The natural result of responsibility, they were coupled with Charley's
keen realization of the insignificance of his own or any one else's powers
as opposed to the vast forces of nature. Had Charley never seen a forest
fire, had he never done battle with the raging flames, he could not have
had this sharp realization of the insignificance of his own strength. But
the recent struggle with the forest fire and that far more desperate
battle with the same enemy years before, when the Wireless Patrol was in
camp at Fort Brady, had given Charley a true estimate of the well-nigh
irresistible fury of a fire in the forest, should conditions be favorable
to the flames.

Only luck, Charley realized, and the best of luck, had brought him and Lew
out victorious in their recent contest. The next time fire started--and he
knew well enough that there would be a next time--there might be a strong
wind, or to reach the blaze might take him hours, or he might not be able
to summon help with his wireless, or other unfavorable conditions might
arise to render his efforts useless. Then the forest would go roaring up
in flame. And even though he might not have been unfaithful to his trust,
the result would be the same. The timber would be destroyed. This great
forest would be consumed. And he, especially selected to guard and protect
it, would have failed. The thought was overwhelming.

More and more Charley turned to his wireless as a drowning man clutches at
a straw. He saw that when Lew had gone and he had nothing but his own
powers to depend upon, the wireless was going to be like a life-line to
him. He realized that to have the powerful battery he wanted was
imperative, if he was to have even a chance to make good in his efforts to
protect the forest. And as he and Lew patrolled the timber, he made it
evident to his chum what a vital part that battery would play in his
success. But neither of them saw any way for Charley to come into