Relentless

6

“Watch those candles. We don’t want to burn the place down.”

Burt started moving around, obeying. The woman was just standing there with her head down, raking fingers through her hair to get the ice out of it. Hanratty and Baraclough had got the stove going and sat down beside it. The wind banged and screamed around the place. Icicles hung from the horses’ flanks and fetlocks and their coats were frosted white; snowballs had formed on their tails where they had dragged through soft whirling drifts.

Things were starting to get thawed out and the room was beginning to smell rancid. The breath no longer poured from the horses’ nostrils like steam. Walker stripped off his gloves and held his palms toward the stove. He watched the Major make his way between horses to the foot of the ladder that went up the side wall to a trap door in the ceiling. This had to be the ranger station and the ladder had to go on up to the fire-lookout tower.

The Major said, “Steve.”

“All right. I’ll check it out.” Baraclough hadn’t removed any clothes yet. He got up and climbed the ladder and pushed at the trap door. The wind got a finger inside and blew out all the candles and Baraclough said mildly, “All right, all right. I’ll close it in a minute.”

The wind got louder and began to blow around inside the room: that meant the trap door was wide open. Then it slammed shut again. Walker thought Baraclough had climbed up through it and so it surprised him to hear Baraclough’s voice: “Forget it. If there’s a ranger up there he’s not coming down that ladder before this lets up.”

“Good enough,” the Major said.

Burt went around lighting the candles. The Major went to the stove and began to shoulder out of his coat. “Get out of your boots and put them by the stove. Hanratty, put together something for us to eat. We may as well eat our fill and get some sleep. Sergeant, you’ll take the first watch. Be ready to pack up quickly and move out of here the instant the wind drops.”