immediate possession of it.

As the days passed and the forest still slumbered in safety, the sharp
edge of Charley's anxiety wore off. That, too, was normal, for he could
not naturally remain at such a pitch of emotion. So his interest in the
life about him gradually returned. And indeed there were innumerable
objects to interest a nature lover like Charley.

The country itself was enough to make a nature lover happy. When Charley
climbed his watch tree and looked about, he could see nothing but forest.
East, west, north, south, league upon league, far as the eye could see and
much farther, stretched the forest, like a huge green sea. The mountains
rose like great waves; and from his lofty perch Charley could see several
parallel ridges rearing their crests aloft on either side of him.
Distinctly he could see the two bottoms at the foot of the mountain on
which stood his watch tree. Splendid stands of timber filled these valleys
with swelling streams of water that flashed in the sunlight here and there
through little openings in the trees. But what lay in the farther valleys
he could only guess, though he knew that each must have its stream and
some timber. What else there might be Charley did not know.

It was part of his work as a patrol to find out. And eagerly he looked
forward to the daily hikes that would take him here or there or elsewhere
in the great forest. Already he loved it; and he wanted to share all its
secrets. Had Charley but known it, that very attitude of mind made him
more valuable both to his ranger and to the forester. It meant that his
work would not be done in a perfunctory manner, but with that genuine
interest born of love that alone leads to perfect service.

The two chums made themselves familiar with their own valley from the