“I’m willing,” responded Wetherford. “You can burn everything that belongs to me but my wife and my girl.”
All through the ceremony which followed ran this self-banter. “I’ll be all ranger, barring a commission,” he said, with a grin, as he put on the olive-yellow shirt and a pair of dusty-green trousers. “And here goes my past!” he added, as he tossed his contaminated rags upon the fire.
“What a corking opportunity to make a fresh start,” commented Cavanagh. “I hope you see it.”
“I see it; but it’s hard to live up to your mark.”
When every precaution had been taken, the ranger led the freshly scrubbed, scoured, and transformed fugitive to his cabin.
“Why, man, you’re fit for the State Legislature,” he exclaimed, as they came into the full light. “My clothes don’t precisely meet every demand you make upon them, but they give you an air of command. I wish your wife could see you now.”
Wetherford was quite serious as he answered: “This uniform means more to me than you think. I wish I was entitled to wear it. The wild-wood is just about populous enough for me.”
“Good for you!” responded Cavanagh. “To convert a man of your record to a belief in conservation is to demonstrate once again the regenerative power of an idea.” Then, seeing that Wetherford was really in earnest, he added: “You can stay with me as long as you wish. Perhaps in time you might be able to work into the service as a guard, although the chief is getting more and more insistent on real foresters.”
There were tears in Wetherford’s eyes as he said: “You cannot realize what this clean, warm uniform means to me. For nine years I wore the prison stripes; then I was turned loose with a shoddy suit and a hat a size too big for me—an outfit that gave me away everywhere I went. Till my hair and beard sprouted I had a hard rustle of it, but my clothes grew old faster than my beard. At last I put every cent I had earned into a poor old horse, and a faded saddle, and once mounted I kept a-moving north.” He smoothed the sleeve of his coat. “It is ten years since I was dressed like a man.”
“You need not worry about food or shelter for the present,” replied Cavanagh, gently. “Grub is not costly here, and house-rent is less than nominal, so make yourself at home and get strong.”