It seemed to Sandy that he had just closed his eyes when the noise of voices, barking and the pounding of his own heart jolted him out of a deep sleep. For a moment he lay there, paralyzed by terror. He opened his eyes, then shut them quickly as a blinding spot of light knifed painfully into his optic nerves. He had caught a fleeting glimpse of his uncle sitting up and clinging to Prince’s collar with one hand.
With the full return of consciousness, Sandy could make out a strange voice talking earnestly and urgently to Russell Steele.
“... they’ve been on your trail since noon, General Steele. The Forest Service has had every ranger in the district looking for you. I spotted your dog from my fire tower about eight o’clock and started to follow him. Of course, he lost me pretty quick, but I knew you had to be somewhere in the vicinity.”
“Like finding a needle in a haystack,” Russell Steele said. “You must know these woods, all right.”
“My fire tower is about five miles from here. I’ll take you there and we can radio headquarters. They’ll hook you up direct with Washington.”
Shading his eyes against the light, Sandy sat up. “What’s up, Uncle Russ?”
“Oh, Sandy, you’re awake. Good. We’ll have to break camp immediately. The Pentagon has been trying to get in touch with me. Very urgent. This is Dick Fellows, Sandy; he’s a U.S. Forest Ranger.”
“Hi,” Sandy said, squinting at the young man who was crouched in front of their tent.
The ranger touched two fingers to his stiff-brimmed hat and grinned. “Sorry to disturb your sleep. You guys must be plenty tired if this is your first day on the trail.” He stretched out one hand toward Prince, who was still growling suspiciously deep in his throat. “Your friend here doesn’t trust midnight visitors.”
Russ released his grip on the dog’s collar and gave him a light smack on the rump. “He’ll be all right, now that he knows you’re not an enemy. He wouldn’t have attacked you, in any case, unless you pulled a knife or a gun. Prince has been trained to hold his quarry at bay until help arrives.”