Tombstone epitaph., 1917-06-10
CHAPTER tv-Continued.


 But Meade was out of the house. It was summer and the sun had set, but the long twilight of the high latitude still Fingered. Before him rose the gi- gantic structure of the bridge. For all its siriness 1t looked as substantial as the Rock of Gibraltar, and 1t looked even more substantial If possible. as the man, seizing a lantern and. for getting his weakness, ran down be- meath the overarching steel to the pier head. climbed up to the shoe. and crawled out on the lower chord as rap idly as he could.
 Meade needed but one glance to see the deflection from the right line In the important member. For all his years of inexperience he was a better trained engineer than rough-and-ready Abbott. What appeared to the latter as 6 slight deflection, Meade saw In its true relation There was variation in the center of the member of an inch and half at least, although un- noticeable to an untralned eye. Ii had all come in the last week. They had extended the suspended span far out beyond the edge of the cantilever and. with the heavy traveller at the end, the downward pressure on the great lower chord members had greatly in- creased.
 It was a terribly heavy bridge at best It had to be to sustain so long . span. the longest In the world. And the load. continuous and increasing, bad brought about this. to the layman trihing. to the engineer mighty. bend. If 1t bent that way under that much of a load, what would It do when the whole great span was completed and it had to carry It's transitory loads of traffic beside1
 When two different views meet 1t is natural that ege. experience, reputa- tion and authority shall carry the day. Although Bertram Meade. IT,, had never been persuaded in all particu- lars of the soundness of hls fathers design, and could not be persuaded. that vast experience. that great repu- tation. that undoubted ability with Its long record of brilliant achievement had at last silenced him. He had ac- cepted through loyalty that which be could not accept in argument. once accepted. he acted accordingly, heart fly seconding and carrying out the rishes of the older and. as the world would say. the abler man
 The thing that sInote the engineer hardest was that this weakness was exactly what he had foreseen and pointed out. It was the possibility of the Inability of this great member to carry the stress that young Meade had deduced by using the formula of Schmidt -Chemnitz. It was this point and thts point particularly. that he had dweIt upon with his father and which they h ad argued to a finish. Sc strongly had he been impressed with the possible structural weakness oi this member that he had put himself on record In writing to his father. The old man had oyerborne him and now the little curve. one and a half to one and three-quarter inches in sixty feet established the accuracy of his un aecded contention yainly now h' wished he bad not let the old habit o affection and the little touch of aw, with which he regarded his father per suade him against his reason
 He stopped, feeling suddenly III, a: very nervous high-strung man ma! feel under the sudden and unexpected -,hysical shock. He was weak stil ,.prn the tonsi'itIs. He leaned agains tts diagonal d. the end of C-l0-R Tnging to it tightly to keep from fall ing. Abbott. who had followed nor slowly, stopped by him, somewhat sur prised, somewhat amused, more indig sant than both.
 Abbott" said Meade fiercely as tn erecting engineer joined him on tn pierhead. If you put another pound load op that cantilever I will not b sasw.rable f~- the consequences"
 "What do you meant"
 That def,ection is nearly two inche deep now and every ounce or pound added weight you put upon 1t will mak it greater. Its limit will be reache mighty soon If 1t coliapses-" D threw up bis hands-'the whole thin will go."
 "Yes. if 1t coiiapses. that's true eaid Abbott, but 1t won't"
 ~You're mad" said Meade, takin unfortunately the wrong course wit the older man.
 .why. boy" said Abbott. "that br'ds viii stand as long as creation. Loo af t. Thst buckle doesn't amount anyshiaG h = oaiy In one truss sn'