Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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\ V- ; Vr> I ! !. / v * > - 4 '<•* i, SOUTH CAROLINA ,"T" y "AUTHOR *f "THf CHALICC OF COURAGE/' "THE IJLAND OF REGENERATION’ ETC, AND X CIVIL.CNOlrl£CR. ' ' ' '•' M CCPtmtrfT BT nCfllNC M. Rf.CLl, COnp.Br 1 = 1 BERTRAM MEADE FACES ANOTHER GREAT CRISIS AND APPARENTLY DESERTS HIS SUPERIOR AT THE CRITICAL PERIOD ■•) Following tho collapse of nn International 'bridge which Ids fa ther, a*~noted Vnglncer, had planned, and the old'man’s sudden (death from disgrace and shock, Bertram Mcadu tubes thefilame for.the dis aster 1 whirh' cost many lives nnd"di sap pears frrmr^his horaejn 5sew York. He poos to the -southwest, pets a Job under The' ifnine7>f Rob erts op an irrigation dam project and makes good.. Meanwhile, ■Helen s 'Illingworth,. Meade Vs sweetheart, and ltodney, an old friend, arequlet* ly working to clear, the young man’s name and learn his \vhere;£>outs. They are particularly anxious to get-hold of a letter written t|y the elder Meade'to assume responsibility for the accident:—-This pajper is secretly, held,hy Shurtliff, who had been the <i!d man’s devoted pjrivate secretary for nfahy years. This Instttllment’opens with the threat of disaster to the dam through flood.ng by eloudbur*t. . - *■ - 4 PAGE THftt* -.Tirn-m- tma*i teijrth to serve -ns braces nenujYi no* a -b.H-bk \.T;eanT(Xufs p/ifed up. oe'hl'nd. it. on" which’ every mriiVXvhrr sort iT^anjty- t<“.p.w<,.w«f y h^ -oif ! tfiem: /Tiny X-VuV! Pot he Vnja'elV. They hnr-prfed, at Jitvst shrill; ,md then hoarsely could be spared from other tasks, even and raucously, encouraciiTp wordsjiml rh.> chiefs themselves, labored, with phrases, from um* to amuher ; ip words '} poiiif and Mnrv l>n>atldegs I'liergyv The water was mHI V-lviijii;' profane; desperate. They stood,.! .ymv'Ti ti^kes rising, ttltd+oueb the ntfn ha<l..>t<iinw‘d'; j '* " ’ ’ " * - - i . -h ' ■. . ' - , time to \vasto, "there's m.ore peed for wrtd. threw fhrfm.seV^es against the pnl1» / ihe Jest of /us to ttike the;r v pla' ,, ‘s/’^ j >iide> u i t aful o hille*l-from the, rain. He drew ‘■i-L a juaii-j'ir tvi o vfrbin.-thc . but-’ yet. jmadiyy n < k!< s.-ly, Americans- othyr gangs, to re-ejiforce thtsqdu tiger , und foiVigntTs-TiTike. f They would'hold htnrveif 'direct ed.thelr \\>*4e- ( it by fljain strength'for' ahOtleT Tnln- tlme f**r Water -to rise I otx they-swore, oblivious to the fact -urn -t.lie natural ^Ttduage wnruldcause that, j piled and hanimo-ivd amf hurled and 1 Vuc.vss^o of them. The ralighonstant- btit fheiMse was slowtcr—* ~ X-~ drove fiercely. It Was a battle mfid-4 ly seemed- to- increase as tlfe At-r dnwtig VkaduKteatcr.. .Atcfsorifllly UV sk tliai-CWne into. th« nn- They rsqw carefully measured- the depth of the water and gauged IT again, i it wit* n CHAPTER XIV.—Continued, sj ■ —9— The latftfern -was sanding on scant six .and a hjilf feet hgluw.tlu? top of the damX If tjfte^water rose, above -the top It was gravely questionable whether the palisade would Tmld'it at all. yet there was no other way of. in creasing' the depth of. the' spillway enough to .discharge the flood volume. Working as hard as they could, they had barely succeeded in raising 'The earth bank back of it a foV»t high. They kept at it unremittingly, although it did not seem to *be~ of 4 much use. Vandeventer, Stafford and Meade path- | gred together and scanned the V skv, seeking to discern. the signs of the time, the purpose of the heavens, - It was clearerIn fhe eall* The clouihTIo life northwestward were tn ▼ioletit- ac- ^ tion apparently. Lightning "flashed' [ through then) and oVer the great rang'd i’tself; low, muttered peats of thunder jcame down from the peaks lost to sight | in the blackness ovichead. r rttey. ob served all this carefully and Vande venter turned away, shaking his head. ‘‘I don't know,”.he began—the three of them wyre over on the. east side the better to see up the, valley—‘‘it looks pretty had, doesn't it?” ‘It does,” answered^ "Meade, while was nf*t unlike a battle in other ways, for with-the rush of the. northwest /storm came roaring mighty thunder red like the~berserker of old-.-- Yes, it j gu with a rush. .. wind r Th° stockade, would hel.swept away- drove it f»n. Vamleva uter, knew,,tha-t' ' Tire, rmd they would go wlth.lt.. What Un‘ dam was tlismusl. that flu? sluice ■♦»f-thnt-?--Thr f mior’nack of it maF^ietT llway eom-^ their brawny arttw against rain .and and tin* h'alf-tinishcd hined could'.dis*^nirge <>my a small part wind., the powers of*timn against‘the of the llovv, blit he knew that he would pow.es t>f <bsl, but hot tufa-kingly It .X3V' ' >y r.,|-Ihe^.puter were as high ns the i°P , Stafford nodded Ids hefuh there’d only-be two feet of head in tlm [ .. Arul hy , L<1 AvaVi sfafford, the uljjc<nnpl-ete<l sidllwwv., and that A man [ wouldn’t he enough td .discharge, it at.. roadway oil top of the dam. waa kneeling-hvVM/ialdt;-iris figure seen^ the rate it’s heeir cmirrn^du. ’ dlinlyiiithefaii.it light of the lantern. | .‘‘Of 'course,” said A'afideventer He- was staring intently down the !'thoughtfully. '“And if tlie d§m goes,” 'front tif Tile <!;1 111 at t!n‘ waTei*. The lantern was'TiPar the/udge ntid it .faint-j water up ih^re and .millions, of cubic ly-rilluiiiinuted the black,'■ ra.itl-laslud -yards in,pounded, which would sweep) surface below. Vandc\enter, realized ; down .tla; valley. - r rh«*re wouldn't be 1 with ae-hock of horror Jiicy'nuich more a thing left of the camp. theHowii, tin ye you tmtHied the towut.and the bridge pc»rpfe- of tin.danger - and hid them prepare for it? . , < _• . “I tfti-d t'o telei>hone them a while . . , „ . . ago.TArf the connection hjis. bre.n 1»r.o- he a< detTT"IlTcrevnrO tert niiltrs ot hnrk 4 , ' 7 , , , , r X . t 7X7X777/ 7- ■ . • 7 jo-ji; tlm.storm 1ms played lia\oc wilu the line probably,” answered the as sistant engineer. . '' ‘‘Well, wbat did you do then?” asked * :.. as did roil over the top, -pressure/they would be hurled beneath urilXsMthey could .stop if. the whole jf, swept down the slope of t-he dam, thing whs gone. 1 or those t\hi hours hurled in tin 4 debris as it was swept / the supermeh labored unremittingly In away, caught up ffHhey.hy any chance j l * u> doWupuur with a persistent and he- survived "so far, and hurled,-broken and role courage that should lmve b.-en re.- battered, down the valley in the ier- cor.ledXn song.and st.>y hut which rible jluod that wouhXpnsue. Wlmt , wm« not. It was remembered uftef did they kmpy about that, or "knowing, a. while .by uoin* save a fyw. To the . .what did they carp, as they'strained y jt wint only “all. in the «la>‘a ur the wav.Tiug tmito-T wall? And 5\nr.k!-„ " r \ - 7 ■* / • sfj'll ftieyrh.-Jd'a's the. raiii |»mf4sl dowa~ ^'The unde.rsiulce In the side of>the dam.which would later serve as ip-ad- gate. for the canal had beerf’intended to pass tlie smaller -floods which plight occur during the cotistruction aiid had been open since the rain began. It on rtitun. soaking through their sog^y cl ot h«-s/Xhe/.c.7717- tvvjm thelr ethausted bodies for k»*en wind that blew across them. / Well, they pad d(7hirEverything they could. ’ Yuudeventei; jumped down a.i n ('h rest carried off a; gri*at volume of water, 1 pressed’‘diinlsclf against t^ i.ut iiopelesNly 1fttie in epn^fnirison-w ilh ' timber w LUi tie* timn and walte^LnL tl.e ti.H.d. Food.by foot in the torren- * Hc.ixad neycB smsUdned.su^' p r ^ At b«‘If, .sure'.ln aiL Ids lif« a pH tiaXlownpour the water rose. At-half....sure'.ln .all ids !iV I.ikX Atlas, he atu i eight it reached, th.e level of tliy* l'elt'us.if-Im wen* iuddlrlg up a world, .espili-way. . and commenced to rush .-Vtrd 'TIm mrrrktng 'Ch’Ing ahdUt It all through in ever-increasing volume, hut was his feeling; n%y his realization, !lhe flow into the reservoir whs far that, he was. irnt really.holding any thing. that df‘the palisades failed, his pressure, hfs resistance and that of :ulL th’e • btfpT' men amounted to nothing. \ et }U:> jield on, and they, too—de.mi- greater than the'spillway's capacity. rapid tlje rise laid Keen. A 'piu:k..-*ti-Hew railroad bridge, or anythlu'g eH*'.’! .imitc convinced him Umt the U-v«-l of, - “frVuning'on top'ofthV Infemsitiomi). the - water was nhw within- • ght or nine the loskvjf- ,tfir< 4»ig and expensive yia- feet of the* dam- and it W;.- still rain- I duet wou/d about ’.'finish- the Martlet hind tin! black* screen of sweeping j cloud down upon the/ granite moun tains. They saw -splinters of lire v here lhe (hubderholts struck. The- petili-ng ■of thuiidi-r was appalling. . v , i sent a "man clown nn iTorsctmck in -l-la-ir.. fi'aU- ptrlf^ade InttXing was not ^OtiipVetXl, L Stilly the sight of. the rushing . water 'encouraged the.men. Every otn» of . *- . /them felt that If the palisade held the —And'Shook His Fist at the Sky. .? I discharge would in* increased - enough . ...t,4*u»»rap..the...riae, but at present ttvo- fect Was Hniall. Hv ivfne o’clock it waV ■ . ■ !r ■ / Yiuidovontor a Htfle impatiently. a .hurry to w arn them that if it mins half- conipl! & t in g^■! 1 '• ■ * ilie' face oT tlie ki'lei'ling- nutn was hicklen by a sou’w es-i,a:i-d lay h.oLon' a / heavy black rubber- raincoat. Van- devent or reached oVer and .touched -him on tin* shoulder. ’ “What are, you- doing here?" he asked.!. * ' ' * 1 * — The kneeling innn sprang up w ith an exelamaiion.. It watf Meade. The re lief in Vandeventor’s PiTud was great at the recovnitjon. > “I just enlife out t<’* look at tip* wa ter.'- 1 con Id n\. sleep ..with all"'that poiinding on tlie lyoii robf of Lhe quiir*- ters„. so r dre.-'Si ij and’i-ame out/” , Yand o':ift r » •;--•? ’• of his <_twir : : 7thfeiweC 1? L/Xt oil the , reservoir^ w/ ' ■ •' • v!>j * ‘‘it’s riye'meiglit of t ■ ‘tv ft-W si ace ye saw It, kind w ith this rain— “It’s not coming down so luvrd tis it was*when I first''came‘out lien*.” said Meade. .‘‘I think you can scedt Klacketil ng yourset f— 1 ■-**-■— ^ - “Yes,” said the resident engineer, listening a lnoni.enl, “f believe it is. If It stops no\V,” lie ‘continued thought fully, “we ought—be safe.” “Yes, I thinkXoX answered Meade. In the night alone.-together in that, crisis-in thvir fortunes, tlie two men 'again'tip* dam might go.'and if it did it would go w ith a rush ; that the water now -only s-fc -fCorTtelinv tlie loveT. and that ttn y had better get up oil tlie bills. Of .course, last night's rain must luiye made the road'aimo'st imi»:issahl*v hutXie ought to get there hy^rune o’clock.^I told him to tell the Martlet r-people toxtako whatever steps tbey j could deviso tp hold tbelr/nu(iu«t and hate to call out the men, hut veye, got t . llpir ln!1 , llin ^ answered Stafford, a little chance, now the rain has. | ^ h( * Hurned stopped, and we cpn work to advantage inlspite of all this awful mud”—he li ft - cotmAmy.” ^iud .Meailt* tItougliflessiy. Vjtti(!( l vCntfT IhTTkvT ftt hitn -sli; 1 iply. An idea .suddenly canie t-o him. Mejldh, hathttimed away his head as he real ized his slip, so he did not observe tin light in Vaiidevehter's eves, tllowever, 1 ' * I fin; resident engineer was a good sort. “You are right,’’ he Paid quickly, “1 tnd x wmked-;tovvkird his .own part of the dam/ » , - —-3— y r .... ^r.ood,” expnii med -Vandeventer. .*d Ins foot up and disclosed'-it caked .•There's Tiotbi^ left for us to do hut S n. over - drifts Smii - clogged- with masses. ‘Til take Charge 1b-tin* cent-er bef-n-aml Stafford j on tlm left, and I’m going r<» give you 1 < barge;of the-e' ;st n-i.-i' of ?);. , hy tin* spillway'. ff i-it\. ih had been here-six weeks ago.” “We might set the.men to work on th^t-rock now,’* Said Meade. “It would be useless^ Tlp*r(*’s too much of it. No, if we’re/gonig to.save . keep'TTil.' \\ its ctTl wiped - flu- try- to keep ahead' 3, -Of“the Waters if' Kiev rise any more. The higher^wi* eah. lmild. it the. greater will lie the Iiead x on the spillway, and the Inore- will be discharged. I’ll turn tin* men out at once/’ “Hut whaKiire ymj going to do?” ATm going to lyaii-sade the top of the were interchanging thoughts and ideas i-dnm. There’s plenty of timber already on terms of perfect equality.- It did-1 cut down, and wV will cut a lot of not occur to Vandoveutvr to question : young pines and build a palisade-wall why-, and - that they were doing so of timber across the top tlirce or four afmsed no surprise in the mind of 1 feet hack from the edge. • Weii bapked Meade. ' j on the (fiivyist ream side.-iTThay jmld.” and ^miggard. Although It :iMK rayy iu Ihe v.i-Vair. hi* sweat fro.ni his forehead. “The men are doing splendidly, sir,” said Meade. “Yes,” said Vandeventer,, “many of them have their wives and children hack in tlie town. Some ot tin* Ital It must be* ruinitjig soiqewln-u-’X for the water was -still slow ly'rising. It was live arjd a half tile ei’i-M.— fpWrt.s hnpe- lej^ if another ruin fell, and .tlie rain 4vas coming. There was an added chill i-n the Mill :iir of tin* Valley as the storm drove down upon them., A few of tlie-faliitei' tiearts Hung down pick and shovel and ax and stood craven. Oaths, curses, blows even, from those (if tin* braver sort shamed them Into work/ again 'within a foot..of the top. They began to measure its rise by inches. Although the dam-.hud boon-carefully kept ieve-1 as it wqs liuilt. the trainplC of dio'rses 4|ml no n, tin* present digging and pali sading and revetting had caused -lit lie depressions. Nnw/lhe water lajse to - . CHAPTER XVI. r _ _ - \ * ' , - The,Ancient Art of Fascination. A^d nim/h of tin* last wild hurrica'n# of work took place Under* the observa tion of a worMan! -- v — From tlie top of 4he Mg mesa there . , vi7 / , (1 , *-• , 1 .was a clear view of the new reservoir, the leyeh Here and there it began to 1 1 * ' These brave hearts and true mijiht hi* swept away with tin* dam ..if ,it_-gaye; way, hut they would not give up, and no imyFworking with' them ^should flee his task or shirk- his TV r<X. ( 1 1 ' n g -ef ig i n (* or looked white. '^ ,1 -l-'* 'I**' h'iug tio.d, whose sport tie* dam. we’ve got to build it up and -i iUls have bought land on the prairie »f course,”'continued Meade,.“even if it does stop raining weTl continue to get a lot of runoff frmn the water shed for some time.” - “Yes,’’ said the resident engineer. “It might he worth while to line that palisade with galvanized iron sheets Horn thenhouses.” said Mend*’- . “A good idea,” said Vandevenfer. “and we’ll pile fthat underbrush tuui —‘TlfttT-y*f -ermrsp;' lull it* tTiff; ibllh Tfiips/..snmjl ‘istutf varitave In front ofTITT? everywhere we can scarcely th<^Ve a palisade and heap what rqyks we cap rise of more' than five or six feet, and ) find <>n top <»f~'that, and we’t! hank it Would still la* a little below the up on t-he-other side w iiliTvarth. It’s *, spillway.” _ ' ; ' . X 7 poor dependence, but it will hohj/for a “It’s stopping.herl'jiow,”- pTifitted. out *whije anyway, and .every.-lyerfueut *ti Slende. litid.- indeed, th^ foi'oo of ttli* ' time may be, precious. downpour wtoji greatly 'dinHiiished. : .“it<>w/al*<uit sandtiatfs, vlr? v Tlx* two stood wateiiitig tire dam ami-J “We’ve, got a . few hundred .c.ement the lilaCk Take heyoiij^it in sjb'iin* for bags, hut hot enough. I wish we laid ~ * h fewlimmonrs unM! ftmTntn'iinrctVTt^’YT;, f^/fhmrsawiTbmpever, v\-e^wT11 tilt ly ceased. Tlie air -was misty and heayy/ what VVjiave with moisture, hut/the rain was eer- ■tainr^’ over for tlv-e Itme at aqy rate. and’y re gopig to settlrghere. 'pioy’re fighting for everytldng they’ve got on earth. What do you think of the chancQS of this palisade of .ours?” Meade shook his head. “It’s all we can, do. sir, hut Tf .the water ritiCs more than seven or eight feet-V— — “Say it.” said Vandeventer. “Tin* darn would go like a house of curds.” N - x . “Exactly. And look at that cloud- hank over there in the nortliwesVIt’s spreading.” t “What wind there isXVlid Mead* moistening Ids tingmXand holding it up to feel tin* cUrfTtlon.' “is fifowing* tlie opppsiti* wdy down here, hut yon' rfim'LAd&yfiatL-lg liappeniitg-^up 4du-Tcu, Veil, rid -rda-vthituf they seemed to lie, they swore it-;.and. so weak ami string,- hold and timid, labored \ on— <lesper- ate, resolved, godlike in their cour age ami- persistence. The clouds were moving swiftly now. To-the east it had bWn clear, but now it was. also 'Mack, and\ then with a roar greater—even - tlmn trickle over! W ’ •*. The raiji coming, down . firffii" tin* inoiirituip tops was ;rs void as ice, yet the men were in a fever. mArxcUelnent. Thyi' had got their second wind. They were too enthused, too desperate, to feel their weariness. ( They hud noT- worked liefore as they did then. It was the last possible nervous outburst w i; b most of them. They couhl keep it up a little longer—till tlroy dropped dead. As tlie mad thordugfKbrefl falls in his stridi* on the track, pushed ynnd .his pnwTTvst endurnnee, njrTvcn 1-lie- eomiiion carthorse can Inylnade to ; go until he drops, so theso/mcn. white, 1 haggard,- nervous, drajVn-fiWd, sweat mingling With file mfn.on tlielr sodden bodies,.would gpdill they broke. They i had not qidte reached that poinf 1 yet/[ ThqrC/Kvtc some five hundred hiar^' * cenmtrf/bagsAyidch had been tilUapwithb^ [Sittfd and piled up on tlie roadway at .jXj'f convisiietit points. As a forfortrhope, /-frnm 4lo» dam on (mV side far bH<4c-tf!to> I tin* bills on tin* otlmr.- In spitry^if ! tlie treti’ieivlous doWnVur ' arpf the tierce gale Helen lllingAV(n*tl)/<tood ex posed t(> both attacks, ar different to them—al]>eit f»rot)s slicker ntnl boots arid sou’wester vitiated hy the titanic struggle nature a ml Milan of which she w ; as witness^ V T!u < g«imral investlgotfon hy Rodney II Mbs Iliingworth had -produced \ lirushed n thousand thunderclaps, tlie wind t * . * ’ VX • , tore down the mountains, througVtlu* ! :IS u ust try * ' andewmtor called all narrow canyons, into theX^uIleys. ,he , djR ^ rs an(1 NitsWa,’and.heweis shrieking In the pines, amriF fell upon ' nn< ^ s * unt ^ thyiu tapkle tbe them and hurled tfif'm down nml i san,lbugs - Thet4nherwnllthatr6.se Atid after The to,four «r. fi 'V^c*t was now jiarked to a height of^tfiree with an unequal wall of earlli.W —X - ■ - ' . j ‘. TheXsaves were beginning to roll agidrfst the rampart, although their force us yet Was broken by the 'brush wood. iVuudeventer jumped up on tire palisade ne'ar dhv center. There were -some large lo^s there where he CoUld stand, ,and whence he eon id get! as j clear a view of the whole top of the j dam as was 'jmssible tbrought the dijiV- ing rain- ' XxV • tln'in wind, the r.'dmXA drop or two struck Vnndevcntyffs cheek ; allotlier, anoth er," aiid/dnen 7hi* "flood/" • 1 Ne“'nTted his lieipF ami stared and shook his list at the sky jnSl turned to the human ter- mit( s lie commanded. - / “<’arrv on, carrv on, hoys/’ h** cried, si)risking to be heard above* IheXhun- der peals, “we'll beat it ye't.’V/ A cheer rose .about hint and wits can ght-up and ran along tlie top of tlie great-(fain, Tlie htfif-ifianiaoul yell w as such a cry iuvn -migta ^gi w, vctit to tn the tVt of iiatthx'The ox- citement of \vH(]■ chtirge, and then •they fei! to it Vtiin. Tin* more ignorant, Th er*»,” sUouted the engineer, point , j... -it .seelociI to liUO log to a Te(LJrjckh like blood, taking its hideous bye from tin*.red clay nfiTie banks—whety the w :,it* r had-fo'mnl 41 low spot nnld »TTT7 and if tho water rises nmM.egins to tnckle over till* tup .and througli tlie -piilisade. we’ll jam those Thank-goodness," said, the resident I'V'* 1 ;!t ,lu * dsiuger points. Can you engineer in great relief; “Now if ,-itX stopped everywliere we ll la* j»ll right."- “Yek," said Meade, “and I’m Inclined to thfniy it has stopped everywhere.' WhoeverHlioiighf it would rain-in Jan uary*. heret\ There hasn’t a drop, to speak of, fall(*o in January fot*-twenty, years, or since there have been any 'Ttvords. YVliy heaven’s name it hud tipcome now I'dun't see.” * . “Look Trere, Roberts.’b^said_Vaixde- venter suddbplyX'you ku6vy you’re a first-class enrgttiaexf’ \ \ — ' Meade sliook his head, ^ \ “You can't fool me,” said the older man. “I’ve w'atched-you. You know -suggest a-nt-thing tnofe?” “Nothing." . , x (lood. YVe’ll turn Xut the men. They ve had six hours’ sleep any’way.” ' CHAPTER XV. It was mnrnfrrg. - The Battle. now three o’clock in ’ the In about half an hour the meri; naturally grumbling and protest ing at beipg deprived of any'Of their sleep, were out and at work;- Lanterns were lighted everywhere. The “ratn had fortunately not resumed, and the air was soon filled with noise and con- tnore about'the game than anybody-Husmn, 5Ien with axes were busy on hef£/l*x(^M 'Enyseirr You. (lon’t- choose 11he 'hi 1 Mlde'enftIng the. youhg'plnes, to eontidh in ujeh although I’like you, Horseswere^hitched to tlie-dump wag-, and I am in a positpm/tp-help you.” | ons, tl/e sieam 'shovel .began tearing T appreciate wipit you’say, Mr/A’an- : away therkiliside. Some of the men ‘deventer," returned the ot her; Vtliere is no one to whom I‘should*rather fell’ the whole story than to you, but I can’t—not yet." ‘-‘Well, keep your own counsel, but If you ever want a friend, count on me;' AbJirty, what wouia you ao “Get out the men andjbutld up"ft temporary dam onlhe top of the road way here, to turn the flow over to the oast bank and tafike the spillway do more work." •. 'J- - -rr-'-r-- "But the ralfijias stopped." “And in all probability will stay stopped—still you never can tell. A tad and the whole thing would go: if were detailefl\to knock down some of the girlvanizeti Iron houses and the battering of tin* hahimers on the metal added to the din. X, Under Vandcventer’s personal direc tion a'row of stakes was driven into 1 the front Of it. Bit th A *♦ A Man Wa* Kneeling Beyond It. dig arid drive, carry and pile. ThroW* iug off ijls coat, Vandeventer seized a spade and began to work like any -otlier laborer; and the rest of the the fountains of tin* great deep were • broken open. What lirtd befallen ThenT before was nothing to this. The hard ruin of the night sdenied trilling com* * pared to this avalanche of water. This was a -cloudburst Indeed. And tq ittajie it worse, .to make their task hartlciT'tq^f'eTriTer their efforts useless, the high wThtd roaring down the volley , piled the water up and drove It lTr thunderous assaulting'w.avus against the great mound of earth onXsJLiicli the men .struggled andirtbored frantu^dly. - Vandeventer, shovel in Jiund—lie did [ not dan* to throw it down, lest his ao- | tion bu misconstrued—wvnt from gang- I to gang,-from man to man, ta-lking td, j tfunii-rlfflrpeirffng to them, poin.tiug out 1 weaknesses here and there, inspiring [ them, holding’them tip as a man might ! hold a stricken -rim* against the 011- [ xlnught of a victorious and overwhelm ing force. ; Anil against wind and rain in that thick.darkness, blinded by the flashing lightning} stunned by the pt*ni- ing thunder, with zeal suporhuimrn they .Lulled on and. on aud-./m. hi from the front of it. Big sheets /of <>verlapping galvanized Jron .’ vve.re Jiailed ’roughly to the fronts rtf the firmly braided stake's apd* the Small At six o’clock the black ness hanging In the narthw.est V>egan to turn their way. It was coming down the imtun* i tain. It was headed - for 1 the valley Branches aqd brushwood were flirown Vandeveflter snw-44*. |very.'teamster, down "before It. Bowlders^- and big stones were carried.out on the dam in the wagons and ‘thrown on the brushwood; spare timbers, broken every common laborer, saw if. It ,tyas coining/ Unless \heaven Itself Inter fered thereXwotfld'be-’ more rain. T] had worked desperately hefor^; but few more hours of rain like tint we’ve^ wagon beds, old wheels, jt^ts of dls- * nn^ they applied themself^Tto their can do is to Tight WV: 7 - figlP they*.did. It \\a& almost at i st sight fiko tin* hand of nuftragains.? till* Viand of G«>d. There was nAYupri' ) Nuawsira4»f ‘the feebleness of tlie puli- 1 ' tu> t'-t**r,ha^L-fffufid a low spot room for engineering .expedient '’pp|^uh\/ffie more kiiow-ihg iiiilifferent j*o 1 ''•m cashing across the;-top and was chop and how, break and Pound. HT^-ttur Hie jvfl). realized trickling iflrmrgh the, new' wail nnld ’ /rtnly tJlHr duty to Tight on...to answer ^ the appeal to th*- ir inaYiliood, to refuse , to admit defeat Tvdi wheu life trem- - hied, iri Tlie balahce, .' -1 ' • ; Yes'/foU^i* the an men F*sTfn fTe-Mgai'n, Helen Illingworth Stood Exposed to Eoth Attacks. . . . ‘ UTT ' /■ ' no results. A careful study .of Rod ney’s riotVs iipdn. tin* subject had only served tlie more thoroughly to convince them that Meade was blameless.* But ■the .must assiduous effort with the heartiest will in . the - ^world and the promptings. of_,(k*votion and affection / Quid not make a case out of these, suggestions and their inferences that would/hold wat£r. They could not es tablish their fontehtion beyond perad- vehture ill the face of Meade’s direct admission ahd SliurtUlTs corrobora tion. They could not establish It in the piddle mind by any evidence at all if Meade and ShurtUlT remained silent. , If either one <? the otlier of the t^o conspirators could be brought to*tell the truth/ Meade could he restored, at l ast sufli'eietiMy so for the purpose of jliey swung iiiik ^md nrguruenttiie argument that Helen down nfi tin* other shfo*;- Even as lA*. pointed, tlie_irickje heeanu* a sTvcarn Xml the stream bade ftiir to be a flood. Men ran a*id dropped sandbags over tin*. le;tl< htuf*occurred. Other, men Itoitped up tl**-Parth beJiTnd tin* wall, seekingdo smother it and sirg) it. Tho water (;Tn-ckcd.jliere, tljey were forcei|[ to do tin* same"tiling at/atmther pT:« r o, J>esperati*ly they dropped theif. snnd- bugH, sturdily they plied .their shovel# in the ni^; Scrambling and yelling, they ran fmHj)[leak..to leak. '.Tliey lift ed the heiivyt bags of sand ns if they J/Jd been loaves of brea<l and jamna-d'' ■1. like to.yt»r—althoughrain nungwonh sooner or lajii'r must mqke all the earth sticky rmid and td h’er father, 'ft was that To which she them down. '.slum made tfiir work all tin* harder. The winter .was eledr <iv( r \hr top of tlie dam now, and streaming /through tlie revetment of brush and surging dgnlnst the pali sade. Where it did not let the water through, the line of stakes was begin-, nirrg to bend backward, The men who hud expended their sandbags and could get no more, in one final effort ran to the palisade, dug their he«ds madly In tlie' wet, slimy earth and put their {shoulders against .tM + b,PU<J.ihg stakes as if to hold them Back find forth wont the chief, show- j U P by main strength. Thin streams irig himself a lender of leaders, and »’ ere flowing here and there, now uii- wherever he s^IHa'd th(* fury and des- w aloni along the muddy roadway to the part committed to Meade he did not find the engineer. • . "Where’s Roberts ?** he yelled above the noise of the storm/. • Xx | "He and two men have gone,, sir." ‘Gone?^/. cri.efl Vandeventer, cit to lieed»Hl. CHiecked and held in one spot, peration of the effort to “stem the'tlde'^ he wa ^ eP broke through at another ^^1 Mfijjjl jSptmM v She’s gone, she’s gone!” gasped Vandeventer under his breath* He had fought a good fight. He could do do more. There were no more bag# of sand, x Save/for the men straining af the-wail here and there and every- the heart at what he. thought'was a where, there Svas left 'nothing but to desertion. “Welfi" he shouted, realiz- stand and wait, haying done all/ ~A*~ ing there was Nothing he crtuld do then one- man saw another the-whole hun- membered houses were driven Into the tasks wl|h a klpd of wild fttryr "Aj.fhd.- that he had neither/hreath nor dred ahd fifty caught contagion gi+ve the ni 'St thought, it was for that she planned und hmged. ; . ~- Two people cannot resolve, even by. .mutual consent to dismiss from thelr.- -JT. dally thought and conversation any subject whatsoever without introduc ing in plac^ of It a certuin c<iftstraint. It is as'futile to attempt to dismiss anything absolutely from the human mind as is the oft-smggested cure tof rheumatism — doing obtain things without thinking of the ftlsease sought l 0 ae cureu ; — ——* - - - r-^- -X - r v , The next Installment brings the climax of-the story. The the livea of Meade iriid hit friends aru described. ' :,/' x (TQ BE CONTINUED.) Old stuff. "A scientist can take one bona And reconstruct a dtaoiaur. ^"That’s nothing. Our landlady caa . take one bon^ and recooktruet a l ner.^T* -b7