“All right then,” said Earl. “As soon as we determine the spot where we think we will need help, I will notify the nearest forest headquarters equipped with radio. They will have some forestry men standing by in an auto who will be dispatched to the place where we direct them from our radio. From then on we will have to drop messages on the auto and direct them in the chase. How does it look?”
“Entirely feasible,” said Bill. “All we have to do now is to wait for the patrol plane to report the new fires, if any, in that district.”
The patrol had not been out for more than twenty-five minutes before it was sending in fire reports. The first ones were concerning the old fires spotted the day before. Then came data concerning a new fire. Even before the location had been given, Earl had its approximate location marked on the map. Earl missed the second new fire by about five miles, but it showed that the principle upon which he was working was correct.
“What do you say now?” asked Earl after the observer had stopped sending from the patrol plane.
“You hit the first one almost on the spot,” replied Bill. “The second one you missed a little, but not much. Let’s get going.”
“Wait until I send a message to the supervisor in the Mary’s Peak area,” said Earl.
“Is the plane all right?” asked Bill as he ran to get into the cockpit.
“First-class condition,” replied the mechanic.
“We will check in with the amateur station at Glenbrook on the way out. We can’t afford to waste any more time in getting to Elam,” called Earl as Bill motioned for the mechanics to remove the blocks from the wheels.
“O. K.,” replied Bill.