Mower County transcript., 1904-06-22

/
$50 long, boys!' they heard Jimmy
Powers voice. Then the rope Thorpe
had thrown fell across a caldron of
tortured waters and of tossing logs.
| CHAPTER XVIII.
|f~ 1URING perhaps ten seconds the
lin survivors watched the end Of
lE4D Thorpe's rope trailing in the
|o flood. Then the young man
with deep sigh began to pull it to-:
ward him.
At once hundred surmises, ques-
lions, calculations, broke out.
"What happened?' cried Wallace
Carpenter.
what was that mans name?" asked
the Chicago Journalist, with the eager
instinct Of his profession.
This is terrible, terrible, terrible" a
white haired physician from Marquette
kept repeating over and over.
A half dozen ran toward the point
Of the cliff to peer down stream, as
though they could hope to distinguish
anything in that waste Of food water
''The dams gone out" replied Thorpe
II don't understand it. Everything
was in good shape as far as could
See. It didn't act like an ordinary
a'reak. The water came too fast. Why.
it was as dry as a bone until Just as
| that wave came along. An ordinary
break would have eaten through little
by little before it burst, and Davis
| should have been able to stop it. This
came all at once, as if the dam had
| disappeared. I don't see."
His mind of the professional had al
ready begun to query causes. ,
| "How about the men?" asked WAL
lace. isn't there something I can
do?"
| "You can head hunt down the riv-
er," answered Thorpe. II think it is
useless until the water goes down.
Poor Jimmy! he was one of the best
men had. I wouldn't have had this
happen
The horror of the scene was at last
beginning to filter through numbness
into Wallace Carpenters impressiona-
bic imagination.
mo, now he cried vehemently.
'There is something criminal about it
to me! I'd rather lose every log in the
river!'
Thorpe looked at him curiously. TT
Is one Of the chances Of war;" said
he.
"I'd better divide the crew and take
In both banks of the river" suggested
Wallace.
"See if you can't get volunteers from
this crowd" suggested Thorpe. II can
let you have two men to show you
trails. need as many Of the crew as
possible to use this food water"
"Oh, Harry!' cried Carpenter, shock
ed. "You can't be going to work again
today, before we have made the slight
est effort to recover the bodies!''
! IF the bodies can be recovered, they
shall be- replied Thorpe quietly. "But
the drive will not wait. We have no
dams to depend on now, you must re-
! member, and we shall have to get out
on the freshet water"
"Your men won't work. I'd refuse
just as they willv' cried Carpenter, his
sensibi1ities still suffering.
Thorpe smiled proudly. "You do not
know them"
"By Jove" cried the journalist in
sudden enthusiasm. "By Jove, that is
| magnifcent!'
| The. men on the river crew had
crouched on their narrow footholds
| while the jam went out Each had
| clung to his peavey, as is the habit Of
! river men. Down the current past
: their feet swept the debris of flood.
Soon logs began to swirl by-at first
few, then many-from the remaining
rollways which the river. had automat-
tcally broken. In a little time the eddy
caught up some of these logs, and i'm
mediately another jam threatened. The
river men, without hesitation, as calm
y as though catastrophe had not
thrown the weight Of its moral terror
against their stoicism, sprang, peavey
in hand, to the insistent work.
Thorpe's face lit with qualification.
He turned to the young man.
"You seo," he said in proud simplicity.
With the added danger Of freshet wa
ter, the work went on.
At this moment Tim Shearer an
preached from inland, his clothes drfp-
ping wei, but his face retaining its ha-
bitual expression OF iron calmness.
ANYBODY caught1'' was his flrst ques-
ton as he drew near.
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