob swarmed aboard and kicked up that riot–then along came Perk, with his armful of tear-bombs and broke up the Boston tea party in great shape. I’ll make out a paper for both of you to sign, after which you can kick-off when you please.”
All this was satisfactory to McGrath and his comrade and the paper having been duly signed, they set about examining the engine so as to learn whether it could have been injured in any way from the storm of missiles that came aboard during the hostilities so lately ended.
“The bally old thing seems to be in fairly decent shape for running,” was McGrath’s verdict after the checking had been completed, “and since we’ve got some distance to cover before we make Tampa Bay, p’raps we’d better be shoving off.”
“No such big hurry as that, boys,” observed Jack. “I’m a bit hungry myself and reckon you both must be in the same boat. We’ve got plenty of grub, and to spare, also Perk here knows a few wrinkles along the cooking line. Suppose we have some sort of spread to celebrate Perk’s victory.”
“Huh! pleases me okay, brother,” announced the expectant chef. “I’ve run across a little rusty kerosene burnin’ stove here in what I’d call the cook’s galley, an’ we might as well have some hot coffee with the eats.”