Once more they started through the tangled underbrush. Bill tried to keep the sun in the same relative position so that he could keep the proper course. He was glad that the smoke pall did not extend over this section of the state. He led Breene over ridges and valleys, streams and gullies, and never deviated from what he thought was the direct line to the lookout.
They reached the highest point on a ridge and Bill stopped. He wanted to check up on his course. Once again he hunted for an open space and came upon a rocky stretch where there was no foliage. He looked in all directions, but could see no signs of the station.
He was lost. The station had disappeared as if by magic. He started his search all over again. He made a careful scrutiny of the mountain peaks in front of him, but could see no signs of the lookout. He was about to give up and start for the Umpqua River when Breene called to him from the other side of the ridge.
“That’s a funny-looking place for a homesteader to live,” said Breene as Bill came up.
Breene pointed it out. Bill examined it carefully.
“Why, that’s the lookout!” he exclaimed. “It’s in exactly the opposite direction from where I expected it to be.”
“Is that what you were hunting for?” asked Breene. “Why, I saw that a quarter of an hour ago.”
“You would have saved me a lot of worry if you had told me when you first saw it,” said Bill. “We can’t miss it now. Let’s go.”
The station was just across a valley and the going was not so difficult, as they found a trail in the bottom of the valley which led to the top of the mountain. It was late in the afternoon when they came out into the open space which surrounded the lookout station. They saw two buildings, the lookout tower and a small shack, evidently used as living quarters. They walked up to the tower and Bill called out, “Is anybody home?”
“There sure is; come right in,” replied a voice from within, but it was a woman’s voice.
Bill and Breene entered the small one-room shack and saw a woman sitting at a large table. The sides of the building were open, enabling her to overlook the forest for miles in all directions.
“I believe that the lost are found,” she said when she turned and saw Bill and Breene. “Are you the two aviators who dropped into the woods near Diamond Lake yesterday? How did you find this place?”