“Huh, if I wasn’t jest thinkin’ that way myself partner,” Perk declared, thus showing that it was a case of “me too.”
They kept on climbing, although neither could discover much difference in that miserable opaque blanket. It began to grow much colder too, although they managed to don some heavier coats which would keep them from feeling the change in weather conditions to any extent.
“Don’t seem to be much use I guess Perk, in all my experience I can’t say I ever ran across a fog that expended such a distance above the earth. Most times you can get out of the ditch by climbing, but here we are at a thirteen thousand foot ceiling and it’s as black as ever. No use trying to get above the line—it just can’t be done.”
“Right you are partner,” admitted Perk, leveling off, “though I must say the breathin’ seems a shade easier than down below.”
“We’ll stick it out here for a while,” Jack went on to say, “and it may be that the coming dawn may bring some sort of a breeze along to scatter this beastly stuff and let us see what’s what.”
“Anyway,” Perk was saying, as if in relief, “at such a height we ain’t likely to rub noses with any rock pinnacle and to our everlastin’ grief in the bargain. The air’s like enough free of mountain peaks around this section o’ country, which is some comfort to a fog-bound pair o’ ginks, I admit.”
It was by this time about five o’clock and Perk was banking heavily on the fact that inside of another half hour, at that extreme height, they were likely to discover the advance couriers of approaching dawn commencing to paint the eastern heavens with fingers of delicate shaded colors.
“Got any sort o’ idee where we might be right now, Jack?”
“Why, sitting tight in a nice fog blanket I’d say, brother,” replied the one who was now at the controls, having some time back made the exchange, easily enough accomplished without the necessity of changing seats.
“Jokin’ aside, Jack, I mean what section o’ country might be away down below-stairs where there’s land and green things—how I’d like to rest my tired peepers on somethin’ green for a change.”