The Arvada enterprise., 1917-06-14

Now 1t takes time for water to rise
I'VE feet, even In a cloudburst or a
succession Of them. The rain constant
drove it on. Vandeventer knew that
the dam was doomed, that the sluice
and the half-fnished spillway COM
bined could discharge only a small part
Of the flow, but he knew that he would
have two hours at least to work be-
fore the water could pass the crest.
undermine, and batter down the pail
side and begin to trickle over. Just
as soon as 1t did roll over the top,
unless they could stop it, the whole
thing was gone. For those two hours
the supermen labored unremittingly In
the iownpour with persistent and he
rOic courage that should have been re-
corded in song and story but which
was not. 1t was remembered after
while by none save few. To the
many II was only "all in the days
work r.
The undersluice In the side Of the
dam which would later serve as head
gate for the canal had been intended
to pass the smaller floods which might
occur during the construction and had
been open since the rain began. 1t
carried off great volume Of water.
but hopelessly little in comparison with
the food. Foot by foot In the torren-
tial downpour the water rose. At half
after eight 1t reached the level Of the
splllway and commenced to rush
through in ever-increasing volume, but
the flow into the reservoir was fur
greater than the spillway's capacity.
Still the sight of the rushing water
encouraged the men. Every one Of
them felt that If the palisade held the
discharge would be increased enough
to stop the rise, but at present the ef-
feet was small. BY nine o'clock 1t was
within foot Of the top. They began
to measure Its rise by inches. Although
the dam had been carefully kept level
as 1t was built, the trample Of horses
and men, the present digging and pail
sailing and revetting had caused little
depresslons. Now the water rose to
the level. Here and there 1t began to
trickle over!
The rain coming down from tho
mountain tops was as cold al Ice, yet
the men were In fever of excitement.
They had got their second wind. They
were too enthused. too desperate. to
feel their WEAKNESS. They had not
worked before as they did then. It
was the last possible nervous outburst
with most of them. They could keep
1t up little longer-tlll they dropped
dead. As the mad thoroughbred falls
In his stride on the track. pushed be-
yond his power Of endurance, as even
the common carthorse can be made to
go until he drops, SO these men, white,
haggard, nervous. drawn-faced, sweat
mingling with the rain on their sodden
bodies, would 60 till they broke. They
had not quite reached that point yet.
| There were some five hundred heavy
cement bags which had been filed with
sand and piled up on the roadway at
convenient points. As forlorn hope,
MS a last try, Vandeventer called all
the diggers and dltchers. and hewers
and drivers, and babe them tackle the
Standings. The timber wall that rose
to four or I'VE feet was now packed to
height Of three with an unequal wall
Of earth.
The waves were beginning to roll
against the rampant, although their
force rs yet was broken by the brush
wood. Vandeventer Jumped up on the
palisade near the center. There were
some large logs there where he could
stand. and whence he could get as
clear 4 view Of the whole top Of the
dam as was possible through the driv-
ing rain.
'There." shouted the engineer. point.
Ing to a red tricklc-it seemed to him
like blood, taking its hIdeous hue
from the red clay of the banks-where
the water had found q low spot and
was washing across the top and
trickling through the new wall and
down on the other side. Even rs he
pointed. the trickle became a stream
and the stream babe fair to be food.
Men ran and dropped sandbags over
- ~@o"s VI WV pahSuuCs AishI WHcEc
the leak had occurred. Other men
heaped up the earth behind the wall,
seeking to smother 1t and stop 1t. The
water checked there, they were forced
to do the same thing at another place.
Desperately they dropped their sand.
bags. sturdily they piled their shovels
In the mud; scramblIng and yelling,
they run from leak to leak. They lit
ed the heavy bags Of sand MS II they
had been loaves OF bread and jammed
them down. They swung pick and
shovel like toys, although the rain
made I'LL the earth sticky mud and
the work nil the harder. The water
was clear over the top Of the dam now,
and streaming through the revetment
OF brush and surging against the pail.
snde. Where It did not let the water
through. the line Of stakes was begin.
ming to bend backward.
The men who had expended tbeIr
Standings and could get no more in
one final effort run to the pallsade, dug
their heels madly In the wet, slImy