Perk followed these directions out, and continued to watch the other as a terrier might hover over a hole in the kitchen wall, from which he expected a rat to thrust out his nose at any second.
Jack took a little more time than he had reckoned on; but, being expert at reading the secret cipher code adopted by the Government, in the end he had mastered the entire contents of the letter of instructions.
“Pull over this way a little, partner,” he told the feverishly waiting Perk. “I want to lower my voice while explaining what it’s all about; and we just can’t be too careful, since walls sometimes have ears especially in this day of the hidden dictograph. To begin with,” he went on to add, “we seem to have guessed fairly well that it was bound to have some connection with the smuggling business along the Atlantic seaboard, between Norfolk and Savannah.”
Perk’s grin was enormous at hearing this.
“Didn’t I jest know that’d be aour job?” he chuckled, evidently vastly pleased at having “hit the target in the bull’s eye.” “Ever since we carried on so well daown in Floridy along back, I been ’spectin’ Unc. Sam’d root out same kinder game fur us to get busy on onct more.”
“But this promises to be the biggest adventure we’ve ever tackled, bar none, brother,” Jack proceeded to explain. “This letter goes on to tell what an enormous amount of unlawful stuff is being flooded on the country through a powerful syndicate that’s said to be backed by some heavy unknown parties with unlimited capital at their control. Ours is going to be the task of finding out who they are; and likewise throwing a monkey-wrench into the smoothly running machinery by which they have been cheating the Government revenue right along, getting bolder and bolder, so that they virtually snap their fingers under Uncle Sam’s nose.”
“Gee! that sounds fine to me, ole hoss,” gurgled Perk, rubbing his hands vigorously together as he spoke. “I jest kinder allers did yearn to tackle things sech as had a tough reputation behind ’em. Course there’s been a wheen o’ customs men atryin’ to squash this combine—it’s allers thataways, seems like!”
“Yes, looks as if the whole business is running true to form, brother,” Jack further admitted. “The Chief candidly tells me they have been laying all sorts of clever traps for many moons, only to have these skip-by-night lads give them the laugh. He hopes we’ll meet up with better luck.”
“If so be it’s a fair question, partner, haow do they reckon this traffic she’s bein’ kerried on, to slip by the fast customs patrol boats an’ land the cargoes safe an’ sound?”
“That’s where the crux of the whole affair seems to come in,” Jack thrilled the other by saying. “A few craft from Bimini have been overhauled, and seized, though as a rule the crew always managed to slip away, jumping overboard close in among the reeds, and disappearing in the brush along the river bank. But these occasional seizures never made even a dent in the immense operations, the Chief admits.”