The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1902-05-02

upon the cloud wraiths hanging over
the western peaks, and he rode as one
who lets his horse find out the way.
The hither shoulder of the hog-back
had scarcely hidden him before /
heard a stir in the house and the gen.
tie closing of door. A moment
later 1 saw Nan making her way
across the upper field, and thought
OWNED her purpose. She had seen
the engineer pass the house; had
guessed that he was on his way to
the dam, and had taken this chance,
her last chance it might be, of find
ing him alone to plead once again for
justice.
1t seemed pity that the girl
should have to fight such hopeless
battle alone. 1 know not, nor shall
ever know, if she believed that he was
free to marry her. But such poor
amends as money may make should
at least be hers; and at the apex of
this thought I determined to follow
her, and to do what man and a law
yer might do to help,her.
| When l came in sight of the high
wall of masonry cutting the upper
canyon across, the thunder was a-roll
in the upper air. 1 could hear the
mutter and growl of it, and the vivid
sun brightness of the day, and the
clear arch of the sky, with no
ether hint of a storm abroad, gave
1t weird effect. The water of the
diminishing torrent was pouring over
the waste weir; and, as on that night
when had crept trembling across
the fume bridge, the engineer was
perched upon his barrier, gazing
down at the flood.
Nan was on the trail below, just
where Macpherson had drawn rein on
the night of the explosion, and when
came in sight she was calling to
Wykamp. 1 was too far away to hear
what she was saying, and the thunder
of the waste weir must have made
her words inaudiblc to the engineer;
but her imprisoned gestures were
eloquent She was pleading with him
or warning him, 1 know not which,
and while I looked Wykamp signed
assent and turned to retrace his
steps to the nearest abutment.
I thought it might be as well to
hold aloof until the time for inter
ference should be fully ripe, and
climbed to perch on the steep slope
where 1 should be out of their sight
when they met. None the less, I
watched the engineer narrowly, and
when he stopped midway of the dam
in the attitude of one listening in
tently, 1 listened, too. Above the
thunder of the waste hoarser roar
filled the air, coming suddenly but
persisting like the sustained jar of
distant explosion. Like the lions
roar, the sound once heard is unmis-
taxable. 1t was cloudburst, and the
test Of the great wall of masonry
was fairly upon it.
Wykamp hesitated but an instant,
and in that instant man darted out
of the mouth of the outlet tunnel on
the opposite side of the canyon and
began to climb the mountain side as
one who flies danger. 1t was Jacob
Setter and 1 took it he had been try
ing to ambush the engineer. He, too
had heard the ominous roar of the
oncoming flood, and whatever his OBJ
ject had been he had apparently
abandoned it to seek safety. 1t is
doubtful if Wykamp saw him. The
man in the engineer-there is man
hidden in whatsoever outward husk
of depravity poor humanity walks
abroad-was alive at last, and he was
racing down in great leaps and
bounds toward the girl standing in
the very shadow of the towering wall.
While l looked, he reached her, gath
cred her in his arms and carried her
swiftly aside and up the hither slope,
and when he finally stumbled and fell
with her there was a margin of safety
behind them.
| l held my breath and my heart
skipped q beat when I beheld the
dark wall of water, brown and debris
laden, rushing down the upper can
yon upon the great stone barrier.
1t seemed Incredible that any work of
man could withstand the impact of
such terrible battering ram; and
climbed still higher, though my perch
was well above the level of the reser-
voir. The engineer had more cour-
age, or better confidence in his own
work. He had risen and lifted Nan
to her feet, and together they stood
and watched the huge brown wall of
water leap high in air to fling itself
over the stone coping of the dam.
The masonry stood the shock like
wall of living rock. The brown cata-
ract choked the waste weir and
poured many feet deep over the top
of the dam, filling the channel below
until at it's maximum the foaming
torrent was tapping at the feet of
the man and the woman standing on
the half-buricd bowlder on the hithcr
slope, but they did not move.
1t was while the flood was roaring
it's loudest that l CHANGED to lift my
eyes to the opposite cliff where Sell
| ter had disappeared. To my horror
I saw him plunging recklessly down
the declivity toward the submerged
dam, and his frenzied yells came to
me above the clamor of the waters.