“Who cares?” sang out Perk, gaily enough. “I worked in a boiler factory in my salad days an’ got used to all kinds o’ rackets. Nary a drop o’ rain gets in here, you notice comrade, thanks to the swell cabin we’ve got over our heads. Huh! how many times have I gone through big storms in the open cockpit o’ an old-fashioned crate. Been bombarded too aplenty by half a hundred big guns, with shells bursting every-which-way around. Seems like a feller c’n git used to near anything if on’y he runs up against it often enough.”
“Snug as two bugs in a rug,” agreed Jack lightly. “Here we’ll stick it out tonight and go on after morning breaks—no hurry, remember, brother—just take things as they come along and keep in trim for the big push later on.”
“That’s the ticket, Jack, boy—it sure wins out in the end—no blunders, jest every move carried out like machine work an’ we’re sure to come in smilin’ at the windup.”
Later on there was a little letup in the violence of the storm and Perk even felt encouraged enough to predict that the worst was over with possibly a nice, peaceful night’s rest ahead.
This, however, proved to be a false deduction on his part for once again the thunder rose to a deafening pitch, with a wind of such velocity that Jack himself felt a little uneasiness, not on account of his own security, but because of the great damage he fancied the surrounding country would suffer in consequence of wind and flood.
“Danged if the ol’ thing ain’t turned turtle on us an’ got started on the back track agin!” complained the humbled Perk. “What I know ’bout weather you could stick in a thimble!”
“But you’re wrong when you say it’s backed upon us,” Jack told him pointedly, “for the wind is still coming from the same old quarter, this is only another section of the same old storm.”
“Huh! running this train in sections are they?” continued the disgusted Perk, “wall, I on’y hope they ain’t too many more parts to the contraption—I’ve seen quite enough a’ready.”
Having finished their supper they made themselves as comfortable as the conditions allowed. Jack got to figuring, as usual, for he was a great hand at laying out his plans in black and white for reference when the time for action arrived. Perk was poring over some clippings he had picked up at some time or other and which appeared to be of special interest to him.
It was indeed a most eccentric storm, now waning and giving promise of expiring, anon picking up again and squeezing out considerable more water to help finish the flooding of the earth.