n of
getting the illicit cargo safely landed would rest on the shoulders of
those who manned the smaller smuggler craft.

It was a beautiful little game, Perk was assuring himself, when he
realized how everything had been arranged to make things work as though
greased. As the isolated places along the gulf coast were without number
and the enforcement agents woefully pressed to even half cover their
allotted territory, the reason for the few arrests that had rewarded the
most strenuous efforts on the part of the Coast Guard could be easily
comprehended.

"And that's just why they picked out Jack, out of all the boys in the
service, loaded him up with this here amphibian crate that c'n drop down
on land or water, it don't matter a darn which, got him a sort o' side
partner to help make things go and turned him loose to pull in the net.
Huh! we'll know before long just what this racket is goin' to wind up
in, for we've made our first move, our hat's thrown into the ring, and
we'll either make Pike's Peak, or--bust!"

Presently Perk began to convince himself he could at times pick up the
throbbing sound of a humming motor, undoubtedly one of those on their
way out to the supply boat off shore some miles and ready to deliver
such number of high-priced cases as the lists called for.

Yes, when the night wind veered or shifted a bit he was absolutely
certain about picking up the chug-chug-chug that betrayed the presence
of the leading speed boat.

About this time Perk noticed two separate things that had a bearing on
their mission--the first was that for some reason they no longer romped
along at their earlier speed, showing that the pilot had seen fit to
slacken his craft to a considerable degree, though keeping up steerage
way. The second thing that struck Perk was the fact that they were
slowly but surely making a decided swing off to the west, which if
continued would make their immediate course a complete circle.

"Go to it, old hoss!" he was saying, just as if he expected the other to
hear every word which was out of the question with that whirring
propeller keeping up its low, sing-song tone. "You got 'em beat a mile
when it comes to playin' safe, that's right. Don't want to rile the
water an' let everybody in on the fact that we're hangin' around here,
waitin' for somethin' to turn up. 'Sides, it ain't good policy to make
the ten-strike till they got the stuff on board the chuggin' speed
boat."

He was intens