624 



CONSERVATION 



'1 understand that you quarreled with 

 my father up in Tuolumne last week at 

 the cattlemen's meeting. You and he 

 talked right out at each other, as I hear. 

 Now, my father's the best man in 

 that country, and — blank you, here's 

 my resignation !' 



"The district ranger just looked at 

 the youngster and sat down on a rock 

 and laughed till the tears ran down his 

 cheeks. Then he slapped the boy on the 

 shoulder and said: 'Wish I had a boy 

 like you. Now, hit the trail on leave 

 with pay. It's Saturday night — moon- 

 light — and you'll get home for break- 

 fast. You can come back by Snow 

 Creek and see the school-teacher, too. 

 You tell your father all about it, and 

 ask him what he thinks of our quarrel.' 

 "By Monday noon the young ranger 

 was back, and, walking up to the dis- 

 trict man, said: 'Mr. Williams, my 

 father laughed till I thought he'd bust, 

 and said you was white all through.' 

 Then the boy got red in the face, but 

 he kept right on, and said: 'He says 

 you'll make a man of me yet, and I 

 hope you will.' 



"Pretty soon a Congressman came 

 up here fishing, and wanted to borrow 

 a ranger to show him where to go, you 

 remember. I guess now it was just a 

 new kind of try-out for Jack, but you 

 gave him several easy jobs that month, 

 and his brag grew on him like a jimson 

 weed. He told the boys he was going 

 to be a tourist ranger — better grub, 

 lots of free cigars, and short hours. 

 Then, when you pulled the rope in on 

 him just a little, he talked pretty warm 

 an' said that if things couldn't be fixed 

 for him thus and so he would sure re- 

 sign. I guess he must have said some- 

 thing like that to you, for I noticed he 

 didn't stay in the office more than five 

 minutes before he took the road, a truly 

 ex-ranger goin' home to tell his loving 

 wife how mean the Service was. 



"His wife took in plain washing — 

 miners' shirts an' overalls, an' such 

 heavy things, to support the family till 

 her Jack should settle into 'something 

 suitable.' If she saw through him, she 

 never let on. He kept smiling and 

 cheerful except when the Service was 



mentioned ; then he looked resigned 

 and grieved, till a good many of the 

 boys thought perhaps the boss had been 

 pretty hard on him, and crowded him, 

 we didn't know exactly how. 



"After a bit, though, we discovered 

 for ourselves that Jack was no good ; 

 just a sneak and a liar inside." 



There was a long pause. The pipes 

 went out, the fire burned low. I 

 thought to have heard all that was com- 

 ing about Jack Yoacum. But it was a 

 night for confidences, and the old 

 ranger replenished the fire, refilled his 

 pipe, and began again : 



"Wlien he was on that other forest 

 he got up charges against one of the 

 boys he had camped with — one of the 

 best rangers in the service. You know, 

 I was on that forest, too, before I mar- 

 ried and came down here. Well, he 

 sent these charges clear up to the Presi- 

 dent and the Secretary of Agriculture. 



"We had an inspector, and more 

 fuss, and affidavits and interviews, and 

 two months of worry." 



"What did he say about that ranger?" 



"Said that on a certain date at a cer- 

 tain place the ranger had taken hush- 

 money to keep still about a timber tres- 

 pass, and had got gloriously drunk on 

 the money, lying drunk all day in a 

 miner's cabin." 



"In the same letter to the higher-ups 

 he expressed his love for the service 

 and his 'extreme regret' over the af- 

 fair. He hinted, too, that that ranger 

 had been throwing down the Service for 

 years that way." 



The listening rangers around the 

 campfire spat upon the ground in silent 

 disgust. There is no more significant 

 expression of human contempt known 

 on the frontier ; it is not mere expecto- 

 ration ; it is of oriental intensity. Thus 

 the son of the desert does to this day 

 when he hears the name of one who has 

 been a traitor to the tribe. 



"But how did that ranger pull out?" 

 one asked. "I suppose it was just his 

 word against Jack's, for, of course, if 

 he had taken hush-money, the feller 

 that gave it would say he hadn't." 



"Well, in the first place, that ranger 

 did what most of you fellers don't do. 



