XIA STORMY NIGHT
By this time the forerunners of the gale had arrived with considerable electrical display and reverberating thunder. Of course the two flyers had removed their ear-phones since the motor lay silent and the whirlwind propeller had also ceased to spin around with incalculable speed but when the thunder began to roar at its loudest they found it necessary to shout in order to make themselves heard.
“Say, promises to be some screecher, b’lieve me!” was the way Perk put it when an extraordinarily loud crash almost burst their eardrums, the preceding flash having seared their eyes and nearly blinded them.
“Some fireworks for a fact,” conservative Jack admitted frankly, “didn’t reckon on such an exhibition so soon. But see here, Perk——”
“Yeah!” snapped the other, showing his readiness to act if anything was needed along the order of further security from the rain that was now drenching the shore line as if a cloud had burst.
“Seems to me you’re forgetting something, partner,” continued Jack.
“As what, Boss?”
“Isn’t it about time forgrub?” demanded Jack whose face was set in a grin a sudden flash of lightning disclosed.
“Je-hos-i-phat! if that ain’t the very first time I ever did forget such a thing as eats!” burst out the chagrined co-pilot. “That’s a fact, it is our time for attendin’ to the gnawin’ down below-stairs. Wait up, buddy, an’ I’ll fix things up okay in a jiffy.”
He was as good as his word, although the measure of action he mentioned has never as yet been exactly settled. Perk knew just where he had put his supplies and trotted them out with alacrity, likewise undoubted pleasure for that sacred rite of eating was one of the duties the war veteran always stood by manfully.
Undoubtedly both of them had partaken of meals under many peculiar conditions but if their comments had any bearing on the subject never before had they dined under such frightfully noisy accompaniments as right then with the cannonading from heaven’s heavy artillery constantly booming, the wind howling like a pack of maddened wolves and the waves smashing against that little rocky ridge that sheltered them so bravely.
Perk had lighted the stub end of a candle so that they might not be in complete darkness, for it was as though midnight had arrived, especially between the vivid flashes as streaks of lightning went zigzagging athwart the black dome overhead.
Calmly they continued to munch their sandwiches and take occasional sips of hot coffee from the thermos bottle, Perk having supplied a couple of large aluminum cups for the occasion.
“Don’t seem to let up any that I c’n notice,” remarked Perk later on when they had taken the edge off their appetites.
“Weather fooled me that time for certain,” added Jack frankly, “but then I never did claim to be a good hand at guessing what was coming along in this line. Government reports have always served me decently and even they can’t always be depended on. This upset may last most of the night for all we can tell.”
“Who cares?” sang out Perk, gaily enough. “I worked in a boiler factory in my salad days an’ got used to all kinds o’ rackets. Nary a drop o’ rain gets in here, you notice comrade, thanks to the swell cabin we’ve got over our heads. Huh! how many times have I gone through big storms in the open cockpit o’ an old-fashioned crate. Been bombarded too aplenty by half a hundred big guns, with shells bursting every-which-way around. Seems like a feller c’n git used to near anything if on’y he runs up against it often enough.”
“Snug as two bugs in a rug,” agreed Jack lightly. “Here we’ll stick it out tonight and go on after morning breaks—no hurry, remember, brother—just take things as they come along and keep in trim for the big push later on.”
“That’s the ticket, Jack, boy—it sure wins out in the end—no blunders, jest every move carried out like machine work an’ we’re sure to come in smilin’ at the windup.”
Later on there was a little letup in the violence of the storm and Perk even felt encouraged enough to predict that the worst was over with possibly a nice, peaceful night’s rest ahead.
This, however, proved to be a false deduction on his part for once again the thunder rose to a deafening pitch, with a wind of such velocity that Jack himself felt a little uneasiness, not on account of his own security, but because of the great damage he fancied the surrounding country would suffer in consequence of wind and flood.
“Danged if the ol’ thing ain’t turned turtle on us an’ got started on the back track agin!” complained the humbled Perk. “What I know ’bout weather you could stick in a thimble!”
“But you’re wrong when you say it’s backed upon us,” Jack told him pointedly, “for the wind is still coming from the same old quarter, this is only another section of the same old storm.”
“Huh! running this train in sections are they?” continued the disgusted Perk, “wall, I on’y hope they ain’t too many more parts to the contraption—I’ve seen quite enough a’ready.”
Having finished their supper they made themselves as comfortable as the conditions allowed. Jack got to figuring, as usual, for he was a great hand at laying out his plans in black and white for reference when the time for action arrived. Perk was poring over some clippings he had picked up at some time or other and which appeared to be of special interest to him.
It was indeed a most eccentric storm, now waning and giving promise of expiring, anon picking up again and squeezing out considerable more water to help finish the flooding of the earth.
Tiring of his reading with a poor light, Perk had for some little time been lying there so quietly that Jack half suspected he might have passed into dreamland. Suddenly he gave a loud grunt and exclaimed:
“Reckon now it might be jest plain Barrowman—an’ yet somehow that don’t seem to sound quite right—how ’bout Baxter—Banister—Brockman—shucks! what ails me anyhow—my bean ain’t worth a red cent when it comes to ’memberin’ names—guess I must be goin’ a bit loco an’ next thing I know I’ll have to sew my own name on my coat in case I forget it.”
Jack only chuckled, knowing that his chum was going through the same old game of cudgeling his treacherous memory with the usual poor results as of yore.
Later still, and both of them seemed to get more or less sleep though the storm kept up a growling and threatening for hours, as if not content with such damage as it must have already done.
Finally Perk, aroused by signs of daylight, looked out and was highly pleased to discover that not only had dawn really arrived, but that there was not a single cloud to be seen in the entire heavens.
“Hi! partner, wake up!” he called out, “mornin’s got here an’ that pesky row-maker’s cleared out for keeps—goin’ to have a clear day for our flight to Spokane. After such a devil o’ a blow I kinder guess we might look for fair stuff a hull week o’ Sundays. But hold on, I forgot I was sech a poor weather sharp, so don’t count on anything I might say—I jest don’t know what they got laid up for us flyers, an’ that’s a fact.”
They had a very decent breakfast, for Perk hunted up some dry wood, he calling himself a Maine woods guide these days it appeared, and consequently able to skirmish suitable fuel, even after such a drenching downpour. Then, after starting a cooking fire he produced a lightweight skillet, also a pound of sliced breakfast bacon, some strips of which he proceeded to fry as though quite accustomed to playing the role of camp cook. Then too, he had a new aluminum coffeepot which he meant to christen on that occasion so the appetizing odors of these two breakfast mainstays soon spread around the entire community, doubtless much to the wonder of various chipmunks and red squirrels that frisked here and there among the trees.
Jack said nothing, only nodded his head at witnessing these wonderful revelations as if things suited him all right. Trust sagacious Perk to make ample preparations for the numerous meals they would have to count on while engaged in the future tasks certain to be given into their charge from time to time.