nnections along the line of
groceries and commissary stuff.

Perk himself was an odd mixture of New England and Canuck blood, one
branch of his family living in Maine, while the other resided across the
border. Hence Perk sometimes chose to call himself a Yankee; and yet for
a period of several years he had been a valued member of the
Northwestern Mounted Police, doing all manner of desperate stunts up in
the cold regions of Canada.

He was considerably older than his gifted chum and had seen pretty hot
service flying in France while with Pershing's army in the Argonne. It
was his knowledge of aviation in general that had caused Jack to pick
him as his assistant when the Government decided to fight fire with
fire, by pitting their own pilots and aircraft against those employed by
the powerful combine of smuggling aces.

Sometimes it chanced that Jack, for good and sufficient reasons of his
own, did not fully explain the necessity for making plans along certain
lines.

This was not because he lacked confidence in his loquacious chum's
ability to keep a still tongue in his head or exercise due caution, but
usually through a desire to make doubly sure of his own ground before
submitting the arrangement to Perk's sharp criticism, which Jack valued
even more than the other suspected.

Consequently Perk, with the Yankee half of his blood stirred by an ever
present curiosity, wanted to know and invariably asked numerous
questions in the endeavor to find a leading clue.

It was in the late Fall and already the advance guard of the winter
tourist crowds had begun to arrive from the North, in ever increasing
numbers, all set for an enjoyable winter in the sunny resorts of both
coasts.

Jack had already made quite a thorough investigation and picked up some
important clues that he meant to run down in hopes one of them might
lead to definite results.

The amphibian floated on the surface of the isolated bayou with glimpses
of the open gulf toward the golden west forming an alluring picture as
seen between the jaws of sand points, with palmettoes guarding the
entrance to the sheltered nook.

It was just sunset, and inside another hour the night would have
advanced far enough to permit their departure on the first leg of their
intended flight up the coast.

Perk was exceedingly fond of his pipe and choice tobacco, and looked the
picture of contentment as he squatted in his seat, scratching his ankle,
where a burning se