The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-01
<continusd.l

<Contiuusd.l
 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 toilers.
 OntApriI IS the span was completed. Tn thirteen days Me1len's crew had laid 400 feet of the heaviest steel ever used in 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 riveters, the creak and rattle of hoists, the shouts of Eeen, mingled in 8 per sistent. ear splitting clanaor, and foot by foot the girders reached out toward the second monolfth which rose from the river bed The we'll adjusted hu- man machine was running smoothly Every man knew his place and the du- ties that went with it; the hands of each worker were capable and skilled But now the hilIsides were growing bare, riIls gashed the sloping snow fields, the upper gullies began to rum b1e to aYalanches- s-forerunners of the process that would strip the earth of snow aud ice and free the river in all its fury. In six days 300 feet more of steel had been bo1ted fast to the com pic. ;oetion, and span No 2 was in place. But the surface of the Salmon was noa1onger white and pure; it was dirty and discolored now, for the de bris which had collected during the past winter was exposing itself. The icy covering was partially inundated also- Shallow ponds formed upon it and were rippIed by the south breeze Running waters on every side sang menace to the workers.
 Then progress ceased abruptly. It became known that part of the mate rial for the third span had gone astray in it's long journey across the conti- nent- There had been delay at the Pittsburgh mills, then a blockade in the Sierras; O'NeiI was in Omar at the end of the cable straining every nerve to have the shipment rushed through. Mellen brooded over his unconnpleted work; Parker studied the dripping hills and measured the melting sn0Ws. He still smiled, but he showed his anxiety in constant nervous unrest, and he could not sleep.
 At length news came that Johnny Brennan had the steel aboard his ship and had sailed. A record run was pre- dicted, but meanwhile the south wind brought havoc on it's breath. The sun shone hof1y into the valley of the Sal mon, and instead of warmth it brought a 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'NeiPs for tunes.
 On May 6 the needed bridge mem xT-a. of span 3 began. The original plan had been to build this section on the cantflever principle, so as to gain in dependence of the river ice, but to do SC 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 mailer of precaution the south. ern half of the span was connected to. the completed portion, but before the connection could be fully madc the re mainder of the jam in front Of Jack son glacier, which had caused so much trouble heretofore, went out suddenly, and the river ice moved downstream about a foot, carrying with it the whole intricate system of supporting timbers beneath the uncompleted span. Nasty measurements showed that the north end of the steel then on the false work was thirteen inches out of line.
 It was MT. Blaine who brought the tidings of this last calamity to Eliza Appleton. From his evident anxiety she gathered that the matter was of grayer Consequence than she could well understand
 Thirteen inches in 1,5O0 feet can't amount to much," she said vaguely.
 Blaine smiled in spite of himself. ssYou don't understand. It's as bad as thirteen feet, for the work can't go on until everything is in perfect align nent. That whole forest of piles must be straightened.'
 ssImpossibler, she gasped. "Why, there are thousands of them.''
 He shook his head, still smiling doubtfulIy. Nothing is impossible tor Mel1en and Parker. They've begun clearing away the ice on the upstream side and driving new anchor piles above. They're going to it tackle to them and yank the whole thing uD-