"I think that you can safely take a chance on a wood-fire at this hour,"
said the ranger. "I'll build it myself."

He placed a few dried leaves within the fireplace and stacked some twigs,
broken into short lengths, in a cone-shaped heap above the leaves. At once
he had a bright little fire that made almost no smoke but gave lots of
heat, though the flames did not reach as high as the stone sides of the
fireplace. Quickly a little bed of coals formed, and Charley put his
frying-pan directly over them. In no time the air was savory with the odor
of sizzling bacon and hot coffee.

Squatted about the little fire, the three guardians of the forest ate
their evening meal. From time to time the ranger thrust a stick into the
fire, and so kept the flames alive. But it was a dim little blaze at best.
Yet it was mighty cheering and comforting as the darkness wrapped the
forest, and the gloom beneath the rhododendron thicket became inky and
impenetrable.

For a long time after supper was eaten and the dishes cleaned, the three
sat before their little fire. Spellbound, the recruits listened to this
veteran guardian of the forest as he told them of his work in the woods,
of his encounters with beasts, of birds and reptiles, harmful and
otherwise, and of the rocks, and flowers, and trees. For the ranger loved
the forest even as Charley did.

When the evening was farther advanced, and the air was vibrant with the
voices of the wireless, Lew and Charley took turns reading the news, while
the ranger's expression of amazement and admiration grew deeper and
deeper, and his liking and respect for his young subordinate increased
rapidly. Finally the ranger was given his first lesson in