Scott Burton sat on the porch of thelittle cabin on the edge of the forest andlooked absently out across the wide beachat the restless waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Noone ever would have guessed from his expressionnow how crazy he had been to see that gulf onlythe day before. He apparently did not see thewater at all. The big waves boomed on thebeach unheard and even the little oyster schooner,which glided across the picture on its way to port,failed to catch his attention. He had sat motionlessfor so long that a great big fox-squirrel,afraid but drawn on irresistibly by his curiosity,had crept nervously up within a few feet of him.

Suddenly Scott shook his head to rid himselfof a bothersome fly and the frightened chatter ofthe squirrel as it whisked behind the nearest treebroke the spell. He gave the intruder a quickglance and turned his attention once more to theopen letter which he held in his hand. He hadread that letter dozens of times, in fact he knewevery word on the typewritten page by heart, buthe read it again now in the hope of finding someadditional meaning between the lines.

“Your remarkable work in cleaning up thetrouble with the sheepmen on the CormorantForest last summer has led us to select you forsome special work of a rather delicate characteron the Okalatchee. There have been some timberthieves at work on that forest for some time, andso far our officers have been unable to catch themor effectually put a stop to their work. It will beyour particular duty to see that these thefts arestopped and the trespassers brought to justice.

“In order that you may have ample authority,you have been appointed deputy supervisor underMr. Graham and will be given every possible assistance.

“You will report directly to this office.