is ready to pay men a fair wage for the time
consumed in putting out a fire, and even the Ranger has the right to
employ men to a limited extent. Sometimes the blaze can be stopped
without great difficulty, at other times it will require all the
resources available under the direction of the Forest Supervisor, but in
the first resort it depends largely upon the Guard. A young fellow who
is careless in such a post as that is as great a traitor to his country
as a soldier would be who sold to the enemy the plans of the fort he was
defending, or a sailor who left the wheel while a battle-ship was
threading a narrow and rocky channel."

"What starts these forest fires, sir?" asked Fred.

"All sorts of things, but most of them arise from one common
cause--carelessness. There are quite a number of instances in which
fires have been started by lightning, but they are few in number as
compared with those due to human agency. The old tale of fires being
caused by two branches of a dead tree rubbing against each other is, of
course, a fable."

"But I should think any one would know enough not to start a forest
fire," exclaimed the older boy. "I'm not much on the woods, but I think
I know enough for that."

"It isn't deliberate, it's careless," repeated the Forester. "Sometimes
a camper leaves a little fire smoldering when he thinks the last spark
is out; sometimes settlers who have to burn over their clearings allow
the blaze to get away from them; when Indians are in the neighborhood
they receive a large share of the blame, and the hated tramp is always
quoted as a factor of mischief. In earlier days, sparks from locomotives
were a constant danger, and although the railroad companies use a great
many precautions now to which formerly they paid no heed, these sparks
and cinders are still a prolific cause of trouble. And beside this
carelessness, there is a good deal of inattention and neglect. The
settlers will let a little fire burn for days unheeded, waiting for a
rain to come along and put it out, whereas if a drought ensues and a
high wind comes up, a fire may arise that will leap through the forest
and leave them homeless, and possibly even their own lives may have to
pay the penalty of their recklessness."

"But what I don't understand," said Fred, "is how people get caught.
It's easy enough to see how a forest could be destroyed, but I should
think that every one could get out of the way easily enough. It must
take a