tate.

In his own mind Charley had no doubt whatever that the incendiary was
Lumley, and that he had done exactly the things Charley pictured him as
doing. Even now he must be somewhere in the forest. But Charley felt
relieved when he realized that in all probability Lumley had no firearms.
He must have fled without taking time to equip himself. Also Charley
doubted if he would remain in the forest. The forester would be certain to
scour the woods for him, and Lumley could hardly hope to evade pursuit
indefinitely. He would probably make his way out of the forest at some
distant point and try to get away. Sooner or later, Charley felt sure, the
man would be captured and doubtless sent to prison for cheating the state.
It made Charley feel bad to think that he did not have enough direct
evidence to insure Lumley's conviction for arson as well.

An idea came to Charley. Blowing away the remaining dust and ashes,
Charley once more began an examination of the little excavation. Inch by
inch he scrutinized the surface of the pit. He found it partly baked.
Suddenly he gave a cry. He had found the distinct prints of some one's
fingers. On the second side of the excavation he found more prints, and
the third side yielded still others. Carefully Charley chopped out the
incriminating bits of clay. When he laid them side by side and examined
them under his microscope, he found they had been made, not by one person,
but by three. Apparently each side of the pit had been fashioned by a
different man.

Chapter XXVII

Trapped

While Charley was turning the matter over in his mind, the forester
suddenly appeared. Charley gave a glad cry when he saw him.

"Did you get them all out?" he asked anxiously.

"All will be out in a short time," was the reply. "Morton and his big gang
crossed directly into the other valley when I came here with my crew. As
soon as we had finished your job here, we hustled over to the other
valley. The fires there had spread considerably, but as there was little
wind and we had a big force of men, we quickly got them under control. The
minute I was satisfied we had them in hand, I came back to see how you
were. Jim is in charge over there, so everything will be all right. How
are you?"

"All O.K.," said Charley, "but I guess I must have been about all in when
you got here. I don't remember much about it."

"Yes, you were about gone. We got to you just in time. Now tell me what
you know about