The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-02-27
TILE PRINCEToN THURSDAY =, FEBRU AIRY 81, 1902.

whirlpool and carried across the tot
tering wreck of the coffer-dam to the
ha1f-finished excavation in the oppo-
site canyon slide. When joined
him, by way of the precarious fume
bridge and scramble along the
steep activity down which had
once shot to a plunge in the icy
waters of the stream, he was max
ing fire in the shelter of the exca-
walton, hurrying TREMENDOUSLY and
muttering to himself like a man gone
daft. In the excitement of the mo-
ment he seemed to take my presence
quite as matter of course.
| Look him over, Jack, for Gods
sake, tell me if I'm a murderer!"
he gasped, going down on his hands
and knees to blow the spark in the
kindling:
He had propped the engineer in a
corner of the cutting, and I lost no
time in obeying the command. AS
nearly as I could determine there
were no bones broken; but there
were two or three slight scalp
wounds, and the man was well
drowned.
"Pull yourself together, Angus, and
help me-" I said, throwing off my
overcoat. "The fellows drowned, and
he's dead man if we don't get to
work on him pretty suddenly"
Fortunately, we both knew what
to do, and how to go about it; but
there was a despairing half-hour or
more of it before the first long-drawn
| sigh of returning life rewarded our
efforts. Macpherson worked silently,
with set teeth and the tireless pa
thence of a piece of machinery; and
when .Wykamp began to breathe nat.
urally he sank back and covered his
face with his hands. A pebble ratified
down the slope of the excavation and
I looked up. Setter was standing at
the pit-edge, gazing down upon us
like man lately aroused from his
first sleep.
s'Well, I'll be dad-burned!" he said,
clambering down to stare first at the
| two of us and then at the uncon-
scious engineer. "This yere's what
all the rumpus was about, Ell? Dam
busted to kingdom come, an that
ther'-' his epithet was quite accur-
at but wholly unreportable-
"drowned dead as a do'-nail! Hit
walked us all up down't The house, an
thort I'd thess mog along up an
sec what-all'd happened"
Mac took his face out of his hands.
"Let up on that, jake" he said,
| quietly. Cor perhaps I'd better tell
you to stick to it for your life. I
know why the dam went out, and so
does Mr.. Halcott. If he doesn't
know" indicating the sodden figure
at the other side of the fire-"you
are safe to. lie out of it. And you're
just in time to cover your tracks.
Hustle yourself down to the engi-
neer's camp and rout them out. Tell
them the boss is here half dead, and
have them send for him."
| Settlers, face, sharply relieved in
the freight, was study in baff1ed
| enmity mingled with fear. But he
made no more denials and went
straightaway on his errand, leaving
us to watch with the half dead one.
1t was long time before Macpher-
son broke silence to say:
"How much do you know, Jack?"
"All of it, I think; except that I'm
taking it for granted that Nan is
responsible for some things-your
being here for one.''
"She isn't" he said, soberly. "But
| she has told me what you didn't
think it was safe to tell me, if that's
what you mean.'
I shook my head. "The ways of a
woman are past finding out. What
possible object could she have in
signing her lovers death warrant
after that fashion?''
The flush under the bronze in Mac
phersOn's face NAV, have heen mn