The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-05-12

hind the black screen of sweeping
cloud down upon the granite noun
tains. They saw splinters of fire where
the thunderbolts struck. The pealing
, Of thunder was appalling.
Their frail palisade backing was not
half completed. 1t must be raining
| somewhere, for the water was still
| slowly rising. 1t was five and Il half
| feet now from the crest. 1t was hope
| less If another rain fell, and the rain
was coming. There was an added chill
in the still air of the valley as the
storm drove down upon them. A few
of the fainter hearts flung down pick
and shovel and ak and stood craven.
/ Oaths, curses, blows even, from those
| of the Drawer sort shamed them into
work again. These brave hearts and
true might be swept away with the
dam if it gave way, but they would
not give up, and no man working with
them should flee his task or shirk his
duty. By the living God, whose sport
and plaything they seemed to be, they
swore it; and so weak and strong,
bold and timid labored on-desper-
ate, resolved, godlike in their cour-
age and persistence.
The clouds were moving swiftly
now. To the east it had been clear,
but now it was also black. and then
with roar greater even than
q thousand thunderclapS, the wind
tore down the mountains, through the
narrow canyons, into the valleys,
shreking in the pines, and fell upon
them and hurled them down and
brushed them back. And after the
Vandeventer's cheek; another. anoth-
or. and then the flood. He lifted his
head and stared and shook his fist at
the sky and turned to the human ter.
mites he commanded.
Garry on, carry on, boys" he cried
shrieking to be heard above the thun
der peals, ''well beat it yet"
A cheer rose about him and was
caught up and ran along the top OF
the great dam. The half-maniacal yell
was such q cry as men might give
vent to in the heat of battle, the ex
element of wild charge, and then they
fell to 1t again. The more ignorant
unaware of the feebleneSs of the pail
SADIE, the more knowing Indifferent It
it, seeing only the job, alike realized
only their duty to fight on, to answer
the appeal to their manhood, to refuse
to admit defeat even when life trem
bled in the balance.
Yes, to use the ancient smile again
the fountains of the great deep were
broken open. What had befallen then
before was nothing to this. The hare
rain of the night seemed trilling com
pared to this avalanche of water. Tni,
was .cl0udburst indeed. And L
make it worse, to make their taSl
harder. to render their efforts useless
the high wind roaring down the VALLEY
piled the water up and drove it il
thunderouS assaulting waves agains
the great mound of earth On which thC
men struggled and labored franticaily
Vandeyenter, shovel in hand-he dio
not dare to throw it down, lest his ac
ton be Observation-Disclosures from gan.
to gang, from man to man, talking t
them. appealing to them, pointing on
Weaknesses here and there, inspiring
them, holding them up as a man Nigh
hold Il stricken line against the on
Slaught of victorious and overWhrlp
ing force. And against wind and rail-
in that thick darkness, blinded by tn
flashing lightning, stunned by the peal
ing thunder, with zeal superhumaI
they toiIed on and on and on.
Back and forth went the chief, show
ing himself a leader Of leaders, am
wherever he stopped Tie fury and dc>
perati0n of the effort to stem the It'd
increased. When he came Tlo,ldiat
along the muddy roadway 10 the par
committed to Meade he did not I'm
the engineer.
"Wheres Roherts:" he yelled abov
the noise of the storm.
''TIe and two men have gone, sir.
Gomez" cried Yandcventer, cut t
the heart at what he thought was
desertion. We'll" he shouted. reali2
ing there was nothing he could do the
and that he had neither breath no