fire were to
reach one of the stations equipped with wireless. What then?"

Mr. Bentley laughed as though amused at something.

"I can tell you an interesting incident connected with that," he said.
"And one that shows the pluck and common sense of radio operators in
general--don't think that I'm throwing bouquets at myself, now, for
first and last, I am a pilot, even if sometimes I find it necessary to
employ radio.

"Well, anyway, this operator that I am speaking of, found himself in a
perilous position. A fire had been raging for days, and now it was so
close to his station that the station itself was threatened.

"One morning when he got up the smoke from the burning forest was
swirling about the open space in front of the station and he knew that
before long he would be seeing flame instead of smoke. The fire fighters
had been working ceaselessly, fighting gallantly, but the elements were
against them. The air was almost as dry and brittle as the wood which
the flames lapped up and there was a steady wind that drove the fire on
and on.

"If only there might come a fog or the wind change its direction! But
the radio man had no intention of waiting on the elements. I don't
believe he gave more than a passing thought to his own safety--his chief
interest was for the safety of his beloved apparatus.

"He decided to dismantle the set, build a raft and set himself and the
apparatus adrift upon the water in the attempt to save it.

"And so he worked feverishly, while the fire came closer and he could
hear the men who were fighting the fire shouting to each other. Finally
he succeeded in dismantling the set and got it down to the water's edge.

"Here he built a rough raft, piled the apparatus upon it, jumped after
it, and drifted out into the middle of the lake."

"Did the station burn down?" asked Jimmy excitedly.

"No, fortunately. The wind died down in the nick of time, giving the men
a chance to control the blaze. When it was evident the danger was past,
the operator set up his apparatus again and prepared to continue his
duties, as though nothing had happened.

"There you have the tremendous advantage of radio. There were no wires
to be destroyed. Only a radio set which could be dismantled and taken to
safety while the fire raged."

"That operator sure had his nerve with him, all right," said Bob
admiringly.

"More nerve than common sense perhaps," chuckled Mr. Bentley. "But you
certainly can't help a