“Remove the evidence that he had cut down the government trees and let him swear that he thought he was cutting on his own land.”
“I see. Yet what could he set on fire that would burn after this rain?”
The outlook’s answer was forestalled by the buzzing of his telephone.
“Good for you, Larry!” he exclaimed, after listening a few minutes. “I tried to raise you through central. So it’s in the sawdust pile, eh? Reckon we’ve got Petersen this time. What, must have been burning several days? It doesn’t make any difference if it has, I think he set it just the same. Sure he didn’t see you there? Good. Yes, I sent Burke over. Meet him and impress him and his men. I’ll send you some others. Sure. Tunnelling is the only thing, I’m afraid. But be careful. That pile must be forty feet high and a hundred and fifty long. It wouldn’t take more than a minute to bury a hundred men. Yes, I’ll stay here. Let me know how things are going. Yes, from Burke’s. Good luck and watch out when you are tunnelling.” For many minutes after he had talked with the patrolman, the lookout was busy calling up various settlers and ordering them to go to the fire, finally notifying the district chief in whose division Petersen’s homestead was located.
“Do you suppose those men will go?” asked Ted, as Chester set down his telephone, picked up his telescope, and trained it on the smoke.
“You bet they will and anybody else I order. Cross my heart! but that’s going to be some fire. Look, there is twice as much smoke as there was before.” And he handed the telescope to the boy, who was amazed to see several columns of smoke where there had been only one or two when he had discovered it.
“But how can you know they’ll go?” queried Ted, returning to the subject of collecting the band of fire-fighters.
“Because they can be arrested if they refuse. I’m a fire warden, all lookouts are, and I can order anybody and everybody I see fit to fight a fire, even you. It’s hard and dangerous work at a big fire and most men don’t like it. So in order to insure a warden’s securing the necessary assistance, it has been made law that men must go when ordered, on penalty of imprisonment. It is the same in all States where there is a fire patrol. Of course, our regular men are sent when they can be spared.”
“I’m afraid I shouldn’t be much good. I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“You’d be told quick enough.” And the lookout began an explanation of the various methods of stopping and fighting forest fires, from the simple method of making furrow-checks with plows, hoes, and shovels for the blaze that runs over the ground to back-firing, or starting a fire in opposition when the wind is right to drive it toward the forest fire—a method only used in desperate emergencies when the fire is beyond control and leaping from tree to tree.