Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1911-02-10
ON THE NIGHT WATCH.

1t had been raining for days. and
| the black clouds brought on an inky
darkness, when 1t should have been
| early twilight nervous fear for
which she could give no satisfactory
| reason, took possession of Ellen earle,
| as she sat in the little tower that
| served as a telephone exchange. The
| lights of the village, on the hillside,
were not far away, but, seen through
the darkness and the falling rain, they
seemed at such a distance that it gave
| her a sense of isolation.
| Then too the wires above her were not
working, so she knew that something
was wrong-probably a pole, loosened by
| the long rain, had fallen. That seemed
| to be the impression at headquarters 80
! miles below, and they were planning to
| get a repair gang up there.
As IL was little more than relay sta
! ton from which a few lines radlated to
| the hillside village and adjacent farm
| houses, at which Miss earle was sta
! toned, this interruption left her practical
| " nothing to do except to listen to the
beating of the rain and the swirl of the
| river that flowed past the tower. She
| should have been relieved at o'clock
but she agreed to remain an hour longer
| to accommodate the man who had the
night watch.
Finding no satisfaction and consider
longer she would be kept there, she final
ly drifted to thoughts of less Immediate
although deeper, personal interest to her
self, and it happened quite naturally
that Harry Wakeford was quite prom
inent in these
Wakeford was young man whom she
had alternately liked and despised-at
least so she thought. She liked him be-
cause he was entertaining. and she de-
spised him because he lacked the vigor
and courage that she deemed necessary
to true manhood
He was easy-going. good natured, mild
hammered. He played the mandolin sang
dainty love songs, talked well of books
and authors occa sonally quoted poetry;
but he lacked aggressiveness
That other young men in the vicinity
openly made fun of him did not disturb
him in the least. Miss earle on the other
hand, was decidedly aggressive, so she
did not hesitate to say what she would
do II she were man and people treated
her as some of them occasionally treated
Wakeford. Then. too, Wakeford was not
much of a fellow for out f-door sports
1t was the most natural thing in the
world that such a man should be re-
garded with contempt in a locality where
strength and aggressiveness counted for
much. His whole code seemed to be
bound up in the question. whats the
use?' He could see no reason for getting
into a row because someone differed from
him as to his manner of life, or the need
of physical prowess.
But occasionally there was something
i'm the way he said whats the use?"
that led to the impression that possibly
he might wake up if circumstances ever
warranted it. Miss earle decided for the
twentieth time that he was most enter
tanning, but that she would rather have
some one around when there was need of
a man who could do things.
But this was really of no importance
whatever, as she had known him only
a short time, and 1t was probable that he
would leave in another month. The only
reason, she told herself, that she gave
any thought to the subject was that he
had betrayed very marked fondness for
her company. and, in an indolent and in
direct way, certainly had made love to
her.
1t was probably no more than in idle
Irritation but-ITe said he was getting
Local color for some literary work and
he would naturally forget her but-He
was really of very little account rs a
man, but-Well she conceded that he in
terested her. but she could not care for
a man who lacked daring and strength.
Something struck the tower and Jared
it. She had been so absorbed in her
media tons that she had almost forgotten
the storm, although the rain was still
falling and the swirl of the river was
louder than ever. But what would so
jar the tower?
The answer came to her instantly: the
river was over its banks. The river had
been high when she last saw it, but there
had been no thought of this. If it had
overlooked so suddenly, the water must
be coming over the top of the dam, ten
miles above, If the water was over the
dam, the dam would go.
She hurried down to the door and found
herself standing in few inches of water.
outside, floating board was banging
against the tower and this il was that
aroused her.
She threw open the door and stepped
out lifting her skirts to keep them out
of the water. Then, suddenly, she step
ped back and closed the door. She could
easily reach the hillside and safety, but
she recalled that there were others in the
path of the flood. Some miles below, a
village nestled. beside the river and there
were scattered houses beyond that.
Delay was as dangerous for her as for
them, but 1t was necessary to send some
word. She decided that she could give
them some warning and still have time
to escape to the hillside with the news
of the coming flood for those who lived
near enough to the base to be in danger.
Fortunately, there were only one or two
houses low enough to be caught in it.
She was frightened, but her mind
worked clearly and quickly as she as
cended to the tower room. She knew her
danger; If the dam broke before she got
to the hill nothing could save her. On
the other hand, If she succeeded in
getting word through the lives Of many
would be saved
For a moment she wondered why no
one had come to warn her or. at least,
why no one had telephoned. Several OF
the houses on the hill had telephones.
Then she remembered that the tower
alone was on the low land beside the
river; the people above knew nothing OF
the danger of her plight. AS for those
farther up the valley, the connection had
been broken long before.
The exchange operator at Long Hollow,
below, was exasperatingly slow. The
little exchange there was in a building
~NAATNn "IAT~