Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-06-26

too and his arrangements were more
elaborate and more nearly complete than
Mccain suspected. That very morning
he sauntered leisurely out over the rear
logs, his hands in his pockets Every
once in while he stopped to utter FEW
low-voced comments to one or another
of the men The person addressed first
looked extremely astonished, then Shout
dered his peevie and started for camp.
leaving the diminished rear crew prey
to curiosity. Soon the word went about,
Day and night work" they whispered,
though IT was a little difficult to see the
difference in ultimate effectiveness be-
tween a half crew working all the time
and a whole crew working halt the
time.
About this stage DAILY began to worry.
lie took the train to Grand Rapids.
anxiety written deep in his brows. When
he saw the little inadequate crew peck
ing in futile fashion at the logs winged
out over the shadows, he swore ferVidly
and sought Jimmy.
Jimmy appeared calm.
Wen get en- out all right, Mr.. Daily"
said he.
Get EN- out"' growled DAILY. "surel
hut when? We amt got all summer
this season. Those logs have got TO hit
our booms in fourteen days or they're
no good to usl''
"Youll have EN-" assured Jimmy.
Such talk made Daily tired and he said
So "Why. it'll take YOU week to get
her over those internal shadows" he
concluded. you got to get more men.
Jimmy"
"f'Ve tried" answered the boss. "They
amt no more men to be had"
Suffering Moses" Eroaned the owner.
at means the loss Of a fifty-thousand-
dollar contract to me. You needn't tell
me. I've been on the river all my
life knoy YOU can't get them of
inside Of a week
"Ill have EN- off tomorrow morning.
but itn cost a little something as
serted Jimmy calmly. DAILY stared TO
see If the man was not crazy. Then he
retired in disgust to the city, where he
began to adjust his ideas TO a loss on
his contract.
At shutdown the rear crew quit work.
and swarmed TO the white encampment
of tents on the river bank. There they
hung wet clothes over a big skeleton
framework built around monster fire
and ate dozen eggs apiece as side
dish to supper and smoked pipes of
/ strong Peerless" tobacco and snapped
yarns and sang songs and asked ques-
/ tions To the latter they received no
satisfactory replies. The crew that had
been laid off knew nothing. 1t supposed
ii was to go to work after supper. After
supper. however, Jimmy told it to turn
in and get a little more sleep. 1t did
turn in. and speedily forgot to puzzle
At midnight Jimmy entered the big
b tent quietly with a lantern. touching
each of the fresh men on the shoulder
They arose without comment, and fol-
lowed him outside. There they were
given tools. Then the little band defiled
DOWN river under the stars. Jimmy led
them. his hands deep in his pockets. puff
Il
torvals from his ''meerschaum' pipe.
After twenty minutes they struck the
Water Works, then the board walk of
Canal Street. The word passed back for
silence. Near the Oriole Factory their
leader suddenly lodged in behind the
piles of sawed lumber motioning them
to haste. moment later. fat and
dignifed officer passed, swinging his
club, After the policeman had gone,
Jimmy again took up his march at the
head of a crew of men now thoroughly
aroused to the fact that something I'M
usual was afoot.
Soon n faint roar lifted the night ST.
lence. They crossed Fairbanks Street,
and moment after stood at one end of
the power dam.
The long smooth water shot over. like
fluid steel. silent and inevitable mirror
ing distorted flashes that were the stars.
Below, ii broke in white turmoil, shout
ing defiance at the calm velvet rush
above, Then seconds later the current
was broken A man, his heels caught
against the combing midleg in water,
was braced back at the exact angle TO
Withstand the rush. Two other men
passed down to him a short heavy timber.
\ third, plunging his arms and Shout
ders into the liquid. nailed it home with
heavy inaudihle strokes. AS though by
magic a second timber braced the first.
bolted solidly through sockets already
cut for it. The workers moved on eight
feet, then another eight, then another.
More men entered the water to pass
the timbers. \ row of heavy slanted
supports grew out from the shoulder OF
the dam. dividing the waters into long,
arrow-shaped burrows of light. At half
past twelve Tom Clute was swept over
the dam into the eddy. He swan
ashore. Purdy took his place
When the supports had reached out
, over half of the rivers span, and the
water was dotted with the shoulders of
men gracefully slanted against the cur
rent Jimmy gave orders to begin plac-
ing the fash-boards. Heavy planks
We're at once slid across the supports
where the weight of the racing water
at once clamped them fast. The
, smooth, quiet river, interrupted at last
murmured and snared and eddied hack
only to rush with increased vehemence
around the end of the rapidly growing
obstruction.
; The policeman passing back and forth
on Canal Street heard no sound of the
labor going on. If he had been an
observant policeman he would have noted
an ever-changing tone in the volume OF
sound roaring up from the eddy below
the dam. After a time even he re-
marked on certain obvious phenom-
enon.
Sure" said he "now that's FUNNY
, He listened moment then passed on
The vagaries of the river were, after
all. nothing to him. He belonged or
Canal street East Side; and Canal street
, East Side, seemed peaceful.
The river had fallen abruptly silent
The last OF Jimmy's fash boards was II
place. Back in the sleeping town the