The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-03-06

SOu1u scarcely De traced. But for
the gathering at the schoolhouse on
the knoll, the loss Of life must have
been terrible; and as it was, 1 could
scarcely hope that the tragedy of
which [ had been an awe-stricken
witness was the only one.
When topped the shoulder of the
hog back the schoolhouse knoll and
the bit OF road beyond the food level
were black with hurrying figures.
Macpherson was the first to meet me
as picked my way across what,
few minutes earlier, had been the
Setter infield. His greeting was an
1ncoherent upbubbling of thankful
ness, since he had taken it for grant
ed that had been swept away with
the Setter house. There was no time
for explanations, and I made none.
Angus told me where to find his
team and blackboard, and, asking me
to look after the women at the
schoolhouse, hurried away to organ
1ze a rescue party. I found the team.
DID what there was to be done, and
when the excitement had a little SUBJ
sided took Winifred in the blackboard
and set out to find shelter for her
and for myself. We found accommo-
dation at the Byres ranch, whose
house was farthest removed from the
scene of devastation, and there con-
tented ourselves as best we might
while the details of the disaster
trickled in by Titles. It was soon dis
covered that only Setter and his
daughter and the engineer were miss
ing, but it was not until the evening
of the following day that Angus
came to make his report. I saw him
coming and went few rods down
the road to meet him.
1.-Two, sure, and possible third"
he said, anticipating my query.
They're all accounted for except
three, and two of the three were
found on the bar below the engi-
neer's camp this afternoon"
'Wykamp?" I asked.
eyes; Wykamp and Nan Setter.
They must have been overtaken to.
gether somewhere"
"They were," I said; and I told
him the story of the tragedy in the
canyon so far as it touched these
two.
"You say he tried to save her?
There was bit of the man in him,
after all, wasn't there?"
Angus had shown no disposition
to go up to the farmhouse, where
Winifred was sitting on the porch,
and we had drawn aside to sit on
the embankment of the dry Byres
ditch.
HE did save her." I rejoined; "she
would have gone down in the first
rush of the wave over the top of the
dam if he hadn't reached her Just in
the nick of time and carried her be-
You'd the sweep of it,
"And after that, they stopped to
look at it, you say. That was the en-
gineer in him; betting on his own
game to the very last"
"They were safe enough, so far as
the cloudburst was concerned" I
amended; and then: "Have you
found Selter?"
mo; and that's a bit curious. His
wife says he went hunting on the
north mountain early in the morn
ing"
You'll never find him-alive."
what! How do you know?"
ANSWER me one question, and
then I'll tell you. Does anyone sus-
Pect that it was more than. a cloud
burst?''
"Why, of course not. It was a
cloudburst. Kilgore and the Barnes
boys have been up the canyon beyond
the dam, and the track of it can be
traced for two miles,"
"True; but if that were all the dam
would be standing at this moment,
Angus. 1t did stand the cloudburst,
and the pressure on was decreasing
rapidly when it went out"
1.-THE mischief, you say! How do
you know all this, Jack?'
GAS I have told you, I was within
50 yards of the dam when it went
out. And Jacob Setter was trying to
cross it!''
"Good Lord! But what wrecked
it?"
"Selter, think. There was an ex-
plosion as if 12-inch shell had
struck just above the masonry. He
had fired his Internal machine from
the mouth of the outlet tunnel, and
was scrambling up to be out of
harms way when he saw Nan and
Wykamp below the dam. When the
shell exploded he was trying to
reach them-for Mans sake, I sup
pose"
Macpherson smoked his pipe quite
to extinction before he spoke again.
Then he said: "Jack, I'm a little
tangled on the ethics of this thing.
Could it do any possible harm to any,
body if we keep this thing to our
selves?"
II don't see that it can. Jake has
paid the penalty. He's we'll out of
| reach of any court Of ours"
''That's what was thinking. And
if we publish it, it'll likely make it
In, f~,.