Courier Democrat., 1916-08-10

came With Il rush. The SHOWS began
to shrink and the drifts to settle. The
air grew lWi,Mi"r With every day: the
drip from caves was answered by the
| gurglin4 laughter OF hidden waters
! Here and there the boltlest mountain
sides began to show and the tops of
alder thiclets thrust themselves into
! sight. Where wood or metal caught
the sun rays the snow rctreated. Pools
of ice water began to form mt noon
The days were long. too. and no
frozen winds charged out of the north
AS the daylight heightened so did the
working hours of the toilcrS
On April IS the span was completed
In thirteen days Mellen's crew had
laid 400 feet of the heaviest steel ever
used i'll bridge of this type But
there was no halt. The material for
the second section had been assembled
meanwhile, and the traveller began to
swing it into place.
The din Was Unceasing. The clash Of
riyeterS, the creal1 and rattle of hoists
the shouts OF men, mingled in IL rrr
sistent, ear splitting clamor, and foot
by foot the girders reached out toward
the second monolith which rose from
the river bed. The we'll adjusted hui
man machine was running smoothly
Every man knew his place and the uu-
ties that went with it: the hands of
each worker We're capable and skilled
But now the hillsides We're growing
bare, rills gashed the sloping snow
fields, the upper gullies began to rum
Die to aValanches-forerun of the
process that would strip the earth of
snow and ice and free the river in all
its fury. In six days 800 feet more of
steel had been bolted fast to the COM
plete section, and span No. . was in
place, But the surface OF the Salmon
was no longer white and pure; it was
dirty and diScolorel now. for the de-
brls Which had collected during the
past winter was exposing itself. The
Icy covering was partially inundated
also. Shallow ponds formed upon it
and were rippled by the south breeze
Running waters on every side sang a
menace to the workers.
Then progress ceased abruptly. 1t
became known that Il part of the mate
rial for the third span had gone astray
IN It's long journey across the CONT
nent. There had been a delay at the
Pittsburgh mills. then a blockade in
the Slerras; O'Neil was i'll Omar at the
end Of the cable straining every nerve
| to have the shipment rushed through
Mellen brooded over his uncompleted
work; Parker studied the dripping hills
and measured the melting SHOWS. He
still smiled, but he showed his anxiety
III a constant nervous unrest. and he
could not sleep
At length news came that Johnny
| Brennan had the steel aboard his ship
and had sailed. y record run was pre-
dicted, but meanwhile the south wind
brought havoc on it's breath. The sun
shone hotly into the valley of the Sal
mon, and instead of warmth it brought
Il chill to the hearts Of those who
watched and waited.
Twelve endless, idle days crawled by.
Winter no longer gave battle; she was
routed and In her mad retreat she
| threatened to overwhelm O'Neil's for
tunes.
On May 6 the needed bridge mem
bers We're assembled, and the erection
Of span began. The original plan
had been to build this section on the
cantilever principle, so as to gain in
dependence Of the river ice, but to do
so would have meant slow work and
much delay-an expenditure of time
which the terms of the option made
impossible Arrangements had been
made, therefore. to lay it on false
work, as the other spans had been
laid, risking everything upon the
weather.
AS a matter of precaution the south
ern half of the span was connected to
the completed portion, but before the
connection "ould be fully made the re-
maindcr of the jam i'll front of Jack
son glacier. which had caused 50 much
trouble heretofore, went out suddenly,
and the river ice moved downstream
about Il foot, carrying with it the
whole intricate system of supporting
timberS beneath the uncompleted span.
Hasty measurements showed that the
north end of the steel then on the
false work was thirteen inches out Of
line.
1t was Mr. Blaine who brought the
tidings of this last calamity to Eliza
Appleton. From his evident anxiety
she gathered that the matter was of
graver consequence than she could well
understand.
Thirteen inches in 1900 feet can't
amount to much" she said vaguely.
Blaine smiled in spite of himself.
You don't understand It's as bad as
thirteen feet, for the work can't so on
until everything is in perfect align
ment. That whole forest Of piles must
be Strengthened"
"Impossible." she gasped. why,
there are thousands of them"
He shook his head, still smiling
doubtfully. Nothing is impossible to
Mellen and Parker. They've begun
clearing away the ice on the upstream
| IcsI ~ Ds1