The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-30
Cold in Head. soc.

Cold in Head. soc.
waving newspaper. 1T was a great
drive and here's something to remem-
Der II by"
'All right, Wallace, by and by" re-
piled Thorpe DULY. I'm dead. I'm
going to turn in for a while. 1 need
sleep more than anything else"
He passed through the little passage
into the ''parlor bed room, which Mrs
Hathaway always kept in readiness
for members of the firm. There he
fell heavily asleep almost before his
body had met the bed.
In the long dining room the river
men consumed a belated dinner. They
had no comments to make. 1t was
over.
The two on the veranda smoked. To
the right, at the end of the sawdust
street, the mill sang it's varying ana
lulling keys. The odor of fresh-sawed
pine perfumed the air. Not a hun
dred yards away the river slipped ST.
lently to the distant blue Superior
escaping between the slanting stones
filed cribs which held back the logs
Down the south and west the huge
thunder heads gathered and flashed
and grumbled, as they had done every
afternoon for days.
Queer thing" commented Hamilton
finally, these cold streaks in the air
They are just as distinct as though
they had partitions around them"
Queer climate anyway" agreed Car
penter.
Excepting always for the mill, the
little settlement appeared asleep. The
main booms were quite deserted. At
ter awhile Hamilton noticed some
thing.
Look here. Carpenter" said he
whats happening out there? Have
some of your COMPOUNDED logs sunk, or
what? There don't seem to be near
so many of them somehow"
mo, 1T isn't that" proffered Carpen-
ter after moments scrutiny, there
are just as many logs, but they are
getting separated a little so you can
see the open water between them"
Guess you're right. Say, look here
1 believe that the river is rising!"
'NOEsense. we haven't had any rain"
she's rising just the same You see
that Spite over there near the left
hand crib? Well I sat on the boom
this morning watching the crew. and
whitfield the Spite with my knife-you
can see the marks from here. 1 cut the
thing about two feet above the water.
Look at 1t now"
She's pretty near the water line.
About an hour later the younger
man in his turn made discovery.
She's been rising right along" he
submitted. Your marks are nearer the
water, and, do you know, l believe the
logs are beginning to feel it, See
they've closed up the little openings
between them, and they are beginning
to crowd down to the lower end of the
pond"
II don't know anything about this
business" hazarded the journalist.
but I should think there was a good
deal of pressure on that same lower
end. By Jove, look there! See those
logs up-end? l believe you're going to
have jam right here in your own
boomsl"
II don't know" hesitated Wallace. 81
never heard of its happening"
You'd better let some one know"
II hate 10 bother Harry or any of
the rivermen. I'll just step down to
the mill Mason-he's our mill foreman
hell know"
Mason came to the edge of the high
trestle and took one look.
Jumping fsh-hooks!" he cried.
why, the rivers UP six inches and
still comm! Here. you, Toni" he
called to one of the yard hands, "you
tell Solly to get steam on that tug
together his driver crew.
What you going to do?" asked Wal
lace.
4 got to strengthen the booms," ex-
planned the mill foreman. Wen drive
some piles across between the cribs"
rs there any danger?"
"Oh, no, the river would have to rise
a good deal higher than she is now
TO make current enough to hurt.
fIhAV'Un hn ho, rnfx
This will go down in a few hours"
After time the tug pulled up to the
booms. escorting the pile driver. The
latter towed a little raft of long,
sharpened piles, which it at once began
to drive in such positions as would
most effectually strengthen the booms.
In the meantime the thunder-heads
had slyly climbed the heavens, so that
sudden deluge of rain surprised the
workmen For an hour it poured down
In torrents: then settled to a steady
gray beat. Immediately the aspect had
changed.
Solly. the tug captain, looked at his
mooring hewsers and then at the near
est crib.
She's rlz two inches in tn las two
hours he announced. "and she's run
min Ike a mill race" Solly was
typical north country tug captain.
short and broad with a brown. clear
face. and the steadiest and calnest of
steel blue eyes. When she begins 10
feel tn pressure behind" he went on.
there's goin' to be trouble"
Towards dusk she began to feel that
pressure. Through the rainy twilight
the logs could be seen raising their
Rhostiy arms OK protest. Slowly. with
out tumult. the jam formed In the
van the logs crossed silently In the
rear they pressed in. were sucked uu-
der IN the swift water. and came 90
rest ~ Tie bottom Of the river. The