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diff --git a/old/62769-0.txt b/old/62769-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 242ad9a..0000000 --- a/old/62769-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5902 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers, by Allen Chapman - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers - The great fire on Spruce Mountain - -Author: Allen Chapman - -Contributor: Jack Binns - -Release Date: July 27, 2020 [EBook #62769] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS - - - - -[Illustration: A blue streak crackled between the terminal and the -bear’s nose.] - - - - - THE RADIO BOYS SERIES - (Trademark Registered) - - THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS - - OR - - THE GREAT FIRE ON SPRUCE MOUNTAIN - - BY - ALLEN CHAPMAN - - AUTHOR OF - - THE RADIO BOYS’ FIRST WIRELESS - THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE - RALPH OF THE ROUNDHOUSE - RALPH ON THE MIDNIGHT FLYER, ETC. - - WITH FOREWORD BY JACK BINNS - - ILLUSTRATED - - NEW YORK - GROSSET & DUNLAP - PUBLISHERS - - Made in the United States of America - - - - - BOOKS FOR BOYS - By Allen Chapman - - 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - THE RADIO BOYS SERIES - (Trademark Registered) - - THE RADIO BOYS’ FIRST WIRELESS - Or Winning the Ferberton Prize - - THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT - Or The Message that Saved the Ship - - THE RADIO BOYS AT THE SENDING STATION - Or Making Good in the Wireless Room - - THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS - Or The Midnight Call for Assistance - - THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE - Or Solving a Wireless Mystery - - THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS - Or The Great Fire on Spruce Mountain - - THE RAILROAD SERIES - - RALPH OF THE ROUNDHOUSE - Or Bound to Become a Railroad Man - - RALPH IN THE SWITCH TOWER - Or Clearing the Track - - RALPH ON THE ENGINE - Or The Young Fireman of the Limited Mail - - RALPH ON THE OVERLAND EXPRESS - Or The Trials and Triumphs of a Young Engineer - - RALPH THE TRAIN DISPATCHER - Or The Mystery of the Pay Car - - RALPH ON THE ARMY TRAIN - Or The Young Railroader’s Most Daring Exploit - - RALPH ON THE MIDNIGHT FLYER - Or The Wreck at Shadow Valley - - GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, New York - - - - - Copyright, 1923, by - GROSSET & DUNLAP - - The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers - - - - - FOREWORD - By Jack Binns - -There are two aspects of radio as a vital factor in saving life and -property which are very vividly brought out in this interesting -volume of the Radio Boys Series—namely its use in connection with -the patrol work in detecting forest fires, and the regular -international ice patrol in the dangerous waters of the north -Atlantic. So splendidly have these two functions of radio been -developed, that they have become accepted as commonplace in our -lives, and it is only by such stories as “The Radio Boys with the -Forest Rangers” that we are awakened to their importance. - -Another interesting account in this volume is the detailing of the -experimental work recently carried out at the Schenectady -broadcasting station, when the voice which was radiated through the -ether was actually reproduced from an ordinary moving picture film. - -Just think of the marvel of this. _The words of the speaker were -photographed_ on a film, and held in storage for several weeks, -before the streaks of light were re-converted into electric -impulses, and then transferred into faithful reproduction of speech -in a million homes. How great are the possibilities thus unfolded to -the immediate future. Here we have a record that is better than that -of the phonograph, because there will be no scratchiness from a -needle in its reproduction to mar the original tones. - -The period over which the Radio Boys Series has been produced has -seen the most remarkable all-around development of radio in history. -Now upon the publication of the latest volume in the series there -comes the announcement that a Hungarian scientist has been -successful in transmitting an actual picture of a current event as -it is occurring. - -We are upon the very threshold of TELEVISION—the system which -converts the etheric vibrations that correspond to vision, and -translates them into impulses of electric energy which can be -radiated through space, and picked up by specially designed radio -receivers. The system of course can also be applied to telegraph and -telephone wires. - -The development of this promising invention means that in the near -future we will be able to see the person to whom we are speaking, -whether we use the ordinary telephone or the wireless telephone as a -means of communication. This truly is an age of radio wonders! - - Jack Binns - - - - - CONTENTS - - I. A Sudden Alarm - II. Almost a Tragedy - III. Quick Work - IV. Radio, the Fire-Conqueror - V. The Wonderful Science - VI. Thrashing a Bully - VII. Good Riddance - VIII. At Risk of Life - IX. Off for Spruce Mountain - X. The Falling Bowlder - XI. Forest Radio - XII. The Ice Patrol - XIII. Winning Their Spurs - XIV. The Crouching Wildcat - XV. An Underground Mystery - XVI. Swallowed up by the Darkness - XVII. An Old Enemy - XVIII. Pinned Down - XIX. Fire - XX. A Terrible Battle - XXI. Plunged in the Lake - XXII. Fighting Off the Bears - XXIII. A Desperate Chance - XXIV. The Blessed Rain - XXV. Snatched from Death - - - - - THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS - - - - - CHAPTER I - - A SUDDEN ALARM - - -“Say, fellows!” exclaimed Bob Layton, as he bounded down the school -steps, three steps at a time, his books slung by a strap over his -shoulder, “what do you think——” - -“We never think,” interrupted Herb Fennington. “At least that’s what -Prof. Preston told our class the other day.” - -“Speak for yourself,” broke in Joe Atwood. “As for me, thinking is -the best thing I do. I’ve got Plato, Shakespeare and the rest of -those high-brows beaten to a frazzle.” - -“Sure thing,” mocked Jimmy Plummer. “But don’t think because you -have notions in your head that you’re a whole department store.” - -Bob surveyed his comrades with a withering glare. - -“When you funny fellows get through with your per-per-persiflage——” -he began. - -“Did you get that, fellows?” cried Jimmy. “Persiflage! Great! What -is it, Bob? A new kind of breakfast food?” - -“I notice it almost choked him to get it out,” remarked Joe, with a -grin. - -“Words of only one syllable would be the proper size for you -fellows,” retorted Bob. “But what I was going to say was that I just -heard from Mr. Bentley. You know the man I mean, the one that we saw -at my house some time ago and who gave us all that dope about forest -fires.” - -“Oh, you mean the forest ranger!” broke in Joe eagerly. “Sure, I -remember him. He was one of the most interesting fellows I ever -met.” - -“I’ll never forget what he told us about radio being used to get the -best of forest fires,” said Herb. “I could have listened to him all -night when once he got going.” - -“He’s a regular fellow, all right,” was Jimmy’s comment. “But what -about him? When did you see him?” - -“I haven’t seen him yet,” explained Bob. “Dad got a letter from him -yesterday. You know dad and he are old friends. Mr. Bentley asked -dad to remember him to all the radio boys, and said to tell us that -he was going to give a talk on radio and forest fires from the -Newark broadcasting station before long and wanted us to be sure to -listen in.” - -“Will we?” returned Joe enthusiastically. “You bet we will! But -when’s the talk coming off?” - -“Mr. Bentley said that the exact date hadn’t been settled yet,” -replied Bob. “But it will be some time within the next week or ten -days. He promised to let us know in plenty of time.” - -“I wouldn’t miss it for a farm,” chimed in Jimmy. “But if it’s great -to hear about it, what must it be to be right in the thick of the -work as he is? Some fellows have all the luck.” - -“Perhaps there are times when he doesn’t think it luck,” laughed -Bob. “Half a dozen times he’s just escaped death by the skin of his -teeth. But look, fellows, who’s coming.” - -The others followed the direction of Bob’s glance and saw a group of -three boys coming toward them. One, who seemed to be the leader, was -a big hulking fellow with a pasty complexion and eyes that were set -too close together. At his right was a boy slightly younger and on -the outside another, younger yet, with a furtive and shifty look. - -“Buck Looker, Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney!” exclaimed Bob. “I haven’t -come across them since we got back from the woods.” - -“Guess they’ve kept out of our way on purpose,” remarked Joe. “You -can bet they’ve felt mighty cheap over the way you put it over on -them in the matter of those letters.” - -“‘There were three crows sat on a tree,’” chanted Jimmy. - -“‘And they were black as crows could be,’” finished Herb. - -The objects of these unflattering remarks had caught sight of the -four boys, and as at the moment they were at a corner, they -hesitated slightly, as though they were minded to turn down the side -street. But after conferring for a moment, they kept on, their -leader assuming a swaggering air. And whereas before the three had -been simply conversing as they came along, they now began a -boisterous skylarking, snatching each other’s caps and knocking each -other about. - -Just as they came abreast of the other group, Buck gave Lutz a -violent shove and sent him with full force against Joe, who was -nearest. The latter was taken unawares and almost knocked off his -feet. - -Joe had a quick temper, and the malicious wantonness of the act made -his blood boil. He rushed toward Buck, who backed away from him, his -face gradually losing the grin it wore. - -“What did you mean by that?” demanded Joe, clenching his fist. - -“Aw, what’s the matter with you?” growled Buck. “How did I know he’d -knock against you? It was just an accident. Why didn’t you get out -of the way?” - -“Accident nothing,” replied Joe. “You’re the same sneak that you -always were, Buck Looker. You planned that thing when you stopped -and talked together. And now something’s going to happen to you, and -it won’t be an accident, either!” - -He advanced upon Buck, who hurriedly retreated to the middle of the -street and looked about him for a stone. - -“You keep away from me, Joe Atwood, or I’ll let you have this,” he -half snarled, half whined, stooping as he spoke and picking up a -stone as big as his fist. - -“You coward!” snapped Joe, still advancing. “Don’t think that’s -going to save you from a licking.” - -Just then a sharp warning came from Bob. - -“Stop, Joe!” he cried. “Here comes Dr. Dale.” - -A look of chagrin came into Joe’s face and a look of relief into -Buck’s, as they saw the pastor of the Old First Church turning a -corner and coming in their direction. Fighting now was out of the -question. - -“Lucky for you that he turned up just now,” blustered Buck, his old -swagger returning as he felt himself safe. “I was just going to give -you the licking of your life.” - -Joe laughed sarcastically, and before the biting contempt in that -laugh Buck flushed uncomfortably. - -“Stones seem to be your best friends,” said Joe. “I remember how you -used them in the snowballs when you smashed that plate-glass window. -And I remember too how you tried to fib out of it, but had to pay -for the window just the same.” - -By this time Dr. Dale was within earshot, and Buck and his -companions slunk away, while Joe picked up his books and rejoined -his comrades. - -The doctor’s keen eyes had seen that hostilities were threatening -but now that they had been averted he had too much tact and good -sense to ask any questions. - -“How are you, boys?” he greeted them, with the genial smile that -made him a general favorite. “Working hard at your studies, I -suppose.” - -“More or less hard,” answered Bob. “Though probably not nearly as -hard as we ought to,” he added. - -The doctor’s eyes twinkled. - -“Very few of us are in danger of dying from overwork, I imagine,” he -said. “But I’ve known you chaps to work mighty hard at radio.” - -“That isn’t work!” exclaimed Joe. “That’s fun.” - -“Sure thing,” echoed Herb. - -“I’ll tell the world it is,” added Jimmy. - -“We can’t wait for a chance to get at it,” affirmed Bob. - -“Seems to be unanimous,” laughed the doctor. “I feel the same way -myself. I never get tired of it, and I suppose the reason is that -something new is turning up all the time. One magical thing treads -close on the heels of another so that there’s no such thing as -monotony. There isn’t a week that passes, scarcely a day in fact, -that something doesn’t spring up that makes you gasp with -astonishment. Your mind is kept on the alert all the time, and -that’s one thing among many others that makes the charm of radio.” - -“I see that they’re using it everywhere in the Government -departments,” remarked Bob. - -“Every single one of them,” replied the doctor. The President -himself has had a set installed and uses it constantly. The head of -the army talks over it to every fort and garrison and camp in the -United States. The Secretary of the Navy communicates by it with -every ship and naval station in the Atlantic and Pacific as far away -as Honolulu and the Philippines. The Secretary of Agriculture sends -out information broadcast to every farmer in the United States who -happens to have a radio receiving set. And so with every other -branch of the Government. - -“That reminds me,” he went on, warming to his subject, as he always -did when he got on his favorite theme, “of a talk I had the other -day on the train with a man in the Government Air Mail Service. He -was a man, too, who knew what he was talking about, for he was the -first man to fly the mail successfully both ways between New York -and Washington on the initial air mail run. - -“He told me that plans are now on foot to fly mail across the -continent, daily, both ways, in something like twenty-four hours. -Just think of that! From coast to coast in twenty-four hours! That’s -five times as fast as an express train does it, and a hundred times -as fast as the old pioneers with their prairie schooners could do -it. - -“But in order to do this, a gap of about a thousand miles must be -flown at night. And here is where the radio comes in. In order to be -able to find his way in the dark, the flier uses his ears instead of -his eyes. He wears a radio-telephone helmet that excludes the noise -of the motor. A coil of wire is wound on his plane and is connected -to a radio receiving set on board. Along his route at stated -intervals are transmission stations whose signals come up to the -aviator. When the pilot’s direction finder is pointed toward these -stations that mark out his path the signals are loudest. The minute -he begins to get off his path, either on one side or the other, the -signals begin to get weaker. - -“Now, you see, all that the pilot has to do is to keep along the -line where the signals are loudest. If he goes a little to the right -and finds the signals getting weaker, he knows he must shift a -little back to the left again until he gets on the loudest sound -line. The same process has to be followed if he gets off to the -left. You see, it’s just as if the plane were running along a -trolley line miles below it. Only in this case the trolley line -instead of being made of wire is made of sound. That loudest sound -line will stretch right across the continent, and all the flier has -to do is to run along it. If he does this, he’ll get to his -destination just as certainly as does the train running along the -rails that lead to the station.” - -“It’s wonderful!” exclaimed Bob. - -“Sounds like witchcraft,” commented Joe. - -“You see how easy that makes it for the aviator,” resumed the -doctor. “It may be as black as Egypt, but that makes no difference -to him. He may be shrouded in fog, but that can’t bewilder him or -shunt him off his course. He can shut his eyes and get along just as -well. All he’s got to do is not to go to sleep. And when the dawn -breaks he finds himself a thousand miles or so nearer to his -destination.” - -“Suppose he gets to his landing field in the night time or in a -heavy fog,” said Joe thoughtfully. “How’s he going to know where to -come down?” - -“Radio attends to that too,” replied the doctor. “At each landing -place there will be a peculiar kind of radio transmission aerial, -which transmits vertically in the form of a cone that gains diameter -as it goes higher. At a height of about three thousand feet above -the field, such a cone will have a diameter of nearly half a mile. -In other words this sound cone will be like a horn of plenty with -the tip on the ground and its wide opening up in the air. The pilot -will sail right into this wide mouth of the horn which he will -recognize by its peculiar signal. Then he will spiral down on the -inside of the cone, or horn, until he reaches the tip on the ground. -This will be right in the middle of the landing field, and there he -is safe and sound. - -“But here I am at my corner,” Dr. Dale concluded. “And perhaps it’s -just as well, for when I get to talking on radio I never know when -to stop.” - -He said good-by with a wave of his hand while the four boys looked -after him with respect and admiration. - -“He’s all to the good, isn’t he?” said Bob. - -“You bet he is!” agreed Joe emphatically. - -“He’s—Hello! what’s the matter?” - -A sudden commotion was evident up the street. People were running -excitedly and shouting in consternation. - -The boys broke into a run in the direction followed by the crowd. - -“What’s happened?” Bob asked, as he came abreast of a panting -runner. - -“There’s been an explosion up at Layton’s drug store,” the man -replied. “They say an ammonia tank burst and everybody up there was -killed.” - -Bob’s face grew ashen. - -“My father!” he cried, and ran toward the store in an agony of grief -and fear. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - ALMOST A TRAGEDY - - -With his heart beating like a triphammer and his lungs strained -almost to bursting, Bob ran on as he had never run before. And yet -it seemed to him as though he were terribly slow and that his limbs -were dragging as though he were in a nightmare. - -Joe, Herb and Jimmy were close behind him as he rushed along, -elbowing his way through the throng that grew denser as he neared -the building in which his father’s store was located. The alarm had -spread with almost lightning rapidity, and it seemed as if half the -people of the town were on their way to render whatever help might -be possible. - -In what seemed to be an age, but was in reality less than two -minutes, the boys had reached the store. What they saw was not -calculated to relieve their fears. Choking fumes of what seemed to -be ammonia were pouring out into the streets through the store -windows that had been shattered by the explosion. People who had -come within twenty feet of the place were already choking and -staggering, and one man who had approached too near had fallen prone -on the sidewalk and was being dragged by others out of the danger -zone. - -Bob plunged headforemost through the crowd and was making for the -door when cries of warning rose and many hands grasped him and -pulled him back. - -“Let me go!” he shouted frantically. “My father is in there! Perhaps -he is dying! Let me go!” - -But despite his frantic appeals, his captors held him until he -unbuttoned his jacket and, wriggling out of it like an eel, again -made a dash for the door. The fumes struck him full in the face, and -he staggered as under a blow. Before he could recover and make -another attempt, strong arms were around him and this time held him -fast. - -“No use, Bob, my boy,” said the firm but kindly voice of Mr. Talley, -a warm friend both of Bob and his father. “It’s simply suicide to go -in there until the fumes thin out some. Here comes the fire engine -now. The firemen have smoke helmets that will protect them against -the fumes, and if your father is in there, they’ll have him out -quickly.” - -Up the street, with a great clangor of bells, came tearing the -engine. The crowd made way for it, while the firemen leaped from the -running board before it came to a stop. - -“I’ve got to do something!” gasped Bob. “Let me go!” - -“No use, my boy,” said Mr. Talley. - -Just then Joe had an inspiration. - -“Bob,” he shouted, “there’s that passageway from the old factory -that leads right to the back of the store. Perhaps we can get in -from that. What do you say?” - -In a flash, Bob remembered. He tore himself loose from Mr. Talley’s -grasp and was off after Joe, running like a deer. - -And while the boys are frantically seizing this chance of rescue, it -may be well for the benefit of those who have not read the preceding -volumes of this series to tell briefly who the Radio Boys were and -what had been their adventures up to the time this story opens. - -Bob Layton, who at this time was about sixteen years old, had been -born and brought up in Clintonia, a wide-awake, thriving town with a -population of over ten thousand. It was pleasantly located on a -little stream called the Shagary River, less than a hundred miles -from New York City. Bob’s father was a leading citizen of the town -and a prosperous druggist and chemist. No one in the town was more -highly respected, and although not rich, he had achieved a -comfortable competence. - -Bob was a general favorite with the people of the town because of -his sunny temperament and his straightforward, manly character. He -was tall, sinewy, of dark complexion and a leader among the young -fellows of his own age in all athletic sports, especially in -baseball and football. On the school nine and eleven he was a pillar -of strength, cool, resourceful and determined. His courage was often -tested and never failed to meet the test. He never looked for -trouble, but never dodged it when it came. - -His closest friend was Joe Atwood, whose father was a prominent -physician of Clintonia. Joe was of fair complexion, with merry blue -eyes that were usually full of laughter. They could flash ominously -on occasion, however, for Joe’s temper was of the hair-trigger -variety and sometimes got him into trouble. He seldom needed a spur, -but more than once a brake was applied by Bob, who had much more -coolness and self-control. The pair got on excellently together and -were almost inseparable. - -Closely allied to this pair of friends were two other boys, slightly -younger but near enough to their ages to make congenial comrades. -One of these was Herb Fennington, whose father kept the largest -general store in town. Herb was a jolly likeable young fellow, none -too fond of hard work, but full of jokes and conundrums that he was -always ready to spring on the slightest encouragement and often -without any encouragement at all. - -The fourth member of the group was Jimmy Plummer, whose father was a -carpenter and contractor. Nature never intended Jimmy for an -athlete, for he was chunky and fat and especially fond of the good -things of life; so much so in fact that he went by the nickname of -“Doughnuts” because of his liking for that delectable product. He -was rollicking and good-natured, and the other boys were strongly -attached to him. - -They would have been warm friends under any circumstances, but they -were drawn still more closely together because of their common -interest in the science of radio. The enthusiasm that swept the -country when the marvels of the new science became known caught them -in its grip and made them the most ardent of radio “fans.” They -absorbed anything they could hear or read on the subject, and almost -all their spare time was spent in delving into the mysteries of this -miracle of modern days. - -While the Radio Boys, as they soon began to be called, were popular -with and friendly to almost all the other Clintonia boys, there was -one group in the town with whom they were almost constantly at odds. -Buck Looker and two of his cronies, Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney, were -the special enemies of the Radio Boys and never lost an opportunity, -if it were possible to bring it about, of doing them mischief in a -mean and underhand way. - -Buck’s father was one of the richest men in the town, and this -enabled Buck to lord it over Lutz, slightly younger than he, and -Mooney, younger yet, both of them sneaks and trouble-makers, who -cringed to Buck because of his father’s wealth. - -The boys might not have made such rapid progress with their radio -had it not been for the help and inspiration given them by Dr. Dale, -the pastor of the Old First Church, who was himself keenly -interested and very proficient in the science. He understood boys, -liked them and was always ready to help them out when they were -perplexed in any phase of their sending or receiving. They in turn -liked him thoroughly, a liking that was increased by their knowledge -that he had been a star athlete in his college days. - -Another thing that stimulated their interest in radio was the offer -of prizes by Mr. Ferberton, the member of Congress for their -district, for the best radio sets turned out by the boys themselves. -Herb was a bit lazy and kept out of the contest, but Bob, Joe and -Jimmy entered into the competition with zest. - -An unexpected happening just about this time led the boys into a -whole train of adventures. A visitor in town, a Miss Nellie Berwick, -lost control of the automobile she was driving and the machine -dashed through the windows of a store. A fire ensued and the girl -might have lost her life had it not been for the courage of the -Radio Boys who rescued her from her shattered car. - -How the boys learned of the orphan girl’s story; how by the use of -the radio they got on the track of the fellow who had defrauded her, -how Buck Looker and his gang attempted to ruin their chances in the -radio competition, can be read in the first volume of this series, -entitled: “The Radio Boys’ First Wireless; Or, Winning the Ferberton -Prize.” - -Summer had come by that time and the Radio Boys went with their -parents to a little bungalow colony on the seashore. They carried -their radio sets with them, though they had no inkling of what an -important and thrilling part those sets were to play. What advances -they made in the practical knowledge of the science; how in a -terrible storm they were able to send out radio messages that -brought help to the steamer on which their own people were voyaging; -all these adventures are told in the second book of the series, -entitled: “The Radio Boys at Ocean Point; Or, the Message that Saved -the Ship.” - -Several weeks still remained of the vacation season, and the boys -had an opportunity of saving the occupants of a rowboat that had -been heartlessly run down by thieves in a stolen motor-boat. Two of -the rescued people were Larry Bartlett and a friend who were -vaudeville actors, between whom and the boys a warm friendship -sprang up. How they exonerated Larry from a false charge of theft -brought by Buck Looker; how when an accident crippled Larry they -obtained for him a chance to use his talents in a broadcasting -station; how this led eventually to themselves being placed on the -program can be seen in the third volume of the series, entitled: -“The Radio Boys at the Sending Station; Or, Making Good in the -Wireless Room.” - -The boys reluctantly bade farewell to the beach and returned to -Clintonia for the fall term of high school. But their studies had -not continued for many weeks before an epidemic in the town made it -necessary to close the school for a time. This proved a blessing in -disguise, for it gave the Radio Boys an opportunity to make a visit -to Mountain Pass, a popular resort in the hills. Here they made the -acquaintance of a Wall Street man to whom they were able to render a -great service by thwarting a gang of plotters who were working for -his undoing. By the use of radio they were able to summon help and -save a life when all the passes were blocked with snow. They trapped -Buck Looker and his gang in a clever way just when it seemed that -the latter’s plots were going through, and had a host of other -adventures, all narrated in the fourth volume of the series, -entitled: “The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass; Or, the Midnight Call -for Assistance.” - -Shortly after the boys had returned to Clintonia, they were startled -to learn that the criminal Dan Cassey, with two other desperate -characters, had escaped from jail. A series of mysterious messages -over the radio put them on the trail of the convicts. How well the -boys played their part in this thrilling and dangerous work is told -in the fifth volume of the series, entitled: “The Radio Boys -Trailing a Voice: Or, Solving a Wireless Mystery.” - -And now to return to Bob and Joe, as, panting with their exertions -and followed by their comrades, they rushed toward the old factory -from which they hoped to reach the rear of Mr. Layton’s store. - -The place had formerly been used by a chemical concern with which -Mr. Layton was connected in an advisory capacity. He was skilled in -his profession and his services had been highly appreciated. An -amalgamation of several similar concerns had now been effected, and -for purposes of economy the headquarters of the company had been -removed to another city and the old factory had been abandoned. - -While it had been in operation it had been connected with the rear -of Mr. Layton’s store by an underground tunnel that was just large -enough to permit easy access from one place to the other. A large -door closed it at the factory end, while at the rear of the store a -flight of steps led up to a large, square trapdoor set in the floor. - -Bob’s mind was in a tumult of emotions as he ran along. It was a -long time since he had been in the factory, and in the confusion of -his thoughts he could not remember whether the great door was locked -or not. And even if he succeeded in gaining access there, the -possibility remained that the trapdoor at the other end might prove -to be bolted. In either case, it would be impossible to get into the -store until it was too late to be of any use. And at this very -moment his father might be gasping out his life in those terrible -fumes! - -He reached the factory, flung himself through the open outer door -and made for the door leading into the passageway. He pulled -frantically at the knob, but it resisted his efforts. Was it locked, -after all? The answer was supplied the next moment when Joe added -his strength to Bob’s, and yielding to their united efforts the -heavy door, groaning and creaking on its rusted hinges, swung -outward. Jimmy and Herb had been outdistanced and were nowhere to be -seen. - -With an inward prayer of gratitude Bob plunged into the dusty -passage that had been unused for years. Fortunately it ran in a -straight line, and although he had no light he had little difficulty -in finding his way, despite the fact that he abraded his hands and -shins against the sides, owing to the rate at which he was going. -But in his excitement the youth did not even feel the bruises. - -In a moment he had reached the foot of the steps, bounded up them -and was pushing with all his might at the trapdoor at the head. It -yielded under his efforts enough to show that it was not bolted. For -a moment though, it seemed as though it might as well have been, for -some heavy object or objects lying on it defied his strength. By -this time Joe was at his side, and together they strained at the -door, while the veins stood out in ridges along their arms and -shoulders. Had they not been strung up to such a pitch, they could -never have succeeded, but sheer desperation gave them strength far -beyond the normal, and gradually they forced the trap upward and -rolled over to one side what had been holding it down. - -In a twinkling both the boys were up in the store. The fumes had -thinned out somewhat, but were still thick enough to make them gasp -and choke. Whatever they had to do must be done quickly. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - QUICK WORK - - -The room into which the boys had leaped was a small laboratory -fitted up in the rear of the store. As Bob’s eyes ranged about, they -fell on two bodies lying at the side of the trapdoor. These were -what had been holding the trapdoor down. A glance sufficed to show -Bob that one was the body of his father and the other that of -Thompson, one of the clerks of the store. - -In a moment Bob was on his knees at his father’s side. - -“Dad!” he cried. “Dad! Are you alive? Speak to me!” - -But no answer came from the motionless lips. - -Bob put his hand on his father’s heart. It was still beating, though -slowly and fitfully. - -“Quick, Joe,” shouted Bob. “Help me get him out of this.” - -Joe responded instantly, but at this moment the firemen, who had -been groping about in the blinding fumes, stumbled into the room. -Willing hands grasped the bodies of Mr. Layton and the clerk and -carried them out to the sidewalk. Here a cordon was quickly formed -to keep the crowd back. - -The telephone had been busy while these events were happening, and -all the physicians in the town had been summoned. Oxygen tanks and -pulmotors had also been requisitioned from the hospital and the -ambulance containing them arrived just as the rescues were being -effected. Dr. Atwood, Joe’s father, and Dr. Ellis were already on -the scene, and the former took charge of Mr. Layton, while Dr. Ellis -devoted himself to the clerk. - -Then followed moments full of heartbreaks for Bob, while he waited -for the doctor’s verdict. Both the physicians worked with skill and -quickness, but it was some time before their efforts were rewarded. - -Joe placed his arm affectionately about his friend’s shoulder, while -Herb and Jimmy also added words of encouragement. Bob tried to be -brave, but his heart was rent with anguish while he waited for the -words that would mean life or death. - -Finally, after what seemed an age, Dr. Atwood rose to his feet with -relief and satisfaction in his eyes. - -“He will live,” he said, and with the words Bob felt as though the -weight of a thousand tons had been lifted from his heart. “For a -while it was a case of touch or go, but you got him out just in -time. Two minutes more and it would have been too late. All he needs -now is rest and good nursing, and he’ll be as well as ever in a -couple of weeks.” - -At the same moment Mr. Layton opened his eyes and looked around. His -gaze was vague and uncertain at first, but as his eyes fell upon Bob -they lighted up with a smile of recognition, and he tried to reach -out his hand to him. But he was too weak, and the hand fell -helplessly at his side. In a moment Bob was kneeling beside him and -patting his hand. - -“Dad, Dad,” he cried. “Thank God!” And then because his heart was -too full he could say no more. - -Dr. Ellis also announced that Thompson was out of danger, and the -patients were lifted into the ambulance and conveyed to their -respective homes. - -The week that followed was a trying one for Bob and his mother. The -latter was assiduous at the bedside of her husband, who, although -steadily recovering, mended slowly. Bob, apart from his anxiety over -his father’s condition, found a great deal of responsibility placed -on his shoulders. The store had to be repaired and put in order for -carrying on the business. Insurance also had to be attended to, and -a host of other details forced themselves upon his attention. -Fortunately the head clerk, a Mr. Trent, who had been absent at the -time of the accident, was an expert pharmacist and a good manager; -so that, after the first few days, business had been resumed and was -going on as usual. Still, Bob was heavily taxed with matters that -were comparatively new to him. He rose to the occasion, however, in -a way that made his father proud of him. - -“You’re my right hand, Bob,” his father said to him one day, as he -sat by his bedside. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve -carried on affairs as though you were an old hand at the business. -It’s too bad that all this had to be shoved on you so suddenly, but -you’ve stood the test nobly.” - -“Oh, that’s nothing,” replied Bob, making light of the matter, -though his father’s praise was sweet to him. “All you’ve got to do -is to get well and nothing else matters.” - -“I’ve been trying to figure out how the thing happened,” mused his -father, “but to save my life I can’t understand it. All I was -conscious of was a terrific noise and a shock as though I had been -hit on the head by a triphammer. Then everything went black and I -knew nothing more until I saw you standing beside me on the -sidewalk.” - -“Don’t excite yourself by trying to remember,” replied Bob -soothingly. “The important thing is that you’re alive. All the rest -is nothing.” - -Bob’s chums had also felt an anxiety only second to his own. They -were full of sympathy and showed it by doing everything they could -to help him and lighten the load that he was carrying. All the spare -time they had they spent with him at his home or at the store. The -calamity had served to cement the ties that bound the friends -together. - -By the time a week had passed, matters took an upward turn. Mr. -Layton began to progress rapidly, and Dr. Atwood prophesied that in -a few days he could begin to attend to business, although at first -he could devote only a few hours a day to it, lengthening the time -as his strength came back. Affairs in the Layton household resumed -their normal course and Bob had time to catch up with his studies -that had been temporarily neglected and devote himself once more to -his beloved radio. - -His interest in the latter was further heightened by the receipt of -a letter that came one morning to his father, and whose contents Bob -proceeded at once to share with his comrades. - -“That talk by Mr. Bentley over the radio is fixed for to-morrow -night, fellows,” he told them eagerly, as they started off for -school. “Don’t make any other engagement and be sure to be on hand. -Suppose you come round to my house to listen in. I’ve been tinkering -on my set this last day or two, and I’ve got it tuned to the queen’s -taste. And if it’s as cool to-morrow as it is to-day, old static -won’t be butting in to any extent.” - -“Let’s hope not,” replied Joe. “I don’t want to miss a single word.” - -“Same here,” echoed Herb. “That Bentley has something to say and he -sure knows how to say it.” - -“It’s always worth while listening when a he-man talks,” commented -Jimmy, whose imagination had been captured by the breezy personality -of the bronzed forest ranger. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - RADIO THE FIRE-CONQUEROR - - -Promptly at eight o’clock on the following night the Radio Boys -gathered at Bob’s house to listen to Mr. Bentley’s talk over the -radio on radio and forest fires. Even Jimmy, who as a rule lingered -long at the supper table and could usually be depended on to be at -the tail end of any procession, had made an exception on this -occasion, and appeared before the clock struck, although slightly -out of breath. - -“You’re puffing like a grampus,” remarked Herb, as he surveyed his -rotund friend critically. - -“I don’t know what a grampus is,” returned Jimmy; “but I wouldn’t -blame him for puffing if he’d hurried through his supper the way I -did. Had some fresh doughnuts, too, for dessert, but I cut short on -them.” - -“Cut short!” snorted Herb, in frank disbelief. “How many did you -eat?” - -“Only seven,” returned Jimmy, unabashed. “I’m usually good for ten.” - -“What’s making your pockets bulge so?” asked Joe suspiciously. - -“Those are the other three doughnuts,” explained Jimmy placidly, as -he took one out and began to munch on it. “I’ve got to keep up my -strength, you know.” - -“Well, here’s where you grow weaker,” declared Joe, as he made a -dive for Jimmy’s pocket and snatched out one of the remaining -doughnuts and began to devour it. - -Jimmy made a wild dive for it, which gave Herb a chance to pull the -last one from his pocket, a chance of which he availed himself with -neatness and dispatch. - -They dodged about the room while Jimmy tried in vain to regain his -treasures, which, however, soon vanished to the last crumb. - -“This joint ought to be pinched,” Jimmy said, in pronounced disgust, -when all hope had gone. “I didn’t think that I was coming into a -nest of crooks.” - -“Never mind, Jimmy,” Bob laughed. “There’s a delicious apple pie in -the pantry that mother has laid aside for us, and I’ll see that your -slice is twice as big as those of these two highbinders.” - -Jimmy brightened up visibly at this, and further hostilities were -averted. - -In deference to Mr. Layton’s condition, the loud speaker was not -used that night, and the boys adjusted their respective earphones -and prepared to listen in to the entertainment furnished by WJZ, the -signal letters of the Newark broadcasting station. - -Mr. Bentley’s talk was scheduled on the program to take place at -nine, and the boys were so impatient for this to begin that they did -not pay as much attention as usual to the other features that -preceded it. Not but what they were well worth listening to. There -was a glorious violin solo played by a celebrated master, the rich -notes rising and falling in wonderful bursts of melody. Then there -was a talk by a star third baseman of national reputation, telling -how he played the “difficult corner” and narrating some ludicrous -happenings in the great game. Following this was a jazz rendition of -the “Old Alabama Moon,” and then came one of Sousa’s band pieces -that set feet to jigging in time with the music. WJZ was surely -putting on a most interesting program. - -At last came the announcement for which the Radio Boys were waiting, -and they straightened up in an attitude of intent listening. - -“Mr. Payne Bentley, of the United States Forest Service,” stated the -announcer, “will tell us of the work done by radio in the prevention -and extinction of fires in the national forests. Mr. Bentley has -spent many years in this important and hazardous work, both as -aviator and radio operator, and speaks with authority.” - -There was a moment’s pause, and then came the clear strong voice -that the boys had been waiting for and which they recognized at -once. - -“There’s the old boy, sure enough,” murmured Jimmy delightedly. - -“S-sh,” came from the others, as they settled down to listen. - -“I am not a practiced orator,” Mr. Bentley began after the customary -salutation to his invisible audience, “and if my talk shall prove of -any interest to you, it will be due not to the way in which I -express myself but to the importance of my subject.” - -After this modest opening he plunged into his theme, and for a space -of perhaps twenty minutes presented an array of facts and incidents -that riveted the closest attention of his great audience. At least, -that was the way it affected the Radio Boys, and they had no doubt -that thousands of others were listening with the same fascinated -interest. Nor was this due simply to the personal attraction the -speaker had for the boys. Had they not known him at all, the subject -matter of his talk would have been sufficient to hold them -enchained. - -With a few broad strokes the speaker sketched the awakening of the -national Government to the value of its forest riches and the -necessity of conserving them. Uncle Sam, he said, had been in the -position of a prodigal father, so rich that he believed his wealth -would never be used up, therefore perfectly willing that his sons -should scatter it broadcast. Why worry, when there were millions and -millions of acres teeming with trees that could scarcely be -numbered? So he had shut his eyes to the denuding of the forests. - -But suddenly he had awakened with a shock. For he had realized after -all that his wealth was not limitless. Great tracts had been -stripped of their trees to such an extent that the watercourses in -their vicinity had dried up or greatly diminished in volume. After -the great trunks had been borne away, tons of branches had been left -to dry until they became like tinder needing only a spark to fan -them into a holocaust of flame that swept over thousands of acres, -leaving only blasted and charred skeletons of what had been living -trees. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of valuable timber had -literally vanished in smoke. - -Fortunately the Government had not aroused itself too late. It was -not a case of locking the stable door after all the horses had been -stolen. There was still enough left, with careful husbanding, to -provide against national disaster. But the waste must stop right -here. Reforesting must keep pace with deforesting. For every tree -taken away, another must be grown to take its place. And above all, -the fires that had been taking such fearful toll of our forest -wealth must be prevented as far as possible. And where prevention -was unavailing, the best and most improved methods of getting the -fires under control and extinguishing them must be adopted and -applied. - -So the United States Forestry Service had come into being, and the -fire loss had been immeasurably reduced. Stations had been -established in great tracts of woodland from the Atlantic to the -Pacific. Men with special qualities had been picked for the hard and -dangerous work of forest rangers. They were the policemen of the -woods, authorized to take action against many grades of human -malefactors, but cautioned to be on their guard especially against -the great archdemon—Fire! - -In the woods as in the cities, the speaker pointed out, time is the -greatest element in the curbing of fire. That is why the great -engines go thundering down city streets at such tremendous speed. -The loss of one minute of time may mean the loss of millions of -dollars. Time to a city fireman is measured not in minutes but in -seconds, and sometimes even in tenths of a second. - -The same thing was true in forest fires. The alarm must be given -instantly. It must be flashed to scores of villages and settlements -lying in the threatened area. It must call hordes of settlers and -woodmen to join in the work of getting the fire under control. How -could this most effectively be done? The answer was in one word. -Radio! - -For Uncle Sam had come to realize that in this wonderful agency he -had found the solution of his problem. He had tried many others. -There had been lofty stations that had wig-wagged signals from one -height to another, but this method had only a limited range and was -ineffective under conditions of cloud and fog and darkness. -Telegraph and telephone lines had been strung through the woods -between stations, but in many cases the trees to which they had been -strung and the wires themselves had been burned in the very fire -that the operators had been trying to control. - -But radio had none of these handicaps. It could work by night as -well as by day. There were no wires to be melted. It worked in the -valleys as easily as in the hills. The tiniest glint of fire, the -smallest thread of smoke—and instantly the message was flung out -into the ether, reaching every camp, every settlement, every party -in the woods who carried their radio receiving sets with them, -telling them just where the fire was starting and summoning them to -help. - -And it did more than that. As soon as the fire was located, aviators -whose planes were equipped with radio hovered above the line of -flame and gave directions by wireless to the workers below. Those on -the ground, blistered and blinded by the flame and smoke against -which they were waging war, could not see where the fire was -spreading nor the best means to combat it. But the aviator from his -lofty perch surveyed the whole scene, could call the fire fighters -to the point where they were most needed, could point out the place -where ditches should be cut or backfires started, and in general -direct the whole campaign. - -It was not to be supposed, the speaker said, that the value of radio -for this purpose was instantaneously recognized. Large bodies move -slowly, and the national Government was very conservative and, like -the man from Missouri, wanted to be “shown.” Objections were raised -that the cost of carrying and setting up the radio apparatus in the -wilderness would be prohibitive. But there were men of vision who -knew better and they kept pounding away until their plans were put -into execution. In the end the advocates of radio won. And what that -wonderful radio has saved to the United States Government has run up -already into the hundreds of millions. - -Many incidents, some amusing, others thrilling, connected with the -Forest Service were narrated by the speaker, who then finished his -remarks in this fashion: - -“Before I close, let me say that if the Radio Boys of Clintonia are -listening in, I am sending my regards and will soon call upon them -again.” - - - - - CHAPTER V - - THE WONDERFUL SCIENCE - - -The effect of this closing sentence on the Radio Boys was electric. -They had been engrossed in the subject of the talk, and the personal -twist that came at the end took them utterly by surprise. Bob jumped -as though he had been shot, and Jimmy nearly fell off his chair. - -“Well! what do you think of that?” exclaimed Joe, as soon as he got -his breath. - -“Wasn’t that dandy of the old scout?” sputtered Herb, not yet -recovered from his surprise. - -“Talking to hundreds of thousands and yet taking time to send a -special message to us!” remarked Bob, with deep gratification. - -“Radio Boys of Clintonia!” chuckled Jimmy. “Guess we’re some -pumpkins, say, what?” - -“How I wish we could answer back and tell him what we thought of his -address,” observed Joe regretfully. - -“You’ll have a chance to do that when you see him face to face,” Bob -reminded him. “You remember that he said he’d call on us soon.” - -“Can’t be too soon to suit me,” declared Herb emphatically. - -“And that’s the man who began by saying that he wasn’t a practiced -orator!” commented Bob. “Gee, I think it was one of the most -eloquent things I ever heard. I wouldn’t have missed a word of it. -I’ll bet that if he’d have delivered that in a crowded hall his -hearers would have raised the roof.” - -“He’s there with the goods all right,” agreed Joe. “And did you -notice how modest he was? Not a word about his own personal -adventures, but boosting the other fellows to beat the band. I tell -you, that fellow’s a real man.” - -“We were in luck when we got acquainted with him,” declared Bob. -“And by the way, fellows, did you ever stop to think how many fine -fellows we’ve met in the radio line? There’s Frank Brandon and -Brandon Harvey and Payne Bentley, all of them princes.” - -“Not to mention Doctor Dale,” put in Herb. “Of course we knew him -before, but we never got real close to him until we took up this -radio work.” - -“What a treat it would be to get those four together and get them -started talking about radio!” ejaculated Joe. “Maybe we wouldn’t -learn something!” - -“You said it,” affirmed Jimmy. “I wouldn’t want to say a word but -just sit still and listen.” - -There were still other numbers on the program of WJZ, but the boys -were so absorbed in Mr. Bentley and his talk that they did not care -for anything else that night. They sat talking it over until Joe, -looking at his watch, was startled to find that it was nearly -midnight. - -“Guess we’d better be making tracks,” he said, reaching for his cap. - -Jimmy was the only one of the visitors who did not follow his -example. - -“Glued to the chair?” inquired Herb flippantly. “Going to make Bob -twice glad by staying all night?” - -“I was thinking,” said Jimmy dreamily, “of a little word that I -heard earlier in the evening. A very little word it was, but it -means a lot in my young life. Only three letters. Let me see! P-i-e. -Yes, that’s it. Pie. I knew I’d be able to recall it.” - -“That’s a safe bet,” said Joe. “If you remembered your lessons half -as well, you’d stand higher in your classes.” - -Bob, recalled to his duties as host, hurried to the pantry, whence -he returned bearing one of the apple pies for which Mrs. Layton was -famous. - -“Do you think you’d better eat anything so late at night, Jimmy?” -asked Herb, with mock solicitude. - -“I don’t think—I know,” returned Jimmy, with emphasis. “It may kill -me, but at least I’ll die happy. But I don’t believe it will kill -me. Do you remember what I did in that pie-eating contest up in the -woods? Don’t forget that I’m a champion.” - -Bob started to cut the pie into four equal pieces, when Jimmy -intervened. - -“Remember your promise, Bob,” he said. “I was to have twice as much -as these crooks who robbed me of my doughnuts. Cut it into five -pieces and give me two of them.” - -“Your figuring is rotten, Jimmy,” declared Joe. “That would give you -twice as much as either Herb or me, and so far it’s all right. But -it would also give you twice as much as Bob, and that wasn’t in the -bargain. He didn’t swipe one of your doughnuts.” - -Jimmy looked perplexed. He was not especially strong in mathematics. - -“That’s so,” he admitted. “Suppose then we cut it into six pieces. -That will be two for Bob, two for me and one apiece for you crooks.” - -“There again you’re wrong,” persisted the implacable Joe. “It’s all -right for you to have double what we have, but where does Bob come -in to have two to our one? We didn’t rob him of a doughnut.” - -Now poor Jimmy was puzzled indeed. It was clear to him that if the -pie were cut in five pieces, of which he had two, he would have an -unfair advantage over Bob. There was no reason why he should have -twice what Bob had. On the other hand if it were cut in six pieces, -of which Bob had two, Bob for no reason whatever would have twice as -much as Herb or Joe. How could the pie be cut so that Bob would have -his fair share and no more and yet Jimmy have twice as much as -either Herb or Joe? Into exactly how many equal pieces must it be -divided so that justice might be done? - -Perhaps some of our young readers might be puzzled to answer the -question. Jimmy certainly was. So much so in fact that he made a -virtue of necessity and decided to be generous. - -“Oh, all right,” he said with a magnificent gesture. “Cut it into -four equal pieces and let it go at that. I’ll get even with you -fellows some other way.” - -“How sweet of you,” replied Joe, grinning, hastening to grab his -quarter before Jimmy should repent of his offer. “Only I’m not sure -whether this is softness of heart or softness of brain. You’d never -have done it if you hadn’t got mixed up in your figuring.” - -Jimmy tried to think of some crushing retort, but by that time he -had started to eat the pie, and he put his whole attention so -thoroughly on the work that less important things were forgotten. - -The next afternoon, as Bob was going down to his father’s store, he -ran across Dr. Dale. After the doctor had made inquiries as to how -Mr. Layton was progressing, Bob asked him: - -“By the way, Doctor, were you listening in at WJZ last night?” - -“No, I wasn’t,” replied the doctor. “Was there anything that was -especially interesting?” - -“We found it so,” responded Bob, and then proceeded to give an -outline of the talk of the forest ranger. - -“It must have been fine,” Dr. Dale commented when Bob had concluded. -“I have a personal interest in forestry work for reasons that I will -tell you about when I have more time. I’m glad to hear that Mr. -Bentley is going to visit you, and I would like to come round and -get acquainted with him.” - -“I’ll tell you when he comes,” promised Bob. - -“One reason that I missed his talk last night,” the doctor went on, -“was that for the greater part of the evening I was listening in at -WGY. Those, you remember, are the call letters of the Schenectady -station. They’ve got a wonderful new contrivance there that’s going -to make a sensation in the radio world when it becomes generally -known.” - -“One more miracle to be put down to the account of radio, I -suppose,” replied Bob, with an appreciative smile. - -“You might almost call it that,” replied the doctor. “Some weeks ago -WGY told its audience that a new device different from the -phonograph was being used to talk into the radio transmitter. But at -the time they didn’t give any explanation of what the contrivance -was. I suppose they wanted to test it out under all conditions -before they let the public in on it. But last night they told us all -about it. It’s a film that does the talking.” - -“A film!” exclaimed Bob, in surprise. - -“That’s just what it is,” affirmed Dr. Dale. “They showed it to -Edison when he was up there the other day, and he was astonished. -And anything that astonishes that wizard must be pretty good.” - -“I should say so!” acquiesced Bob. “Please tell me just what it is -and how it works.” - -“It’s something like this,” replied the doctor. “I’ll try to give it -to you as nearly as I can in the very words that were used in -explaining it. The purpose of the device is to record sounds on a -photographic film so that the sound may later on be exactly -reproduced in ordinary telephones and loud speakers. The record is -made by causing the sound waves to produce vibrations on a very -delicate mirror. A beam of light reflected by this mirror strikes a -photographic film which is constantly in motion. - -“When the film is developed it shows a band of white with faint -markings on the edges which correspond to the sound which has been -reproduced. On account of the exceedingly small size of the mirror, -it has been found possible to produce a sound record which includes -the delicate overtones which give quality to speech and musical -sounds. Do you get my meaning?” - -“I can understand how the film is made,” responded Bob thoughtfully. -“But after it is made, how is the sound reproduced?” - -“I was coming to that,” replied the doctor. “The reproduction of the -sound from the film is brought about by moving the film in front of -an exceedingly delicate electrical device which produces an -electromotive force that varies with the amount of light that falls -upon it. By an ingenious combination of vacuum tubes, there has been -produced an apparatus which responds to variations in the light -falling on it with the speed of light itself or with the speed of -propagation of wireless waves into space. Therefore, when this film -is moved continuously in front of such a device, the device produces -an electric current which corresponds very accurately to the -original sound wave. This electric current may be used to actuate a -telephone or loud speaker. - -“When this was told to us last night, I thought that it was the -announcer who was talking. But, as a matter of fact, it was the film -that was talking. The voice of the announcer had first been recorded -on the film and then was sent out with such accuracy that we were -all fooled into believing that the announcer himself was speaking to -us at first hand.” - -“That certainly showed how good it was!” exclaimed Bob. “It’s -nothing less than magic! It sometimes seems as though it couldn’t be -real—as if radio must be a dream.” - -“A dream that has come true,” answered the doctor, as he smilingly -said good-by and went on his way. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - THRASHING A BULLY - - -The next morning Bob was on his way to school when on passing the -Sterling House, the most prominent hotel in town, he caught sight of -the figure of a girl on the porch that looked somewhat familiar to -him. He looked again and recognized Nellie Berwick, the orphan girl -to whom he and the rest of the Radio Boys had rendered such valuable -service when her automobile had run wild and dashed through the -window of a store. - -At the same moment her eyes fell upon Bob and her face lighted up -with pleasure. She waved her hand in greeting, and in a moment Bob -had run up the steps and was taking her outstretched hand. - -“I’m so glad to see you,” she said, and there was evident sincerity -in her voice. “I was just thinking of you before you came in sight.” - -“It’s pleasant to be remembered,” replied Bob. - -“I have good cause for remembering,” she said, pointing across the -street. “There’s the very place where I came so near to losing my -life, and probably would have lost it if it hadn’t been for you.” - -“I simply had the good luck to be on hand at the time,” replied Bob. -“Anyone else would have done as much. But what is it that brings you -to Clintonia? Are you going to stay for some time?” - -“No,” she responded, “I expect to go back home this afternoon. I -came to Clintonia to see your Doctor Dale, the pastor of the Old -First Church. You know him, I suppose.” - -“Know him!” replied Bob. “I should say I do. He’s one of the finest -men that ever lived. It was only yesterday that I had a long talk -with him. If I had time this morning, I’d take you up and introduce -you to him.” - -“Thank you just as much,” Miss Berwick answered. “I’m going to see -him about the services in his church that are carried to other -churches by radio. The little church in our town isn’t large enough -to support a pastor and I’ve heard of so many little churches that -are supplied by him that I thought we might make similar -arrangements. I wanted to learn from him just what kind of receiving -sets are best for the purpose and just how one can be installed.” - -“He’ll be glad to give you any information that you want,” Bob -assured her. “He’s doing great work by radio, and by this time there -must be thousands who listen to him every Sunday. He’ll be only too -pleased to have your church added to the list. And say,” he added, -“when you’ve picked out your set, some of the other fellows and I -will come over and rig it up.” - -“That’s awfully good of you,” she said gratefully. “We’ll certainly -need some help of that kind, for I don’t know any of our own people -that are experts at radio.” - -“We don’t call ourselves experts,” disclaimed Bob. “But I’m sure we -can set your apparatus up so that you’ll have no trouble in -receiving.” - -“By the way,” remarked Miss Berwick, “you remember Dan Cassey?” - -“Will I ever forget him?” replied Bob, and before him rose that -night of storm and darkness when he had been engaged in a -life-and-death struggle with the scoundrel. - -“I saw him the other day,” went on Miss Berwick. - -“What!” cried Bob, with a start. “You don’t mean that the rascal has -escaped again?” - -“Oh, no,” returned the girl. “I saw him in prison.” - -“Oh!” said Bob, in great relief. “That’s better. That’s where the -villain belongs. But how on earth did you happen to see him?” - -“It was quite accidental,” was the reply. “I went with a friend of -mine who is acquainted with the wife of the prison warden. A radio -concert was to be given for the benefit of the prisoners and the -warden’s wife had invited her to attend and bring any friend she -liked with her. I didn’t have Cassey in mind—didn’t know, in fact, -that he was in that special prison. You can imagine then how -startled I was when in looking over the rows of prisoners in the -prison chapel where the concert was given I recognized Cassey. He -looked up and saw me too, and I never saw such a black and wicked -look on any man’s face as came into his. He looked as though he -would like to tear me to pieces.” - -“No doubt he would if he had the chance,” replied Bob. “I imagine I -wouldn’t fare very well either if he could get a hack at me. He’s -bad medicine, through and through. Had you heard that he escaped -once?” - -“No,” replied Miss Berwick, in surprise. “Tell me about it.” - -In response, Bob narrated the incident of Cassey’s escape and how he -and the other Radio Boys had been instrumental in his capture. - -“So you see,” he concluded, with a laugh, “Cassey must think I’m his -hoodoo. I’d have a mighty slim chance if he ever had me helpless in -his hands.” - -But here, Bob, glancing at his watch, saw that he had barely time to -reach the high school before the bell rang, and with cordial -farewells they parted. - -As the hours wore on the day grew unbearably hot, unseasonably so, -since it was only the month of May. The day seemed excessively long, -the lessons dragged, and into the minds of the boys came thoughts of -cool green waters and ocean breezes. - -“Oh, for Ocean Point once more!” ejaculated Joe, as at the close of -the school day he wiped the perspiration from his forehead. “Say, -fellows, how would it be just now to slip on our bathing suits, run -down to the surf and plunge into the breakers? Oh, me, oh, my!” - -“What’s the use of tantalizing a fellow?” grumbled Herb. “It’ll be -at least a month or six weeks before we can get to the beach.” - -“Let’s hope this weather doesn’t keep up,” remarked Bob. “But what’s -the use of waiting for Ocean Point? If we can’t get the whole loaf, -let’s take a slice. What do you say to taking a dip in the swimming -hole down on the old Shagary? It’ll cool us off anyway, and that’s -something on a day like this.” - -“Just what the doctor ordered,” declared Jimmy, and his comrades -murmured their approval. - -It was the work of only a few minutes to reach their homes, leave -their books, get their swimming trunks and towels and make for the -banks of the Shagary. It was only a small stream, but the water was -clear and in several places deep enough to afford excellent sport. -There was one spot especially that was in high favor with the boys, -because there the stream widened out so that there was some fun in -racing from bank to bank. It bore the designation of the “swimming -hole,” and it was there that the boys proceeded. - -A hundred yards away, Bob started on a sprint. - -“The last one in is a Chinaman,” he cried. - -All sought to avoid having that name tacked on to him, and Herb and -Joe gave Bob a genuine race, arriving with him at the river bank -almost neck and neck. Jimmy was handicapped by his weight and -shorter legs, and by the time he got there they had already removed -some of their clothes. - -“I ought to have had a twenty-yard start,” he grumbled, as he -fumbled with his buttons. - -In his haste, he had taken up a position too close to the edge of -the bank, and as he stood on one leg while he lifted up the other to -remove the leg of his trousers, he got slightly off his balance. He -staggered a moment in trying to regain it, but it was no use. Over -he went head first into the river, the yell of consternation that he -emitted being suddenly cut short as he struck the water. - -Bob, who was standing nearest him, had seen him stagger and had -reached out his hand to catch him. But he had only grazed his sleeve -and had all he could do to escape toppling into the water himself. - -Up came Jimmy, gasping and spluttering, for as his mouth had been -open when he struck the water he had swallowed a lot of it. His hair -was plastered over his head, and there was a comical look of -surprise and chagrin on his round face. - -As he reached the bank and waded out, one leg of his trousers still -clinging about him and the other trailing behind him, he presented -such a ludicrous appearance that the boys fairly doubled up with -laughter. - -Jimmy glared at them indignantly, but this only made them laugh the -more. - -“That’s right, you laughing hyenas!” snorted Jimmy. “Go right ahead -and cackle.” - -“You’re getting your figures mixed, Jimmy,” chuckled Herb. “Hyenas -don’t cackle. You’re thinking of hens.” - -“I know I made a mistake,” admitted Jimmy. “I ought to have spoken -of the braying of jackasses.” - -“Never mind, Jimmy,” consoled Bob. “You’re not a Chinaman anyway. -You weren’t the last one in.” - -This seemed to bring but scant comfort to Jimmy, but he soon had -plenty to occupy his mind in squeezing out his dripping clothes and -spreading them in the sun to dry. - -Whatever irritation he felt, however, was soon dissipated when he -joined his companions, who were sporting about in the cool water. It -was their first swim of the season and they enjoyed it beyond -measure, diving, swimming, floating and racing until a look at the -western sun told them that it was time to think about getting home. - -By this time, Jimmy’s clothes were fairly dry, although they stood -sadly in need of pressing. They all dressed quickly and started for -the town. - -Their road led for part of the way along the river bank, and they -had proceeded perhaps an eighth of a mile when they heard cries of -protest coming from the river mingled with mocking laughter. - -At this point the road curved a little and was bordered with bushes. -Joe peered through the bushes and then beckoned to his companions. - -“It’s Buck Looker and his gang up to one of their usual tricks,” he -whispered. - -They looked and saw Buck, with Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney, sitting -on the grass a little way from the river. They were laughing -boisterously, as though at some huge joke. - -At their feet were two suits of clothes, and in the river with the -water up to their waists were standing two boys who seemed to be -about ten or eleven years old. They were evidently the owners of the -clothes in question and were begging Buck and his cronies to give -them up. - -“I told you you could have them,” Buck was saying. “All you have to -do is to come and get them. But the minute you step foot on the -bank, I’ll throw your shoes into the water.” - -Between the offer and the threat, the small boys were in a dilemma. -It was evident that they had been in the water a long time, for they -were shivering and their teeth were chattering. They wanted their -clothes badly, but they did not want to lose their shoes. So they -stood there half whimpering with rage and cold. - -The quandary in which Buck had placed his small victims seemed the -very essence of humor to him and his cronies, who roared with -laughter and slapped each other on the back. - -At last, one of the boys in the water advanced timidly to the shore, -hoping perhaps that Buck would give him back his clothes without -making good his threat about the shoes. But the moment the boy -stepped on the shore, Buck took up one of his shoes and hurled it -into the water. - -The little fellow looked after it for a moment, and then his -overstrained nerves gave way and he burst into tears. - -This was too much for the Radio Boys, and they burst through the -bushes and came on a run toward Buck and his gang. The latter looked -up in alarm at the unexpected interruption and got up quickly on -their feet. - -“You cowardly, hulking bully!” cried Bob. “What do you mean by -treating these little fellows that way? You ought to be thrashed -within an inch of your life.” - -“You mind your business,” growled Buck sullenly. “Who gave you a -license to butt in, anyway?” - -“I’ll show you in a minute where I got my license,” replied Bob. -“Don’t let him get away, fellows. Here, boys,” he called to the boys -in the water, “come here and get your clothes. There’s only one more -shoe going into the water, and it won’t be yours.” - -The little fellows came out eagerly and then Bob turned to Buck. - -“Take off your coat,” he commanded curtly, at the same time peeling -off his own and throwing it to the ground. - -Buck looked around for help, but Joe had ranged himself alongside of -Lutz and Herb was looking after Mooney, and those worthies were not -a bit inclined to mix in. - -“My, but you’re slow, Buck,” remarked Bob. “You weren’t half as slow -when you were picking on those youngsters. Come, get busy.” - -There was no help for it, and Buck took off his coat. Then with a -roar of rage he rushed at Bob, who sidestepped cleverly and caught -Buck in the jaw with a blow that shook him from head to heels. Buck -staggered for a moment and then rushed in to a clinch, and in an -instant they were at it, hammer and tongs. - -As Jimmy described it afterward it was a “peach of a scrap” while it -lasted. But it did not last long. Buck was a little the older and -considerably the heavier of the two, but he was no match for Bob in -strength, cleverness and hard hitting. Bob met his opponent’s rushes -with smashing, skilfully placed blows that soon had Buck grunting -and bewildered, and at last with a long drive to the point of the -jaw stretched him on the ground, where he lay half blubbering with -rage and pain. - -“Had enough?” asked Bob. “If not, there’s plenty more waiting for -you. No trouble to show goods.” - -Buck made some unintelligible answer. - -“Say enough,” commanded Bob. - -“Enough,” growled Buck. - -“All right,” said Bob. “Now there’s only one more thing you’ve got -to do. Take off one of your shoes.” - -“I won’t!” shouted Buck, stung into fury. - -“Then stand up and take some more,” commanded Bob. “It’s one thing -or the other.” - -But Buck had no stomach for any more fighting, and confronted by the -two alternatives, he chose the lesser evil and took off one of his -shoes. - -Bob picked it up and flung it into the river, much to the delight of -the two little fellows whom Buck had tormented. - -“I guess that will be about all,” remarked Bob, as he put on his -coat. “The next time you want to bully little chaps that can’t fight -back, take a good look all around and make sure there’s no one about -that may interfere with your amusement. Come along, fellows.” - -They went on their way, followed by the black looks and enraged -mutterings of the discomfited bully and his cronies. - -“I’ve heard a good deal about poetic justice, but I never saw such a -beautiful specimen as this,” chuckled Joe. “Bob, I take off my hat -to you.” - -“That’s all right,” laughed Herb. “But for the love of Pete, don’t -take off your shoe. Shoes aren’t safe when Bob’s around.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - GOOD RIDDANCE - - -Buck did not turn up at school on the following day and the Radio -Boys thought that they could guess the reason why. - -“Don’t think his beauty was improved any by the handling he got -yesterday,” laughed Jimmy. “Of course he might use the old gag that -he had run against a door in the dark, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t -go.” - -“A door would hardly be likely to do to him what Bob did,” rejoined -Joe with a grin. - -“Perhaps he’s down at the river looking for that shoe of his,” -chuckled Herb. - -Bob himself had said nothing to the rest of his schoolmates about -the fight that he had had with Buck. It was enough that he had given -the latter the punishment he deserved. He had no liking for the -Indian practice of scalping the dead. - -Lutz and Mooney were on hand as usual, but they gave the Radio Boys -a wide berth, contenting themselves with an occasional malignant -glance when chance brought them in their vicinity. But later in the -day Jimmy heard Lutz telling one of the schoolboys who had asked him -about Buck that the latter had decided to take a little vacation and -was going up into the woods for a while. The exact location of the -woods was not specified, but the fact that he had gone away at all -was so gratifying to Jimmy that he lost no time in carrying the -welcome news to his companions. - -Joe at first was inclined to be incredulous. - -“Too good to be true,” he declared. “To have Buck licked one day and -go away the next! Luck doesn’t come that way, like bananas—in -bunches.” - -“‘Though lost to sight to memory dear,’” quoted Herb. - -“It will be a mighty good thing for Clintonia if he goes away and -stays away,” affirmed Bob. “He’s been the worst element in the -town—a pest that everybody dislikes except a few of his own kind. -There doesn’t seem to be a single decent streak in his whole -make-up.” - -“It would be a good thing if he had taken Lutz and Mooney along with -him,” remarked Jimmy. - -“Oh, they don’t count,” replied Bob. “They’ll wriggle around as a -snake does when its head is cut off, but that’s about all. It was -Buck who thought up the low-down tricks and then relied on them to -help him carry them out.” - -“Well,” said Joe, “if he’s really gone we’ll mark this day with a -white stone. And let’s hope that he’ll be gone for a good long -while.” - -And this was the general verdict of the school, especially of the -younger boys whose lives Buck had made a torment by his bullying. - -Nearly two weeks passed by when Mr. Layton, who had by this time -fully recovered, received a letter from Mr. Bentley, stating that he -would be in town the next day. Bob lost no time in conveying the -information to the rest of the Radio Boys, who were quite as -delighted as he was himself. Mr. Bentley’s stay was to be brief, as -he was traveling on Government business, but he would stop over -night anyway, and especially mentioned that he hoped to see all the -Radio Boys, of whom he retained so many pleasant memories from his -previous visit. - -“Will we be there?” replied Joe to Bob’s question. “I’d like to see -anything that would keep me away. It isn’t every day a fellow gets a -chance to talk with a live wire like him.” - -The rest of his friends were just as emphatic, and were at Bob’s -house the following night even a little before the time appointed. - -There, too, was Payne Bentley, tall and bronzed and athletic, -bringing with him the breezy suggestion of a man whose life is spent -largely in the open. - -He greeted the boys with the heartiness that was characteristic of -him, and they on their part showed their whole-souled pleasure in -meeting him again. - -“I’ve got a little surprise for you, fellows,” said Bob. “Here it -is,” and he pushed shut a door, revealing Mr. Frank Brandon, who had -been standing behind it, and who now advanced with a smile to shake -hands with the surprised and delighted boys. - -“Wasn’t it you, Joe, who said a little while ago that good luck -didn’t come, like bananas, in bunches?” asked Bob. “Well, here’s a -case that proves you’re wrong.” - -“I surely was,” laughed Joe. “It was a good wind that blew them both -here at the same time.” - -“You see, Frank and I are old friends,” explained Mr. Bentley, as -they all took chairs and settled down for a cosy chat. “We’re both -in the Government service, although along somewhat different lines, -and every once in a while we run across each other. I met him on the -train as I was coming here and persuaded him to drop off with me and -stay over night. And I didn’t have to persuade him very much when I -told him whom I was going to see, for he thinks you Radio Boys are -just about the real thing.” - -“That’s putting it a little too strongly, I’m afraid,” replied the -delighted Bob. - -“Not a bit,” protested Mr. Bentley. “I was willing to agree with him -after he told me of how you saved the ship on that stormy night and -how you pursued and captured the rascal that tried to kill his -cousin. Oh, you see I know all the deep dark secrets of your lives. - -“That’s the kind of fellows we’d like to have in the Forest Service -when they get old enough,” he went on. “Frank here tells me that -he’s got his eye on you for the radio work, but if he doesn’t book -you for that, come to me and see how you like the work of a forest -ranger.” - -“Speaking of forestry work,” said Bob, taking advantage of the -opening to turn the conversation away from him and his chums, “I -want to tell you, Mr. Bentley, how we enjoyed your talk over the -radio. We thought it was splendid from start to finish.” - -“And that message at the end almost knocked us off our chairs with -surprise and pleasure,” put in Joe. - -“So you got that, did you?” returned Mr. Bentley, smiling. “I wasn’t -dead sure that you’d be listening, but put it in on a chance. Well, -you see I’ve kept my word.” - -“And mighty glad we are that you have,” said Herb. “The only trouble -with your speech that night was that it was too short. I could have -kept on listening all night.” - -“I’m glad you felt that way,” replied Mr. Bentley. “I didn’t know -but what I was boring my audience stiff. If I’d only been able to -see the people I was talking to, I could have told something by the -looks on their faces. But the dead silence and the lack of response -rather got on my nerves. I’d have felt a lot more comfortable if I’d -been fighting a forest fire.” - -“Rather queer idea of comfort, don’t you think?” laughed Bob. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - AT RISK OF LIFE - - -Mr. Bentley joined in the general laugh that followed Bob’s remark. - -“Well, I don’t suppose it could be called exactly comfortable to -have your hands blistered and your hair singed and not know whether -the next minute you’re going to be alive or dead,” he admitted. “But -after all there’s an excitement in fighting a fire and a sense of -victory when you get the better of it that pays for all the work and -pain. It’s a funny thing that when you once get into the work you -don’t want to leave it. Once a forester always a forester seems to -be the rule. I suppose the call of the woods to the forest ranger is -like the call of the sea to the sailor.” - -“I guess there’ll always be fires, so that you’ll never get out of a -job,” suggested Frank Brandon. - -“Right you are,” replied Mr. Bentley. “Do you know, that with all -the advances that have been made in guarding against fires, more -than three hundred thousand acres of woodland were burned over last -year? Why, that’s equal to a strip ten miles wide reaching from New -York City to Denver. The timber lost in one year would build homes -for a city of four hundred thousand people.” - -A gasp of astonishment came from every one of the boys. - -“Did you ever!” - -“Some loss!” - -“What a shame to lose so much valuable timber!” - -“Just what I say. Why can’t people be more careful with fire?” - -“Those are mighty big figures,” commented Frank Brandon. “What are -the causes of so many fires?” - -“There’s a host of causes,” replied Mr. Bentley. “But most fires -could be avoided. In one district last year, nearly forty per cent. -of the fires were caused by smokers. Campers knock the sparks out of -their pipes and throw away half smoked cigarettes. They fall in a -little heap of brushwood that perhaps is as dry as tinder, smoulder -there for a time and a little later break out into flames. The -Government is doing all it can by signs and warnings to curb the -evil, but as long as there are careless and inconsiderate people -there will be forest fires. - -“Then too, lightning is responsible for many fires. Often that -brings its own remedy with it, for lightning usually occurs during a -rain storm, and the water that comes down drowns out the fire that -the lightning starts. But it doesn’t always work that way. - -“Sometimes it’s a meteor that does the damage. Those big stones are -sometimes white hot when they strike the ground, and if that ground -happens to be in a thick wood, a fire is almost inevitable. Of -course it isn’t often that that happens, but when it does, it has to -be reckoned with, believe me! - -“I’ve known of many fires that have been started by these fire -balloons that you see sometimes drifting along the sky especially -around the Fourth of July. It happens sometimes that the inflammable -material in the balloons has not completely burned itself out when -the balloon reaches the ground. If this happens in a dry spot in the -woods, a fire is not only likely, but is a practical certainty. - -“You’d think it strange perhaps,” the ranger went on, as he looked -with a smile about the room, “if I told you that sleet and snow are -responsible for many forest fires.” - -“Sleet and snow!” exclaimed Bob. “Why, I should think it would be -just the other way around and that they’d help put out fires instead -of causing them.” - -“That would be the natural supposition,” conceded Mr. Bentley. “What -I mean is this. Whenever the winter has been very severe and there -have been heavy storms of sleet and snow, the trunk and branches get -loaded with tons and tons of ice. As a fierce gale often accompanies -the storm, the heavily burdened trees are blown down. As the summer -comes on, the dead tree and branches dry out, and all they need is a -spark to set them going. If those dead masses of brushwood had been -standing, living trees, the spark would have had nothing to feed -upon and would have died out harmlessly.” - -“Even nature seems in league against you, as well as the -carelessness of men,” remarked Mr. Brandon. - -“That’s what,” agreed Mr. Payne Bentley. “And there are times when -one is tempted to grow disheartened. But great as the losses are, -they’re not so heavy as they used to be. We’re gradually getting the -best of the fire fiend, although at times progress seems slow. It’s -only when you compare conditions of to-day with what they were -before the Government woke up that you realize what great strides -have been made in the protection of the forests. - -“Of course, the most important thing in limiting the fire loss is -the education of the public. They’ve got to cooperate and help stop -the tremendous waste. When you realize that in the last five years -there have been one hundred and sixty thousand forest fires in the -United States and that at least eighty per cent. of these were -preventable you see who’s responsible. The public is starting more -fires than the small force of forest rangers can put out. Of course -one way would be to forbid the public to camp in or travel through -the national forests during the dry season. But that would be a -hardship when you realize that more than five million people enjoyed -their outings in those forests last year. Yet Canada has had to -forbid it, and the United States may have to come to the same thing -if tourists and campers will persist in leaving the burning embers -of their campfires behind them and throwing from traveling -automobiles lighted cigars into the brushwood.” - -“What do you chiefly rely on in your work?” asked Frank Brandon. - -“Airplanes and radio,” replied the ranger. “The airplanes are the -eyes of the service and the radio is the tongue. The airplanes scout -around above the forests, always on the watch for the slightest sign -of smoke or flame. The instant they detect it they radio the news to -all the listening stations for miles around. And they’ve grown so -skilful in placing the exact location of a fire that in the squadron -I was with last year thirty-three per cent. of the fires that were -reported were within a quarter of a mile of the exact point stated. -Nineteen per cent. came within half a mile, as was determined later -by actual surveys of the ground. And none of the others were far out -of the way. That’s something of a record, when you think of the -height at which the aviators are flying and the wide extent of space -that they have to cover.” - -“I should say it was,” agreed Mr. Brandon, with a nod. - -“And think of the promptness with which it was done,” went on Mr. -Bentley. “Within ten seconds after the first trace of fire was -discovered, the news was known for all of a hundred miles around. - -“The airplane comes in handy, too, for carrying trained fire -fighters to the scene of the trouble. I remember once carrying a -bunch of rangers in seventy minutes to a burning area. To travel the -same distance by land, journeying by canoe and by portage, would -have taken three days. - -“We flew at a height of three thousand feet, and when we got there -we could trace the whole outline of the fire and decided where the -firefighting gangs who came hurrying from every direction could best -be placed. - -“I tell you that was some strenuous job! Up in the air your eyes are -burning and smarting from the pungent fumes that come from the trees -below, and it is as much as you can do to see at all.” - -“Just what was the plan on which the men did the work when they -started to put out the fire?” asked Herb, with intense interest. - -“First,” Mr. Bentley replied, “the gangs attacked the fire at its -most dangerous point, which we pointed out to them. Some trees in -the line of fire they chopped down. Then they cut fire lines through -the leaf litter to mineral soil, threw sand on burning stumps and -used water wherever it was available. They worked by shifts and got -their food when they could. - -“During that time, while one plane would be directing the work by -radio messages, another plane would be busy in bringing supplies and -food for the men. The fire lasted nearly a week before it was fully -subdued, and, I can tell you, by that time we were all in!” - -“It’s too bad that you have to rely so completely on man power,” -commented Mr. Brandon. “No matter how much grit’s behind it, the -time comes when human muscle has reached its limit and can do no -more. It would seem as though in some way the machinery which does -so much work in the cities could be used for similar purposes in the -forest.” - -“It would seem so,” agreed Mr. Bentley. “But the difficulty of -transportation through a wilderness, that often has faint trails -instead of beaten paths and sometimes not even those, is so great -that I doubt whether machinery can ever be utilized on a large -scale. - -“We have made a little progress though in that direction. There’s a -clever little pump that is operated by gasoline and weighs only one -hundred and twenty pounds, so that two men can carry it along a -forest trail. Each pump is provided with twelve hundred feet of -hose, which gives it an effective radius of about a quarter of a -mile, and a very small brook will suffice to supply it with water. -It’s a dandy little machine, and I’ve known it to do the work of -from sixty to seventy-five men working with shovels, hose and axes.” - -“Some pump!” ejaculated Joe, in admiration. - -“Almost as good as an engine,” came from Bob. - -“Yes,” agreed Mr. Bentley. “But of course it can be used only when -there happens to be water near at hand. No doubt the time will come -when chemicals will be used instead of water, and then the pumps can -work anywhere. But chemicals are of use chiefly at the start of a -fire, and perhaps wouldn’t be feasible for anything on the scale of -a forest fire. - -“So for the present at least, and probably for some time to come, -we’ll have to rely on the men in the Forest Service. I don’t mean -that they have to do their work alone. When the alarm is given -everybody pitches in and works like a beaver. There’s never any lack -of volunteers. All in the vicinity unite to fight the common peril.” - -“Gee!” exclaimed Jimmy, his eyes shining, “I wish I had a chance to -fight a forest fire.” - -“Same here,” came in a chorus from the other Radio Boys. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - OFF FOR SPRUCE MOUNTAIN - - -Mr. Bentley and Frank Brandon smiled appreciatively at the boys’ -enthusiasm. - -“You’d have plenty of chances if you were with Bentley in the Spruce -Mountain district to which he has been transferred,” said Mr. -Brandon. - -“I suppose you fellows have heard of Spruce Mountain before now, -haven’t you?” inquired Payne Bentley. - -“It seems to me I have,” said Bob, somewhat doubtfully. “Doesn’t Dr. -Dale own some timberland up in that part of the country? Seems to me -I’ve heard him say something about it.” - -Mr. Bentley nodded. - -“He has about a hundred acres, I believe. And in addition to that, -he holds an equal amount in trust for the benefit of the Old First -Church. With the price of lumber going higher every day, you can -believe that woodland is rather valuable.” - -“I should say it must be,” agreed Jimmy, with conviction. “Whenever -I want to get a little money from my dad, he tells me that the high -price of lumber is keeping him so poor that he can’t afford it.” - -“Well, if it weren’t for some of the disastrous forest fires of -recent years, lumber would be more plentiful now,” remarked Mr. -Bentley. “However, in those days we didn’t have radio to help us, -and we hope there will never be other fires of such size as to wipe -out whole forests in one conflagration.” - -“I wish we could all get a chance to visit you at Spruce Mountain,” -said Joe longingly. “I suppose that’s too much to hope for though.” - -“Stranger things than that have happened,” replied the forest -ranger. “I happen to know that Doctor Dale owns an old hunting lodge -up there that was on the property when he bought it. I understand -you boys are pretty solid with him, and I’m sure he’d be willing to -let you use it. There’d be worse places to spend part of your -vacation. Your school, I suppose, will close pretty soon now.” - -“Three weeks earlier than usual this year, Mr. Preston told us a few -days ago,” answered Bob. “There are going to be extensive repairs, -and the ordinary vacation wouldn’t be long enough to do them in. -We’ll probably be through school now in a couple of weeks. If our -folks think well of it, we might take a trip to Spruce Mountain -first and still have plenty of time later on at the seaside.” - -“That would be fine,” responded Mr. Bentley cordially. “And I think -I can promise you something brand new in the way of experience.” - -They sat talking till late and then the party broke up, the forest -ranger and Frank Brandon taking a hearty farewell of the boys, as -they had to take an early train in the morning. - -It was not very hard for the boys to get the required permission -from their parents, and Dr. Dale was only too glad to put his lodge -at their service. The remaining days of school flew by quickly while -they were getting together equipment and supplies for their trip. -But when Bob’s father saw the formidable outfit, including a radio -set, for both receiving and sending, that Bob proposed to take with -him, he threw up his hands with a gesture of dismay. - -“If all the rest of you boys intend to take as much apiece as you’ve -got, Bob, you’ll need a motor truck,” said Mr. Layton. - -“It does look like a lot,” admitted Bob, ruefully. “But there’s -hardly anything there that I won’t actually need. There’s no place -within miles of the cabin where we can buy stuff.” - -“I suppose that’s true,” said Mr. Layton, eyeing the stack of -merchandise thoughtfully. “I suppose you’d feel awfully bad if I -hired an automobile to take you and the others to Spruce Mountain, -wouldn’t you?” - -“Dad, we’ll never get over feeling grateful to you if you do!” -declared Bob. “It will be the greatest thing that ever happened!” - -“Well, in that case, I suppose there’s no choice left me,” declared -Mr. Layton, with a twinkle in his eye. “You tell the others I’ll -stand for the automobile, and I guess I’d better order an especially -big one while I’m about it.” - -Bob lost no time in communicating this last bit of good news to the -others, and they were all delighted, particularly Jimmy, who had -looked forward with considerable apprehension to a long hike through -the woods with sixty pounds of food and equipment strapped to his -suffering shoulders. To be sure, Dr. Dale had told them that they -would find almost everything they would require in the way of -furniture and cooking utensils in the cabin, but they had to take -all their food with them and several blankets apiece, as Mr. Bentley -had warned them that the nights were often cold. - -It seemed to the eager boys that the day set for their departure -would never arrive, but at length they found themselves, one -beautiful summer morning, seated in the big touring car that Mr. -Layton had provided and headed for the hunting shack on Spruce -Mountain. - -Their belongings were piled high in the tonneau, and the boys -occupied what little space was left. This was not much, but they -cared little for that as the big car hummed along over a perfect -road, headed for the cabin in the depths of the forest. Mr. Bentley -had returned several days before to the headquarters of the forest -rangers at Spruce Mountain, and had promised to be on the lookout -for them when they arrived. - -“Your dad should have gotten us two cars, Bob; one to ride in, and -the other for the baggage,” said Jimmy, as a sudden swerve of the -car sent him rolling into a hollow between two bags. “I’ll be -getting thrown out, first thing you know, and then what will you -fellows do away up there in the woods, with nobody to protect and -take care of you?” - -“There’s gratitude for you!” exclaimed Joe, indignantly. “You’ll get -thrown out fast enough, Doughnuts, but we’ll do the throwing, not -the car.” - -“Bob wouldn’t let you throw me out,” said Jimmy, with calm -conviction. “He knows well enough that I’m the brains of this -party.” - -“Gosh! that’s a terrible knock at the party, then,” remarked Herb. - -“Oh, I don’t know about that,” said Jimmy. “Remember, Herb, that -almost any brains are better than yours.” - -Herb made an indignant lunge at him, but Bob and Joe caught hold of -him before he could take vengeance on their rotund friend. - -“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” laughed Bob. “It seems to me there’s -a good deal of truth in what Jimmy says, after all, don’t you think -so, Joe?” - -“There’s no doubt about it,” asserted the doctor’s son. “In fact, -I’d be willing to go a step further, and say that brains like Herb’s -are a shade worse than nothing at all. Just look at some of the -jokes he works off on us.” - -“There you are!” crowed Jimmy, triumphantly. “What better evidence -could I have against Herb than some of his own jokes? They’d convict -him before any jury.” - -“You win with us, anyway,” laughed Bob. “Will you promise to leave -Jimmy alone if we let you go, Herb?” - -“Oh, I suppose so,” grunted Herb. “To get even, I’d have to lick the -whole bunch of you, and I don’t feel strong enough for that just -now. I’ll wait till we get back in Clintonia, and then I’ll tell you -all what I think of you—over the telephone.” - -“That will be the safest way, if you care to live a little longer,” -Joe returned. “Even then, though, I’d advise you to start for Canada -and points north as soon as you hang up the receiver.” - -“Well, it might be worth the trip for the sake of giving you a good -earful, but I’ll have to think it over,” replied Herb, with a grin. -“In the meantime, here’s a good riddle for you. You might use it, -Bob, in case you do some more radio broadcasting some day.” - -“It hardly seems possible that I’d ever want to repeat one of your -riddles, Herb; but let’s hear it, anyway,” observed Bob. “We’ve -still got a long way to go, and I suppose we might as well kill time -that way as any other.” - -“Well, then, here goes,” said Herb, grinning happily in anticipation -of his friends’ bewilderment. “What is it that sings, has four legs, -and flies through the air?” - -“Good night!” exclaimed Jimmy. “That sounds too complicated for me. -I’m going to take a nap while you fellows puzzle it out.” - -“Talk about brains!” exclaimed Herb. “You always duck out of any -kind of headwork by taking a nap, Doughnuts. Why don’t you give that -imitation mind of yours a little exercise once in a while?” - -The only answer Herb received, however, was a gentle snore from his -fat friend, so he turned expectantly to Bob and Joe, who were both -cudgeling their brains for the answer to his riddle. - -“Haven’t you thought of it yet?” asked Herb. “It’s so simple, that I -thought you would guess the answer right off the reel.” - -“Of course it seems easy when you know the answer,” said Bob, -impatiently. “Shut up a few minutes and give us a chance to think, -can’t you?” - -“Oh, sure, take your time,” agreed Herb, and chuckled to himself as -he saw them wrestling with the problem. - -“Gee!” exclaimed Bob, at length. “I guess it’s too deep for me, Joe. -Can you make anything out of it?” - -“I hate to give it up, but I guess we’ll have to,” answered Joe. -“What is it that sings and has four legs and flies through the air, -Herb?” - -“Why, two canary birds, of course,” chortled Herb, and gave a shout -of laughter that brought Jimmy up to a sitting position with a look -of alarm on his round face. As for Bob and Joe, they gazed blankly -at each other for a few moments, then had to join in their friend’s -laughter in spite of themselves. - -“What’s the joke?” inquired Jimmy, suspiciously. “Is it that phoney -riddle of Herb’s? I’ll bet any money there was a trick in it -somewhere. It didn’t sound on the level when I first heard it.” - -“You were wise to go to sleep, Doughnuts,” Joe assured him. “The -next time I ever pay any attention to one of Herb’s jokes, I hope -somebody comes along and shoots me. It would be no more than I’d -deserve.” - -“Don’t get sore just because you couldn’t guess it,” Herb adjured -him. “I’ll try to think up a nice easy one next time—something that -even you goofs can solve.” - -Joe was about to make a withering reply when the driver of the car -uttered a startled shout and gave the wheel a twist that almost -threw the boys out in the road. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE FALLING BOWLDER - - -A few minutes before this, after a long uphill climb, the car had -entered a narrow ravine between two hills, the sides of which were -studded with great bowlders. One of these had become dislodged in -some manner, and it was the sight of the huge stone rolling and -clattering directly down upon them that had brought the cry of alarm -from the driver. - -As it rolled down the precipitous slope, the big bowlder dislodged -tons of gravel and dirt, which came flying down with it, until it -was the center of a small landslide. To the Radio Boys, it seemed -that there was no escape for them, and they gripped the sides of the -car, prepared to jump out as a last resort, although it seemed as -though that could avail them little. The ground trembled, and a -noise like thunder filled the air. - -It was impossible to stop, as this would leave them directly in the -path of the oncoming bowlder. Their only chance lay in putting on -speed and attempting to get past ahead of the huge stone, which was -now bounding downward at terrific speed, part of the time leaping -bodily through the air as it caromed off some obstruction in its -path. - -The driver opened the throttle to the limit, but the car was heavily -laden, and accelerated sluggishly. For a few seconds their fate hung -in the balance. The great bowlder hurtled down upon them, and leaped -into the air directly above them. Looking up, the boys could see the -tremendous mass perhaps a hundred feet away, its shadow blotting out -the sun. The automobile seemed to be only creeping, and seconds -seemed like hours. Then, with a crash that made the ground quiver -and shake, the bowlder plunged to the road not fifteen feet back of -their car. Flying splinters of rock pelted over those in the -automobile, and they crouched low to avoid the deadly shower. Tons -of sand and gravel followed the bowlder and piled across the road -where their car had passed a few short seconds before, forming a -drift many feet deep. - -But now the moment of dire peril had passed, and the occupants of -the car drew long sighs of relief. The driver kept on at high speed -until they had passed through the defile, and then pulled up and -shut off the engine. His hand shook, and several moments went by -before he trusted himself to speak. - -“Whew!” he exclaimed finally in a voice that was not quite steady. -“That was what you might call a close shave, young fellers.” - -“Too close for comfort,” said Herb, essaying a grin that somehow did -not look quite natural. “I wonder what we’d look like now if that -bowlder had landed on top of us.” - -“That’s a nice, cheerful thought, I must say,” replied Bob. “We -would have the same general appearance as a dog run over by a steam -roller. I think we owe a vote of thanks to our driver for getting us -out of a tight place.” - -The thanks were enthusiastically given, and in a short time, they -resumed the journey. - -Not much was said for a long time, as each was busy with thoughts of -their recent narrow escape. Eventually the boys recovered their -usual care-free spirits, however, and they began to pay attention to -the country through which they were passing. - -Starting over level roads, they were now in a rolling, hilly -country, thickly clothed with trees. Sometimes the road ran for -miles through dense woods, where the sun could penetrate only in -scattered patches through the heavy foliage and where the cool shade -was most welcome after the scorching sun that had beaten down upon -them along the stretches of open country. Soon they began to feel -hungry, and Jimmy was not long in proposing a halt for lunch. - -“I suppose you fellows were so scared by that big rock that you -won’t be able to eat for a week,” he remarked. “To a brave gink like -me, though, danger only gives a keener edge to his appetite.” - -“Fortune help us, then!” exclaimed Herb. “If your appetite is much -keener than usual, Jimmy, all our grub will be gone before we ever -reach Spruce Mountain.” - -“Oh, well, if it is, I’ll go out and kill a bear or two every -morning, so don’t let that worry you,” replied Jimmy, airily. “Mr. -Bentley said there were quite a few bears around that part of the -country, and they seem to be my natural prey. When I can’t find any -lions to kill, I like to keep in practice on bears.” - -“Huh! why didn’t you give us a demonstration when Tony’s dancing -bear chased us up on to the roof of Buck Looker’s bungalow?” -inquired Joe. - -“From what I remember of that scrape, Jimmy seemed rather anxious to -avoid the bear,” remarked Bob. “The way he shinned up the front -porch you might almost have thought he was afraid of the poor -animal.” - -“Aw, he was a tame bear!” protested Jimmy. “I like the wild ones; -the wilder the better. I wouldn’t hurt a tame one like Tony’s. I -only bother with the real fierce ones.” - -“Well, when we get to the lodge, we’ll see if we can’t borrow a trap -and catch a bear,” said Bob. “Then you can go and let him out of the -trap, Jimmy, and kill him with your bare hands, or by whatever -method it is that you use. The rest of us will climb the nearest -tree and get an idea of how it’s done.” - -“What do you do, anyway, Doughnuts? Strangle the poor brutes, or -bite them to death?” inquired Herb, with every appearance of an -earnest seeker after knowledge. - -“Never you mind; just wait until the bear comes along, that’s all,” -said Jimmy, with reprehensible vagueness. “I’m hungry enough to eat -one raw right now, hide and all. Here’s some chicken sandwiches my -mother put up, and if you Indians want any of them you’d better act -quickly.” - -The others needed no second invitation, and the sandwiches, together -with a number of other home-cooked dainties, disappeared with -wonderful rapidity. When they had finished, the boys stretched out -luxuriously on the sweet-scented pine needles with which the ground -was strewn, and all felt as though life could offer them little -more. Jimmy took prompt advantage of the springy couch, and was soon -dreaming of a happy land where all the mountains were made of pies -and doughnuts. The others soon succumbed to the drowsy effects of -their hearty meal, and the shadows were gathering heavily before -they finally resumed their journey. - -“We shouldn’t have stayed here so long,” said the driver, as they -started on again. “We’ve still a good bit to go, and it will be dark -in a few hours. This good road won’t last much longer, either.” - -“Well, step on the accelerator while we still have the light, and we -may not be so late, after all,” suggested Bob. “If you get tired -driving, just say so, and I’ll take the wheel for a time and give -you a rest.” - -But the driver would not hear of this. As he had foretold, the road -rapidly grew rougher, and at last it got so bad that they were -forced to proceed at an exasperatingly slow pace for anyone at all -anxious to get anywhere. The boys were thrown about here and there, -and had to cling to the sides of the car to keep from being thrown -out. Twilight changed to darkness, and, though on Spruce Mountain, -they were still many miles from their destination. Suddenly the -driver jammed on his brakes and the big car came to a shuddering -halt not two feet from a big tree that had fallen across the road. -The woods grew dense on either side of the road, so that there was -no possible chance of getting around the obstruction. - -“Looks as though we were here for the night,” observed the driver, -scratching his head in perplexity. “This boiler can’t fly, and I -don’t see any other way of getting on the other side of that tree.” - -“I do!” exclaimed Bob, decisively. “We’ve got axes in the car, so -why can’t we cut away a section of the trunk and go through sailing? -How about it, fellows?” - -For answer the boys made a dive for the tonneau, and in a few -minutes the forest was ringing to the sound of their axes. The tree -was of fair size, but in less than an hour they had chopped away a -section of the trunk and rolled it to one side. This left an opening -wide enough for the automobile to pass through, and they were soon -bumping and jolting over the uneven road once more. - -“I hope we haven’t got much further to go,” groaned Jimmy, after one -particularly hard jolt. “Seems to me I’ll have to spend most of our -time at Spruce Mountain in recovering from this trip. It would be -more fun to walk.” - -“Oh, quit your grumbling. We can’t have very much further to go,” -said Joe. “I’ll have to admit I’ve ridden on better roads, though.” - -But as Joe had said, their ride was almost at an end. A little -further, and the driver turned up a side road, jolted along for a -few hundred feet, and then, in the glare of the powerful headlights, -they could see the outlines of a low, rambling building that they -knew must be Dr. Dale’s bungalow. And sure enough, the key that had -been intrusted to Bob’s care fitted the big padlock that secured the -door, and the boys found themselves in the dim interior. They spent -little time in examining the place, leaving that until the following -day, but busied themselves in transferring their belongings from the -car to the house. This done, they ate a hearty supper, tumbled into -their bunks, and were soon sleeping the sleep that comes from an -exciting day in the open. But the next morning they were up bright -and early, for the man who had brought them up wanted to get an -early start back. After this the lads examined the place curiously -and spent the next day or two in getting settled and getting -acquainted with their surroundings. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - FOREST RADIO - - -“I’ll say this is the life,” said Herb, as he rambled happily about -the lodge which Dr. Dale had turned over to the Radio Boys for a -temporary camping place. “Say, fellows, did you ever hear that one -about——” - -“Shoot him, someone,” interrupted Jimmy, hard-heartedly. “That’s the -fifth near joke he has tried to work off on us this morning.” - -“Yeah, come and help with this bacon,” added Joe, who was struggling -manfully to keep a panful of the aforementioned article from burning -to a crisp. “If I don’t eat pretty soon I’m going to drop dead.” - -“Same here,” groaned Bob, and went to the rescue just in time to -save the bacon. - -The lodge was a picturesque, rambling little building with small, -many-paned windows and a steeply slanting roof. At some time or -other someone had planted vines about its foundations, and these had -flourished until the walls were almost completely covered with -bright green foliage. - -Inside there were three small rooms furnished roughly—the one or two -tables and scattered chairs looking as though they had been put -together by hand. - -The one main room of the little house served as kitchen, living room -and dining room all in one but it was large and rambling and -comfortable with its great open fireplace at one end and tiny oil -stove for cooking at the other. - -There were trophies on its rough-beamed walls also and these the -boys regarded with interest—old rifles that looked as though they -had seen a good deal of service, a horn or two and, in a conspicuous -place directly over the fireplace, the great, antlered head of a -buck. - -This, together with the fact that there were four fairly comfortable -cots in the two small rooms adjoining the main one and that there -were enough battered utensils in which to cook their meals, was -enough to satisfy the boys; especially as the lodge was not more -than a stone’s throw away from the headquarters of the forest -rangers. - -“I hope we’ll meet some of those boys to-day,” said Bob, referring -to the rangers. - -“We’re sure to, if we go up to the station,” returned Joe, as he sat -down at the table, preparatory to eating the bacon and eggs of his -own preparing. “Probably Mr. Bentley will show us the works and -introduce the boys as we go along.” - -“Say, give me some more of everything, will you?” asked Jimmy -hungrily. For that moment Jimmy’s mind was on one thing only—and -that thing, food. “I never tasted anything half so good as that -bacon.” - -Flattered, Joe helped him to a double portion. - -“You never knew what a fine cook I was before, did you, Doughnuts?” -he asked complacently. Jimmy grinned wickedly at him. - -“Huh,” he said. “It isn’t the cooking—it’s my appetite!” - -“Say, you crook,” cried Joe, making a dive for Jimmy’s plate, “come -back with that grub!” - -But it was too late. The food had already disappeared. - -They had finished breakfast, had scraped up the pots and pans and -were preparing to leave the cabin before they remembered that this -was the day Dr. Dale had promised to “drop in on them” to see if -everything was all right. - -“Oh, well, he won’t be here before noon, anyway,” reasoned Bob. “And -we’ll have time to say howdy to Mr. Bentley and get back before -then.” - -“Let’s go,” cried Herb exuberantly. “I want to find out if those -forest rangers are the kind of fellows Mr. Bentley pictured ’em.” - -“We won’t have to stay long to-day,” said Bob, as he locked the door -of the lodge and turned with the others down the woods path that led -in the direction of the station. “There will be plenty of other days -when we can stay as long as we like.” - -“You sure said it that time, Bob,” cried Joe, joyfully. “Something -tells me we’re going to have the time of our lives in this neck of -the woods.” - -But little did Joe guess when he uttered the careless words what -kind of excitement they were destined to meet in that “neck of the -woods.” - -They soon came upon the camp of the rangers, a long low building, -situated close to the banks of the lake. Above the station, shooting -straight up through the trees to the cloudless blue of the sky, -towered the mast to which the antenna of the powerful radio -apparatus was attached. - -The sight of that huge mast with the attached wires stretching -sensitive fingers into the vibrating ether thrilled the boys, fired -their imaginations. For those slender lines of wire, seemingly so -frail, were, in reality, more powerful than a host of men in -guarding the safety of the forest. For, where a man could see only -as far as his eyesight permitted, the eyes of radio searched for -scores, for hundreds of miles, ever on the alert to catch the first -faint hint of danger. One small flame shooting through the dried -underbrush of the forest, and immediately, through the warning of -the radio, countless men were put upon the defensive, intrepid, -fearless rangers rushing to the scene of danger to meet the dreadful -menace and subdue it. - -For several seconds the boys stood still upon the edge of the -cleared space, gazing upward, awed by the power of their beloved -radio. - -Bob, perhaps unconsciously, summed up all their thoughts when he -said: “Wherever it is, it does the trick!” - -At that moment Mr. Bentley, attired in his aviator’s suit and in -company with two or three other men, stepped out on the porch of the -building. - -He saw the boys and came toward them at once, his hand outstretched -in cordial greeting. - -“Well, well, well!” he said, heartily. “If I’m not glad to see you -boys! Come on in and make yourselves at home.” - -The three men who had been in conversation with Mr. Bentley were -introduced by the latter as fellow rangers, and it was not long -before the Radio Boys felt as though they had known these rugged -fine fellows all their lives. - -Then Mr. Bentley showed them through the station himself, -“introducing them” as he said, “to the whole works.” - -The boys were intensely interested in everything, feeling, since Mr. -Bentley’s memorable talk to them at Bob’s house on that day when -they had first met the forest ranger, as though the whole place were -familiar to them. - -They were shown the “quarters” of the rangers. These were fitted up -quite comfortably, considering the rough work of the men. And there -also was the apartment where were stored the weapons used in the -fighting of that great forest enemy, fire. - -But, needless to say, interested as they were in other departments -of the station, the one that interested them most powerfully was the -radio room. - -The huge dynamo absorbed them and the tremendously complicated -mechanism of the set itself held them rapt and awed. The operator, a -nice young chap with crisp curling red hair, was instantly won by -the boys’ admiration of the apparatus and, led on by their -intelligent eager questions, he gave them many technical details -which fascinated them. - -“No wonder,” Bob breathed at last, “you have been so successful in -the fighting of forest fires. With a set like this——” - -“Yes, it’s a wonder,” broke in the red-haired chap quickly. “There’s -no denying that our apparatus is the best of its kind. But even at -that, we, here at the station, wouldn’t be able to do very much -without the cooperation of our radio-equipped air force. They are -the real eyes of our organization. We merely receive information -from them and act upon it. Mr. Bentley here,” he turned with a smile -to the latter, “will tell you how important the air service is.” - -Payne Bentley grinned good-naturedly. - -“Sure,” he said, “we aviators think it’s pretty classy. Just the -same,” he added seriously, “an air force without a base to work from -would be pretty much like Hamlet with Hamlet left out. The two -branches of the service are absolutely dependent one upon the other. -Apart, neither branch would be effective. Together—well,” he ended -with a boyish grin, “I’ll tell the world, we’re pretty good.” - -As the boys said good-by to the curly-haired operator, promising to -return in a day or two, and followed Payne Bentley down the stairs, -they were ready to agree heartily with the latter in his estimate of -the worth of the Forestry Service. - -Bob said as much to Mr. Bentley as they stopped on the porch for a -moment or two of talk. He added, with a laugh: - -“But now that we have a perfect firefighting system—where are the -fires?” - -Mr. Bentley laughed, the fine lines radiating from the corners of -his eyes. - -“That’s a pretty sound question,” he said. “But one to which we -luckily have no answer just at present. With the exception of two or -three small outbreaks not worthy of mention, there have been no -fires for a considerable time. Our boys are getting lazy from light -work.” - -“Perhaps,” said Bob with a laugh, “the fires are scared.” - -“Forest rangers got ’em bluffed, eh?” asked Mr. Bentley, with a -twinkle in his eyes. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - THE ICE PATROL - - -“But say, I call this pretty tough,” broke in the irrepressible -Herb. “Here we fellows came away up to Spruce Mountain in the hope -of finding a little excitement, and you say there aren’t going to be -any more fires. What kind of treatment do you call that, I’d like to -know?” - -This time Mr. Bentley laughed whole-heartedly. - -“Sorry to cheat you out of a good show, my boy,” he said, while the -others grinned. “Perhaps we’ll be able to put on something for you -before you leave. However,” and his face became suddenly grave, “a -forest fire is really not in the least amusing. It is the most -heartbreaking thing in the world—a fight that brings out all that is -best in a man, a struggle that taxes his courage to the limit. If -you had ever lived through one—a real one, I mean, where your flesh -is scorched and your eyes go blind in the agony of the fight—you -would be thankful, as we here at the station are thankful, for this -respite. It is probably only a respite,” he continued in his old -light tone, “for the old demon is bound to break out sometime, -somewhere. And when it does, there will be excitement enough to -satisfy even you lads.” - -As the boys walked slowly back toward the lodge, Mr. Bentley’s words -went with them. But, so far from dulling their desire to see a real -forest fire—one “in which your flesh is scorched and your eyes go -blind in the agony of the fight”—the ranger’s vivid description -merely fired their imaginations and made them all the more eager, -not only to see, but to participate in such a fight. - -“It would be worth a couple of burned hands and the loss of an -eyebrow or two,” chuckled Joe, unconsciously voicing what was in the -minds of all of them, “just to be in a show like that once.” - -“I’ll say it would,” agreed Jimmy, softly. - -As they neared the lodge their pace quickened. They had spent more -time at the station than they had intended and they were fearful -that Dr. Dale might have arrived to find no one awaiting him. - -But the rambling little house was as quiet as it had been when they -left it and they concluded that Dr. Dale had scheduled his arrival -for some time later that afternoon. - -They set about getting lunch, talking excitedly about the marvels of -the ranger station. - -“Say, make believe I wouldn’t like to get a job there!” cried Herb, -longingly. “Believe me, those rangers live some easy life.” - -“Except when there happens to be a fire,” Bob reminded him. “From -what Mr. Bentley says, I guess at such times they are pretty much on -the job. But say, fellows, be honest,” he added. “Did you ever see a -radio outfit to equal that set over there?” - -“Sure is some apparatus,” agreed Joe, appreciatively. “The fellow I -envy most is that operator. I’ll tell you, he’s the one that has the -real job.” - -Later in the day Dr. Dale came, to be greeted boisterously by the -boys. The clergyman was in a good humor himself and listened with an -indulgent smile while the boys poured the story of the morning’s -visit to the rangers into his willing ears. - -“I don’t wonder you’re enthusiastic,” he said. “Seems to me the -forest rangers have about the most romantic branch of the -Government, even more so, perhaps than the men of the Iceberg -Patrol.” - -“What’s that?” queried the boys, instantly alert. For they knew by -experience and by the far-away look in Dr. Dale’s eyes that he was -thinking of something interesting. - -“Why,” said the doctor, settling himself comfortably, “I had in mind -the International Ice Patrol which was organized soon after the -disaster of the ‘Titanic.’” - -“Oh,” said Bob, with interest. “The ‘Titanic’ was wrecked by -colliding with an iceberg, wasn’t she?” - -Dr. Dale nodded soberly. - -“Went down with hundreds of souls,” he answered. “A useless and -horrible waste of lives.” He paused, while in his eyes was a great -pity for those who had gone down with the great ocean liner. - -“And after the horse had been stolen,” he went on, just when the -boys thought they could stand the delay no longer, “our Government, -as well as the Government of other nations, decided to lock the -stable door.” - -“And did they do it?” asked Joe eagerly. - -“They did it—and nobly,” answered the doctor, with a smile. “That -was when they started the International Ice Patrol. - -“You see,” he went on, while the boys listened interestedly, “in the -old days, the transatlantic steamers ran directly through the most -dangerous part of the spring ice field and only the greatest -vigilance on the part of their captains kept them from colliding -with the giant icebergs drifting from the north.” - -“Must have been fun though,” interrupted Herb. “Dodging in and out -of icebergs and seeing how close you could come without getting -scratched.” - -“Yes,” replied Dr. Dale, “but it wasn’t any fun at all when you did -get scratched. And in the old days that happened all too often, -especially in foggy weather.” - -“They didn’t have any radio in those days, either,” put in Bob, -thoughtfully. - -“No,” returned the doctor. “At that time radio was very much in its -infancy and no one thought of using it for the purpose of combating -icebergs.” - -“And are they now—using radio, I mean?” asked Jimmy, eagerly. - -“Very much so,” replied the doctor. “After the tragedy of the -‘Titanic,’ the big nations got together and thought up a method by -which radio—then still in its infancy—might be used to warn vessels -of the presence of ice and turn them aside from the danger zone.” - -“That’s one use of radio I never thought of before,” said Joe. “Can -you tell us how it’s done, Doctor?” - -“Very sketchily, I’m afraid,” returned the doctor, modestly. “I -haven’t made a study of it at all, although the romance of the -service has always appealed to me. - -“You see,” he continued, warming to his story as he saw the genuine -interest on the faces of the boys, “even after the advent of faster, -larger steamers, when the lanes of travels were shifted southward in -order to avoid the normal limit of danger from the drifting -icebergs, there was still considerable menace from the terrors of -the sea. - -“But of course one could never be absolutely sure just what the -limit of danger was. Sometimes, after an exceptionally early start -from the north, icebergs still blocked the paths of commerce. -Everyone feared a calamity and—they got one, in the wreck of the -‘Titanic.’ - -“It was after that that ship owners all over the world began to -think of radio as a possible solution of the problem confronting -them. If it had not been for the new science no one knows just how -they would have met the situation. Possibly they might not have been -able to meet it at all. - -“But through radio they have now perfected a method by which the -lives of ships passing through the danger zone during the iceberg -season are practically insured.” - -“But how? Please tell us all about it,” begged Bob. - -“It sounds pretty interesting to me,” added Jimmy, as he -surreptitiously slipped a cake from his pocket and began to nibble -it. Doughnuts and his sweets could not long be parted. - -“It is interesting,” agreed Dr. Dale. “To go deeply into the subject -would take too much time. But I can sketch the idea for you. - -“The work is done by Coast Guard cutters and consists of patrolling -the iceberg zone. As soon as an iceberg is sighted the cutter ranges -alongside it, carefully noting its drift and the rate of speed at -which it is traveling. - -“Then it sends out a wireless report to all vessels in the vicinity, -telling the location of the iceberg and asking in return the exact -location of the vessels. - -“In that way ships sailing through the danger zone manage to steer -clear of the iceberg or bergs and, by keeping in constant touch with -the patrol boat, come through safely to clearer waters. It’s a -marvelous work and it is meeting with marvelous success. Another -triumph of radio.” - -“Say,” breathed Bob, “I bet the radio operators on those patrol -boats are kept busy.” - -“Indeed they are,” said the doctor, with his genial smile. -“Especially as most of the ships are not content with the -broadcasted information, but must constantly send in for special -news. Some of them send in a message every little while inquiring if -the coast is clear and what, under present conditions, is the best -route to take from one point to another. Oh, yes, the operators are -kept fairly busy, all right.” - -“It’s a wonderful thing,” said Bob thoughtfully. “There doesn’t seem -to be anything any more that radio isn’t used for.” - -Owing to the urgent invitation of the boys, Dr. Dale consented to -stay with them over night, saying, however, that he must positively -leave the following afternoon as there were matters in Clintonia -which he must attend to. - -The boys were glad of even so short a visit and when the time came -at last for their good friend to leave they were very sorry to see -him go. - -“Take care of yourselves, lads,” said the doctor, as he started off. -“And be careful not to start any forest fires around here. The Old -First Church isn’t hankering for any!” - -The boys promised laughingly, and then, as trees hid the doctor from -view, turned and entered the lodge again. - -“Too bad he couldn’t have stayed longer,” said Herb. “He certainly -is a good sport.” - -“And that was some tale he told us about radio and icebergs, wasn’t -it?” asked Joe, reflectively. “He’s right when he says it’s almost -as interesting as the ranger service.” - -“Well,” said Bob, with a grin, “when we get too hot fighting forest -fires, we can cool off by fighting icebergs for a change.” - -“I imagine we’d cool off all right,” agreed Herb. “I bet it’s mighty -cold where those icebergs come from.” - -“You said it,” agreed Jimmy, adding briskly: “But now, to get right -down to business, when do we eat?” - -Since it was then early in the afternoon and they had just finished -lunch, the boys fell upon the unfortunate Doughnuts and pommeled him -right properly. - -“Good gracious, don’t you ever think of anything but eating?” asked -Herb. Then, seeing that Jimmy had taken refuge in the pantry, Herb -yanked him out with scant ceremony. “If we left you in there loose,” -said the latter, by way of explanation, “there wouldn’t be anything -left for dinner.” - -“Come over here, fellows!” commanded Bob, a sudden queer sound in -his voice. He was standing near the door and the boys went quickly -to him. - -“Look over there beyond those trees. Do you see smoke?” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - WINNING THEIR SPURS - - -For a moment the Radio Boys stared in the direction of Bob’s -pointing finger. They could see nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, -even while they told themselves this, the acrid smell of burning -leaves and wood wafted to them. - -Then suddenly Joe saw what Bob’s still keener eyes had seen. A thin -column of smoke, drifting lazily upward. - -“Fire!” cried Herb, under his breath, and at the word the boys -seemed suddenly stirred to action. - -With one accord they dashed from the house and started running in -the direction of the smoke. After a moment they realized that they -were heading straight for the railroad tracks. - -“Probably only a little barn fire,” panted Bob, as the odor of -burning wood became more pungent and they knew they were nearing the -flames. - -“Maybe they’re burning the leaves on purpose,” added Jimmy, but Herb -grunted scornfully. - -“It isn’t being done—not at this time in the year. Guess again, -Doughnuts, old boy.” - -Then they could see the flames through the trees and could hear the -excited exclamations of people running back and forth. They -redoubled their pace and in a moment more found themselves on the -outskirts of the crowd. - -Men and women, some swinging shovels, some brooms, others pails of -water that slopped as they ran, jostled the boys as they elbowed -their way to the front, anxious to see the extent of the fire. - -A couple of women dropped the brooms they had been wildly waving, -and Bob and Joe captured the weapons, approaching the blaze. At the -same moment there was the sound of running footsteps behind them and -in a moment more a dozen rangers broke through the crowd. - -At sight of the lean, sun-burned men, the excited, hysterical men -and women fell back, leaving the work of fighting the fire to the -newcomers. - -The grim faces of the rangers relaxed when they saw that the blaze -was a small one and comparatively easy to control. Some fell to work -with pick and shovel, digging a narrow ditch some twenty feet from -the fire and back of it, while others turned streams of water upon -the flames. - -One of the men, recognizing the Radio Boys, pushed shovels toward -them and eagerly the boys fell to work. They were having their first -experience of a forest fire, and although this was a small one, they -meant to make the most of the experience, just the same. - -It was a short fight, but a brisk one while it lasted. The fire had -started near the railroad tracks, as the boys had at first supposed. -And though several times, driven by a capricious breeze, the flames -had darted away from the fire fighters and toward the tracks, they -were not able to leap across the bared space to the trees on the -other side. - -Then suddenly, as though the elements had decided to come to the aid -of the fire fighters, the wind died down, and the fire, already well -in hand, gave up the struggle. Gradually the leaping flames subsided -until there was nothing left but a wide bed of glowing embers. - -The boys, thinking all danger past, rested from their labors, only -to find that the rangers were still busy, beating out sinister, -creeping ribbons of flame that wound snake-like through the -underbrush. - -As soon as one small thread was extinguished it seemed to the -fascinated boys as though another sprang up. And always they seemed -to come from nowhere—from the air above or the ground underneath. - -“That’s the worst of it,” said a panting ranger, speaking to Bob as -he leaned on his shovel. “You think you have the fire under your -thumb, turn away, and before you know it, it’s started all over -again. It’s uncanny how the spirit of the flames persists.” - -“I’ve noticed it,” agreed Bob, adding suddenly: “There’s another. -Look out, it’s almost under your feet.” - -Together they put out the snake-like creeping flame and then the -ranger turned again to Bob. He wiped the sweat from his eyes with a -grimy hand. - -“There’s more than one bad fire that has started just that way,” he -said. “Fire’s out apparently, everything’s peaceful and grand, -people go home contented, even the rangers are satisfied there’s -nothing left to do. But in spite of that we stick around and the -chances are ten to one that sooner or later that fire will start up -again—some distance maybe from the original place—and if we hadn’t -been on the spot, there’s no telling but what a million dollars’ -worth of good lumber would have gone up in smoke. Yes, sir, it’s a -great life if you don’t weaken.” - -“Do you think this one’s over?” asked Joe. He and the other boys had -come up in time to hear the last part of the ranger’s discourse. Now -the latter grinned. - -“Never can tell,” he said, adding whimsically: “It doesn’t pay to -think in this business.” - -In spite of the ranger’s pessimism, the fire did really prove to be -over, and when the rangers themselves decided it was safe to leave -the spot the boys turned back with them. Reluctantly they parted -company with the rangers and slowly made their way toward the lodge. - -“Gee, the fun was over too soon,” mourned Herb. “That fire was only -a teaser.” - -“I’d hate to think what it might have been, just the same, if the -rangers hadn’t shown up on the spot,” said Bob, thoughtfully. -“Suppose, for instance, the fire had started in a deserted part of -the woodland where no one would have noticed it until it had -gathered headway——” - -“But someone would have noticed it,” Joe broke in eagerly. “That’s -what the ranger service is for, especially the air patrol part of -it.” - -“Of course,” admitted Bob. “But even at that the chances are that it -would have gathered considerable headway before even the airplanes -caught on to the danger.” - -“Too bad it didn’t,” returned Herb flippantly. “Then we’d have had -that much more fun. I’d like to see a real fire before we go back to -Clintonia.” - -“I shouldn’t wonder,” said Bob, regarding his soot-blackened hands, -“if one really big forest fire cured your liking for them. I reckon -they’re not all fun. However,” he added, with a laugh, “I guess -there’s not much danger of our being in on a regular blaze unless we -start one ourselves.” - -“But did you notice,” asked Jimmy, as they came within sight of the -lodge, “how everybody else melted away when the rangers hove in -view? The people around here certainly have some respect for those -fellows, all right.” - -“I see,” said Herb with a grin, “that Doughnuts has fully decided to -be a forest ranger—when he grows up.” - -“Huh,” grunted Jimmy, aggrieved. “Where do you get that stuff?” - -The days following the fire at the railroad tracks were quiet, as -far as any new fire scare was concerned, and the boys sallied into -the woods in search of adventure. - -They found many things of interest, but the most interesting of all -to them was the discovery of the mouth of a cave some distance from -the lodge where they were staying. - -The cave could be reached by means of a narrow, tortuous path -through the woods, the path so overgrown in spots with weeds and -tangled underbrush that the boys were forced to mark trees and -stones in order to find their way to the spot. - -But the aggravating part of this discovery was that the mouth of the -cave was not big enough to allow of their passing through it even -though, by the throwing of the light from a flash into the black -interior, they could see that, a little further along, there was -ample room for them to stand almost upright. - -Of course they thought of enlarging the mouth of the cave, for they -became the prey of an insatiable curiosity to see what was inside -this mysterious hole in the mountainside. But to do this was almost -impossible. The mouth of the cave was flanked by heavy rocks and it -would take many hours of work to remove these, if, indeed, the feat -were possible at all. And they were too lazy—or perhaps not quite -curious enough—to take the trouble. - -However, they thought of the cave often and gradually it became -surrounded, in their own minds at least, by an air of mystery. - -Herb thought it might have been the retreat of smugglers in olden -days, Jimmy had it a counterfeiters’ den and Joe even went so far as -to say that it might be in use now as a hiding place for contraband -liquors. And so they got a great deal of fun from the discovery of -the cave, even if they could not go any further in their -explorations. - -When they were not wandering about the woods, they were either at -the ranger station, hobnobbing with the good-natured fellows there -and discussing radio with the red-headed operator, or they were at -home in the lodge, sending out messages from their own radio set. -They received messages also, for there was a broadcasting station -not so far away but what they might catch an occasional concert and -some of the talks. - -They had set up their apparatus soon after arriving and not until -they had the set “ready for business” did they begin to feel really -“at home.” - -“Never lonesome these days—even in the backwoods!” cried Joe, as he -joyfully clapped on a pair of head phones. “All you have to do is -listen in on a concert or two to imagine you are back in dear old -Clintonia again.” - -“Far be it from us to imagine any such thing,” retorted Bob quickly, -at which the boys had chuckled appreciatively. As a matter of fact, -they were having far too good a time to wish themselves in Clintonia -or anywhere but where they were. - -Then one day, wandering in the woods, they came across their second -great discovery. This was a quiet pool deep and still, surrounded by -low-bending trees whose foliage fairly swept the placid surface of -it. - -The boys were quiet, lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene, -then suddenly Jimmy was struck by an idea. - -“I bet you anything, fellows,” he cried, his round face fairly -radiating joy, “that there’s as fine fishing in this pool as any -you’ve ever seen. I’m going back for my tackle.” And he had actually -turned and headed back for the lodge before the boys fully grasped -the meaning of what he was saying. Then, with a whoop, they followed -him. - -Luckily they had thought far enough to pack in their rods at the -last moment and they knew exactly where to put their hands upon -them. So it happened that they were back at that pool again in -record time, equipped for fishing. - -They caught fish too—numbers of them—beyond their wildest dreams, -and they were just in the act of noisily proclaiming the proud Jimmy -a hero when Bob’s gaze, traveling upward, froze suddenly with -horror. - -“For the love of Pete, Doughnuts,” he cried hoarsely, “don’t move!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - THE CROUCHING WILDCAT - - -Startled by the tone of Bob’s voice, the boys turned quickly, and -Jimmy, disregarding his admonition not to move, screwed around till -he could follow Bob’s gaze. Then an answering look of horror crept -into his eyes. - -There, directly above him, crouching low on an overhanging branch of -the tree, was an animal that looked like nothing so much as an -overgrown house cat. But instinctively the boys knew that those -ferocious yellow eyes and small stubby ears flattened close to a -sleek furry head belonged to no tame animal. It was a bobcat, one of -the most vicious of the wild animals. - -How long the boys sat there, staring fascinated into the branches of -that tree, they were never afterward able to say. But even while -they sat there motionless their minds were working furiously. - -They were unarmed. If the animal attacked them they would be -helpless. Instinctively they knew that as long as they remained -absolutely quiet they had a chance of safety. The wildcat, puzzled -by their stillness, would hesitate to spring. But if they moved—— - -Then suddenly Bob, as though released from the spell that held him, -reached over ever so gently and his fingers closed on a stout stick -that lay close to him. At the same moment his other hand grasped a -heavy stone. - -The other boys, guessing what he was about to do, followed his -example, moving with the utmost caution. But, carefully as they -moved, the slight action annoyed the crouching wildcat. His teeth -showed in a wicked snarl and he crept nearer the end of the branch. - -Then Bob, staking everything on sudden action, jumped to his feet, -throwing the rock he held with all his force toward the huge cat and -brandishing his stick wildly above his head. - -The other boys followed suit, yelling like wild Indians and -advancing fiercely upon their foe. It was a wild thing to do and -there was only one chance in a hundred that the ruse would work. If -the cat, infuriated by the attack, sprang upon them—— - -But no! Again that fierce growl, the flattened ears, muscles tensed -for a spring—— - -But as the boys, shouting and waving their improvised weapons -wildly, advanced bewilderment crept into the glaring yellow eyes of -their antagonist. He crouched lower, he snarled angrily, he seemed -about to leap. - -Then, very slowly, the big animal began to retreat, inch by inch, -along the branch, his body almost touching the bark, his fur -bristling angrily. - -Elated at the prospect of triumph the boys sprang forward with yells -that started echoes sounding and resounding through the forest. - -With a sudden motion the wildcat bounded backward, landed on his -feet in the underbrush and scurried away through the trees. The boys -waited, weapons still raised, half expecting a return, but as the -moments passed and the woodland was still save for the excited -chattering of birds in the branches over their heads, they began to -realize that what they had hoped for was true, the enemy had been -finally and completely routed. - -They turned and stared at each other with eyes in which laughter -could not completely hide the shock of their experience. - -“Well, what do you know about that?” asked Bob, regarding the stick -which he still grasped. “Scared him off with a bit of stick. I bet -if I’d tried to hit him the stick would have broken in two on his -sleek back. Say, fellows, can you beat it?” - -Then he began to laugh and the others joined him. They laughed till -tears rolled down their cheeks, and when at last they sobered down -they felt a good deal better. - -“That was some great idea of yours, Bob,” said Joe admiringly, as he -threw away his stick and stooped to pick up the day’s catch. “I -suppose the rest of us would just have sat tight like a bunch of -boobs and let that bobcat tackle us.” - -“It was the craziest idea I ever had,” returned Bob. “It was a long -chance, but I guess it was about the only chance we had, at that.” - -“Whew,” said Herb, as he thoughtfully wound up his line. “That was -enough excitement to last me for a good long while.” - -“I didn’t know there were bobcats around here,” said Jimmy, wiping -the perspiration from his round face. - -“I guess there are all sorts of wild animals in the forest,” replied -Joe, adding with a grin: “I guess maybe we’d better get down one of -those guns from the wall of the lodge and load it with buckshot. -Looks as if we might need it.” - -“Well, I guess we’ll not want to do any more fishing to-day, shall -we?” asked Jimmy, looking around him rather anxiously. “We’ve got a -pretty good haul anyway.” - -“Plenty for dinner,” said Bob. “And just now nothing would suit me -better than to go home and cook ’em.” - -This feeling was heartily shared by the boys, and it did not take -them long to gather up their bait and reels and start away from the -pool. - -Although, by tacit consent, they did not mention their hair-raising -experience on that tramp through the woods, it was easy to tell by -the way they continually glanced this way and that into the shadows -of the forest what was uppermost in their minds. - -Of course they had been told there were wild animals on Spruce -Mountain, but somehow they had not taken the information very -seriously. But since the incident of the afternoon, an incident that -might have ended in tragedy, they decided to be more cautious. - -“I’m glad we met one, anyway,” said Herb, as, later that night, they -prepared for bed. - -“Met what?” yawned Jimmy, who, after the day’s exertions, was very -weary. - -“The bobcat, bonehead,” retorted Herb, unflatteringly. “What did you -think I was talking about—the fish?” - -“Well,” said Joe, reflectively, “I’ve seen plenty of pictures of -wildcats, but as far as I’m concerned I’m perfectly willing to take -the pictures’ word for it.” - -“Same here,” put in Bob, grinning. “They aren’t particularly playful -little animals to have around.” - -At that moment Jimmy sank upon his cot with a sigh of abject relief. - -“Whew!” he ejaculated, “there aren’t any springs worth mentioning on -this downy bed but it sure feels good to me, just the same.” - -“Doughnuts wants a spring like the one the fellow had I was reading -about the other day,” said Bob. - -“What kind is that?” asked Jimmy, through a prodigious yawn. - -“Why, this fellow,” chuckled Bob, stretching himself out on his own -cot and staring up at the ceiling, “thought up the wonderful idea of -using his springs for an aerial.” - -The boys gasped at him. - -“Now I know you’re fooling,” Herb told him, incredulously. - -“Fooling, nothing!” replied Bob. “I never was more serious in my -life.” - -“You’ve got to prove it to us,” said Joe, as he carefully extracted -a fish hook that was on the point of entering his thumb. “Sounds -kind of phony to me, Bob.” - -“Not at all,” said Bob, still seeming very much amused about -something. “It’s really the simplest thing in the world when you’ve -once thought of it. - -“This fellow doesn’t even use an antenna—not the towering, outside -kind, that is. He merely attaches the antenna lead to the springs of -his iron bed——” - -“How does he make his ground connection then?” asked Joe, still -incredulous, while Herb and Jimmy regarded Bob with interest. “Tell -me that, then.” - -“Easiest thing in the world,” retorted Bob. “He makes the ground -connection by means of a water pipe and a radiator in his own -quarters.” - -Herb whistled. - -“Pretty slick—that,” he said admiringly. “Has music to sing him to -sleep and everything.” - -“But what kind of an outfit has he?” asked Joe, always anxious for -technical information. - -“It’s a single circuit, regenerative design,” explained Bob. “It has -two variometers, a detector tube, two condensers and one-stage of -audio-amplification from two ‘B’ batteries. Very simple apparatus -when you know about it.” - -“Well, that boy was surely original!” exclaimed Herb. “I wouldn’t -mind having a set like that myself.” - -“It would be easy enough to make,” said Joe, his mind already busy -with circuits and condensers and variometers. “And when it was -finished you’d have something that not everybody else has, anyway.” - -“I’m for it, strong,” said Jimmy, turning over in an effort to find -the softest spot in the bed. “And not only for the sake of the -music, either. Just think how nice it would be to go to sleep on -some real springs. I love music—but oh, you comfort!” - -“Oh, go to sleep before I put you there!” commanded Herb, raising a -shoe threateningly. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - AN UNDERGROUND MYSTERY - - -“Say, have you fellows heard about that new vacuum tube?” asked Joe, -as the boys were tinkering with their set a day or so after the -incident of the wildcat. - -“What about it?” the others asked, with interest. - -“They say it’s the most powerful tube in the world,” Joe continued -enthusiastically. “Think of it—this tube is capable of supplying a -hundred kilowatts of oscillating high frequency energy to an -antenna.” - -“Must be some hefty tube,” remarked Bob, rather absently. He was -trying to tune in on a station some distance away and there was -considerable interference. - -“No, that’s just the beauty of it,” said Joe, still on the subject -of this wonder tube. “It’s small. Only weighs ten pounds.” - -“I suppose that will have a big effect upon radio in general,” said -Herb. - -“I’ll say so,” Joe returned. “Why, they say that two of these tubes -operated in parallel would do the work of a million dollars’ worth -of machinery in transatlantic communication.” - -“Some tube, all right,” said Jimmy. “I bet it will bring the -inventor some hard cash, too.” - -“He deserves it,” declared Joe. “Anyone who has brains enough to -invent a thing like that ought to be a millionaire.” - -“Probably will be, too, before he gets through,” remarked Bob. - -Jimmy sighed. - -“Oh, for a few brains!” he murmured and Herb grinned happily. - -“You said something that time, old timer,” he assured the despondent -Jimmy. - -However, they wearied even of their radio sets after awhile and -decided to take a tramp in the woods, “just to pick up an appetite -for dinner.” - -“Here’s hoping we don’t pick up a wildcat or two for good measure,” -said Joe. - -“Oh, I don’t know,” replied Jimmy nonchalantly. “I’ve heard wildcat -steaks are very good eating.” - -“So are bear steaks,” retorted Joe. “But I’m not particularly -anxious to meet the bear.” - -“Let’s go over to the ranger station,” suggested Bob, “and see if -there’s any news. Then we might go around and see if our cave is -still there.” - -The boys agreed, and a moment later they were being greeted -pleasantly by Mr. Bentley and one or two others. There had been no -fires of any account reported, the rangers assured them, and smiled -when the boys looked disappointed. - -As usual, they stayed at the station longer than they had expected -to and when they came out they decided it was too late to go around -to their cave that afternoon. - -“We’ll make a good early start in the morning and spend the day,” -decided Bob. “We can take some canned beans and rolls along so -Doughnuts won’t starve to death.” - -“That reminds me that we’d better go around by way of the -crossroads,” said Herb. “Doughnuts ate up the last bit of jam last -night, and if we’re going on a picnic we’ve got to have jam.” - -The boys agreed on the necessity, and so started to detour through -the woods in the direction of the little crossroads country store, -where a few things, they had discovered, could be bought. - -But they were destined not to reach the store that afternoon. They -had never gone straight from the ranger station to the place, and so -the country through which they were passing was new to them. - -They knew there was no possibility of their becoming lost, however, -for Mr. Bentley told them that if they followed straight along the -path they were now on they would come out right at the crossroads. - -However, the way was long and as they had been climbing steadily -they finally sat down on the crest of a low mountain to regain their -breath and look at the scenery. - -It was then that Joe discovered, half-way down the mountainside, a -curious gaping hole, half concealed by intertwining underbrush. - -“Look!” he said. “That looks like a fair-sized cave to me.” - -“Let’s go and have a closer look at it,” said Bob, curiously. “It’s -probably just a hole, but there may be something interesting about -it.” - -Jimmy protested, for his short legs were weary, but Herb yanked him -to his feet and gave him a shove in the direction of the cave. Jimmy -had not been any too securely balanced in the first place, and -Herb’s shove had the effect of lifting him completely from his feet. -He fell, landed on his side and rolled down the steep side of the -mountain, turning over and over and grasping wildly at roots and -stones in his path. - -So suddenly had it happened that for a moment the other boys only -stared. Then, as poor Jimmy went on rolling and finally disappeared -in the gaping mouth of the cave they gathered their wits and made -after him. Smothering their mirth, they half slid, half fell, down -the mountain side. - -The ground was rough and stony and they were afraid that Jimmy might -be really hurt. Their fears were set at rest, however, when, upon -peering into the dark cavern, they found that Jimmy had regained his -feet and was glaring with a mixture of sheepishness and rage at -Herb. - -“You big stiff!” he said, carefully feeling over his pudgy form to -make sure there were no bones broken, “next time you feel like -shoving a fellow, just look who you’re shoving, will you? I suppose -you think this was fun.” - -“It was—for us,” retorted Herb, relieved to find he had not -seriously hurt his fat chum. “Stop glaring at me, Doughnuts,” he -added placatingly. “I didn’t mean to shove so hard, honest I -didn’t.” - -“Well,” said Jimmy, somewhat mollified, “I suppose I’ll have to take -your word for it. Only don’t let it happen again, that’s all.” - -“And now that we’re here,” said Bob, gazing about him with lively -interest at the walls of the cave into which they had literally -stumbled, “what do you say we look around a bit?” - -“You bet,” agreed Joe, feeling in his pockets for matches. “From the -looks of things, if we’re going to do much exploring we’ll need -plenty of light.” - -“I’ve got a new box of matches myself,” said Herb. “Any of the rest -of you fellows got any?” - -It appeared that they all had, and Bob, feeling about on the floor -of the cave, found a stick that would serve them admirably as a -torch. - -This he lighted with one of the precious matches and held it over -his head in an attempt to pierce the dark corners of the place. - -“Probably ends a few feet farther on,” said Herb, as they carefully -made their way forward, groping along the damp walls of the cave. -“You go ahead with your light, Bob, and lead the way. It’s as dark -as pitch in this hole.” - -But, contrary to Herb’s prediction, the cave did not end a few feet -further on. As a matter of fact, it seemed to widen as they went -forward and the boys began to feel a growing excitement. - -“This is getting good,” chortled Bob, then stopped short as by the -light of his torch he discovered something new. “Say, fellows,” he -cried, in an excited voice, “here’s a tunnel—and, yes, there’s one -on the other side.” - -“Better and better!” exulted Herb. “Which one of the tunnels shall -we explore first?” - -“Why not take both?” asked Jimmy, who had completely recovered from -his ignominious tumble. “Two of us can go down one of them and the -other two can take the other.” - -“Nothing doing,” said Bob, firmly. “We’re going to stick together on -this jaunt. We don’t want to take any chances of our matches giving -out and being left in the dark—not if I know it!” - -When Bob spoke in this tone the other boys generally did as he said. -And this time was no exception. They tossed coins to determine which -of the diverging tunnels they would follow. This proved to be the -one to the right of them. - -“This piece of stick is burning out,” said Bob, as they turned down -the dark passage. “Feel around and see if you can get any more, will -you, fellows? If we depend on matches they will be all burnt out -before we’ve seen half we want to see.” - -They felt about the floor of the cave, which was damp and clammy to -the touch, and finally produced a couple of sticks which might be -made to do. These last were damp and rotten, but Bob finally -succeeded in lighting one. - -“We’ll have to work fast, fellows,” he told them. “This isn’t going -to last long.” - -And so they went ahead in real earnest, thrilled and fascinated by -the discovery that there was not one tunnel, or two, in this -remarkable cave, but a whole network of them, leading bewilderingly -one into another. - -In their excitement the Radio Boys temporarily forgot that it was -much easier to get in than it would be to find their way out again. -All that seemed to matter at the time was to find to what point -these fascinating tunnels led. They had been using up matches at an -appalling rate of speed. - -Then suddenly the torch in Bob’s hand flickered and went out - -“More matches,” he called impatiently. “Herb, it’s your turn.” - -A minute of dead silence while Herb fumbled wildly in his pockets. -Then faintly through the pitch blackness his voice came to them. - -“I—haven’t any. I must have lost them.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - SWALLOWED UP BY THE DARKNESS - - -At first the full measure of the calamity did not come home to the -boys. It was irritating, of course, to find themselves in the dark -with no possible way of making a light. The blackness was so intense -that they could not even see a hand before the face. - -Herb turned, stumbled over something and almost lost his balance. - -“Confound this dark,” he grumbled. “I could have sworn I had those -matches.” - -“Feel in your pockets, fellows,” commanded Bob sharply. Perhaps more -than any of the other boys he realized the seriousness of their -predicament. “Without a light we’re going to have a hard time -getting out of here.” - -But, feel as they would in every pocket they possessed, the boys -were at last obliged to confess that they had not a match among -them. - -“Oh, we can remember the way back, all right,” said Herb, assuming a -confidence he was very far from feeling. “All we have to do is -follow this wall till we come to the end of it.” - -“Yes,” said Bob with a touch of irony in his voice. “Then what?” - -“Then we turn to the right—or was it the left?” faltered Herb, and -Bob laughed. - -“That’s just what I’d like to know,” he said, then went on, with -sudden resolution in his tone: “There’s no use dodging the fact, -fellows, that we’re in a pretty tight fix. If we get out of this -black hole all right it will be more luck than anything else. -However, the sooner we start trying the better.” - -“If we go slowly and try to remember the way we came in, we’ll be -all right,” said Joe. “I think I know the direction. Come on, follow -me, fellows, and we all may be happy yet.” - -They turned and slowly felt their way back along the damp earthy -walls of the tunnel. They came to the end of it and then, following -Joe’s advice, turned to the left. - -Along this passageway they carefully felt their way, and, once more -coming to the end of it, this time turned to the right. This was the -way, Joe was confident, that they had come. All they needed to do -was to follow their noses and they could not fail but be all right. - -Poor Joe! His confidence was short-lived. For, when they came to the -end of this passageway, instead of seeing before them daylight from -the mouth of the cave, there was still that maddening pitch -blackness. - -They stood irresolute, without the slightest idea which way to turn -next. - -“This is what I call rotten luck!” groaned Jimmy. “Here I am -starving to death and we may not be able to get out of this place -for another hour.” - -“Humph,” put in Bob grimly. “We’ll be mighty lucky if we get out at -all. It would be hard enough to find our way around with a light, -but now——” - -“Say, wouldn’t you think we’d have had more sense?” growled Herb. -“I’ve got a good ball of cord in my pocket and we could easily have -attached that to something outside the cave. Then finding our way -out would have been a cinch.” - -“No use crying over spilled milk,” observed Joe. “It won’t help us -get out. How about it, Bob? Got any ideas?” - -“Not one,” admitted Bob. “As far as I can see we’re lost good and -plenty.” - -Jimmy groaned again. - -“That’s cheerful,” he said. “When all a fellow can think of is a -plate of pork and beans with——” - -“Say, cut it out, can’t you?” interrupted Herb. “Isn’t it enough to -know we’re going to starve to death without your making it worse -with your pork and beans?” - -“Starve, nothing!” Bob broke in. “Where do you get that stuff, -anyway? We’re going to get out of this place if it takes all night -to do it. Come on, let’s go.” - -“Where to?” - -“Nobody knows,” retorted Bob. “But anything’s better than standing -still groaning about our luck.” - -They started on again, groping their way along, the dank smell of -earth and decaying wood in their nostrils and the black curtain of -darkness before their eyes. It was no use. Every way they turned -they were met with defeat. - -“Might as well sit down and accept our awful fate,” said Herb -dolefully. “I’ve barked more shins than I knew I had, and all for -nothing——” - -“Hey, you back there, come and see what I’ve found!” - -It was Bob’s voice coming to them from a considerable distance up -the tunnel. There was a ring of joyful elation in it that sent them -stumbling frantically toward him. - -“For the love of Pete, Bob!” yelled Joe, “what have you got?” - -“A way out,” returned Bob, and, coming closer, the others could see -before them the faint gray of twilight where Bob had pushed aside -some intervening branches. - -The boys pushed forward, stumbling over one another in their -excitement. - -“It’s a hole, all right,” said Herb. “But do you think it’s big -enough for us to get through?” - -“We’ll get through it all right,” said Bob, grimly. “Do you suppose -we’re going to get this near to the good old out-of-doors without -going the rest of the way? Watch me!” - -He began digging with his hands at the earth about the hole and the -boys eagerly followed suit. But it did not take them long to realize -that any attempt to enlarge the hole was hopeless. Beneath the loose -earth was a solid foundation of rock. - -They sat back on their heels, gazing at one another helplessly. -Suddenly Bob spoke excitedly. - -“Do you know what I think?” he said. “I’ll bet just about anything I -own that this hole is the entrance to the cave that we’ve been -wondering about so much.” - -“I bet you’re right!” agreed Joe. “It’s just about the size and -everything——” - -“Well, all I have to say is,” interrupted Herb, “that if that’s the -case, our prospects of getting out of here aren’t very hopeful. -We’ve been trying for a long while to get in this hole and couldn’t. -So I must say, I don’t see how we’re going to get out.” - -“Sounds reasonable enough,” admitted Bob. “Only I have a pretty good -idea we’re going to get out some way. You never know what you can do -till you’re desperate.” - -“Go to it,” remarked Herb pessimistically. “As for me, I think I’ll -go back and see if I can’t find some other way out.” - -“Better stay where you are,” advised Bob, as he took off his coat -and thrust it through the hole. “Now I’ll make myself as small as -possible and see what happens.” - -He lay down on his side and, with his arms pushed as close to his -sides as possible, stuck his head through the hole and then pushed -gently with his feet. - -You would have said it was impossible for Bob to get through that -narrow opening. The boys still thought it was. Yet, in another -moment they had to change their minds. As Bob had said, “you never -know what you can do till you’re desperate.” - -Once it seemed, so tight was he wedged, that Bob would be doomed to -spend the rest of his life there, but by a tremendous effort he -finally managed to push himself the rest of the way. Then, panting -and triumphant, he stood up on the other side of that hole, free. - -“Well, what Bob can do, I can too,” said Joe. “Let’s go.” - -He managed the feat and Herb after him, each one loosening some dirt -and small stones as he wriggled his way through. It was harder for -Jimmy, but by strenuous pulling they finally managed to rescue him -also. - -“Say,” cried Bob, drawing in deep breaths of the cool evening air, -“make believe it doesn’t smell good out here!” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - AN OLD ENEMY - - -They were starting back along the familiar path to the lodge when -they were surprised by the sound of angry voices coming from the -direction of the road just beyond. - -One of the voices seemed familiar to them and by common consent they -turned and retraced their steps. For the voice, improbable as it -seemed, had sounded like Buck Looker’s! - -As they came out into the open they saw through the gathering dusk -the indistinct outlines of a motor car. At first they could not -distinguish the owners of the voices raised in altercation, but in a -moment more they saw the reason for this. - -As they watched they saw someone crawl from underneath the car while -another came around from the further side of the machine. Even in -the indistinct light the boys recognized the two distinctly. They -were Buck Looker and Carl Lutz! - -The latter were so busy quarreling that they did not at once notice -the boys. Buck was blaming Carl in no uncertain tones with something -that had happened to the car. - -“Thought you said you knew how to drive!” Buck snarled. “Do you -think I’d have risked my neck with a fool like you, if you hadn’t -said——” - -“Oh, cut it out, can’t you?” Lutz interrupted sullenly. “I can’t -help it if the car’s a piece of old junk. The best chauffeur going -couldn’t run her two miles without trouble.” - -“I suppose you think that lets you out,” sneered Buck. “Make excuses -and blame it all on the car——” He paused, mouth open, eyes staring. -He had seen the Radio Boys. - -“Well, look who’s here!” he said, his mouth stretching in a sneering -grin. “Hello, fellows. Can’t we give you a lift wherever you’re -going? You look,” with a glance that took in their earth-grimed -clothes, “as if you’d been in a fight.” - -“No,” said Bob, with a misleading gentleness. “We haven’t been—yet.” - -“Well, we’re not looking for any, if that’s what you mean,” sneered -Buck, but the boys noticed with a grin that he climbed quickly into -the automobile. “We’d hate to wipe up the ground with fellows like -you.” - -The boys started forward, fists clenched, but Carl Lutz had jumped -into the driver’s seat and started the engine. As the boys sprang -forward, the car moved up the road—at first slowly, but gathering -speed quickly. - -Buck waved a hand to them. - -“So long,” he called. “See you again maybe before long.” - -“If you do,” said Bob, under his breath, “it won’t be lucky for -you.” - -“Well, what do you think of that?” breathed Herb, as the Radio Boys -once more started for the lodge. “Who would ever have thought we’d -have the bad luck to see Buck up here?” - -“That fellow,” remarked Jimmy, puffing as he tried to keep up with -the longer strides of the other boys, “is a bad penny. He’s always -turning up just when you least expect him.” - -“I wonder,” said Bob reflectively, “if he can be spending his -vacation up here too.” - -“Looks like it,” admitted Joe, with a scowl. “Tough luck for us, -I’ll tell the world.” - -“Oh, I don’t know,” said Bob, cheerfully. “I have a notion Buck and -Carl, too, will keep pretty well out of our way. They aren’t anxious -to mix it up with us any.” - -“No. But they’re sure to try to make it unpleasant for us some way -or other,” insisted Herb. “You know how they are. They’ll do any -sort of mean trick as long as there isn’t too much danger of their -getting a black eye out of it.” - -“We’ll have to take our chance on that,” said Bob, with a grin, -adding: “But, somehow, after being lost in that cave, Buck doesn’t -bother me a bit. Let him do his worst. He’ll get a good deal better -than he gives!” - -Nevertheless, in the days that followed the boys thought a great -deal about their meeting with the two cronies, and they made all -sorts of inquiries in order to find out where the boys were staying. - -Finally they found someone, a friend of Mr. Bentley’s, who knew -them, though, as he admitted with a frown, he knew no good of them. -This gentleman, Mr. Watson by name, said that Buck and Carl Lutz -were staying at a fashionable bungalow three or four miles from the -ranger station. - -“If you’ll take my advice,” he said to the Radio Boys, the frown -still lingering, “you’ll give those lads a wide berth. They’re no -good. I’d hate to see a boy of mine having anything to do with -them.” - -“You needn’t worry about our giving them a wide berth, Mr. Watson,” -said Bob, adding with a grin: “That’s the best thing we do!” - -In the days that followed the boys saw nothing of Buck and his -friend and gradually forgot all about them. As long as they kept out -of sight, that was all that could be asked of them. - -After their adventure in the mysterious mountain cave, the boys -found it hard to keep away from the spot. They went there every day -or so and soon came to know the various tunnels and passages in the -cavern so well that they could almost have found their way about in -the dark. - -Of course at first they were extremely cautious, for they were not -particularly anxious to repeat their first experience. They made use -of Herb’s ball of cord, attaching one end of the cord to a tree -trunk outside the cave and holding the ball, unwinding it as they -felt their way along. - -It was a fascinating place with its passages, its strange, -suddenly-widened chambers where they might stand upright and rest -their cramped backs. - -And the more they saw of the place, the more convinced did they -become that at some time or other the cave had really been the -refuge of outlaws, who brought their booty there—desperate criminals -perhaps. - -Then, one day, they came upon something that Herb declared was -positive proof of this belief. - -At the end of one of the tunnels which they had not explored before -they came upon an apartment where were several evidences of former -habitation. There were bits of broken crockery, a rusted hammer, the -remains of a rudely constructed chair and a worm-eaten table. And in -the far corner, so encrusted with dirt and mold that it seemed like -part of the earth itself, Herb triumphantly discovered an old burlap -bag. - -“I bet,” he said, his eyes shining, “that this thing has held gold -and silver, jewels maybe!” - -“Huh!” said Joe skeptically, “you’ll be finding the treasure next. -You can’t tell anything by an empty bag.” - -“No,” retorted Herb indignantly, “and you can’t tell anything by the -rest of the stuff we’ve found here, the hammer, for instance, and -the broken dishes, but you can imagine things just the same.” - -“Someone used this place to hide in, that one thing’s sure,” said -Bob. “But there hasn’t been anyone here recently. Whoever our -friends were, they probably died a couple of hundred years ago.” - -But in spite of the chaffing it remained a fact that from that day -of this last discovery the boys found the lure of the cave -irresistible. They spent hours there, imagining all sorts of -romantic happenings in the past and bemoaning the fact that nothing -exciting ever happened to them. - -“Here it is getting near time for us to go home again, and never a -real fire yet,” complained Herb. “That’s what I call a mean trick.” - -For, although they visited the rangers every day, the latter -reported everything quiet without ever a spark on the horizon and -the boys began to think that the fire they had helped to quell at -the railroad tracks was the only one they were destined to take part -in that summer. - -They had had excellent weather all along, warm, sunshiny days when -the out-of-doors called to them and the only time they wanted to -stay indoors at all was when the spirit moved them to work on their -radio set. - -But now the weather changed suddenly. One morning the boys woke to -find the sky leaden and overcast. There was the feel of rain in the -air and a chill breeze was blowing. - -“Won’t be very cheerful around the cave to-day,” said Bob, as he -stood in the doorway of the lodge, looking up at the lowering sky. -“Guess we’d better stick around this cabin. I want to experiment a -bit with the transmitter, anyway.” - -“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you,” said Jimmy, coming to -join Bob in the doorway. “But I’m going down to the crossroads. A -bit of rain won’t hurt!” - -“Of course not,” said Joe, adding with a wicked grin: “Rose says -there’s nothing better than rain for the complexion.” - -“Say!” retorted Jimmy, aggrieved, “who said I was worrying about my -complexion, I’d like to know. You fellows make me sick!” - -“It’s doughnuts he’s after,” volunteered Herb. “I looked in the -doughnut jar last night and there wasn’t one left.” - -“Good-by, I’m going!” said Jimmy, and without another word started -off in the direction of the general store at the crossroads, -followed by the good-natured hoots of his comrades. - -“Doughnuts will die of indigestion yet,” prophesied Herb, with a -doleful shake of his head, “Come on, fellows, let’s listen in on -something. We haven’t heard a good concert for days.” - -For the time Jimmy and his doughnuts were forgotten. The three boys, -absorbed in their beloved radio, forgot time and place. - -But finally, finding that static was interfering annoyingly, they -stopped to make some unflattering comments on it and Bob, happening -to look at his watch, suddenly made the discovery that Jimmy had -been gone for almost three hours. At almost the same minute he -became conscious of the furious wind that whistled and moaned about -the lodge. There was no rain—only that terrific wind. - -“Whew,” said Joe, going over to the window, “no wonder the old set -isn’t working well. This looks like a regular storm, fellows.” - -“And Doughnuts has been gone nearly three hours,” said Bob -anxiously. “I wonder what can be keeping him?” - -They went over to the door, which had long since blown shut, and -Herb turned the knob. The door flung inward with such violence that -it nearly knocked him from his feet. It took the combined force of -the three boys to push it to again. - -“A regular hurricane,” gasped Joe. “Takes your breath away. Say, -fellows, I wish Doughnuts were back.” - -And when another twenty minutes had passed and still no sign of -Jimmy, the boys put on their coats, pulled their caps down over -their eyes and started out to search for him. They knew the path he -would take and they started down it, the wind behind them fairly -lifting them along. - -“Coming back, we’ll have to face this wind,” shouted Herb. - -A ripping, rending noise! A sound as though the earth itself were -being torn asunder! With a terrific crash a giant monarch of the -forest fell across their path! - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - PINNED DOWN - - -So directly in their path was the felled giant of the forest that -the boys stumbled among its outstretched branches before they could -stop their onward rush. - -Then they pulled their caps still closer over their eyes, circled -around the tree and found the path again. They knew just how close -they had been to death, and yet their thoughts at that moment were -not of themselves. They were thinking of Jimmy, wondering if, -perhaps, some such accident as had happened to them had overtaken -their chum. Was that what had delayed him? They shuddered and ran -faster. - -The wind, fierce as it had been before, seemed momentarily to -increase in violence. Trees moaned beneath the force of it, sweeping -their tortured branches earthward. Again and again came that -tearing, rending sound that meant the downfall of another forest -giant. - -Urged on now by a horrible fear for Jimmy’s safety, the boys climbed -over jagged stumps, fought their way through clinging branches, -keeping the while a sharp lookout to right and left of them. Several -times they stopped and shouted, but the wind viciously whipped the -sound from their lips and they had the nightmare feeling that they -were making no noise at all. - -Then, in a sudden deep lull in the storm, they heard it. Faintly it -came to them—a cry for help—smothered the next minute by the fury of -the wind. - -But it was enough for the boys. That had been Jimmy’s voice, and -with a wild shout they turned in the direction from which it had -come. - -They found him, lying on his side, the branches of a great tree -pinning him to the earth. There was perspiration on his face, either -from pain or his desperate struggles to get free. His chums did not -know which, and they spent little time trying to find out. - -Down on their knees they went, shouting encouragement to Jimmy while -they tried to lift the heavy branches from him. It was all they -could do with their combined strength to lift the limb which pinned -their comrade to the ground, but they managed it at last. The -heavier weight removed, it took them but a few minutes to cut off -the rest of the branches. - -Then Jimmy was free! But he made no effort to rise. Bob knelt beside -him anxiously. - -“Are you much hurt, old man?” he asked, putting an arm gently -beneath the lad’s shoulders. “Do you think you can get up?” - -“I guess so,” said Jimmy, struggling to a sitting position. He -grimaced with pain and rubbed an ankle gingerly. “I feel kind of -numb and queer.” - -“Humph, I should think you would, after all that,” returned Herb, -adding with, for him, unusual gentleness: “How about it, Doughnuts? -Think there are any bones broken?” - -Jimmy shook his head, and, with Bob’s assistance, struggled gamely -to his feet. There was the exquisite torture of returning -circulation in his feet. He felt as though he were standing on a bed -of needles with all the sharp points turned upward. He bit his lips -to keep back a groan. - -The boys regarded him anxiously while Bob felt him carefully all -over to make sure there were no broken bones. - -“I’m all right, I guess,” said Jimmy, his round face becoming more -cheerful as the pain in his feet subsided. “Got plenty of bruises I -guess, but I don’t mind them.” - -With intense relief the boys realized that what he said was true. It -had been a miracle that he should have escaped with only a few -scratches and bruises to tell the story. As it was, if the falling -tree had caught him just a little bit sooner—but resolutely they -turned away from that thought. - -As soon as Jimmy found that he could hobble along, they turned and -began the stiff fight back to the lodge. And it was a fight, every -inch of the way. - -The wind seemed like a human enemy against whom they had to exert -every ounce of their strength. It wrestled them, buffeted them, -snatched at their breath, at times sent them reeling against the -trunk of a tree. - -The journey was made still harder for them because of the weakened -condition of Jimmy. Although he had not been seriously hurt, the -shock of his experience had been terrific. Toward the end the boys -fairly had to carry him along. - -When they finally came within sight of the lodge they saw a sight -that made their hearts jump wildly. Half a dozen rangers were -running through the woods, armed with shovels and wet sacks. - -As the boys stared, two of them turned and started for the door of -the lodge. Bob rushed forward, shouting to them. It was then he saw -that one of the men was Mr. Bentley. - -“Let’s get inside,” he snapped at Bob. “We can’t talk in this wind.” - -Swiftly Bob drew the key from his pocket and fitted it in the lock. -The door flew open and the wind fairly swept them inside. With an -effort Bob got the door shut, turned and faced the men. - -“A fire over on the ridge,” said Mr. Bentley, curtly. His face was -drawn and there were grim lines about his mouth. “Can you boys send -out some radio messages for us?” - -“Watch us!” cried Bob, turning to the instrument. “Where to?” - -“Villages in the district,” replied Mr. Bentley. He had already -turned toward the door. “Ashley and Dawnville are in the path of the -fire. Our wireless will be busy directing the fight. After warning -the villages, send out calls for help in all directions. We’ll need -men, men and more men!” - -“Is it so bad, then?” asked Herb, his eyes gleaming. - -Mr. Bentley did not answer except by a nod of the head. But the -lines about his mouth had deepened. - -Then the door slammed to after the men, and the boys turned -feverishly to the instrument. Static put up a fight, but they -finally managed to get Ashley, then Dawnville. - -“Perry is just a little way further on,” suggested Joe. “Better get -them too, Bob.” - -Bob got Perry and then started broadcasting the call for men, men -and more men. And when they were satisfied they had done all they -could do with the radio, the boys pulled on jackets and hats and -hurried to swell the numbers of the defenders. - -Jimmy who, in his excitement, had forgotten what had happened to -him, went with them. To Bob’s suggestion that he stay at the lodge -for a while and join them later, he stubbornly refused to listen. - -“Think you’re going to do me out of this, do you?” he cried. “Well, -I guess not! If anybody stays at home, it isn’t going to be me.” - -The boys had no time to argue with him, if they had wanted to. They -knew that in a terrific wind such as this a forest fire can become a -hideous thing, burning up whole tracts of valuable lumber, sweeping -down upon villages and leaving terror and destruction in its wake. - -Mr. Bentley had said that they needed men, men and more men. And -they knew that what he had said was nothing to what he had left -unsaid. Hardened veteran as he was of many forest fires, a blaze -such as this promised to be would try even his tested courage. Well, -they’d show him what Radio Boys could do! - -They paused for a moment outside the lodge to get their bearings. No -need to ask in which direction the blaze was now. No longer need to -hunt for evidences of the terror. For plainly visible now was the -curtain of red, broken and torn by darting tongues of flame that -shot heavenward, painting a dull reflection on the sky. - -They could hear the hoarse shouts of the men who risked their lives -in battle with the terrible enemy, the crackling of burning trees, -could smell the pungent acrid smell of burning wood. - -“Come on, fellows!” cried Herb excitedly. “We don’t have to ask the -way, do we?” - -“Couldn’t miss it,” shouted Joe, giving the gasping Jimmy a lift -over the tangled branches of a fallen tree. - -“Look out for that hole, fellows,” warned Bob, for, with their eyes -upon that wavering, changing curtain of red, the boys had come very -near pitching headlong into a hole made by the torn-up roots of a -tree. “Wouldn’t do to break a leg just now.” - -It was deceitful—that fire line. It had seemed just ahead of them, -but, although they ran as fast as they could, it seemed always to be -just as far ahead of them. - -“Maybe it’s going the other way,” panted Jimmy, his lungs feeling as -though they would burst. - -“Couldn’t,” Bob shouted back. “The wind’s blowing right toward us. I -think it’s just the other side of the hill.” - -For a long time they had been climbing steadily, and as they neared -the top of the hill they seemed at last to be approaching the fire. -Or was it approaching them? With that wind—— - -The shouts of the fire fighters were growing plainer now. Groups of -men, gesticulating excitedly and carrying shovels and sodden sacks, -brushed past them. - -The boys ran with them, beside themselves with feverish excitement. -They reached the top of the hill. Down below them, writhed and -twisted and fought the grinning demon of fire! - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - FIRE - - -Everywhere men were working, driving themselves and others -mercilessly. A hundred yards back of the fire some were digging a -ditch while others hacked madly with hatchets at outstretching -branches of trees. - -Close to the fire line men fought grimly, resolutely beating at -creeping tendrils of flame with the wet sacks, eyes bloodshot and -wild in blackened faces, burned hands returning again and again to -the attack. - -Reinforcements were continually arriving, as well as fresh sacks and -shovels from the ranger station. The Radio Boys, arming themselves -with some of these, made their way as close as possible to the fire -line. - -One man, whose hands had been very seriously burned and who still -refused to leave his post was carried off by two of his comrades, -shouting and protesting wildly. The boys filled in the gap. - -The smoke stung their eyes torturingly, flying particles of burning -wood and leaves seared their flesh and the sweat poured from them. -They only worked the harder. - -“It’s this danged wind!” groaned a man next to them, stopping for a -moment to wipe his tear-filled, smarting eyes on the sleeve of his -shirt. “If it’d stop we might have a chance——” He paused, sniffed -the air inquiringly while the expression of his face slowly changed. -“Well, I’ll be hanged!” he said softly. “If it ain’t!” - -It was then the boys noticed what in the fever of the fight they had -overlooked, that the wind seemed indeed to have blown itself out. At -least there was a lull. - -The flames which, driven by the gale, had bent and writhed and -twisted toward them, now darted straight upward. - -“If we can keep it from reaching the gully,” the man beside them -continued, “there’s a chance we can beat it.” - -“What gully?” asked Bob, dashing the sweat from his eyes so he might -see more plainly. “What do you mean?” - -The man jerked a grimy thumb over his shoulder. - -“Over there, son,” he said, as he fell to work with redoubled -energy, “there’s a narrow little gully between the two mountains. If -the fire reaches that there will be no stopping it. There’s a wind -that sweeps through that place that will carry the flames ahead -faster than we can beat ’em out. That means the blaze will have us -surrounded.” - -Surrounded! The phrase repeated itself over and over in the thoughts -of the boys as they were gradually forced backward and upward by the -advance of the flames. - -True, the wind had stopped, but the fire had gained such tremendous -headway that even now it would require all their energy to defeat -it. But could they defeat it? That was the question. - -Surrounded! Why, that meant—but it was impossible! They must -concentrate all their force, all their men at the mouth of that -gully. The fire must be checked. - -Bob, starting back for a fresh sack, looked upward, and there, -hovering directly over his head, was a sight that thrilled him. - -Like two great birds with outstretched wings hovering over the scene -of terror were the airplanes, the “eyes” of the Government rangers. - -Bob well knew that the men up there were keeping the ether humming -with reports, messages, orders, between the station and the ships -themselves. - -What was Payne Bentley thinking up there? Did he see victory or did -he fear defeat? Did he, like the ranger who had worked beside him, -see the danger in that narrow gully? - -He did not have to wait long for an answer to that. As he took a wet -sack and threw his dry, scorched one upon the ground he saw that men -were being rushed to one point and that point the outermost edge of -the blaze where it reached hungry fingers toward the gully. Bob -gazed up, almost in awe, at the hovering planes. - -“He’ll do it,” he exulted. “He’ll beat that blaze if anybody can.” - -It did not take Bob very long to see that he had exulted too soon. -Despite the heroic efforts of the men who fought to stem the tide of -destruction, the fire crept steadily, relentlessly forward, forcing -the workers foot by foot, inch by inch back toward the gully. - -Side by side with the men, never faltering, though their lungs felt -near to bursting and their smarting eyes tormented them, fought the -Radio Boys. - -Only once did Jimmy, naturally feeling the strain of it more than -the other boys, fall back to get his breath. But not five minutes -had passed before he was with them again, gallantly taking up the -task where he had left it. - -And all for nothing! The fire, feeding on the dry and crackling -timber made brittle by weeks of drought, rushed onward like a -destroying fiend, seeming to gather headway as it came. - -Faster and faster the men retreated before it, back, back, back to -the last line of retreat—a deep trench dug at the very mouth of the -gully. If they were driven past that—— - -And they were driven past it, fighting for the last inch, gasping, -struggling, sweating—down in the trench—on the other side—hacking -frantically at branches, felling them to save them from the worse -destruction of the fire. - -No use! What could men avail against a force like this, a force -mocking at their puny efforts, sweeping on, on—— - -It had leapt across the trench, caught the first draft from the -treacherous gully, with a roar like a roar of a maddened bull it -started up the mountainside, driving men before it, threatening to -wind its deadly robes about them even as they ran—— - -“Back, back!” was shouted hoarsely from parched throats. “More -trenches—more sacks—more—more——” - -Choking, stumbling, gasping, the boys ran with the rest. - -“Our radio!” cried Bob, in a rasping voice that he himself did not -know. “We’ll have to get the set out of danger! Then we can come -back!” - -The boys nodded and turned their stumbling steps in the direction of -the lodge. Blindly they made their way through heavy underbrush and -over fallen trees, one thought uppermost in their minds—to get their -radio set to a place of safety while there was yet time. - -They had gone a considerable distance before they were out of reach -of the flying embers of the fire, before they found relief from the -suffocating smoke of it. - -Then they paused for a moment, exhausted, and sank down upon the -ground. They brushed the hair back from their hot faces, wiped the -perspiration from their eyes and stared at each other. So begrimed -were they, so soot-blackened and altogether disreputable, that it -would have been hard to recognize them as the same boys that had -left the lodge so short a time before. - -Herb grinned with something of his old, unquenchable humor. - -“I guess our own families wouldn’t be able to recognize us now,” he -said. “We sure are some mussed up.” - -“And we’re liable to be more so before we get through,” said Bob, -getting stiffly to his feet. “Better keep going, fellows,” he said. -“There’s a lot of work to be done yet.” - -They started on again, knowing by the sound of the fire behind them -that it was still gaining alarming headway. - -“Lucky that wind quit just as it did,” panted Jimmy, his breath -coming in short, labored gasps. “If the gale had lasted much longer -it would have been all up with us, I guess.” - -“If only we can check the fire before it has us surrounded we may -have a chance,” said Bob. “But if that fire line meets——” - -He left the sentence unfinished, and as they came in sight of the -lodge he made a dash for it, flinging open the door. The boys worked -feverishly, striving to do an hour’s work in a few minutes. - -The set must be dismantled and carried to a place of at least -comparative safety. The lodge was no place for it at all. It was -directly in the path of the flames and there was every probability -that the little house would have to go with all its contents. - -It was characteristic of the boys that it never entered their heads -to try to save anything but their beloved outfit. Millions of -dollars’ worth of timber was endangered, to say nothing of men’s -lives, and their one thought was to rescue the radio set and get -back to the fight. - -It was a nightmare that they would never afterward forget, pulling -at bolts and wires with burned and trembling fingers. Everything -seemed unfamiliar, unreal, to them, the very apparatus itself seemed -to fight their frantic efforts to save it. They had moments of -thinking they must give up in despair. - -But they worked doggedly on and finally accomplished what they had -set out to do. The radio was dismantled and ready for moving. - -“But where shall we take it too?” asked Jimmy, helplessly. “There’s -no place——” - -“Down by the lake,” Bob broke in quickly. “That’s the safest spot -just now. Later, if we have to, we can come back for it.” - -So down to the shores of the lake they bore the apparatus, then -turned and, once more, ran in the direction of the fire. - -“If this timber burns up,” panted Joe, as the thickened smoke in the -air told them they were getting close to the blaze, “it will be an -awful loss to Doctor Dale and the Old First Church.” - -A few moments more, and they plunged again into the thick of the -fight. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - A TERRIBLE BATTLE - - -The Radio Boys found it harder now to fight against the onrushing -flames. They had entered the battle full of fresh strength and -energy, but now that had been in a large measure spent, and it was -on sheer will power that they flung themselves once more into the -inferno of heat and smoke. - -If it had been bad before, it was almost unendurable now. Terrible -blasts of heat smote down upon them, while billows of acrid smoke -threatened momentarily to overwhelm them. Gasping and choking, with -the hot fingers of fiery destruction clutching at them, they threw -themselves face downward on the ground, seeking momentary relief -from the searing torment. But even as they lay striving for a breath -of pure air, their clothing smoldered and smoked, bursting into tiny -flames here and there. - -Bob leapt to his feet, beating out patches of flame from his -garments, and the others struggled up, looking to him for leadership -in their dire extremity. Obviously, the fire was now utterly beyond -control, and to attempt to stem its onward rush would be madness. -How to save themselves from that red destruction was all they need -consider now. - -Look where they would, they could see red lines of fire. The -tremendous crackle and roar of the oncoming conflagration crashed on -their ears. Whatever they were to do must be done quickly, for no -man could live long in that scorching, searing heat. The thought of -the lake flashed into Bob’s mind, and with a shout to the others to -follow, he started off. But he did not go far. Between them and the -lake was a towering mass of flaming trees which effectually barred -progress in that direction. But it might still be possible to skirt -around the fire, and like a flash Bob thought of an old woods road -that ran in a rough semicircle through the woods and ended not far -from the lake. The smoke was so thick that it was agony to see or -breathe, while the heat became more intense every instant. - -With a shock and a curious sense of surprise it came to Bob that -death was close upon him and his comrades, that they were marked to -die in that chaos of falling trees and leaping flame. With the -thought came a creeping, paralyzing sense of helplessness and panic -and a temptation to surrender to the inevitable. But only for a -second. Then he gathered himself together and shook off that -nightmare feeling. He was young and strong, and death was not for -him. With a gasping shout he started off in the direction where -instinct, more than anything else, told him that the old woods road -started, and the others staggered after, their failing spirits still -clinging to a trust in the leader who had never yet failed them. - -Searching frantically back and forth, Bob at last located the -opening he sought, and dashed in. The others followed, and they all -staggered along, tripping, falling, staggering to their feet, but -always a little nearer their last hope of life—the lake! - -They had covered perhaps half the distance when they were stopped -short by a shout from a thicket to one side of the road. - -“Save me, or I’ll be burned up! Save me!” - -Had the Radio Boys been of another breed, they would have thought -only of their own safety and paid no attention to the plea for -assistance. But they were incapable of refusing aid to another, no -matter how great their own peril, so they turned off from the road -and presently came to the source of the outcry. - -Prone on the ground lay Buck Looker, yelling lustily but making no -other effort to save himself. Indeed, he was so unnerved by terror -that had the Radio Boys not come to his assistance it is probable -that he would have lain in the same place until the fire found him -and put an end to his career. It was all they could do to haul him -to his feet and drag him along with them, but they did their best, -although this greatly retarded their own progress. And they could -ill afford to lose time. The fire was rapidly closing in upon them. - -Ahead they could see the opening through the trees which marked the -end of the road, and they knew that the lake was only fifty yards or -so past this. But even as they looked, some wandering breeze threw a -tuft of flame into one of the trees ahead, the leaves and branches -burst into flame, and the archway through which they would have to -pass was outlined in fire. - -Buck gave a howl of terror, and even the Radio Boys hesitated, -appalled at the sight. They gazed desperately about them, but on -every side the red tongues of the fire demon were lapping greedily -at them. There could be no stopping and no retreat. To advance -seemed almost as hopeless, but there was no choice left them. - -Their chances were further diminished by the fact that Buck, -overcome by terror, had fainted, and they were forced to carry his -inert form between them. How they ever covered the remaining -distance none of them could afterward tell. They had literally to -run through the fire for twenty feet at the end, and when they -emerged into the open space bordering the lake their clothing was -afire in several places. Summoning the last remnant of their -strength, they rushed toward the lake and threw themselves into the -blessed coolness of the quiet water. - -Words cannot describe the relief and luxury of that plunge. They -splashed about, cooling their parched and blistered skins, reveling -in their deliverance from the furious heat that pervaded the air. -Close to the surface of the lake the atmosphere seemed cooler and -less smoky, and it was possible to breathe and live. - -At the first touch of the cool water Buck Looker had regained -consciousness, but he was still overcome with terror and the fear of -death, and did nothing but mutter and moan to himself. The Radio -Boys took little further notice of him, however, but set about -salvaging their radio set, which they had left close to the bank of -the lake. - -The fire was closing in on the lake from every side now, while the -heat steadily waxed greater and stronger. The boys were forced to -duck under the water continually, to get relief. Burning leaves and -sticks hissed down on the lake in a steady shower, while the crackle -and roar of the fire were deafening. In only one direction was there -a break in the ring of flame, and that was on the side where their -bungalow was situated. From that direction came a faint breeze, -which fanned the fire to even greater fury, but at the same time -drove it back on itself, so that its progress there was greatly -retarded. - -“It’s getting too hot along the shore, fellows,” said Bob. “Out near -the center of the lake we’d be further from the fire and have a -better chance.” - -“Yes, but we can’t swim forever,” objected Joe. “We’ll have to get -hold of something to keep us afloat.” - -“Oh, that part is easy enough,” replied Bob. “There are plenty of -logs that we could shove out and hang onto. But if we’re going to -save the radio equipment, we’ll need something more substantial. -Maybe if we work fast we can sling some kind of raft together that -will do the trick.” - -“That’s the idea!” exclaimed Joe. “Up and at it, fellows. We might -as well get cooked a little more while we’re about it.” - -In spite of the scorching heat, the boys dashed up the bank and ran -to the place where they had left their radio equipment. They were -none too soon, for the fire was within a hundred yards of it. The -metal parts were too hot to be touched, but as yet nothing had been -damaged. To construct any kind of raft under such conditions was -extremely difficult, but the boys went at the task with a dogged -determination that refused to recognize the word “impossible.” Their -wet clothes steamed in the heat, and at short intervals they were -forced to dash into the water and wet them anew. - -Nevertheless, by dint of tremendous exertions, they dragged several -logs together. Then the problem arose of fastening them together, -and this time it was Jimmy who had the inspiration. - -“There’s a big roll of new antenna wire somewhere in that pile of -equipment,” he said. “If we can get hold of that it will be just the -thing to lash the logs together with.” - -This idea seemed so good to the others that they acted on it -instantly. - -A short but furious search brought the coil of wire to light, and -with it they lashed the logs securely together. This gave them a -fairly substantial raft, capable of floating them and their -equipment. The work was finished not a moment too soon. The breeze -had freshened, sending waves of terrible heat over them, and at the -last moment they were almost forced to leave their precious radio -outfit and take to the water without it. It required a high type of -courage to work in that inferno, but they stuck gamely to it, while -the skin on their hands and faces blistered and peeled, and their -clothing steamed and smoked and broke into patches of flame. - -With the strength born of necessity they pushed and hauled the raft -into the water and loaded their radio outfit on it. Then they -plunged in themselves, and headed away from shore, swimming and -pushing the raft before them. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - PLUNGED IN THE LAKE - - -All the time that the Radio Boys had been working to construct the -raft, Buck Looker had remained just where they had left him, never -even offering to help. But now, when he saw the raft actually made -and floating, he gave a yell and struck out for it. - -“He’s not going to get on that raft,” muttered Bob, grimly. “He’s -better off in the water, anyway. We’ll let him hang on with the rest -of us, but if he gets on top he’s just crazy and mean enough to -knock some of the radio stuff overboard.” - -“It would be a pretty mean stunt, after we saved his life, but I -know well enough that he’s capable of it,” said Joe. “We’ll have to -keep him off, that’s all.” - -By this time Buck was close to the raft. - -“Keep off, Buck!” shouted Bob. “Hang on to the raft, if you want to, -but don’t climb up on it.” - -Either Buck did not hear him or he decided to ignore the warning. In -a few more strokes he had reached one corner of the raft and started -to climb aboard. His weight tilted the raft at a sharp angle, and -some of the equipment started to slide down toward that end. - -Joe was nearest to Buck, and he saw that there was not an instant to -lose. He rapidly pulled himself along the side of the raft, and when -he got within reach dealt Buck a blow that made him loose his grip -on the raft. The clumsy structure returned to an even keel, while -Buck snarled at the Radio Boys in anger and resentment. - -“What are you trying to do, Joe Atwood—drown me?” he blustered. “If -I was on dry land I’d make you feel sorry for hitting me that way.” - -“If you were on dry land you’d be burnt to a crisp right now,” said -Joe, scornfully. “We saved your worthless life at all sorts of risk -to ourselves, and then you repay us by trying to dump our radio -apparatus into the water.” - -“I suppose you’d like to save that junk even if you let me drown, -wouldn’t you?” whined Buck. - -“It seems to me that it’s worth a lot more than you are,” snapped -Herb. “If the choice were left to me, I’d say save the radio, every -time.” Of course, he did not mean this, but he spoke in anger. - -Buck gave him a black look, but made no further reply, and when he -saw that the boys were determined not to allow him on the raft, he -contented himself by hanging to the side, as the others were doing. -Indeed, as Bob had said, this was the best way, after all, for it -was the only escape from the fierce heat of the atmosphere. The -Radio Boys took off their tattered coats and spread them over the -radio outfit in order to protect it from the blistering air. - -The boys pushed the raft further and further from shore, as the fire -reached the water and burned fiercely. As they rounded a bend in the -shore, they became aware that they were not the only living -creatures who had sought refuge in the lake. Dotted about over the -surface were the antlered heads of several deer, together with a -number of smaller animals. But in addition to these harmless -creatures the boys could see several shaggy black heads that -undoubtedly belonged to members of the bear tribe. - -“There’s a chance for you, Jimmy,” said Herb, unable to refrain from -his jokes even in the face of this new danger. “You were telling us -how you enjoyed killing bears for breakfast. As far as I can make -out, there are enough bears in this immediate neighborhood to -satisfy the most ambitious hunter. How will you take ’em—one at a -time, or all together?” - -“Gee, willikins!” exclaimed Jimmy. “I’ll steal some of Buck’s -thunder, and tell you what I’d do to ’em if we were all on dry land. -Seeing we’re all in the lake, the only thing I can think of is to -call loudly for assistance.” - -“Now you’re stealing Buck’s stuff again!” Herb pointed out, and, in -spite of their desperate situation, the boys could not help laughing -at the ludicrous expression on Buck’s face, half of anger and half -of shame. However, they had little time for laughter. Several of the -bears had sighted the raft and were coming over to investigate. - -Now, in times of fire or flood, the wild creatures seem to forget -their savage instincts for the time being, and in the common peril -seem to pursue a policy of “live and let live.” The bears in the -lake were too terrified to have any desire to attack the boys, but -they were tired of swimming and wanted some place where they could -rest. The raft looked inviting, and as the boys were unarmed it was -hard to see what effective resistance they could make to the -powerful animals. Once let them start to climb aboard, and the raft -would inevitably be swamped and all the radio apparatus lost. - -The boys were not slow to realize this, but that was of little avail -unless they could think of some way to drive the animals off. All -this flashed through their minds as they gazed blankly at each -other, while the bobbing black heads came steadily closer. Buck -Looker did not even try to think, and could only gaze -terror-stricken at the approaching brutes while his teeth chattered -from fright and he whimpered like a whipped puppy. - -“Aw, cut out that blubbering, can’t you?” exclaimed Bob, -impatiently. “How can we think of anything when that noise is going -on?” - -“B-but they’ll kill us all,” moaned Buck. “We’re as good as dead -already.” - -“Say, you’d be a lot better dead than alive, seems to me!” exclaimed -Joe, contemptuously. “If you can’t do anything else, keep quiet, as -Bob says. If you give us a chance we may save your worthless life -once more to-day.” - -“If we only had a gun or two!” said Herb. “I haven’t even a -jackknife to put up a fight with.” - -“We’ve got about the most powerful force in the world to-day right -at our command, haven’t we?” demanded Bob, with a note of suppressed -triumph in his voice. - -“What do you mean?” they demanded, all together. - -“Why, electricity, of course,” said Bob. “That raft is loaded down -with it. We’ve got two fully charged storage batteries there, -haven’t we? And any number of induction coils? If we work fast, we -may be able to give the bear family the shock of their lives when -they arrive.” - -The others caught his idea in a flash. - -“You mean connect up the batteries with the primary coil and give -the bears high voltage juice from the secondary coil, is that it?” -questioned Joe. - -“That’s just it,” replied Bob. “But we’ll have to step lively, or -they’ll be here before we can get ready for them. You and I can do -the hooking up, Joe, while the others keep the raft steady and try -to scare the bears off for a little while. I’ll climb aboard first, -while you fellows put your weight on the far side so that our ship -won’t tip too much.” - -This maneuver was accomplished without a hitch, and Bob was soon -safely on the raft. Out that far on the lake the air was a little -cooler, so that it was possible to work without being scorched. Once -aboard, Bob helped Joe to clamber on, and then they fell to work -like madmen, stripping wires and making connections. The batteries -they connected in series, thus doubling their voltage, and then -connected them to the primary coil of their inductance unit. -Fortunately the latter was an unusually large and powerful one, and -the induced voltage in the secondary was very heavy. Owing to the -high resistance of the secondary the amperage was necessarily low, -but when the primary circuit was made and then suddenly broken the -induced voltage in the secondary was of such strength as to give a -paralyzing shock to any object with which it might come in contact. -One side of the secondary was grounded to the water, and then their -impromptu shock-giving apparatus was ready for use. - -And not a minute too soon. The bears, five in number, had been -circling about the raft, somewhat doubtful about its nature, but -without doubt desperate enough to rush at it as soon as they became -familiar enough with it. Bob had hardly made the last connection -when Jimmy uttered a warning cry. - -“They’re coming, Bob!” he yelled. “All five of them at once!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - FIGHTING OFF THE BEARS - - -Jimmy’s warning came not a moment too soon, for the words were -hardly out of his mouth before two of the bears came splashing -toward the raft. Buck Looker gave a yell of terror and started -swimming away as fast as he could. Jimmy and Herb had to let go, -too, and swim out of the reach of those big paws that were -propelling the bears forward at surprising speed. The largest one -was soon close to the raft, and Bob could see one big paw lifted in -preparation to climb aboard. - -With one hand Bob depressed the key that completed the circuit -through the primary coil and held the end of the high tension lead, -which he had lashed to a long stick, close to the bear’s moist black -nose. Then he released the key. - -With a hiss and a snap a long blue spark crackled between the -terminal and the bear’s nose. Bob worked the key rapidly up and -down, and at each break another high voltage spark jumped to the -animal’s sensitive snout. Each spark had the force and effect of a -heavy hammer blow, and the bear half roared and half squealed in -pain and fright. One big paw came up and tried to brush away that -agonizing, stunning thing, but this only transferred the sparks to -his paw. With a terrified squeal he turned about and swam off at top -speed. The other bear was puzzled at the behavior of his companion, -but he could see no reason why he should not get up on the raft, -even though the other, for some incomprehensible reason, had failed. -Accordingly he made a rush, but was even less fortunate than his -predecessor, for by now Joe had gotten his outfit to working -properly, and the animal had to face two streams of sparks instead -of one. They tore through him with paralyzing force, and he slipped -back into the water, hardly able even to swim. - -Meanwhile the other three bears had been swimming about the raft, -growling and grunting. The fate of their two companions made them -suspicious and puzzled them, but at last they seemed to muster up -courage all at the same time, and as though through a preconcerted -signal they charged down on the raft at once. For a few minutes it -was nip and tuck, and it looked as though the bears might win by -sheer weight of numbers. One actually dragged himself half way up on -the raft, tilting it at such an angle that it was all Bob and Joe -could do to keep their footing. Once Joe’s stick was knocked out of -his hand, and Bob had to stand off all three until he could recover -it. Herb and Jimmy swam about, almost crazy with the desire to help -their hard-pressed comrades, but of course unarmed as they were, -there was nothing that they could do. Indeed, they were taking big -risks by remaining close to the raft, for there was no telling when -one of the bears, infuriated by the baffling electric discharges, -would attack one of them by way of venting its fury. Luckily, -however, the animals were so dazed and frightened by the novel -defense put up by these strange beings on the raft that there was -little fight left in them, and their only thought was to get away -from that stinging, hammering torment as soon as possible. With -grunts and squeals they turned tail to the raft, their going -accelerated by a string of writhing blue sparks that hissed and -snapped after them as long as Bob and Joe could reach them with -their long poles. - -The discomfiture of the big brutes was so sudden and complete that -the boys were actually surprised at their own success. But the -victory had not been won so easily as they had supposed. The bears, -it is true, had been driven off, but they had gone no great distance -when they stopped and began circling about the raft, growling -fiercely and evidently meditating a further attack. - -“If they all come on at once, we’d better all be on the raft to ward -them off,” said Bob. “We can rig up two more electrodes, and we may -need them all before we get through.” - -“That suits me,” said Jimmy, proceeding with considerable alacrity -to climb up on the raft. “It isn’t hard to see that those fellows -can swim about ten yards to my one, so if they ever took the notion -to go after me, they’d probably get me.” - -“And a nice, juicy meal they’d have, too,” said Herb, as he -clambered up on the raft. “I know if I were a bear, Doughnuts, I’d -go after you first thing.” - -“Well, naturally,” retorted his friend. “No bear would waste his -time going after a bean pole like you. You wouldn’t make a square -meal for a cub.” - -“Hey, can’t you fellows ever cut out that funny stuff?” demanded -Joe. “Suppose you cut out the phony humor and get busy hooking up -some wires here. It won’t be any joking matter if those brutes come -for us again before we’re ready for them.” - -“Oh, sure,” said Herb. “Anything to oblige. Just give me a pair of -cutting pliers and watch my speed.” - -Joe uttered a grunt that might mean anything, but handed him the -pliers, and they all fell to work with a will. Buck came swimming -back to the raft, and the boys helped him aboard, although he could -do nothing useful and was only in the way. It was in times of stress -such as this that the difference between boys like the Radio Boys -and those of Buck Looker’s stamp became most apparent. All their -lives they had engaged in clean, healthful sports and occupations -that had developed their strength and resourcefulness until they -were equipped to meet the emergencies in life in an efficient -manner. Buck, on the other hand, had just loafed around with friends -as idle as himself, killing time and jeering at the efforts of -others to be of some use in the world. Then when some emergency -arose demanding quick thinking and strong, active muscles, he was -completely at a loss and had neither the resource to plan nor the -ability to execute. - -So at the present time, although he was ashamed of having been so -cowardly and would have liked to help in the defense of the raft, he -did not know how to do any of the necessary things, and so could -only sit and watch the others as they deftly performed their tasks, -doing everything quickly and efficiently without any lost motion. -Buck was not so stupid as to be entirely insensible to his -shortcomings, and even formed some vague resolutions to try to do -better in the future. - -But those on the raft were afforded little time for idle thoughts. -The bears kept circling closer and closer, and, to make it still -worse, their numbers had been augmented by two new arrivals who had -not had a taste of the induction coil and were proportionately -brave. The boys had barely made their last connection when the -bears, with a chorus of growls, made for the raft, their mouths open -and little eyes twinkling viciously. - -The sight was a fearsome one, but there was no way of retreat open -even had the boys been so minded, which was far from the case. They -were resolved to save their radio outfit, and moreover were -encouraged by the success of their former defense. - -This time they had a harder rush to stem, as they soon found. The -bears flinched away from the stream of sparks emitted by the four -high tension terminals wielded by the boys, but they could attend to -only four at a time, and meanwhile the other bears were attempting -to get a foothold on the raft. - -Fortunately, this was not an easy thing to do, as the logs were -slippery and difficult to climb up on. For several minutes the -result seemed in doubt. Jimmy’s pole was swept out of his grasp and -thrown twenty feet by one sweep of a big black paw. Fortunately the -wire broke under the blow, otherwise the whole coil would have been -dragged into the lake, and the boys would have been helpless against -the attack. As it was, this cut down the number of the defenders, -and it seemed as though the bears would surely overwhelm the frail -raft. Jimmy worked like a madman trying to connect up another wire, -but before he could get one in operating condition the fate of the -battle had been decided. The bears, bewildered and stunned by the -mysterious force that shot through them like the stabs of red hot -wires, and that all their tremendous strength was powerless to ward -off, finally gave way. First one and then another turned tail and -paddled away, splashing and whimpering, baffled by the weapon -wielded by these beings who seemed so puny to look at, compared to -them, and yet held lightning in their hands. One big fellow -persisted when all the others had given up their attempt, but the -boys concentrated three crackling blue spark streams on him, and -that proved to be more than he could stand. With a cross between a -growl and a squeal he splashed away in the wake of his companions, -who were snorting and charging through the water like a fleet of -ferryboats. - -Left in undisputed possession of the raft, the boys drew long -breaths of relief and took stock of damages. Herb had four deep -furrows on his left hand, where a bear’s claws had grazed it. Jimmy, -now that the excitement was over for the time, discovered that his -wrist had been badly sprained when the bear had knocked the stick -from his hand, but aside from these comparatively minor injuries, -the boys were in good shape. - -The raft had suffered more, in its way, than they had. The efforts -of the big animals to climb aboard had loosened several of the -outside logs, and broken some of the strands of wire that bound them -together. However, there was plenty more wire on the raft, and the -boys immediately set to work to repair the damage. Now that the -bears had gone, they began to realize that the heat, which in the -excitement of the fight they had hardly noticed, was again growing -intense, and they were glad enough to plunge once more into the lake -to make repairs on the raft. - -“While we’re about it, we might as well make a thorough job of it,” -observed Bob. “There’s no telling how long we may have to stay out -here in the lake, and we might better take a little more trouble now -and make everything as secure as possible.” - -The others had no objection to make to this, except Buck Looker. - -“Aw, what’s the use of bothering with it,” he observed. “I guess -these old logs will hold together as long as we need them.” - -“Yes, but guessing isn’t quite good enough for us,” observed Joe. -“When we finish a job, we want to _know_ that it will do the work -it’s intended to do. You have to take enough chances in this world, -no matter what you do, without making more chances by your own -carelessness.” - -“That’s the stuff!” cried Bob approvingly. “If a job is worth doing -at all, it’s worth doing well, as somebody remarked about ten -thousand years or so ago.” - -They wound the wire again and again about the logs, and then -tightened it by looping other strands between each pair of logs and -drawing the wire on opposite sides of the raft as taut as they could -get it. They made a good job of it, even though they were working -under tremendous difficulties, and the time was not far away when -they had good reason to congratulate themselves on the fact that -they had done so. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - A DESPERATE CHANCE - - -The fire still burned with unabated fury along the shores, and so -great was the heat that the lake was actually getting warmer. It was -a large body of water, fed by ice-cold springs, and as a rule it was -almost too cold for comfortable swimming. But now it had grown -almost tepid, so much so that numerous fish, unused to any but a -cold lake, were killed by the unaccustomed warmth and numbers of -them began to make their appearance on the surface of the lake. The -boys were ravenously hungry, but they had no way of cooking the -fish, and they were far from being hungry enough to try to eat them -raw. In their flight it had not occurred to any of them to take food -along, and now they regretted the oversight, especially Jimmy, who -looked longingly at the beautiful bass and lake trout so close to -his hand. - -“Say!” he exclaimed, “wouldn’t one or two of those fellows taste -good, nicely broiled and served hot?” - -“There’s plenty of fire on shore,” Joe pointed out. “Just swim over -and poke one or two of those fish up on the bank, Doughnuts, and -they’ll be ready to eat in no time.” - -“Well, if you’ll furnish me with a nice asbestos suit, maybe I’ll -try it,” retorted Jimmy, “Don’t forget that I might get cooked even -sooner than the fish.” - -“Oh, we’d have to take a chance on that,” said Joe, heartlessly. - -“Maybe you’ll have to, but I won’t,” replied Jimmy, with conviction -in his tones. “Go over and broil yourself, if you want to.” - -“I will—if I want to,” Joe assured him. - -“It’s a wonder you can’t cook the fish with your precious radio -set,” said Buck, with one of his customary sneers. - -“Don’t be too sure that we can’t!” exclaimed Bob, as Buck’s words -gave him an idea. “Haven’t we got some German silver resistance wire -on the raft, Joe?” - -“Yes, I’m pretty sure we have,” returned his friend. “What do you -want it for?” - -“Why not make an electric grid out of some of it?” asked Bob. “The -wire is a fine gauge, and the electricity from the batteries will -heat it red hot in a few seconds. We can mount it on a few -insulators and cook as many fish as we like. How does that strike -you, Jimmy?” - -“Hooray! Just what the doctor ordered!” responded that individual. -“You rig up the stove, Bob, and I’ll get hold of a couple of fish -and clean them. See which will be ready first.” - -“What do you think of the radio set now, Buck?” inquired Herb. “You -thought we couldn’t cook with it, but in about ten minutes we’ll -show you that we can. Maybe after a while we’ll make a fan out of -you. Although it hardly seems possible. It takes brains to -understand radio.” - -“Aw, I could understand it if I wanted to,” growled Buck. - -But there was little conviction in his tone. He and his cronies had -consistently scoffed at radio, and told everybody who would listen -to them that it was just a fad and not a serious science. And they -had said it so often, that they had actually come to believe it. - -Now, in a short space of time, Buck had seen how that same radio set -that he had scoffed at had been utilized to fend off the bears, and -he was about to see it utilized to cook their food. Concerning the -latter he was still skeptical, however. He suspected that the Radio -Boys were just trying to fool him, but this idea was somewhat shaken -when he saw the business-like way in which Jimmy proceeded to scoop -up two fat fish and clean them. - -Meanwhile, Bob and Joe had been busy on the raft and had strung -several coils of thin resistance wire across some flat porcelain -insulators. Then they connected one end to one of the storage -battery terminals, and connected the other end to a small knife -switch, which was in turn connected to the other terminal of the -battery. Now everything was ready to test their impromptu stove, and -while the others looked on expectantly, Bob closed the switch. - -The result was too good. They had not strung enough resistance wire -to cut down the amperage sufficiently, and a second after Bob closed -the switch the wires sprang to a white heat and a second later one -strand melted, breaking the circuit before Bob even had time to open -the switch. - -“Good night!” exclaimed Herb, while Buck Looker viewed this -practical demonstration of electricity’s heating power with -astonishment writ large on his face. “You’d better stick about three -times as much resistance into that circuit. Bob. Those batteries are -sure full of juice.” - -“I guess you’re right,” admitted Bob. “If we’d had a pencil and a -table of resistances we could have calculated the right length of -wire to an inch, but since we haven’t any such convenient things -along, we’ll have to get the right length by experiment.” - -“Well, I win on speed, anyway,” said Jimmy, complacently. “My fish -are all ready to be cooked, and I don’t see that your stove is ready -to cook them. You’ve got to step lively to beat out your Uncle -Jimmy.” - -“Guess he’s right, at that, Joe,” admitted Bob. “He’s hung it on us -this time, anyway. But this stove’s ready for another test now, and -I have a hunch we’ll have better luck this time.” - -Once more he closed the switch, and this time the results were all -that could be desired. After a few seconds the resistance wire -glowed a dull red, then a brighter red, and stayed there, showing -that about the proper amount of current was passing through the -circuit. Bob placed three more insulators loosely on top of the -wires to hold the fish a slight distance away from them, and then -the stove was ready. - -“Hand over your fish, Doughnuts, and we’ll put a golden brown on -them that would make a French chef envious,” said Joe, and as Jimmy -complied he placed them over the glowing wires. - -“If this blamed smoke weren’t so thick we could smell them cooking -pretty soon, and that would make them taste all the better,” -lamented Jimmy. - -“Never mind the smoke. How about the heat?” demanded Joe. “It feels -to me as though I must be cooking almost as fast as those fish. I’m -going to take a duck in the lake.” - -“You won’t cool off much that way,” Jimmy warned him. “The lake is -lukewarm.” - -“No, and you won’t get any cleaner,” added Bob. “Just look at that -black scum over the water!” - -The boys had been working under a constant shower of burning sticks -and leaves that dropped steadily into the lake. But by this time -they had become so used to this continual bombardment that they -scarcely noticed it. Hot bits of charcoal hissed against their -clothing, and they brushed them off into the lake with almost as -little concern as they would have shown in brushing away a -troublesome mosquito. They were badly blistered in many places, -especially their hands and faces, but they had become so used to the -stinging pain that the Radio Boys did not bother to remark upon it -now to each other. Buck was the only one of the little party who -complained, and even he did not say very much, being ashamed to when -he saw the others showing such fortitude. They kept their clothing -wet by frequent dips in the lake, and waited with what patience they -could for the fire to burn itself out. There seemed little immediate -prospect of this, however, because the trees surrounding the lake -were all of giant size, and as time passed on the heat seemed to wax -hotter instead of getting less. They were filled with bitterness, -however, when they thought of the bungalow and all the valuable -timber belonging to Dr. Dale and the church, which they believed was -almost certainly on fire by now. - -They were roused from these gloomy thoughts by a sputtering and -crackling over their impromptu electric stove, which warned them -that the fish were rapidly becoming cooked. Jimmy took charge of -them at this stage, being a good cook as well as a young man rarely -endowed with appreciation of the good things of the table. - -“I’m sorry I haven’t any seasoning for these beauties, but you’ll -have to get along the best you can without it,” he said. “This fish -is done now, and I’ll whack it up the best I can. If there isn’t -enough, we can easily fish one or two more out of the lake.” - -In spite of Jimmy’s apology the fish tasted good, although before -they were all eaten the boys were in the water again, seeking relief -from the suffocating heat. After that there was not much they could -do but keep their raft well away from the blazing shore and pray for -rain, which they all did fervently. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - THE BLESSED RAIN - - -Through the blazing forest the wind tore its way, gathering up as it -went the blazing crowns of trees and throwing them, like a baleful -giant at sport, high up in the air, where they separated and fell -like thousands of skyrockets at once. - -At any other time it would have been a spectacle of such -magnificence that it would have held the boys spellbound. But there -was nothing in it now but terror and deadly peril to life. - -The Radio Boys braced themselves to meet the ordeal, and for the -sake of the others held their fears under control. But in their -secret hearts they believed that none of them would come out of that -fiery furnace alive. - -But there was one on the raft who had no hesitation in letting his -fears be known, and that was Buck Looker. He crouched down on the -raft, his usually red face blanched with fright, whimpering and -whining and mumbling incoherently. - -It takes an ordeal like that through which the party on the raft -were passing to bring each one out in his true colors. There was no -question as to Buck’s color. It was undeniably yellow. - -A great mass of branches, all aflame, was carried out by the wind -and fell in the lake not more than twenty feet from the raft. Had it -fallen on it, the party would have been enveloped in flames in a -moment. Even at that distance, the heat seared their faces as though -with a hot iron, and to save their eyes they covered their heads -with their wet coats. - -Buck gave a wild shriek as the blazing mass came down. - -“It’s got us sure!” he yelled, grabbing at Jimmy and pulling him -between him and the blaze to give himself that much protection. - -“For the love of Pete, let go of me,” growled Jimmy, as he yanked -himself away, in disgust at Buck’s cowardice. “Don’t make a fire -screen out of me.” - -“Oh, why did I ever come up into these woods?” moaned Buck. - -“Chiefly because Bob gave you a licking,” Herb muttered to himself, -his sense of humor not wholly subdued even by the peril he was in. - -Buck made a grab at Joe. - -“Do you think there is any hope?” he whined. “Oh, don’t tell me that -there isn’t any hope!” - -Joe shrugged his shoulders. - -“Search me,” he said curtly. Then, as he looked at the abject -creature, he could not help feeling some pity for him despite the -contempt he had for him, and added more gently: “Of course there’s -hope. Brace up, Buck, and get a grip on yourself. We’re worth a -dozen dead men yet.” - -“Dead men!” repeated Buck. “Oh, don’t speak of death! I don’t want -to die!” - -“I guess none of us does,” remarked Bob kindly. “Now, Buck, try to -calm down. You see that the water is putting out those blazing -branches, and we’re getting out now into the middle of the lake. I -guess we’ll pull through all right.” - -“I know I haven’t treated you fellows right,” whimpered Buck. “But -if you once get me out of this I’ll never do anything against you -again.” Bob did not reply, for at that moment he felt upon his face -what seemed like drops of rain. At first he thought that it was -spray from the rough water on which the raft was tossing. But he -held his face upturned and felt several more large drops come -pattering down. - -“Hurrah, fellows!” he cried, in wild jubilation. “It’s raining!” - -“What!” yelled Joe unbelievingly. - -“You’re fooling!” cried Herb. - -“More likely it’s water from the lake,” asserted Jimmy. - -“It’s rain, I tell you!” exclaimed Bob. “Hold your faces up and feel -it. Glory, hallelujah!” - -A moment more and doubt was impossible, for with a swish and a roar -the rain began to come down in torrents. - -How they welcomed it! How they gloried in it! In a few minutes they -were drenched to the skin with water colder than that of the lake, -but it seemed to them that they had never had such a delightful -sensation. - -For that blessed rain meant salvation, salvation not only for them -but perhaps for scores of others who, like themselves, had been -trapped in that ring of flame. It meant the conquering of the fire -fiend, that red demon who for hours past had been threatening them -with a terrible death. - -“If it only keeps up, if it only keeps up!” they found themselves -repeating again and again. - -And the frantic hope that was really a prayer was answered. How it -rained! It was like a cloudburst. Down, down it came in torrents -that seemed inexhaustible. - -And as the floods descended, the boys watched with delight the -effect it had upon the fire. At first it was hardly perceptible, and -the flames still towered toward the skies. But after a few minutes -the blaze began to lower and waver. The heart of the forest was -still crimson, but at the outer edges, above and around, little -columns of smoke began to dull the red welter. And it stopped -spreading. The trees that had not yet caught were now beyond -likelihood of catching. The red fingers that reached out for them -found not dry timber but dripping, soaking trunks and branches on -which the fingers slipped. The fire was beaten. It might be hours -before it would admit defeat and slink out of sight, but it was -beaten just the same. The beginning of the end had come! - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - SNATCHED FROM DEATH - - -But the jubilation of the Radio Boys at the victory of rain over the -flames soon gave way to feelings of alarm at a new danger that -threatened them. - -The wind seemed to abandon the upper stretches of the air and -swooped down on the lake. Soon it had become a howling gale that -churned the waters into foam and tossed their frail craft about like -an eggshell. - -Had they been in a canoe or even in an ordinary rowboat, they could -not have survived. But the broad surface that the raft presented to -the water made it difficult to upset it, though at times it seemed -as though it would throw a complete somersault. - -Up and down it went sickeningly, at one moment on the crest and the -next in the trough of the waves. Again and again the water came -aboard and swept the raft from end to end, and the boys had to dig -their hands and feet into the crevices of the raft and hold on for -dear life. - -Bob had thrown himself at full length on the raft, one arm flung -about the radio set which otherwise would have been washed -overboard. - -Buck’s fears had again been aroused by the new peril, and he broke -out into lamentations, which might have had an unnerving effect on -the other boys had they not been half-smothered by the clamor of the -wind and waves. - -Suddenly a new sound broke through the din, a noise that the boys -from their experience at Ocean Point recognized at once as the roar -of waves beating on the shore. - -In a sense this was welcome, as it told them that the land was near. -The solid earth never seemed so precious to them as it did at that -moment. They were expert swimmers, and in ordinary circumstances -could swim to the shore if they were thrown from the raft. - -But these were far from being ordinary circumstances. No swimmer -could live long in such a storm, when the waves might easily beat -him into unconsciousness. The shore might be steep and slippery, so -that they could not get a hold either with hands or feet. And if the -raft were hurled on it, some of its occupants might be stunned by -the shock or by something against which they might be thrown, and -thus lose their chance of safety. - -“Stand by, fellows,” shouted Bob, his words barely heard above the -shrieking of the storm. “Keep as close together as you can and be -ready to help. One for all and all for one. Remember!” - -The words had barely left his lips when there was a terrific -concussion as the raft was thrown on a group of rocks lining the -shore of the lake. The craft hung there impaled, while all of the -boys were flung headlong into the cruel, swirling waters. - -Those waters beat upon them mercilessly, seeking to drag them back -into the lake. But they clung desperately to projecting points of -rock until the wave receded. Then they were rejoiced to find that -their feet could touch bottom. Before the next roller came in they -had got in far enough to be safe, Bob dragging Buck, who had again -collapsed, along with them. - -They dragged themselves up on the shore, which luckily was sloping -at that point, and then threw themselves down, too strained and -exhausted to speak, but their hearts filled with an immense -gratitude for their deliverance. - -For several minutes they lay there panting. Then Bob sat up with a -sudden exclamation. - -“The radio set!” he cried. “Where is it?” - -Without waiting for an answer he hurried to the shore. There at a -little distance lay the raft, held fast in shallow water. And on it, -to Bob’s great relief, rested the old reliable radio set, whose -weight had held it steadfast. - -Joe had followed him, and together they measured with their eyes the -distance to the raft. It was only a few yards, and they knew that -the water there was shallow. - -“When I give the word, Joe,” directed Bob. - -They waited till the next wave dashed in. - -“Now!” cried Bob, as it began to recede. - -They rushed into the water, reached the raft, grasped the set and -were half way back when the next wave caught them. But the weight of -the set helped to steady them, and the next moment they were safe on -the shore with their precious possession. - -“Now,” said Bob, “the next thing is to set it up and get in -connection with Mr. Bentley.” - -They set to work at once with alacrity. Herb shinned up a tree with -wire, from which he made an extemporized aerial, while Bob, Joe and -Jimmy busied themselves with making a ground connection. In a few -minutes the work was done, the battery was working and Bob was -sending a message to wing its way through the ether. - -“Radio Boys safe,” he sent. “Stranded on coast of lake. Do you hear -me, Bentley?” - -Not more than a minute elapsed before an answer came. - -“Thank God!” the message ran. “Had feared you were lost in the fire. -Will scout around until I find you. This rain is taking my job off -my hands, and as soon as the fire is under control I’ll start -looking for you.” - -Bob communicated the message to the others who had crowded around -and who were as delighted as he that he had got in touch with their -staunch and reliable friend. All that they had to do now was to wait -with what patience they could summon until rescue came. - -And now that the greatest peril was past, they had time to take -account of their plight. They were wet and haggard and bedraggled. -Their hair had been singed in places, and there were blisters on -their hands and faces. Their eyes were hollow and there were -unaccustomed lines about them. They were frightfully weary. - -But all these things seemed like trifles compared with the one great -fact that their lives had been spared. How could they dream of -complaining about anything? - -The rain was still falling heavily, and the flames had died down. -There was a red glow in the heart of the forest, which looked like -one gigantic ember, and volumes of steam were rising to the sky. The -fire had done its worst, but rain had proved its master. - -Perhaps an hour elapsed, and then from afar they heard the roar of -an airplane engine. Nearer and nearer it came, until they could see -the plane like a great bird coming toward them. - -That the pilot had seen them as they waved their arms was evident by -the way the plane began circling above them, looking for a landing. -One was discovered in an open space not far away, and the plane came -gracefully down. The boys rushed toward it, and the next moment -Payne Bentley jumped out and was soon shaking hands and giving the -boys bear hugs that showed how deeply he was moved by meeting with -them again. - -Then came questions and answers in quick succession that enlightened -all of them on the situation of affairs. The boys told of their -adventures, and the forest ranger in turn gave them the story of the -fire. It had proved unexpectedly stubborn, and the fire fighters, -worn and exhausted, were at the limit of their endurance when the -rain had come to their help. In response to their eager inquiries, -he assured them that the tracts belonging to Dr. Dale and the Old -First Church had been saved without substantial damage. - -The plane could not carry them all at once, and Mr. Bentley had to -make two trips before the boys were safe and sound at a ranger’s -rendezvous beyond the zone of fire, where they were received with -open arms and had the refreshment and rest they so sorely needed. - -They ate till they could eat no more, and then slept right through -the next twenty-four hours. - -It was a much chastened and subdued Buck Looker who bade them -good-by with what seemed real gratitude the following day. While the -Radio Boys were somewhat in doubt as to whether the “leopard” could -really “change his spots,” they were willing to give him the benefit -of the doubt and sent him away with their best wishes. - -“Fellows,” said Bob, as they were lounging in front of the house -that had given them shelter, “if you had your choice, what would you -rather be when you grew up—a radio expert or a forest ranger?” - -The question was something of a poser, for each vocation had its -special fascinations. Joe answered it in Yankee fashion by asking: - -“How about you, Bob? Which would you rather be?” - -“Both,” answered Bob. “Just like Payne Bentley.” - - THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers, by -Allen Chapman - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS *** - -***** This file should be named 62769-0.txt or 62769-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/6/62769/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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