He listened in vain; he heard the wind above filtering through the
pines; he heard the breathing of their horses, and his own heart-beats,
too. Then very far away a sound broke out.
"What wonderful ears you have!" he said--not thinking of their beauty
until his eye fell on their lovely contour. And as he gazed the little,
clean-cut ear next to him turned pink, and its owner touched her mare
forward--apparently in aimless caprice, for she circled and came
straight back, meeting his gaze with her pure, fearless gray eyes.
There must have been something not only perfectly inoffensive, but also
well-bred, in Burleson's lean, bronzed face, for her own face softened
into an amiable expression, and she wheeled the mare up beside his
mount, confidently exposing the small ear again.
The men were coming; there could be no mistake this time. And there came
Murphy, too, and Rolfe, with his great, swinging stride, gun on one
shoulder, a bundle of axes on the other.
"This way," said Burleson, briefly; but the fire-warden cut in ahead,
cantering forward up the trail, nonchalantly breaking off a twig of
aromatic black birch, as she rode, to place between her red lips.
Murphy, arriving in the lead, scanned the haze which hung along the
living moss.
"Sure, it's a foolish fire, sorr," he muttered, "burrowing like a mole
gone mad. Rest aisy, Misther Burleson; we'll scotch the divil that done
this night's worruk!--bad cess to the dhirrty scut!"
"Never mind that, Murphy. Miss Elliott, are they to dig it out?"
She nodded.
The men, ranged in an uneven line, stood stupidly staring at the long
vistas of haze. The slim fire-warden wheeled her mare to face them,
speaking very quietly, explaining how deep to dig, how far a margin
might be left in safety, how many men were to begin there, and at what
distances apart.
Then she picked ten men and bade them follow her.
Burleson rode in the rear, motioning Rolfe to his stirrup.
"What do you think of it?" he asked, in a low voice.
"I think, sir, that one of those damned Storms did it--"
"I mean, what do you think about the chances? Is it serious?"
"That young lady ahead knows better than I do. I've seen two of these
here underground fires: one was easy killed; the other cleaned out three
thousand acres."
Burleson nodded. "I think," he said, "that you had better go back to the
lodge and get every spare man. Tell Rudolf to rig up a wagon and bring
rations and water for the men. Put in something nice for Miss
Elliott--see to that, Rolfe; do you hear?"
"Yes, sir."
"And, Rolfe, bring feed for the horses--and see that there are a couple
of men to watch the house and stables--" He broke out, bitterly, "It's a
scoundrelly bit of work they've done!--" and instantly had himself under
control again. "Better go at once, Rolfe, and caution the men to remain
quiet under provocation if any trespassers come inside."