Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol

by Henry Harley Arnold

Off to their left was Mary’s Peak. Somewhere along the road which led down its sides the forest men were waiting. Bill was about to head that way in an endeavor to locate them when he saw a small smoke coming up through the timber almost directly ahead of them. He pointed the nose of the plane down and headed straight for that smoke. Gradually losing altitude, as his plane thundered along at an ever increasing speed, he was barely skimming the tree tops when he reached a point directly over the smoke.

He passed over that fire at a speed far too great to pick up any details on the ground, but Bill did get a fleeting glimpse of a road which ran close by the fire. He had come down so low that the radio antennae wire was torn off by the tree tops. In his anxiety to get to that fire as soon as possible, he had forgotten all about the antennae. From now on the radio was useless. All messages would have to be dropped.

Bill pulled his plane up into a reversement and was back over the fire almost immediately, but traveling at a much lower speed. He saw a man running through the underbrush in a cut-over area not more than fifty yards from the fire. It was up to him now to keep that man in sight until help arrived on the ground. Bill looked at Earl and knew by Earl’s smile that he, too, had seen the man. The mere fact that he was that close to the fire and was running when seen was sufficient in Bill’s mind to brand him as the man who had started the fire.

Another circle and they lost the suspect. Bill made a wider circle, always keeping the road on both sides of the fire in sight. Sooner or later the firebug must come out on the road to get away from the burning timber. Then Bill saw an automobile standing alongside the road several hundred yards from the fire. He flew slowly and low over the car and obtained sufficient data regarding it to enable him to write a good description of the auto.

Bill again circled the car and wrote: “Brown roadster on mountain road running southeast from Adler. Hold the driver. Roadster now headed toward Adler. Will keep you advised as to its location. Bruce.” He handed this note back to Earl.

The forester took the note and read it. He nodded his O. K. and Bill headed the plane toward Adler. If the foresters on the ground were at Adler, everything would be fine, but if they had gone up the mountain toward Elam, things might not work out so well. Just then Bill turned around and saw the firebug climb into his car and start down the mountain road.

Adler came into view after a few minutes’ flying. It was a small village, and standing in the middle of the street was an automobile. Bill flew low over the scattered houses and caught a glimpse of several men standing by the car. These men stretched out a white sheet on the ground. There was no doubt now but that they were the foresters. Bill made a quick turn and dropped back right over the car.

When they had almost reached a point over the car, Earl stood up in the cockpit and threw a message overboard. He had tied a piece of cloth and a stone to the message. The stone tended to make it drop straight downward and the streamer to make it visible from the ground. Earl, however, had misjudged the speed of the plane and the message dropped onto the roof of a nearby house.

Bill was almost frantic. Suppose that the firebug should run through the town while the foresters were climbing up to the roof to get that message. Something must be done at once. Bill made another circle and Earl tapped him on the back. Simmons was writing another message. When the message was completed, Bill made another dip over the car. As he passed, he saw a man on the roof of the house searching for the first message. The second one dropped at the feet of the men by the auto. While making a circle to see if they understood, Bill saw the other men jump into their car and start off toward the mountain road, leaving one of their number still on the roof of the house.

Bill headed his plane for the nearest point on that mountain road. He caught a glimpse of the brown roadster turning off the road into what seemed to be a deserted homestead. Bill then made wide circles around the deserted buildings so as to give the impression that he had not seen the firebug turn off the road.