Jack picked up the glasses, and handed them to the other.
“You’re a vidette on the lookout this morning, buddy,” he explained. “Up in our old place you’ll keep watch on the valley, to note everything that takes place, so you can pass it along to me. Keep your eye particularly on those two figures whenever they’re in sight—Slippery Slim Garrabrant and the cook, whom I believe to be Simeon Balderson, a prisoner.”
“Consider it done, ole hoss,” Perk went on to say, firmly. “Yeou’ll sure git a report o’ all the doin’s when we meet agin. Anyways I got a purty good mem’ry, if I am short o’ some things.”
“When noon comes by the sun, make your way back to the entrance of our cave, where I’ll be waiting with my flashlight to fetch you in here. In the afternoon, possibly both of us will go on guard up above.”
“I notices, Jack, as haow yeou allers say down here when yeou mentions this cave; haow do yeou make that aout, partner?”
“It’s simple enough, Perk, if you stop to remember how we kept descending more or less all the way from where we entered by means of that split in the rocks.”
Perk wagged his head as if to acknowledge that was something absolutely true, even though he himself had not previously noted the fact.
“Partner, if so be it’s jest the same to yeou, may I ask what line yeou goin’ to foller while I’m on sentry duty—I likes to be posted, that’s all?”
“Which is perfectly all right, Perk; and I’ll just say I expect to look around here a bit, and find out a few things that have struck me as possible, even if hardly probable. I’ll give you the gist of what success I have in my prowling around when we are taking a snack at noon.”
“I git yeou, Jack, an’ it’s all to the good with me every time.”