The Dermott news. (Dermott, Ark.) 1910-1977, 1917-09-20
"Don't CO." cried Murphy.

ger compared to the Issue involved?
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-filled heaven in one last
appeal.
Did he hear the blind roar, did he
see the upbursting 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 SCATTERING work
of the first-that they had succeeded
Did he mark the whirling water, driv-
en- backward at first by the violence Of
the explosion, returning and rolling in
vast mass through the great opening,
did he see 1t plunging down the slope,
| through the trees and bushes, and
pour thunderously into the bed Of the
ravine? 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 ii crashed In n foaming, ter
ribe, 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 Il rain of smaller
stones and earth, he was as one dead.
"By heavens :" cried Winters in great
excitement on the crest of the hill,
hes done it. He's saved the dam;
that's mani"
Don't you know him?" screamed.
Helen Illingworth in his ear.
NO"
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 VIM
ters
Faint! I'm going to him."
"How?"
'The nearest way" screamed tho
woman, letting herself down over the
only the hardy could reach the lower
level.
What OF the dam below in the val
ley?
Hold ii. men, hold It; for Gods
sake, hold It." shouted Vandeventer,
rising from his crouching position
! a
instantly he had spoken. Keep 1t
up. II 1t goes down, let's go down with
it. Hang on-hang on! Wen 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
ically, perhaps, but less resolute, less
spiritually eonsecrated, 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 We're half dead. A few here and
there sank down on the trampled. mud
dy embankment and buried their heads
in their hands. sobbing Historically.
But most still blind, mad, sublime.
held on. And the palisade did not fab.
1t did not bend back any further.
The throb that told Of the tremen-
dous pressure OF the waves, the culver
that experience could feel the prelude
to failure, began to die away. to sto-
What did 1t mean? The thunder
still, the rain diminished. 1t ceased,
clouds broke. Some great hand, as +.
God, swiftly tore the 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 happened?
"Here." said vandeventer.
How white he looked. how haggard,
streaks of gray in his black hair that
had not been there before, but his eyes
were blazing. He was still the indom-
liable chief of the Spartan band. The
nearest men gave him 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 stoppedl He could
not believe 1t, yet 1t was true. Tho
rain had ceased again, but by every
natural law the drainage from the hills
would continue for some time in full
volume. Yes, by all rights the dam
was doomed. The water still trickled
through the palisades In many small
streams. That had been n gallant eff
fort they had made. even II vain one.
For ten minutes he stood silent, ex-
hausted. Then he saw. The water
was not rising. No. 1t was falling:
only a trifle. but enough. Presently IL
had stopped fltering through the re-
vetment. He looked back. Not drop