Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-28
The B1azed
Trail 81 y $ :s$$:'
Copyright 1902 by Stewart Edward White
BY STEWART
DWARD
WHITE

shut the dams down tight and dry
pick out two wings that IL start her
The dams were first run at full
speed and then shut down. Hardly a
| drop of water flowed in the bed of the
stream The crews set laborionsly to
| work to pull and roll the logs out In
| such fat fashion that head Of water
should send them out
This was even harder work than the
other, for they had not the floating
| power of water to help them in the
lifting AS usual, part of the men
worked below. part above.
E Jimmy Powers. curly haired laugh
in: faced was irrepressible. He bad
gered the others until they threw bark
at him and meIaced him with their
peaveys. Always he hadat his tongues
end the proper quip for the occasion.
SO that in the long run the work was
li.htened by him. When the men stop
ntd to think at all they thought of
Jimmy Powers with very kindly hearts,
for it was known that he had had more
/ trouble than most and that coin was
not made too small for him to divide
with needy comrade.
Thorpe approved thoroughly of jim
my Powers. He thought him q good
influence. He told Wallace so, stand
Ing among the spectators on the cliff
top.
He is all right" said Thorpe II
wish had more like him. The others
are good boys too"
Five men were at the moment tug
H,ing futilely at reluctant timber.
They were attempting to roll one end
If 1t over the side Of another projecting
log, but We're continually foiled, because
the other end was damned fast. Each
bent his knees. inserting his shoulders
under the projecting peavey stock, to
straightcn in n mighty effort.
1t was a fine spring day. clear eyed
and crisp, with hint of new foliage in
the thick buds Of the trees. The air
was so pellucid that one distinguished
without difficulty the straight entrance
to the gorge mile away. and even the
West Bend, fully FIVE miles distant.
Jimmy Powers took of his cap and
wiped his forehead
You boys" he remarked politely,
"think you are boring with mighty
big auger."
MY Godr' screamed one of the spec
tators on top Of the cliff.
At the same instant Wallace Carpen-
ter seized his friends arm and pointed.
Down the bed of the stream from the
upper bend rushed solid wall OF wa
ter several feet high. 1t flung itself
forward with the headlong impetus of
n cascade. Even in the short interval
between the visitors exclamation and
Carpenters rapid gesture it had doomed
in sight, twisted dozen trees from the
river bank and foamed into the en-
trance of the gorge. An instant later 1t
collided with the tail of the jam.
Even in the railroad rush of those
few moments several things happened.
Thorpe leaped for a rope. The crew
working on top of the dam ducked
instinctively to right and left and be-
gan to scramble toward safety. The
men below at first bewildered and not
comprehending. finally understood and
ran toward the face Of the jam with
the intention of clambering up it. There
could be no escape in the narrow cam
yon below, the walls Of which rose
sheer
Then the food hit square. A great
sheet Of water rose like surf from the
tail of the jam; a mighty cataract pour
ed down over its surface, lifting the
free logs; from either wing timbers
crunched. split, rose suddenly into
wracked prominence, twisted beyond
the semblance of themselves. Here