CHAPTER XXVI

A BACK DOOR TO THE VALLEY

A hasty breakfast was eaten, washed down with a few swigs of cold liquid refreshment, which the ever obliging Perk had fetched up in a bottle taken from the ship for the purpose, and filled with coffee from their gallon Thermos jug.

Thus the adventurous pair felt well braced for whatever duties the new day had in store for them.

"We'll divide our force for the morning," suggested Jack, knowing only too well his chum would take his words in the way of a command, for he occupied the position of leader, and Perk was only too willing to accede to each and every suggestion his mate advanced.

"Jest so, partner," Perk instantly commented; "an' what air yeou agoin' to pass on to me, I wanter know?"

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."

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.

"Sorry we ain't got any coffee up here," he said, a bit sadly; "but it stands to reason yeou jest caint 'spect everythin' when yeou're on the trail o' bad gunmen like we air right naow. I ain't kickin', remember, Jack, ole man."

Presently, when they had about finished their frugal lunch Jack asked his companion to make his report. This Perk did, giving many different suggestive happenings that he had noted in rotation, and emphasizing his words at certain points.

"You've done a good job, Perk," the other assured him, when the end of the story was reached. "In lots of ways what you're reporting strengthens our previous convictions--there can be no possible doubt about the cook being our fellow worker, Simeon; and so it goes without saying that when we kick out of here its got to be with two others in our company--Slippery Slim, and Simeon."

"That's okay with me, partner," agreed Perk, eagerly; "an' we'll keep on deck in this here nest o' snakes 'til we kin put the game through--no matter if we gotter go withaout a bite o' chow fur a hull week--kinder guess I kin stand it as long as yeou kin."

"Nothing else you noticed, partner?" queried Jack.

"On'y that the ole crate she skipped off 'bout a hour after I settled daown back o' them nice bushes," came the ready reply; after which Perk went on to describe how the man they knew as Slippery Slim seemed to be so careful of the several packages, and the leather bag he handed over to the pilot of the plane; and which Perk was so dead certain must contain the latest printing of notes off the press they could sometimes hear rumbling down at one of the cabins, in and out of which some of the men were so frequently passing.

This additional information seemed to please the listening Jack exceedingly, to judge from the way he nodded his head, and smiled knowingly.

"Things are breaking for us, I'd say, buddy," he told his mate, to the other's satisfaction; "and by slow degrees we'll carry on, step by step, until one of these nights we can explode our bomb, and play the game to a finish. But it happens that you haven't got a monopoly of the good news."

"Hully gee! then yeou been a nosin' 'raound this queer hole back o' the cliff, an' mebbe run acrost somethin' wuth knowin', eh, what, partner?"

"Just what I have, Perk--I started in to explore the black, tunnel-like passage that you kept your eye on last evening."

"Say, doant tell me yeou run acrost that big hill-billy o' a grizzly, Jack?"

"You're a bad guesser, matey," he was assured; and then Jack added: "Found that the passage kept dropping down all the time; and in the end I came to another fissure, with broad daylight ahead--then looked out into the valley; and found I was only some twenty feet from the bottom of the big ditch, Perk!"