rail. Just as we reached the run, two men came out of
the bushes. They asked what we had caught, and when I showed them, one of
them swore at us terribly and said we had fished the stream out so that
they would have to go on to the next valley."

"Is that all?" laughed the ranger, looking much relieved.

"No, sir, it isn't," continued Charley. "They looked as though they wanted
to kill us."

The ranger was inclined to smile, but he forbore, seeing that Charley was
sensitive. "You'll soon get used to meeting tough-looking customers in the
forest," he said.

"I hope that I don't meet many like that fellow," sighed Charley. "When he
scowled at me, he looked as fierce as a chimpanzee. And he had an ugly
scar over his eye that actually seemed to turn red."

Instantly the ranger's face became sober. "A scar over his eye," he
repeated. "Which eye?"

"His right one."

"Did you notice his mouth?"

"Sure. I couldn't help noticing it. It was full of gold teeth."

The ranger gave a low whistle. His face became still more serious. "Tell
me exactly what was said and done," he continued. "Repeat your
conversation just as accurately as you can."

When Charley had rehearsed the entire affair in detail, the ranger asked,
"And you are sure you gave him no hint that you had come from the next
valley?"

"Absolutely none. I thought right away that I mustn't do that."

"You're a lad of discretion," smiled the ranger. "You have done well. But
be awful careful of that old scoundrel. That's Bill Collins. He's a bad
egg if there ever was one. He never came into these mountains to catch
fish. That's merely a blind. And he was headed for your valley, too.
That's absolutely certain. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone there."

The ranger paused in thought. "<i>Did</i> he go there?" he continued. "That's
the problem. If he said he was going there, it's more than likely he was
headed for some other place and wanted to throw you off the track."

Again the ranger paused and studied Charley's face keenly. Evidently the
wide-set eyes, with their indication of intelligence, the strong nose and
good chin, and especially Charley's straight mouth with its thin lips,
reassured him. "My boy," he said kindly, "I don't want to alarm you
unnecessarily, but be careful of that man. He's up to something, or he
wouldn't be in this forest; but what it can be, I've not the remotest
idea. The only thing I can think of that would bring him here is the
virgin