The boys stopped talking and listened. Faintly from the northwest there came a distant rumble of thunder.
“Maybe we’ll get some rain,” Sandy said hopefully.
“Let’s hope so,” the ranger said. “And pray that it isn’t just a lightning storm.”
“Do you stay up all night looking for fires?” Quiz inquired. “In bad seasons like this, I mean.”
“Sometimes I do, when there’s been a lot of lightning striking in my sector. Most nights I set my alarm clock to wake me up every few hours or so.”
“You live up here all year?” Jerry asked.
“No, we only man these watchtowers during the fire season.”
“How do you get food and water?” Sandy wanted to know.
“There’s a stream just a few hundred yards back, and I get my supplies by packhorse from headquarters.” Dick Fellows went on to describe the fascinating life of a forest ranger.
About twenty minutes later, Russ hailed them from the top of the tower. “All clear. Come on up, boys.”