ed the way through the thicket to the open forest. At some distance from
the camp the forester stopped and turned the beam from the search-light
upward. Finally he found what he was looking for--a small branch about
seven feet from the ground. Then he cut the top of the salmon can, and
punching holes in the sides near the top, fastened a string to the can and
suspended the can from the limb. Then he set the traps in a circle under
the can, fastening the chains to convenient saplings, and threw two or
three small pieces of the salmon on the ground within the circle of traps.
Then they made their way back to camp.

Charley lighted a little friendship fire in the fireplace the ranger had
made, and the two sat down beside the flames. It was little more than
three weeks since Charley had first entered the forest. During that time
he had really seen very little of the forester. Yet as he sat beside his
chief, Charley felt as though he had known him always. A common emotion
had drawn them close together this day, and somehow Charley believed that
his feeling of affection for his chief was fully reciprocated. For a time
they sat in silence, each busy with his own thoughts.

"Charley," said the forester, after a time, "this accident to Jim hits me
pretty hard. It not only leaves the finest piece of forest under my care
without a direct overseer at the most dangerous time of the year, but
there were so many things we had planned to do this spring that cannot be
done without a ranger to supervise them. To be sure, I could transfer a
ranger here, but I have work for every man in his particular district.
Besides, nobody knows this territory like Jim. I believe you know it
better than anybody besides Jim. I only wish you were old enough to take
his place for a time.

"We're away behind with our planting, and there are trails to be brushed
out, new ones to be cut, roads to be built, camp sites to be selected,
timber to be cruised, a big lumber operation to be watched and the trees
to be marked for cutting and the lumber scaled, improvement cuttings to be
made, camp sanitation to be enforced, a fire-tower to be built on the
mountain here where your watch tree is. There's a tremendous lot of work
that Jim and I had mapped out for the spring and summer.

"Now it looks as though we should not be able to get any of it done. We
can't do a thing without a ranger to direct operations. Part of the
timber to be cut is in Lumley's district. He