But it did not take Charley long to discover
that they obeyed because of fear. When he realized that, he thought of the
vicious look he had noted in the ranger's eye. There were dogs innumerable
about the place, and they all slunk away when their master approached. Yet
all the time, as he showed Charley about, the ranger was almost
obsequious. This evident contradiction between the man's actions and his
looks made Charley distrust him immediately, and it was with heavy heart
that he said good-bye to Mr. Marlin and watched him drive away.

The ranger showed Charley to the room that was to be his. Charley began to
carry his luggage up-stairs. He would much rather have taken it all
himself, but the ranger insisted upon helping him. When Charley saw how
the man eyed every package and scrutinized every article, he understood
quickly enough that Lumley wanted to help him, not because of any wish to
be courteous, but simply because of his burning curiosity. Especially was
the ranger curious about Charley's wireless outfit, but Charley
volunteered no information.

The more Charley considered his situation, the gloomier he felt concerning
it. He had looked forward to his coming, after Mr. Marlin had told him of
the arrangement, with a feeling of pleasant anticipation. Charley was not
the least bit shy and made friends readily. He had a feeling that all the
men in the Forest Service must be pretty fine men and that their interest
in their work would make them, like Mr. Marlin and Mr. Morton, eager to
help a recruit. Thus Charley had believed that Lumley would be very
helpful to him. He had intended to put himself more or less in Lumley's
hands and trust to the ranger for guidance. But a very few minutes spent
with Lumley made Charley feel that he could not take the man into his
confidence. He almost felt as though he dared not, though when he came to
consider the matter fully, that attitude seemed foolish. Lumley was a
guardian of the forest as well as himself, and surely he could trust him
with matters that pertained to the forest.

Charley tried to fight down this feeling of distrust. It seemed to him
very wrong to accept a man's hospitality, even if he was to pay well for
it, and at the same time be suspicious of the man. But hardly had he
decided that he ought to be frank with his fellow ranger when Lumley began
asking questions that caused the feeling of distrust to return with
renewed force. Lumley's questions were intend