CHAPTER XXThe Mother Ship
When Jack went over to the home of the affable Mr. Herriott the following night he had much to tell that gentleman, such as had a bearing on his own campaign. The other heard what he had to say, and then asked a number of pertinent questions that in their way were more or less helpful.
“From all you saw and heard, my friend,” the other observed later on; “I am absolutely certain you have found a bonanza, and discovered the landing place used mostly by the planes that are carrying such vast quantities of contraband from mother ships to certain central depots, where doubtless motor trucks are able to come over unknown country shell roads, and convey the same to shore cities, possibly even as far north as Baltimore and Washington. You are getting close to your objective, I have no hesitation in saying; I only hope it all turns out as well and profitably as your daring and skill would warrant.”
Such words from one whom he had come to admire as a “clean shooter,” as Perk designated their official friend, gave Jack much satisfaction.
“Still, there’s no reason for undue haste, you know, sir,” he told the other in his calm way. “While I do not want to loaf on the job, at the same time I am against trying to push things to a decision, if by so doing I must take unnecessary chances.”
“Quite right, too, Mr. er, Warrington,” he was told. “It would have been much better for several of your fellows who worked on this affair if they had possessed a share of your caution; two in particular showed signs of getting somewhere but in seeking to make a swoop before the time was fully ripe they queered the whole game, and fell down on the job. I would be willing to prophesy that such will not be the result of your planning.”
“There was one subject about which I’d be glad to hear something further, Mr. Herriott,” Jack went on to mention.
“You have only to let me know what it is, and any knowledge I happen to possess in regard to the matter is at your service. Now tell me how I can give you any further assistance,—Jack.”
“It’s about that cracker guide who’s agreed to take us to the secret landing-place of the mob—Jethro Hicks. Do you feel the utmost confidence in his honesty, sir? You can easily understand why I ask, since if it turned out that he himself was in the hire of this gang of law-breakers, things would turn out badly for myself and my friend.”
“Let me reassure you on that score then,” came the immediate answer; “I am positively certain Jethro will be found as true as steel. I know this from a number of reasons. First of all, I’ve been acquainted with the man for some years now, and I think I’m safe in saying that he thinks considerable of me as a staunch friend. I had an opportunity once upon a time, to do him a favor, when it seemed as though the whole world had turned against him, and kept him a fugitive from the law, hiding in the swamps and backwoods for some years; and he will never forget the little I was able to do for his family then. That is one reason why he has so greedily taken me up when I asked him to work hand in glove with you.”
“Yet you say he had broken the law—was hiding from arrest apparently—hardly a fact to commend him as an honest man, sir, I’d think.”
“But Jethro was entirely innocent in that nasty affair, as was later on proven without a doubt; he is now walking openly, and without a fear of arrest. On that same fact hangs his chief desire to help you break up this powerful gang of smugglers infesting the seaboard of our State.”
“How come, Mr. Herriott?” questioned the surprised as well as deeply interested Jack.
“Listen, and you will, I am sure, understand what I mean,” continued the other. “Some years ago there was a sort of mountain vendetta existing between the Hicks family and two other households in the same neighborhood. It had gone on for a good many years, with occasional outbursts, and some shooting. Later on it came about that one particular man named Haddock made considerable money since prohibition came in; and still hating the name of Hicks found an opportunity to accuse Jethro of certain things, building up false evidence on which the young head of a family would undoubtedly have been sent to the pen if he had not hidden out in the swamps. While there this rich man also persecuted his family, and protected by his money could do this without hindrance.
“Jethro has never forgotten or forgiven those wrongs; and yet unlike many of his class, he does not wish to shoot his hated enemy down in cold blood. But it is more than suspected that John Haddock is one of the rich men backing up this big syndicate, for it would come directly in line with the way he managed to accumulate his own fortune in a less extensive way, merely with mountain dew as his stock in trade.
“Jethro swore to me he knew this to be afact, although he could hardly hope to prove the same unless given an opportunity to raid their headquarters and find positive evidence there.
“Now you will understand just why he can be depended on—Jethro is no law-breaker, and his fierce hatred for John Haddock—all the Haddock tribe in fact—will make him a faithful assistant for such as you. Are you satisfied now, Jack?”
“Unquestionably so, sir; and I thank you very much for telling me this. I’ll have a better opinion of Jethro, and feel a sympathy for him in his desire to get even with this rich schemer through whom he has suffered so much.”
More of this confidential talk was indulged in, with Jack fortifying such conclusions as he had already reached.
And when he got back to the hotel room, to find Perk sitting up, reading, but eager to know if anything worth while had happened, he proceeded to further astonish his best pal by giving a verbatim rendering of every item spoken by the United States representative.
“So you see, brother, how well we are progressing,” he concluded by saying; “and with such an eager helper as this same Jethro promises to prove, it looks as if something unexpected was going to strike that powerful illegal combine of smugglers at an early date—don’t you feel that way too?”
“Shore I do, partner, an’ here’s hopin’ it aint agoin’ to be so very long naow ’fore we get in aour fust crack. I’m near wild to knock one o’ them smugglers’ first aid ships to smithereens, with a nice baby bomb I got hid away aboard aour dandy amphibian cruiser.”
“Your hour will strike in due time, Wally, boy,” said the amused Jack, with a fond look at the excited face of his chum. “You’ve never completely gotten over your boyish ways, brother—anything in the line of excitement, and you fairly itch to be up and doing. I am free to confess, however, that when youdoget into a ruction you know how to give a good account of yourself.”
“Thanks, ole hoss, comin’ from sech as yeou that’s the highest kind o’ praise I could ever expect. I sometimes reckon I must abeen in at least one squabble ’fore I was hardly able to toddle ’raound, it comes so nat’ral to me.”
On the following morning their regular routine was again taken up. They flew up the coast, and turned out to sea, Jack wishing to learn whether there was a mother ship lying off the coast, from which all manner of prohibited articles, from aliens, precious stones, narcotics and in great quantity the finest of foreign strong drink, down to the smallest things that had an intrinsic value, were secretly imported into the States minus the heavy duty imposed on their coming.
Once again his hunch proved a true one, for they discovered a squat steamer hovering about twenty-five miles from the coast, with several fast smuggling power-boats alongside; and as Perk reported, a number of men passing weighty sacks over the side of the larger craft.
“No need of our going any closer, partner,” Jack announced, as he banked sharply, and turned the nose of their boat toward the north. “We’ll just knock around for a spell, to experience the sensation of slipping along above the great salty sea, something neither of us have had much experience in doing; and in good time we can pass on down again, so as to cover the ground where we expect to get in our heavy work.”
Which same they did, to their own satisfaction; and much to Jack’s surprise to also discover a second large foreign ship apparently also laden to the gunwales with piles of goods in suspicious looking gunny sacks.
“It seems as though it might be high time something was being done to cut this traffic into ribbons, don’t you think, Wally, boy?” Jack asked, as again he made a steep bank, this time heading into the west, toward the distant streak of land which told of the coast of Virginia.
They struck out for shore, passed as far inland as Jack considered tactful, and through his clever work in piloting the airship actually passed directly over Black Water Bayou.