The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-06-29

of the eastern hills and was rapidly
pressing construction work
The b. r. had been the first to COM
mence work and had run their grade
close to the river and but Il few feet
above high water mark. The B. f. and
n. grade stakes We're set about twenty
feet higher up. For about half Il mile
s the hillside was almost perpendicular
and Of solid rock The B. r. had com
Dleted a considerable stretch of their
grade when the B. +. and y. began
cutting out the hill above them, scat
tering rocks and CONSERVATION among
the men below.
The latter road was part of very
wealthy system whose board of direct
ors had determined to use every effort
to prevent the B. R. from completing their
road. Every step. both in the courts and
on the ground, had been hotly contested
with the hope of firing out the b. R.
which was much weaker financially and
less able to stand the strain of a waste
full struggle.
They hoped to force them into aban-
doning their claim. Already Il number of
the members of the B. r. board were in
favor of giving up the fight and selling
out to their rival, which had offered
sum sufficient to cover the expenses al
ready incurred. The president and a ma
jority of the board had, however, insisted
upon standing upon what they knew to be
their rights and not surrendering to the
unjust domineering of their powerful en-
envy.
An injunction had been obtained by the
B. R. restraining the other road from in
terfering with them until the matter
could be determined in court. They had
even agreed to suspend any further work
on their own line until such legal decision
was rendered. The other company, know
ing the weakness of their claim, had re-
fused to do this and had succeeded in
having the injunction set aside upon a
technical irregularity in the proceedings.
Steps were Immediately taken by the
B. r. for a rehearing in the matter of the
injunction, and it was while this was in
course of preparation that the B. f. and
N. redoubled their efforts to crush their
weaker neighbor.
The last satbacll had discouraged 9TH
ers of the /: RS directors and it was
only by the most strenuous efforts that
the president of the company could get
them to continue the struggle.
The enmity existing between the two
roads had spread to the workmen, who
hatred.
Dick Gallagher's father was foreman of
a gang on the B. r. which was working
at a point where the battle ragged most
fercely. This was a mile or so below
Houseton, where the Gallaghers lived. 1t
was hot July day, and Dick had been
kept busy with the water pail. He had
just brought a fresh supply and was pass
ing it among the men when his father,
who had been keeping a WatChful eve on
the gang above, called OUT Look out,
bys! They're sittin off anither blast up
thar. tn murtherin devils. Rum"
The men dropped their tools and hur-
ried down the grade just in time to es-
cape n shower of rocks which came hail
ing down in torrents
The men on the upper level laughed to
see their undignified flight. Their ridi-
cule eXasperated Gallaghers men, and
as soon as the stones ceased falling they
vent back and attacked the foot of the
Ope of the enemy's grade with fury.
Everybody was out of harms way be-
: lore another charge of dynamite heaved
its chest and sent a portion of the hill
down in fragments.
J Everybody" did I say? No. Dicks
dog, a common, homely little black cur,
but Dicks only possession and pride had
not understood the warning and stood
watching their flight in establishment.
Dick saw it all He saw the great stone
that came hurting down upon poor Jop's
head, crushing the life out of him
He didn't cry-that is, not there, al
though there wasn't a thing in all this
world that he would have taken in ex-
change for Jop. He picked up his pail
without a word and started for the
spring. What If his eyes were red when
he returned? He had sworn eternal en-