Perk held out his chilled hands to the blaze but only for a few minutes; apparently the possibility of brewing some “nectar” was an overpowering temptation, for presently he started to work.
In short order he had the steam coming out of the coffee pot spout, and a most delightful odor permeated the interior of that ancient shack. When the coffee was ready, Perk poured some of the amber fluid in both aluminum cups, and offered Jack one, together with a freshly opened carton of tempting crackers.
“Goes right to the spot,” the self-made chef observed, rubbing a hand across his stomach, as though experiencing the most blissful sensation there; “best coffee I ever tasted, barrin’ none, an’ say, I’ve tried it a good many places like France and Germany, as well as in Turkey too.”
“Same here,” Jack assured him, as he drained his first cup. “By the way, didn’t you say you’d fetched some bacon along over here?”
“Jest what I did, partner, an’ now I’ve had my fust swaller o’ coffee I’ll get a move on an’ soon have some o’ the same asizzlin’ in the pan.”
He started to carry out his words, with the interested Jack watching his efforts to try and make the frying pan set evenly on the fire, a feat that requires considerable knowledge of camp tactics in order to be successful. After one near spill, with Perk only saving an upset by quick work, Jack modestly broke in to give a bit of advice, not forgetting, however, that old saying about “too many cooks spoil the broth.”
“Too hot to keep hold of the handle looks like, partner; now if only we were outdoors we might find stones enough to form some sort of foundation on three sides of the fire, where you could rest your pan. Hold on, here’s this old hearth that was made of some kind of Mexican bricks—adobe they call them and it looks to me like some of ’em might be loose. Here, I’ll manage to pry a few up for you, Perk, old man—just hold—your—horses and——”
Jack did not finish his sentence, and the cook, glancing up to see what ailed him, found his pal holding the first adobe in an uplifted hand, while he was himself staring hard into the cavity from which it had come, as if he saw something wonderfully fascinating there!
CHAPTER XIX
FORTUNE KNOCKS AT THE DOOR
“I swan! what’s the matter, partner—my sakes; is it a rattler you uncovered, I wanter know?”