“You said it, Jack,” acceded the lanky one, always eager for any sort of service; “an’ by the same token now I’ll tote my gun along—never c’n tell what sorter game you’ll stack up against on these here Texas plains, I’m told. I feel like I could knock over a wolf er two, just to get my blood to movin’ at a faster clip—how ’bout it, boss?”
“Suit yourself, Perk,” he was told, as Jack climbed back into the cockpit so as to manipulate the light he mentioned, and which would prove sufficient to serve the wanderer as a beacon when wishing to retrace his steps.
Accordingly Perk wandered off, having decided as to the quarter where he had glimpsed what looked like an old and lonely shack or cabin, faintly seen in the moonlight.
He came back in a short time, bubbling over with satisfaction.
“It’s all right, Jack—just like I guessed, it turned out to be an ownerless shack but the roof looks like it might’ve shed the rain, an’ oh! boy! heaps o’ dry wood inside, with a whoppin’ big fireplace where you could slap on the biggest log agoin’. Mebbe I ain’t glad you thought o’ this game. Come along, an’ we’ll fetch the stuff for a warm snack—coffee, crackers, an’ bacon in the bargain. Talk to me about luck, it’s comin’ to us in big chunks.”
“Oh! we’ve got to get used to that sort of thing,” said Jack, in the most matter-of-fact tone imaginable; “when you’re on such a wonderful lay as this anything’s likely to happen, and all kinds of surprises spring out at you.”
“I wonder,” was all Perk could say in reply; but he lost no time in gathering together such articles as aluminum coffeepot, skillet, cups, and such other things as he knew would be needed to complete their little midnight spread.
“I reckon it’s safe for us to leave our crate off here,” remarked the cautious Jack, “but I’ll fix things so no busybody can take-off while we’re away,” which he did without any trouble; after which they both set out to move along to the deserted shack Perk had located, lying right there, just as if a favoring Fate had designed it for their especial benefit in an emergency, as the grateful Perk told himself.
Arriving at the humble shack, that once may have housed a happy family in days that were gone, they made use of Jack’s electric torch in order to gather some dry splinters of wood, which, heaped above some paper on the open hearth, soon blazed up, and afforded them an opportunity to take a look around.
Other fuel more lasting was hurriedly added to the fire, and this done the two air adventurers took stock of their surroundings. There was nothing much to see, since the shack happened to be entirely devoid of any kind of furniture, even of the most primitive make; but the roof had stood the ravages of time, and promised to hold out for years still to come.