"KYAT calling KVK.... Fire station KYAT calling headquarters.... Come in, KVK...."
As soon as contact had been established, Russell Steele slipped into the operator's chair and put on the earphones.
The ranger and the boys made the long descent to the ground, where Prince was waiting patiently at the foot of the stairs. He wagged his tail and rubbed against them when they patted him, but occasionally he would whimper and glance up anxiously at the top of the tower.
"He's wondering what happened to Uncle Russ," Sandy said.
Jerry followed the dog's gaze. "I'm kind of curious to know what gives up there, myself."
Dick Fellows held up his hand, motioning for silence. "Do you hear that?" he asked.
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."
As soon as Sandy stepped into the observation room, he knew that whatever had transpired between his uncle and the Pentagon had been very serious. Russell Steele's face was gray beneath its tan, and it was the first time in Sandy's memory that he had ever looked his age.
"Trouble, Uncle Russ?" he asked hesitantly.
Russ nodded. "Bad trouble. The very worst."
"I don't suppose you can tell us what it is, sir?" Dick Fellows said.
"Well--it is top secret--for as long as it's possible to keep it that way." Russ Steele seemed to be struggling with a problem. "Still--I'm going to need all the help I can get. And we're so isolated here that there's not much chance of a leak, even if you were inclined to blab about it. Which I know you wouldn't be," he added hastily.