ne enough now to give him his diploma."

"Indeed!" replied the forester.

Then he turned to Charley in apology. "I beg your pardon, young man. I
misjudged you. I should like to have such an exemplary young man for a
patrol, but you are too young. We practically never employ a man not yet
of age as a fire patrol. A boy would have to have very unusual
qualifications if we did take him. I'm sorry, my lad. I believe you are a
fine boy, and I'd like to hire you. But you are too young."

Charley turned his head away to hide the tears that he could not keep back
as he saw the opportunity slipping away from him. Then he dashed his hand
across his eyes and again faced the forester.

"You do not understand who we are," he said with determination, "nor what
our qualifications are. I am accustomed to the woods, sir. I know
something of woodcraft. I have fought fire in the forest. I have spent
weeks in the mountains. And I am a wireless operator, sir. Are any of your
patrols better qualified?"

The forester looked at him with renewed interest. "As a patrol," he
remarked, "you would have to deal with grown men. You would find yourself
in many situations that you could not handle. Grown men do not like to
take orders from boys."

"I have handled men, sir; that is, I have helped to handle them. I helped
to capture the German dynamiters at Elk City, sir, when the Camp Brady
Wireless Patrol saved that place from destruction."

"Are you a member of that organization?" asked the forester with
increasing interest. "I remember reading about that."

"We both are," said Charley. "And I could help you so much with my
wireless, sir. Your ranger told us this morning that if he found a fire he
couldn't handle, he would have to go clear out to the highway before he
could summon help. With the wireless, help could be summoned almost
instantly."

The forester smiled indulgently. "It sounds good," he commented. "But you
forget that we have no wireless and that none of us knows anything about
radio-telegraphy. No; I am afraid I can't use you, though I'd like to. If
you still want a job when you are of age, come to me. I can use you as a
patrol and I might even have a place for you as a ranger. We have mighty
few rangers as well educated and equipped as you will be. Or you might
even decide to go to Mont Alto and take a degree in forestry and become a
forester like myself. I would like to see you in the service, but I can't
take you in now. I