the earliest possible moment. We'll start the instant we've heard from Mr.
Marlin."

"What about your instruments?"

"I'll nail the cover on the battery box and put the other things in the
pasteboard box. I don't think anything will touch them. It's all we can
do, anyway."

He felt in his pockets and found a stub of a pencil and a scrap of paper.
"Property of the Pennsylvania Forestry Department. Please do not touch,"
he printed in large letters. With his knife blade he pried out the tacks
that held the address tag on the battery box and tacked his sign on the
box. Then his receiver began to buzz. Charley gave the return signal.

"Forester on wire now," came the message. "Wants to know where you are and
how Morton is."

Charley ticked off the information and waited for a reply. It came very
soon. "Will rush doctor and men. Come as far to meet me as you can."




Chapter XVIII

The First Clue to the Incendiary