Jack chuckled, for he had noticed the quick and significant glance his comrade shot across the cavern toward that yawning opening marking the tunnel-like passage Perk had held in such suspicion just before they wrapped up in their blankets and sought forgetfulness of their troubles.
Just the same Jack did not undertake to explain what he had in mind; it was his usual habit to make his investigations first, and follow up with explanations afterwards, when he had figured things out, and proven his point sound.
He convoyed Perk close to the opening where the fissure split the rocky wall—here after a laconic “so-long” they separated, and Jack retraced his way back along the winding passage.
Perk again climbed the hill until he was able to creep back of those friendly scrub bushes. Here he could lie flat on his stomach, and cautiously survey pretty much all of the wonderful valley spread out before him like a genuine panorama.
Thus he spent all of the morning, occasionally changing his position when finding that his limbs were becoming more or less cramped. During this time Perk was busily storing his mind with dozens of incidental happenings down in the camp of the fugitive criminals, banded together for preying on the forces of law and order, which they held in contempt in carrying out their occasional forays, with defenceless banks, or unprotected trains carrying United States registered-mail sacks, as the objects of their special regard.
He thus saw the outlaws’ patched-up airplane make an ascent, and head off toward the southeast, rising to pass over the lofty peaks lying in that general direction many miles distant.
“Kinder guess as haow Jack he’ll be some int’rested in what I kin tell him ’bout the little cargo they stored in the crazy ole cabin o’ thet crate, all right,” Perk was muttering to himself, while he watched the ship growing less and less distinct, as it soared through a fleecy cloud, and began to look very much like some distant buzzard, or vulture. “’Less I’m way off in my figgerin’ them three packages might a been the last printin’ o’ bogus bank notes they was asendin’ aout to ther agents in some cities daown Texas way. Didn’t I read in the papers on’y a short time ago, that there never was knowed to be sech a raft o’ bad money in the country ’long the Rio Grande; an’ sech good imitations o’ Uncle Sam’s genu-ine currency it faized the bank tellers to pick it aout. ’Baout time I’d say we got busy, an’ stopped up the hole in the dam, ’fore the hull kentry was flooded with the stuff.”
He knew when it was getting close to noon by the clamor arising down where he lived, and after that kept a close watch on the glowing sun. Finally, when the time seemed fully ripe, Perk started to creep away, arriving promptly at the fissure, to have Jack show himself, and beckon him to come on in.
Back in the central cavern they built a little fire, in order to save the precious battery of Jack’s hand-torch; and seated close together proceeded to again lower the stock of eatables.
“By close economy we ought to have enough grub to carry us through a couple of days after this one,” Jack observed, while they were munching what was intended to be a mere lunch; Perk announcing his intention of doing a little cooking at their later evening meal, he having fetched along a pound of sliced bacon, a few raw potatoes, and some onions, to which latter he admitted being very partial.