Heat transport in reduced mass targets irradiated with a high-intensity laser pulse was studied. K alpha lines from partially ionized chlorine embedded in the middle of a triple-layered plastic target were measured to evaluate bulk electron temperature in the tracer region inside the target. Two groups of K alpha lines, one from Cl+-Cl6+ (hereby called "cold K alpha"), and the other from Cl9+ and Cl10+ ("shifted Ka") are observed from different regions within the target. Two-dimensional collisional particle-in-cell simulations show two distinct heating mechanisms occurring concurrently. These processes, which made the target temperature distribution non-uniform, are responsible for producing the two groups of K alpha lines in the experiment. The blue shift of cold K alpha lines in the experiment is the signature of higher temperatures achieved by the refluxing heating in smaller mass targets. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.