Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-04-20

'G0OQ, exclaimed N0ndeVenter.
"There's nothing left for us to do but
keep on"
The resident engineer looked white
and haggard. Although it was cold
and raw in the wet air, he wiped the
sweat from his forehead.
1.-THE men are doing splendidly, SIR
said Meade.
"Yes," said Vandeventer, "many of
them have their wives and children
back in the town. Some of the Ital-
ians have bought land on the prairie
and are going to settle here. They're
fighting for everything they've got on
earth. What do you think of the
chances of this palisade of ours?''
Meade shook his head.
Its all we can do, sir, but if the
water rises more than seven or eight
feet"
"Say it." said Vandeventer.
"The dam would go like house of
cards."
Exactly. And look at that cloud
bank over there in the northwest. It's
spreading"
"What wind there is" said Meade,
moistening his finger and holding it
up to feel the direction, sis blowing
the opposite way down here, but you
can't tell what is happening up there.
We'll, all we can do is to fight on"
And fight they did. 1t was almost at
first sight like the hand of man against
the hand of God. There was no more
room for engineering expedient. 1t
was chop and hew, break and pound,
dig and drive, carry and pile. Throw
ing off his coat, Vandeventer seized a
spade and began to work like any
other labOrer. and the rest of the
higher men followed his example.
At six o'clock the blackness hanging
in the northwest began to turn their
way. 1t was coming down the noun
tain. 1t was headed for the valley.
Vandeventer saw it, every teamSter
every common labOrer saw it. 1t was
coming. Unless heaven itself inter-
fered there would be more rain. They
had worked desperately before, but
now they applied themselves to their
tasks with kind of wild fury. A
sort of insanity took possession of
them. They would not be beaten. They
cried at first shrilly and then hoarsely
and raucously, encouraging words and
! phrases from one to another; in words
vivid profane, desperate. They stood
there and they heaved and dug and
piled and hammered and hurled and
drove fiercely. 1t was a battle mad
ness that came into them. They saw
red like the berserker of old. Yes, it
was not unlike a battle in other ways
for with the rush of the northwest
storm came roaring mighty thunder
and vivid and terrifying lightning. II
was as if great darts of light literally
were hurled by some gigantic hand be
hind the black screen of sweeping
cloud down upon the granite noun
tains. They saw splinters of fire where
the thunderbolts struck. The pealine
of thunder was appalling.
Their frail palisade backing was no
half completed. 1t must be rainfns
somewhere, for the water was still
slowly rising. 1t was five and hal
feet now from the crest. 1t was hope
less if another rain fell, and the rail-
was coming. There was an added chill
in the still air of the valley as tn
storm drove down upon them. A few
of the fainter hearts flung down picl
and shovel and ak and stood craven
OathS, curses, blows even, from thos
of the braver sort shamed them int,
work again. These brave hearts ant
true might be swept away with tn
dam if it gave way, but they woult
not give up, and no man working witt
them should flee his task or shirk hi
duty. By the living God. whose spor
and plaything they seemed to be, the,
swore it; and so weak and strong
bold and timid labored on-desper
ate, resolved, godlike in their cour
age and persistence.
The clouds were moving swift,
now. To the east it had been clear
but now it was also black, and thel
with roar greater even thai
a thousand thunderclaps, the win
tore down the mountains, through tn
udIIOW CluyOuS, luIO the Ndll6ys
shrieking in the pines, and fell upo
them and hurled them down an
brushed them back. And after tn
wind, the rain. A drop or two struc
Vandeventer's cheek; another, anott
er, and then the flood. He lifted hi
head and stared and shook his fist a
the sky and turned to the human tel
mites he commanded.
Garry on; carry on, boys" he crieC
shrieking to be heard above the thur
: der peals, 'well beat it yet"
A cheer rose about him and wa
,, caught up and ran along the top G.
! the great dam. The half-maniacal ye
was such a cry as men might Civ
: vent to in the heat of battle, the e.
citement of wild charge, and then the
fell to it again. The more ignOran
; unaware of the feebleness of the pal
sade, the more knowing Indifferent
it, seeing only the job, alike realize
only their duty to fight on, to answt
the appeal to their manhood, to refus
: to admit defeat even when life tren
bled in the balance.
Yes, to use the ancient simile agai
= the fountains of the great deep wei
broken ODen What had befallen the