The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-20
CHAPTER XVII.
The Crawling Stone Rise.

thac the trained riders of the big
ranch were taken completely aback.
and hundreds of head of DUnning cat
tie We're swept away before they could
be removed to points of safety. Fresh
alarms came with every hour of the
day and night, and the telephones up
and down the valley rang necessarily
with appeals from neighbor to neigh
Dor. Lance Dunning, calling out the
reserves of his vocabulary, swOre ire
mendously and directed the operations
against the river. These seemed, IN
deed, to consist mainly of hard riding
and hard language on the part OF
everybody. Murray Sinclair. although
he had sold his ranch on the Crawling;
Stone and was concentrating his hold
ings on the Frenchmau, was every
where in evidence. He was the first
at a point of danger and the last -
ride away from the slipping acres
where the muddy flood undercut; but
no defiance seemed to disturb the
Crawling Stone, which kept alarming
iy at work.
Above the alfalfa lands on the long
bench north of the house the river, In
changing its course many years earlier
had left a depression known as
MuG lake. 1t had become separated
from the main channel of the Crawling
Stone by a high, narrow barrier in the
form of d bench deposited by the re-
ceding waters of some earlier flood,
and added to by sandstOrms sweeping
among the willows that Overspread II.
Without an effective head or definite
system of work, the efforts of the men
at the Stone ranch were of no more
consequence that if they had spent
their time in waving blankets at the
river Twenty men riding in together
to tell Lance DUnning that the river
was washing out the tree claims above
Mud lake made no percepible diner
ence in the event. Dicksie, though All
inexperienced girl. saw Wit helpless
clearness the futility of i
Terror seized Dicksie. she tele
phoned in her distress for Marion,
begging her to come up before they
should all be swept away; and Marion,
turning the shop over to Katie Dan
cing, got into the ranch wagon that
Dicksie had sent and started for the
Crawling Stone.
At noon Marion arrived. The ranch
house was deserted and the men were
all at the river. Puss stuck her heaG
out of the kitchen window. and Dick
sic ran out and threw herself into
MariOns arms. Late news from the
front had been the worst; the cutting
above Mud lake had weakened the last
UdIfitE
every available man was fighting the
current at that point.
Marion heard it all while eating a
luncheon. Dicksie, beset with anxiety,
could not stay in the house. The man
that had driven Marion over saddled
horses in the afternoon and the Jwu
women rode Up above Mud lake, nov
become through rainfall and seepage
from the river a long, shallow lagoon
For an hour they watched the shovel
ing and carrying of sandbags, ana
rode toward the river to the very edge
of the diseap pearing willows, where
the bank was melting away before the
undercut Of the resistless current
They rode away with common feel
ing-a conviction that the fight was q
losing one. and that another day would
see the ruin complete.
''Dicksie." exclaimed Marion-they
were riding to the house as she spoK%
III tell you what we can do" She
hesitated a moment. Il will tell you
what we can do Are you plucky?"
Dicksie looked at Marion pathetic
ally.
IT YOU are plucky enough to do IL,
We can keep the river off yet. I have
an idea. I will go, but you must come
along"
Marion, what do you mean? Don't
you think 1 would go anywhere 10
save the ranch? I should like to know
where you dare go in this country thar
I dare mott"
Then ride with me over to the rail-
road camp by the new bridge. We viii
ask Mr.. McCloud TO bring some of his
men over He can stop the river: ne
knows how
Dicksie caught her breath. con
Narioui that would do no good. even
7 could do it. Why, the railroad has
been all swept away in the lower val
ley"
How do you know
so every one says,
who is every One?"
Cousin Lance. Mr.. SinclaiT-all the
men. 1 heard that a week ago"
"Dicksie, don't believe it You don't
know these railroad men. They under
stand this kind Of thing: cattIemeu,
you know. don't. If you viii go with
me we can get help. I feel just a.
sure that those men can control the
river as I do that I am looking at you
that is, if anybody can. The question
is do you want 10 make the effort2
They talked until they left the
horses and entered the house. When
they sat down Dicksie put her hands
10 her face. oh, 1 wish you had sale
nothing about il, How can l 20 TO
him and ask for help nOw-after Cousin
Lance has gone into court about the
line and everything And, OF course.
my name is in it all"
"Dicksie don't raise spectres that
have nothing to do with the case. II
we 30 t. him and ask MIN for help ne
viii give it to US if he can; If nc
can't. what harm is done He has
been up and down the river for three
weeks. and he has an army of men
camped over by the bridge. I know
shat because MIR. Smith rode in from
there a few days ago.
What. Whispering Smith, oh. IL
he IS there I would not go for woTldsi"
Pray, why not?''
WAY he is such an awful mani
That is absurd. Dicksie.'
Dicksie looked grave. Marion, no
man in this part of the country has
a good word to say FOR WHISPERING
Smith"
Perhaps you have forgotten. Dick
sic that you live in a very rough part
of the country" returned Marion.
cOOlly. mo man that he has ever
hunted down would have anything
pleasant to say about him; nor would
the friends OF such a man be likely
ta saw a good word of him There are