The San Francisco call., 1910-10-02
"The Hard Rock Man.

whether 1t be in the line of short story
novel. always is given the impression
of a good workman conscientiously, TAX
ing pains The result is pleasurable
degree of finish that Is not usual in
a new author. 1t is like purchasing
a fine piece of cabinet work from a
shop of established reputation, where
you know without looking that the
drawers will glide smoothly and the
hidden corners will be neatly turned
and joined It is like viewing the work
of an actor long and carefully trained
in stock. in contrast to that of a poorly
prepared star, where few flashes of
genius are expected to compensate for
a slovenly handling OF detail.
Bechdolt has by no means graduated
from stock but his work is ski1Ifu1
thorough. and the painstakinA quality
is uppermost. Some day he will And
a theme or subject so. absorbing that
he will rush it through to completion
without remembering to take pains.
Then, when the painstaking is only the
unconscious result of careful training,
a product of habit rather than effort.
we may expect a work OF the highest
order. Possibly after 1t is completed
the tyranny of long custom will impei
him to revise it. If he yields to the
impulse / am afraid he will spoil it.
only hope I will be able to read it
before revision.
In The Hard Rock Man" Just pub
nshed, Bechdolt has produced some
thing decidedly worth while, by far his
best work up to the present time 1t is
his first unaided book, his other book.
"9009," having been produced with the
collaboration of James Hopper, al
though the story was entirely Beeh-
delt's. He has, however, been pretty
constantly before the public since the
publication of "9oO9" through short
stories in the magazines, so his name
and style are not unfamiliar The
Hard Rock Man was first published
in the Saturday Evening Post some
months ago under the title, "Tom Nor
ton" 1t deals with men in the rough
hard listed, coarse fibered, big muscled
men in the raw--among whom Bechdolt
has lived and with whom he has
worked. Otherwise he could not have
acquired the knowledge of their lives.
their surroundings, their impulses and
their very thoughts. which makes his
book: an uncommonly valuable study of
almost unknown social conditions.
The story is simple and can be briefly
told. Tom Morton is a green Young
Irish giant, Just from the ould sod.
landed in the construction camp of a
transcontinenta1 railway, beginning
the work of boring a tunnel through
a northern range. He begins at the
very bottom and through the combina-
tion of native wit, hard fist. and a
hard head pounds his way in four years
of the tunnels construction through
the various stages OF helper drill
runner, bench boss. heading boss and
walker. to superintendent How he
does it makes the book Tom first
dominates a bunch of FIVE Slavs. with
whom he is set at work shoveIing away
the loads of rock brought from the
tunnel by the tram cars. His domi-
nance brings on a fight in which he
whips the five and gains both a stand
ing in camp and an advance to the
position OF helper. His only rival in
physical size in the camp is kennedy.
known as 'the dynamiter," an exile
from a dynamiting outrage in the
Cour d'Alene mines. AS a drill runner
he conquers Kennedy in skill and later
whips him in fist fight A tunnel
accident eliminates Kennedy heroica1ly
and sets Tom by for repairs. During
the process OF his recovery he falls in
love with the superintendent uaugh-
ter his nurse. The end of the tale
finds the boring completed, wedding
in prospect and Tom slated for super
intendent of the new works. His friend
Jerry Morley. driving tunnel years
later by bunkhouse stove, tells 1t all
better and in fewer words:
White Hat Morton they call him.
but nivir to his face. Twas at
Snowslide we first saw him, a raw
Mick. He was Crane then, but his
fists was hard. Wanst he licked
five men. He pounded his way up
to headin' boss. Then he got wise
an cut out whisky an they made
him walker. Afther that he mar
ried Gunnysack Ryan's Nora. Now
LUX at, him. driver av US all!
But, as Bechdolt says In closing the
story: only one thing did Jerry omit.
His tongue was not apt at handling the
gentler things like love-" The love
theme in such surroundings is not an
easy thing to handle. Bechdolt's treat
ment OF 1t Is admira BILE.
In general review of the book one
thing stands out above all else-the
quality of restraint. It used to be
the function of the old three decker
novel to wade through each detail of
every day of the hero's life from the
cradle to the grave or at least within
the time of the story The modern
novelist deals only with milestones.
Bechdolt travels, with the best, by sig
nficant stages alone. and he has the