The Arvada enterprise., 1917-07-05
.Don.r co." cr,eo Murphy.

sIt ees danger" shouted Funaro.
But Meade shook them of and babe
them keep back. What was his dan
ger compared to the issue involved7
That last charge had to be exploded.
He stepped quickly toward 1t, and as
he did so he threw his eyes up toward
the gray, rain-flled heaven in one last
appeal.
Did he hear the blind roar, did he
see the upbursing masses of sodden
earth, was he conscious Of the fact
that the whole side of the hillock had
been blown away. that the last explo-
sion had completed the shattering work
of the first-that they had succeeded7
Did he mark the whirling water, driv-
en- backward ut first by the violence Of
the explosion, returning and rolling In
vast mass through the great opening,
did he see 1t plungtng down the slope,
through the trees and bushes, and
pour thunderously into the bed of the
ravfne7 Did he see the tremendous
rush of the water from the great lake
that man had created tear earth from
earth, and ever widen and deepen the
opening as 1t crashed in foaming, ter
rible, red cataract through the outlet,
striking down great trees, roaring.
boiling wildly to the bottom of the
gorge far below?
No. he saw nothing. Broken, beaten
down by huge bowlder that had been
thrown upward by the explosion and
had struck him on the breast, and
lying battered under rain Of smaller
stones and earth, he was as one dead.
"By heavens I" cried Winters In great
excitement on the crest of the hill,
'he's done it. He's saved the dam;
that's mani"
"Don't you know him?" screamed
Helen nlingworth In his ear.
mo"
"Meade!"
Winters caught her by the arm.
Hes dead" she cried high and
shrill, "but he saved the dam and the
bridge and the town. He's made atone
ment."
Eyes, yes; don't faint" cried Win
tiers.
"Faintl I'm going to him."
"How7
"The nearest way" screamed the
woman, letting herself down over the
cliff wall to the broken rocks, by which
only the hardy could reach the lower
level.
What of the dam below in the val.
ley?
"Hold 1t, men, hold 1t; for Gods
sake, hold It," shouted Vandeventer,
rising from his crouching position
against the palisade to resume 1t
instantly he had spoken. keep 1t
up. If 1t goes down. let's 60 down with
1t. Hang on-hnng oni Well hold 1t.
We aren't beat yet"
Broken words, oaths, protestations,
curses, cheers, explosives in strange
languages from the polyglot mob Of
men burst forth. Even towards had
been turned into heroes because they
had fought by the side Of men. Here
and there a man not weaker phys
fcally, perhaps. but less resolute. less
spiritually consecrated. less divinely
obsessed, dropped out Of the rank that
pitted itself In furious, futile, but sub
lime fury against the wavering wall.
Some Of them fell backward and lay
still. Some had tainted and some Of
them were half dead. A few here and
there sank down on the trampled. mud.
dy embankment and buried their heads
In their hands. sobblnE Historically.
But most still blind. mad. sublime,
held on. And the palisade did not fall
1t did not bend back any further.
The throb that told Of the tremen.
dous pressure Of the waves, the culver
TINT experience could feel the prelude
to failure. began to die away, to stop.
What did It mean1 The thunder grew
still. the rain diminished, It ceased, the
clouds broke. Some great hand, as Of
God, swiftly tore tho black vault Of
the heavens apart Faint light began
to glow over the sodden land. Through
the rift they saw dimly one great peak
Of mighty range. What had happenedi
"Here," said vandeventer.
How white he looked. how hagzard,
streaks Of gray In his black hair that
had not been there before. but his eyee
were blazing. He was still the indom.
liable chief Of the Spartan band. The
nearest men gave him q hand. he
clambered up to his former vantage
point on top Of the highest log of the
stockade and stared down. The rise
Of the water had stopped He could
not believe It, yet It was true. The
rnin had ceased again. but by ever
natural law the drainage from the hills
would continue for some time In full
volume. Yes, by all rights the dam
was doomed. The winter still trickled
through the palisades In many small
streams. That had been gallant eff.
fort they had made. even II vain one.
For ten minutes he stood silent, X.
hausted. Then he saw. The water
was not rising. No. It wns falling:
only trlfle, but enough. Presently Il
had stopped altering through the re-