Sentence:  Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the <WSD>blaze</WSD>. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals,nb.... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A fire, especially a fast-burning fire producing a lot of flames and light.