Free The Big Burn by Jeanette Ingold Page B

telephone rang two long rings, and he didn't finish his sentence.
    Going over, he picked up the earpiece and leaned close to the speaking funnel. "Cool Spring Station," he said. "Ranger Logan here."
    He listened a moment and then asked, "How bad?" Then he said, "I've got a few shovels and one double-bit ax I can spare. You want me to pack them in, as long as I'm going?...Okay then, I'll get started first thing tomorrow and count on you guys to keep an eye on things out this way."
    Hanging up, he turned back to Lizbeth and her aunt. "The Pine Creek fire has broken loose again," he said. "I swear that fire's got more lives than a barnyard cat."
    "I just mailed a letter to a friend in Pine Creek," Celia said. "I hope she's all right."
    "Most folks out that way have been fortunate so far," he said. "Tell me her name, and I'll keep an ear out for it."
    "Crane," Celia told him. "Dora Crane. Her husband is Nathaniel Crane."
    "I'll remember," the ranger said. "And now, I hate to run you all off, but..."
    "But you've got a lot of getting ready to do," Celia finished for him. "Thank you for your hospitality and for letting us see your scrapbooks."
    ***
    They said their good-byes, and then Celia leaned down from the wagon. "Ranger Logan," she said, "Lizbeth and I will be attending a church picnic in the town park next Sunday. We could pack some extra food, if you would care to be our guest Jarrett, also, if he's back."
    Ranger Logan appeared as surprised as Lizbeth was. But after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Why, I'd like that. With this fire season as bad as it is, I don't know just where I'll be that day, but if I can make it into Wallace, I will. And if Jarrett returns here once he's done at Graham Creek, I'll pass on the invitation."
    "
If?
" Lizbeth asked. "Doesn't he live with you?"
    "Oh no," the ranger answered. "At least I don't think so."
    Driving away, Lizbeth said, "Cel, how could he not know if Jarrett lives with him?"
    Celia shook her head. "I've no idea. No idea at all."

Wallace
August 8, Morning
    Mr. Polson of the Coeur d'Alene Forest headquarters office stuck a colored pin in the wall map. These days the fire picture changed faster than he could add pins to show what was burning and where the rangers had their crews.
    Most fire seasons settled into a rhythm men could work around, with fires blazing up and dying down along with the weather. The crews could take it easy some, between the worst bursts of work. And maybe once in a while, they could stay on a fire long enough to put it all the way out.
    This year, though, with things so dry, the lulls weren't happening. No one was getting any rest. And as for a crew being able to put a fire out altogether...
    This year a fire boss just hoped to get a good enough perimeter around a fire that it could be left to burn. A few men might be spared to patrol the surrounding trench, but the main crew would have to go on to the next fire.
    Sighing, Mr. Polson turned to the paperwork stacked on his desk. More problems, all of it. Where was he supposed to scrape for new firefighters when there wasn't anybody left to hire? President Taft had authorized the use of military troops, but Mr. Polson wouldn't count on that help until he saw the soldiers.
    And he needed to find a cook for that camp that was losing people over canned tomatoes served three meals a day.
    Also, he should ask store owners to search their backrooms for overlooked tools. New shovels had gotten rare as a January thaw.
    What a way to spend a fire season/
    He'd like to be out on the firelines himself instead of tied down here. Young again and eager, like that Logan boy he'd sent to Graham Creek. He hoped the kid was doing all right. Samuel Logan had been in asking about him.
    That was the day Samuel had spotted a pair of arsonists coming out of a town bar. They'd got away from him once, but this time they spent a night in jail before a judge turned them loose.
    As for Samuel, he'd sounded relieved to hear Jarrett was