CHAPTER XV

PERK AS A FIRE-FIGHTER

It was not far from midnight.

Perk had insisted on taking over the controls, so that Jack might secure a little rest, possibly even pick up a few catnaps in addition. They were at a low altitude, perhaps not more than a thousand feet up, since the air was a bit cool higher and it was certain they stood in no danger from colliding with mountain peaks while crossing the wide State of Texas, where nothing save the level plains lay beneath.

Perk was alive to his duties, but this did not keep him from occasionally stretching his neck, so as to look over the coaming of the cockpit, and trying to make out objects that might be dimly detected on the seemingly limitless plain below.

As a rule next to nothing worth while rewarded these efforts and really he continued doing his little stunt from sheer habit, but there did come a time when he showed sudden interest, and even half arose from his seat to stare with increasing intensity.

Not only that but he immediately banked, to start circling around a certain point. A minute afterwards Perk reached out and shook Jack gently by the shoulder. The ear-phones being still affixed to their heads, Jack naturally desired to know what was up, and did his pal wish to give over the stick to him.

“Nothin’ doing, partner,” he was told with emphasis; “but there’s somethin’ queer goin’ on down yonder, and I’ve swung around so’s to give it the once over. On your right, Jack, an’ there, see how it sparks up again, will you?”

“I’d say it looks like a fire,” ventured Jack, after taking a good look.

“My idea to a fraction, boss!” snapped the deeply interested Perk.

“Seems like it might be breaking out through the roof of some sort of cabin, or ranch house,” further suggested Jack, himself now almost as excited as his running mate.

“You said it, boy!” declared Perk; “but somehow I don’t lamp anybody kickin’ around in a big fuss, ’cause o’ the shack bein’ ablaze; strikes me either nobody ain’t to home or else they’re so sound asleep they don’t know what’s goin’ on. Glory be! if that’s the case, partner, they stand a mighty good chance o’ bein’ burnt to death in their beds. What ought we do ’bout it, Jack?”

“First place we’ve just got to rouse ’em up, and the way to do that is to rush our engine to the limit, so’s to make a big row—if that doesn’t wake anybody it’ll only mean they’re away from home—or else already smothered by the smoke.” Perk accordingly started up such a racket that the dreadful roaring noise seemed hoarse enough to awaken the dead and all the while he kept swinging around in a continuous circle.

Jack, bending over the side, watched to see if this had any effect, nor was his discovery long delayed.

“That fetched them, Perk—I can see several moving figures, and they seem to be rushing about with pails in their hands. If the fire hasn’t got too strong a start they may be able to throw enough water to put it out.”

“Jack, couldn’t we do somethin’ more to help the poor dicks?” cried Perk, ever ready and willing to assist anybody in trouble, no matter at what cost or personal risk to himself.

“It mightn’t be a safe thing to attempt a blind landing,” he was told; but something in Jack’s voice or manner when he said this encouraged Perk to go a bit further.

“Why, chances are it’s as level as a barn floor down there,” he hastened to say, eagerly; “here, you could take the stick—there never was a better hand at makin’ a three-point landin’ than you, partner; me, I might drop a few flares down, an’ that’d give us a squint o’ the ground. If we kept to leeward o’ the fire there wouldn’t be any risk from sparks, don’t you see, Jack? I never yet had such a fat chance to be a fire-fighter; let’s go, boy—they need all the help they c’n get, I guess.”

The temptation was so great it soon overpowered Jack’s sense of caution; really he fancied he would never forgive himself if he allowed Perk to show a higher sense of duty to people in distress than he himself could display.

“All right, you win, Perk!” he quickly called out; “hand over the stick, and get those flares ready to drop when I give the word.”

Perk started to make a move, showing that he knew just where the objects of his desire were located, for he did not have to leave his seat in order to place his hand upon the small package of flares.

Meanwhile Jack had reduced their speed to a minimum compatible with safety, still continuing that circular movement. The fire had by this time assumed sufficient proportions to dispel any doubts they may have entertained regarding its true nature, for it was burning at a lively rate. Jack could see a crouching figure sprawled on the roof, and apparently emptying bucket after bucket of water on the greedy flames, and passing the empties back down the nearby ladder to some one standing on an upper rung.

It was all mighty exciting, and to Jack seemed like some sort of fetching picture as shown on the silver screen at the movies—a scene developed through the skill of a wizard director, aided by a group of star actors, so as to bring out all the realistic effects.

“Get ready, Perk!” he told the other suddenly.

“All set, partner,” came the inspiring response.

“Let her go, then!” called out the pilot, just as he found himself over a point to leeward of the burning ranch house that he figured would be the best place to make a landing.

Perk had a flare falling almost as the last words left the lips of the pilot and then both of them used their eyes to advantage as it neared the ground, lighting up a small section fairly well—at least what he thus saw seemed to convince Jack it would be fairly safe to attempt a landing, for the ground looked smooth, and free from outbuildings, corrals, or wire fences.

“Drop another, quick as you can!” directed Jack; then, as this was carried out he started down, showing the die was cast, come what would.

Perk threw a third flare to one side, in the hope that its light would afford his pilot a chance to effect one of his really marvelous landings; which turned out to be sound reasoning on his part—the shock when their landing gear came in contact with the ground was not very severe, and Jack managed so that they did not run more than thirty feet toward the burning house.

Thus far all was well.

Perk was out of the cockpit like a flash, but managed to hold his eager spirit in check long enough to allow his comrade to join him. Then they hurried over to the building, which they could now see, thanks to both the moonlight and the brilliance of the blaze, must be some kind of a ranch house.

Several men who had the appearance of cow punchers were working for all they were worth, fetching water from a well, and hurling it where it was calculated to do the most good.

“Let’s give you a hand in that game, neighbors!” Jack burst out with, as he joined the string, backed by Perk, and commenced handling buckets full and buckets empty, with as much vim as though tested and tried members of a village fire company.

At such a time the addition of two more willing workers can do considerable toward smothering a fire, especially when there happens to be no wind moving; and from the moment of their arrival things began to take on a better look as though up to then the fight had been hovering “on the fence,” as Perk called it, and the balance being overturned, victory was in sight.

Perk was in his glory, and the brisk way in which he hurried those buckets along was worth going a long way to witness; Jack never would forget how proud he felt over the marvelous performance of his running mate, and how those encouraging cries, so constantly emitted by Perk, seemed to enthuse everybody with fresh vim and go.

Finally the last spark was extinguished, and the house saved, having suffered but scant damage. Then the men, yes, and women too, gathered around the pair of aviators who had come on the scene just in the nick of time, to first of all arouse the people of the prairie ranch to a sense of the danger that hovered over their heads, and finally take chances in effecting what might have been a rough landing, so as to lend their material aid to the fire fighters.

“Surely you will not think of starting off again till break of day,” the big man with the white head of hair, evidently the rancher himself, was saying, while engaged in pumping the hands of the two who had dropped down from the sky, as it were, to bring warning of the burning roof, and start the stiff fight against the greedy flames that had ended so successfully. “Stay and eat breakfast with us, strangers; we’d like to know you both some better, and have a chance to thank you most heartily.”

“Unfortunately we must be on our way, neighbor,” Jack told him. “It happens we are on special duty, and delay might upset certain plans we are bent on following out. It was just by sheer accident we discovered the fire, and took the customary means for attracting attention that all air pilots employ; but some other day, if we chance to be in this neighborhood, we’d be pleased to see more of you all.”

The women added their voices to the pressing invitation, but Jack was forced to decline, although doing so smilingly, since he would have liked very much to see more of these warm-hearted stockmen and their wild riders, possibly picking up some useful knowledge concerning the way a ranch is run in these modern days, so different from early times in the cattle country.

“It is absolutely necessary for us to be going,” Jack told them all, “if we are lucky enough to be able to hop-off again. Perk, I wish you’d take a look over toward the west, and see if the ground is fairly clear; while I talk for a few more minutes with our new friends here.”

He was astute enough to avoid giving their names to any one but the ranchman, who readily promised not to mention them to a living soul; he felt heavily indebted to Jack and his chum, and considered that they knew their business best—for one thing he felt absolutely certain the fact of their being in such a hurry had nothing whatever to do with any unlawful act on their part—he had as much confidence in them as though Jack had actually confided the fact of their being Government Secret Service agents, bound on a mission fraught with much peril to life and limb, the prime object of which was to save honest people from being victimized by a gang of unprincipled sharks, makers of clever bank notes that were without the pale of the law and only base counterfeits, although clever imitations of the genuine bills.