The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-01-03
By FRANCIS LYNDH.

Al the moment / was sure of moth.
ing but that tho tragedy must be
prevented at any cost, and set out
to run after him as fast as n sicl,
man might. With presencefof mind
which was entirely mechanical. /
forsook the road at the point where
Setter had left It, running up the
dry bed of the ditch which traversed
the small inner valley beyond the
"hogback' on a higher level than
that followed by the rough wagon
road. As IL Glanced the choice OF
the ditch saved my life. though when
had wallOwed painting quarter Of
g mile in the dry sand of the cham
nel | was fain to curse the impulse
which had made me forsalSe the trail
A hundred yards below the dam
workings my ditch crossed the trail
below and the stream by a box-hume
bridge; o crazy structure on spind-
ling stills that weaved and racked
under me as / ran. / did not dare to
look down or aside until 1 had won
across; and then I saw that I was
too late, and that was on the
wrong side Of The stream. The
wooden coffer-dam was built out
from the other side of the canvon.
and the engineer, leaving his horse.
where ] had once left mine. had
climbed to the top of the timberipe
TO look down into the seething food
hammering at its upper side and
sweeping foam-heclSed past its outer
extremity. And o. the trail below.
with his horse neighboring playful.
ly with Wykamp's, was Macpherson.
waiting quietly until the engineer
should finish his inspection and come
down.
My end of the flume was in the
shadow Of the canyon wall, and
knew thst neither of them coula see
me; but ! stood up and waved nv
arms and shouted TO them. NV
tongue clave to my teeth. and
whether my cries were louder than
whispers, J know not. 1t mattered
little; the thunder of the torrent
was deafening, and 40 warning shout
of mine could dominate it. With
shaking knees climbed a little
higher on the canyon wall to Law hold
OF gnarled tree growing from a
cleft in the rock. When I locked
again. the engineer had turned IN
creep back over the dollhouse tim
bering of the coffer-dam. In the ball
ancing instant ] saw worm-lil,a
thread of fire eating its way up into
the black shadows on the down.
stream side of the timbering: saw II.
and saw that Macpherson had seen
1t. He was urging his horse up the
trail, and his ringing shout came to
me above the din and turmoil of the
waters. Then the thread of fire dis-
appeared and rumbling crash shrsd, I
the mountain like the shock of an
earthquake. | heard the grinding
crunch Of shattered timbers. and
when looked again the coffer-dan
had become mere log-iam in the
seething whirlpool, and the released
torrent was breast-high on the trail
where Macpherson had halted. Eut
for the sight of him sending his
horse zigzag mp the steep acclivity
opposite, | should have tainted and
saiieh' As ~ was, my brain reeled
and horrible nausea seized me. For
Rt that moment Macpherson flung
from the back OF the scram.
bling bronco and ran out on The
wreck Of the timbering to look
down into the surging maelstrom
roaring through the gap looked.
too, and saw what he saw. In the
'pnme Of the caldron, clinging des-
nerateiy to one Of the half-sub-
merged logs Of the wrecked Golfer
lam, was the engineer. I saw his
lace upturned in the moonlight. and
{ was the face OF man whose life
iad eaten out the fortiiude where \,
Win a brave man may go TO his
ieath.
And on the broken timberme
ibove. within arm's-reaeh OF The
irowning man, Macpherson stood and
ooked down upon him. He had but
o withhold his hand. and Gods ven ,
,eance would fall swift and sure
lpon the poor worm writhing on its
og in the reek and Rrume Of the
whirlpool.