“Huh! couldn’t a done it any better myself,” remarked Perk, making a wry face as though to tell his pal to interpret those words in the light of a joke which circumstances did not bother Jack in the least. He had a high estimation of his comrade’s abilities and pluck and rather fancied Perk might be a bit better than himself in some things connected with flying. No ace is such a complete master of his calling that he has no rival worthy of the name.
“Well, we’re down, seems like,” ventured Perk after taking a survey all around the wonderful little body of sparkling icy water where they had so miraculously dropped from near the clouds.
“That part is attended to, and sooner than I had figured,” stated Jack with a shrug of his shoulders that spoke volumes.
“Say, was you meanin’ to pick out one o’ these lakes for a campin’ place tonight, eh, ol’ hoss?” demanded Perk, “’cause I had it all fixed to coax you to do that thing. Kinder hankerin’ some for a layout ashore, where we c’n have a cookin’ fire, an’ stretch our legs as we feel like.”
Jack nodded in the affirmative.
“I had that all arranged in my mind, partner,” he admitted, “but from the way things turned out, the ship didn’t mean to wait on my pleasure. You’d think she had fallen in love with this special body of water, from the hurry she was in to make it. Just the same we got off mighty lucky, boy.”
“Sure did, Jack, and now the next question is, can we hop off from here when the right time comes along?”
“No trouble about that, I reckon,” replied Jack after a quick glance around. “These steep mountains shut things in kind of tight but just remember, brother, that these are not the old days, when ships needed a half mile down-grade runway so’s to get up enough speed to be lifted from the ground and the same goes for an amphibian or seaplane.”
“Hot ziggetty dog! guess you must mean the notched wings, eh, partner?” blurted out Perk.
“Just so, and I calculate I can take her out of this hole in the mountains as slick as grease,—when we’re ready to get busy,” was Jack’s superbly confident declaration, said not as a boast, but with the calm assurance of one who knew what he was talking about.