Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-05-04
CHAPTER XIX.
The Battle From Above.

The Battle From Above.
The rain had stopped by morning.
to the great relief of Colonel Hing
worth, Severence and Curtiss, and the
satisfaction of Helen. There was little
sun to dry the big, red sandstone mesa.
its sides scanned into fantastic shapes.
which rose grandly between the val
ley of the Picket Wire ar ! the ravine
of the Kicking Horse, and which the
young woman intended to cross in her
walk toward the dam with Rodney and
Winters. The siding near the steel
arch bridge was close to the rock wall
of the ravine, which here had been so
secured out of the rocky side of the
mesa by torrents of other days that
it could fairly be called a gorge. Con-
sequently the bank of clouds above the
horizon to the northwest was hid be-
hind the big butte from the occupants
of the two private cars. Although the
day did not promise to be fair, they
had no idea of the further threat of
storm presaged by the black masses to
the northwest.
In sandy, porous soils, such as here
prevailed, the rain is absorbed quickly.
They could traverse the trails carpet
ed with the needles of centuries that
ran through the dripping pines, with
out getting muddy, and with nothing
more to fear than q wetting. Colonel
Illingworth, Severence and Curtiss an
ly1n +hoi ;p+ af hao ol-
to the town to continue their consulta-
tions and observations concerning the
progress of work on the bridge. Shurt-
lift, who went about his business grave
ly reserved, frigidly cold and self-con-
tained had work to do at his desk.
were for the dam.
After an early breakfast, therefore,
the second car was uncoupled, and the
engine backed it down around the mesa
toward the viaduct twenty miles below
Rodney and Winters prepared to go
with Miss IIlingworth across the wood
ed island, with it's cresting of stone,
so to speak, that lay between the ra-
vine and the valley. The conductor
of the train, local employee of the
railroad, told them that the shortest
way was directly over the mesa. The
sandstone of which this huge mound
was mainly composed had been broken
and disintegrated on all sides by CEN
turies of erosion and weathering, and
there were practicable ascents and de-
scents at both ends. The nearest ascent
was at the side of the big tableland di-
rectly opposite which the car was
placed.
The trails through the pines which
covered the hill up to the very foot
of the big butte were unfrequented
and in bad repair, but practicable if
the traveller was prepared for wet
ting. The shortest and on the whole
the easiest way to the dam would be
mesa, climb it through the big ravine
and cross it to the lower end, less than
two miles away, where there was an
easy descent to the dam.
"And If you get caught in the rain, "
said the conductor, (which amt likely
for it's already rained more in the last
twenty-four hours than in the last
twenty-fOur years, it seems to me-
there's hut, half stone and half tim.
Der, up on the mesa that campers
sometimes make use of when they want
to see the sun rise, which Is a mighty
fine sight from there. 1t was in pretty
fair shape when visited it last year
and you can find shelter there. It's
at the highest point on the mesa. You
can see long way up the gulch there
and a longer way down and up the
Picket Wire valley. Above the dam il
used to show a level, fertile stretch
between the hills, but it's all 4akt
now."
Shurtliff, of course, declined Mis-.
IllingwOrth'S invitation to accompany
the party on plea Of urgent duties anC
important papers to prepare. He haC
spoken no words to Rodney or Winters
and those gentlemen made no effor
to engage him in conversation. The,
were. in truth, a little ashamed of thei
actions of the night before. They wer,
exceedingly anxious as to whether thei
theories as to the possible effect O
, Miss Illingworth's action would be jus
titled, so they carefully avoided tn
secretary, letting the leaven work if i
would. To their disappointment, i
gave no sign of life or action.
r OF the four most interested in Meade
; Winters was the only one who ha
: slept soundly that night. Rodney wa
: too much in love with the woman eve
to sleep soundly again, he thought
certainly not until her future had bee