The wind had come through Pine Lake overnight.

Walt was already at the east dock. Small twigs floated along the shoreline, and pine needles had gathered in the quiet corners between the pilings. He ran WATCHFUL’s stern rope through one paw. “Dry.”

Ellis came down the path carrying the ranger log. Before he reached the dock, Walt had already laid the tamping bar across the stern seat. Ellis looked across the lake. “Wind all night.” Walt nodded once.

Ellis opened the log and wrote: Strong overnight wind. Check north trail markers. He closed the notebook.

Walt pulled the starter cord. WATCHFUL’s motor caught on the first pull. He rested one paw on the gunwale while the engine warmed. “Good.” Ellis climbed aboard. They headed north.

The lake looked different this morning. Small branches drifted near the shore. Blueberry Island came into view, and beyond it the tops of the white pines were still moving. “They’re still talking,” Walt said. Ellis listened for a moment. “They’ll settle.”

They tied WATCHFUL at the north landing and started up the trail.

The first marker stood straight. So did the second. The third leaned a little, but held.

The fourth marker was gone.

It lay beside the trail with damp earth still clinging to its base. Ellis stopped. Marker three stood behind them. Marker five waited farther ahead. Between them, the trail looked strangely open.

Walt turned and walked toward WATCHFUL. By the time he came back, he was carrying the folding shovel and a canvas bag of gravel.

The hole was still clean.

Walt set the marker into place and turned it until the number faced the trail. He packed gravel around the base a little at a time. Then he tamped it. Twice. He pressed against the post with both paws. Nothing moved.

“Holding.”

Ellis opened the ranger log. At first he wrote: Marker four reset. He looked at the trail again. Then he drew one neat line through reset. He wrote: Marker four secured. He closed the notebook.

Neither of them spoke. There wasn’t much to add.

As they walked back toward WATCHFUL, Ellis looked over his shoulder one last time. Marker four stood quietly between the trees. It didn’t stand out. It simply belonged there again.