The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1917-09-07
CHAPTER XiX-Continued.

tghe said at last. handing the glass back
to its owner.
eff he were there, you'd see him all
right" said Winters enthusiastically
because he'd be in the thick Of the
light"
II doubt If you can recognize any.
one. even through the glass, at such q
distance" said Rodney, after he had
focused 1t and taken q look himself
yet if he were there, he certainly
would be in the thick Of it. He's that
kind. You look, Dick"
II can't see him." said Winters in
turn. "But what fight they are max
}ng to, save that DAM"
"Win it holdT" asked the woman.
Impossible" said Rodney.
II give 1t one hour" said Winters,
banding over the glass.
mot more than that" assented the
pther, after another look. "See for
yourself, Miss nlingworth."
From where they stood, high up on
the roof of the world, they were spec
tators of great battle, witnesses of
n terrible contest, in which herculean
EFFORT, desperate courage, human WILL
all exerted to the limit, finally de-
generated into blind, mechanical habit
pf continuous and frenzied endeavor.
The spirit of reckless continuance had
got into them and moved them to the
impossible. AS men In battle charge
go on even with wounds enough to kill
them in ordinary circumstances, as SOL
Slers at Winchester though shot in the
neart, actually struggled after Sheri-
nan until they fell, or even as a COM
mon horse may so be imbued with
blind intensity Of determination that
ne gallops on until he drops dead,
so these men gave their all in unmatch-
able persistence
They'd better get off that DAM" said
Rodney. "When it once fails it'll go
with a rush and then it'll be too late"
Look at them. They're not going
20 get off," said Winters. They're
going down with it. Fools, God bless
Zen" he shouted, throwing up his
arms In exultation over manhood and
courage and determination.
Perhaps you had better 60 back,
Miss Illingworth," said Rodney, think
ing of the horror she might witness at
any moment.
Il wouldn't be elsewhere for the
world" said the brave girl, white but
with firm lips-she was made of the
same stuff as the fighting men, it
feemed-"even If he were there, fight
Ing that great battle, should wait to
bee the end"
"We're not the only people in this
wilderness. Look yonder cried Win
ters.
He pointed down through the cease
Jess rain toward the lower edge of the
mesa. There. far below him, were
three sodden figures. The water in the
Jake had flooded the slope of the hill,
and on that side 1t was tapping the
base, of the cliff. The trail had, of
course, been covered, and there was no
way of progress except by taking ad-
vantage of the broken rock at the foot
of the cliff, which here and there still
stood above tie water It was q place
where men could only pass by carefully
choosing their way and calculating the
distance of the next point toward
which to leap. These three were NOV
ing like madmen, Splashing through
the water, hurting themselves from
rock to rock, falling against the wall,
clutching tree or shrub, slipping into
the lake, saving themselves from
drowning apparently only by the ca
price of complacent fortune, which
they were trying to the utmost limit.
One man carried miners pick, a
spade and surveyors range pole, the
other another spade and two long
stakes which looked like the separate
legs of tripod. The bareheaded man,
who had thrown his rubber coat down
In the reddish-yellow water, carried a
good-sized oilskin bag. He was the
most hurried Of the three. He ran
some distance in front of the others.
They noticed how carefully he sought
to protect the bag. When he slipped
or seemed about to fall, he always
thrust it frantically away from the
rock with outstretched arm.
What the three men would be at of
course no one knew. It was obvious
that they were in desperate hurry
and that the thing in the bag must be
carefully carried. Naturally the watch
ers connected the men with the dam
builders. They were dressed as the
men engaged in such labor would be
dressed. The pick. the spades and the
pole and stakes bore out that conclu-
sion.
whats in the bag?" asked the
woman.
HE carries it as though it might
be gold or diamonds" said Winters.
Rodney shook his head. Suddenly
he OWNED the reason for the extreme
care with which the bag was carried.
The men were Immediately below the
three watchers now. He could make
'out pretty well what was the size and
shape of the objects that bulged the
waterproof bag.
II have it" he shouted. Dynamite !"
'What forg' r u. -
Rodney shook his head again. The
man in front was in plain view. He
was tall figure, his face was heavily
bearded. From the angle at which
they saw him it was impossible to rec
Ognize him, nor was he in his frantic
progress assuming the usual attitude
and bearing of man under ordinary
conditions which sometimes betray
him to those who know him well. Nor
could Helen nlingworth44 with her
trembling hands focus the glass, which