ger than a house roof. It carried two propellers at the top. The
pilot had only to start these and it sucked itself straight up into the
air. Then he twirled the propeller on the front and sailed away, as
easily as you please.

He landed by reversing these operations. He could alight on a shed roof
if he had to, (provided, of course, that the roof was flat). The only
danger would be if the propellers should go on strike.

"I've been getting a wireless message," said the pilot. "There! Better
take it, Mr. King," to Ace.

Ace's eyes grew dark as he interpreted the frantic ticking that his
apparatus gave him. "Why--_Rosa's_ sending this!--She's marooned--there
at the Red Top fire-outlook!--'Fire on three sides, on fourth, rapids of
Kawa River Gorge. Send help--if you can,'" he translated, while the boys
waited, breathless. "Three men where first-fire started--silver
buttons--shining in the sun."

"That sounds like Mexicans!" said Pedro.

"Now what?" asked Norris. "Where's the Ranger, do you suppose?" But just
then he saw a flaming branch blown across their line. Like tinder the
dried firs burst into a shower of sparks, and with a call to the men, he
darted after it. Ace remained behind to wireless, and Ted to quench their
cook-fire, while Ace's pilot flung off his coat and ran after the fire
fighters.

Ace King did one thing supremely well. He knew his ship. He was born to
fly.

"Hey, Ted," he brought a certain line of reasoning to a head, "the Ranger
can't _land_ with that DeHaviland, if he does go after Rosa. You know the
layout on Red Top." (The boys had passed that way.)

"Yeh,--Caesar!--That's right. No place there half large enough for the
bombing-plane!--That poor kid!" He shuddered. "What's the answer?" for he
saw that Ace had some plan. "I'm with you!"

"Just this. We can't leave her there to be burned alive. Radcliffe can't
do any more than we can about it. Besides, he's got his hands full,
wherever he is. But a forest guard was _killed_ last year directing fire
fighters from a plane. Went into a tail spin and fell into the flames."

"I know. It's mighty dangerous flying over a fire. Isn't there anything
Rosa can do?"

"That's just what----" Ace hesitated, deep in thought.

"I've heard of people taking refuge in caves, but where would she find
the cave?--'N' I've heard of 'em going to a rock-slide and piling up a
barricade of stone and lying behind it while the fire swept that way. It
cuts off some