The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-04-28

crowd down to the lower end Of the

business, haZarded the JOURNALIST. "Dut
should think there was good deal Of
pressure on that same lower end. BY
Jove, look here! See those logs up-end.
believe you're going to have a jam
right here in your own booms."
Il don't know" hesitated Wallace.
~ never heard of its happening"
You'd better let some one know"
II hate TO bother Harry or any Of
the river men. I'll just step down to
the mill. Mason-he's our mill fore
man-he'll know"
Mason came to the edge Of the high
trestle and took one look.
Jumping iishlooksv' he cried. why,
a-comin' Here you. Tom" he called
to one Of the yard hands. You tell
Solly to get steam on that tug d0u-
bile quick and lave Dave hustle to-
gether his driver crew.
What are you going TO doT' asked
Wallace.
II got to strengthen the booms,' en-
plained the mill foreman. "We'll drive
some piles across the cribs"
''Is there any dangerT'
"Oh. no. The river would have to
rise good deal higher than she is now
TO make current enough TO hurt.
They've had hard rain up above.
This will 20 down in few hours"
After time the tug puffed up TO the
booms. cscorting the pile driver. The
latter toweG a little raft of long. sharp
encd piles. which ii ut once began to
drive in such positions as would most
offectually strengthen the booms. In
the meantime the thunder heads had
slyly climbed the heavens. so that
sudden delure Of rain surprised the
workmen. For an hour II poured down
in torrents, then settled TO a steady
gray beat Immediately the aspect
had changed.
Solly. the tug capt,in. looked at his
mooring hawscrs and then at the near
est crib.
she's riz two inches in IN last two
hours" he announced. "and she's run
min like mill race" Solly was
typical north country tug captain. short
and broad. with brown. clear face
and the stradicst and c;ilmest of steel
blue eyes when she begins 10 feel
til pressure behind" he went on.
there's goin TO he trouble"
Toward dusk she began 10 feel that
pressure. Through the rainy twilight
the logs could be seen raising their
ghOstly arms of protest. Slowly. with
out tumut. the jam formed. In the
rear they pressed in. were sucked I'M
der in the swift water and came TO
rest at the bottom of the river. The
current of the river began 10 protest
pressing its hydraulics through the mar
rowing crevices. The situation deman nd
cd attention.
A breeze began TO pull offshore In
the body of rain. Little by little 1t in
creased. sending the water by in gusts.
ruGling the already hurrying river into
greater haste. raising far from the
shore dimly perceived whitccaps. Be
tween the roaring of the wind. the
dash of rain and the rush of the stream
men mad to shout TO make themselves
heard.
Guess you'd better rout out the
boss" screamed Solly TO Wallace Car
penter. This waters comm up an
inch an hour right along. When she
backs up once she'll push this jam out
sure"
Wallace ran to the boarding house
and reused his partner from heavy
sleep. The latter understood the situa-
ton at word. While dressing he ex-
planned TO the younger man wherein
lay the danger.
IF the jam breaks once said he,
nothing top of earth can prevent 1t
from going out into the lake, and there
II II scatter heaven knows where. Once
scattered it is practically a total loss"
They felt blindly through the rain in
the direction Of the lights on the tug
and pile driver. Shearer. the water
dripping from his faXen mustache,
Joined them like shadow. At the
river he announced his opinion. I'VE
can hold her all right" he assured
them. 1T II take few more piles. but
by morning the storm II be over, and
she'll begin 10 90 down agaln."
The three picked their way over the
creaking, swaying timber. But when
they reached the pile driver they found
trouble afOOt. The crew had mutini~d
and refused longer to drive piles ua-
der the face Of the jam.
"lf she breaks away she's going to
bury u.s." said they.
''She won't break" snapped Shearer.
Get 10 work"
ITS dangerous" they objected sui
lenly.
"You get o. this driver!" shouted
Solly. go over and lie down in a ten
acre lot and see II you feel safe there"
He drove them ashore with a storm
Of profanity and a multitude of kicks,
his steel blue eyes blazing.
There's nothing for it but to get
the boys out again." said Tim. T
kinder hate to do it."
But when the Fighting Forty, half
asleep but dauntless. took charge of the
driver catastrophe made itself
known. One of the elected men had
tripped the lifting chain of the ham
mer after another had knocked away
the heavy preventing block, and SO
the hammer had fallen into the river
and was lost. None other was to be
had. The pile driver was useless.
dozen men were at once dispatched
for cables. chains and wire ropes from
the supply at the warehouse.
Its part of the same trick" said
vrhnrnn srir alv 10