“We’re about due for a landing, Perk,” finally announced the pilot, after he had used the glasses for a spell, and again took over the stick.
“Huh! some hike that’s agoin’ to be, I’d say, old hoss,” grunted Perk; “but I guess it can’t be helped—got to take the bitter with the sweet lots o’ times—the way o’ the world, seems like. Go to it then, boss; if anybody c’n make a safe landin’ by moonlight it’s jest you!”
His confidence was not misplaced, as Jack proved when he brought the ship down in as perfect a three-point drop as the best of aces could have carried out.
“She’ll have to lie here till we need her again,” he observed, on climbing out of his confined quarters, and stretching his cramped legs after the manner of air mail pilots in from a long and irksome run.
Perk stared around him—they were on the sandy desert without a doubt, and off toward the east could be seen the dim crests of the high and ragged peaks comprising the main ridges of the Sierra Madres—old-time home of the fierce Yaqui Indians, whom the soldiers of Mexico had for so many years labored so hard and in vain to conquer; nor was it until the day the airplane came along that they were able to accomplish this much to be desired end.
But now other equally annoying thorns in the flesh had made a hideout of those same inaccessible mountains—defeated aspirants for the presidency of the Republic, always generals, took to gathering groups of malcontents and mercenary adventurers in these mountain depths, defying the troops sent to rout them out, and proving the latest source of trouble in the political problems of the authorities.
Jack soon completed his preparations for abandoning their ship. He looked it all over, to satisfy himself its camouflage would prevent it from being sighted by any air pilot chancing to pass overhead at a reasonable altitude then he gathered a few articles, the possession of which might turn out to be of value when it came to closing the mouth of the bag and finally announced himself as ready to make a move.
“Got all you wanted, Perk?” he inquired, incidentally, for he had reason to feel certain such was the case.
“Yeah! from the binoculars an’ my rifle, down to what’s left o’ the eats,” the other assured him. “Guess we’ll get along somehow or other.”
“Oh! don’t bother your head about the grub part, comrade; I’m carrying a small packet with me that holds enough to keep two men alive for a whole week—all we’ll have to do is to run across some sort of spring, where we can get all the drinking water we’ll need, while we wait for the wagon.”