Perk might have expected to hear him say what he did, since from long experience he was fully acquainted with his pal’s methods of carrying out his business calls. Perk also knew quite well that he could never claim to be such a Spartan, since the “fleshpots of Egypt” usually tempted him to take precedence, when it became a matter of choice between them.
Long and earnestly did Jack examine the ground below. He had given Perk instructions to make several long dips, each time flattening out again on a level keel; and during all this time he was engaged in staring through the magical lens that brought far distant objects so close he could even distinguish the character of the bark on such trees as came under his observation.
At such times as they were moving on the level Perk managed to also scan the scene below them. They had by now greatly reduced their distance from the rugged landscape, being not more than something like five thousand feet aloft; but stare as he might Perk, even with his keen vision, was unable to discover a single moving object—it was as if they owned the whole world for the time being—a weird sensation that rather awed imaginative Perk.
About this time the one at the controls saw his companion keeping the glasses focussed on a certain point, as though he might have discovered something encouraging there—possibly an upstanding object such as had been noted on that invaluable if crude penciled map.
“Hot-diggetty-dig!” Perk muttered to himself, as he felt his pulses quicken once more, “don’t I jest hope he’s struck ile—run acrost some piled-up crags that might a served Simeon as a good marker. But great snakes! heow air we agoin’ to drop daown anywhere when there aint nary a sign o’ level ground as big as my red neckerchief; an’ us a wantin’ a stretch a hundred feet, long—as much more as we kin find?”
So he tried to keep still while waiting to hear anything of interest Jack might have to report. Most certainly the other must have made some sort of discovery, or believed he had at least; for he continued to scrutinize that particular section of the rocky ground just ahead in a way that looked promising to his anxious partner.
Finally Jack lowered the binoculars, with Perk watching his face as if hoping to read good news reflected there.
“No doubt about it, I’m glad to tell you, Perk,” Jack was saying; and if there was a trifling vein of relief in his voice one could hardly wonder at such a thing, after their just passing such a wretched night, and flying blind through the long hours, with but faint prospects of striking their goal when the coming of dawn allowed of an observation.
“Hey! does that mean yeou got a squint o’ somethin’ worth while, partner?” cried Perk, solicitously.
“Just what it does,” the other assured him. “Swing around in a circle, and I’ll let you have a look for yourself, buddy.”