ade the acquaintance of the forester's
assistant, Mr. Franklin Conover, and soon started for the railroad
station, leaving their duffel at the forester's office.

Before they left, Charley called the forester aside. "How much pay am I to
receive as a fire patrol?" he asked.

The forester frowned.

"You mustn't think," said Charley hastily, "that the pay is all that I
care about. I want to be a fire patrol because I love the woods. But I
don't know whether Dad will let me be a fire patrol unless I can make as
much here as I could in the factory with him."

"How much could you earn there?"

"Dad says I ought to get two dollars and a half a day."

"Then you needn't worry. I have some leeway in the matter of pay. You have
already shown your worth, and I am going to pay you the highest rate
within my power. You will go on the payroll at eighty-five dollars a
month, which is as much as many of our rangers get."

Charley was so astonished at this unexpected good fortune that he was
hardly able to answer Mr. Marlin. He did not know how to express his
thoughts. All he could do was to thank the forester warmly and assure him
he would earn every cent he got. Then he and Lew hurried away to their
train.

For some time after the two boys boarded the train Charley was silent. He
sat watching the forest through which they were rushing so fast. Never had
it appeared to him quite as it did now. Always he had known the forest was
an animate growth, but now he realized more vividly than ever before how
truly the forest was alive. Now he thought of the great growths of trees
more as one would think of a flock of animals that must be tended and
cared for. Many, many times he had seen the forest under happy conditions.
But never before this trip had he seen it in agony. Never before had he
heard the cries of fear and pain from the forest animals. Never had he
seen the charred remains of those that had been burned. Never had he
beheld the awful skeletons, not merely of burned trees, but of a burned
forest. He was deeply impressed. A tree had suddenly become in his
consciousness far more than a piece of timber. And a forest had taken on
new meaning. With all his mind he loved the forest and the innumerable
things of life and beauty within it. Beyond expression was his joy at the
thought that he could have a part in protecting and caring for the forest.

And when he thought of all the forest meant to mankind--more than any
other singl