“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 otherwise. You get the point, don’t you, Wally, boy?”
“Hot-diggetty-dig! jest what I do, suh; queer I never reckoned on haow we’d be able to dodge ’raound in sech crazy places, if left to aourselves. Gwine to have a reg’lar pilot—woods guide fo’ swamp flittin’, I’d call the same! Good enough, I say—caint be too many quirks set up fo’ knockin’ them dead game sports silly, to please me. As it is we gotter to be workin’ with four hands each, if we hopes to climb ’em fo’ keeps.”
“I’ll tell you more about this same Jethro Hicks when I get further word through our good friend, who’s as interested in the success of our deal as we are ourselves—says he has it on his mind sleeping and waking, which pleases me a whole lot. Come, let’s be on the move, partner; the chariot awaits us.”
“Then we’ll git aboard an’ start right away, after I’ve laid in a few provisions that may keep the hungry wolf from aour door this very night. Let’s go!”
Half an hour afterward and they were on their way out to the aviation field in a convenient taxi; where in short order their big amphibian, properly serviced by the field force, was ready for the take-off.
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 off; and the regular attendants already understood 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 “ambidextrous”—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.
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.