The Benson signal., 1917-06-09

And Shook His Fist at the Sky.
hind the black screen of sweeping
cloud down upon the granite noun
tains. They saw splinters of fire where
the thunderbOlts struck. The pealing
of thunder was appalling.
Their frail palisade backing was not
half completed. 1t must be raining
somewhere, for the water was still
slowly rising. It was five and half
feet now from the crest. It was hope
less if another rain fell, and the rain
was coming. There was an added chill
in the still air Of the valley as the
storm drove down upon them. A few
of the fainter hearts flung down pick
and shovel and ak and stood craven.
OathS, curses, blows even, from those
of the braver sort Shamed them into
work again. These brave hearts and
true might be swept away with the
dam if it gave way, but they would
not give up, and no man working with
them should flee his task or Shirk his
duty. By the living God, whose sport
and plaything they seemed to be, they
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 swiftly
now. To the east it had been clear,
but now it was also black, and then
with roar greater even than
thousand thunderclaps, the wind
tore down the mountains, through the
narrow canyons, into the valleys,
shrieking in the pines, and fell upon
them and hurled them down and
brushed them back. And after the
wind, the rain. A drop or two struck
Vandeventer's cheek; another, anoth-
er, and then the flood. He lifted his
head and stared and shook his fist at
the sky and turned to the human ter
mites he commanded
Garry on, carry on, boys" he cried,
shrieking to be heard above the thun-
der peals, well beat it yet"
A cheer rose about him and was
the great dam. The half-maniacal yell
was such a cry as men might give
vent to in the heat of battle, the ex-
citement Of wild charge, and then they
fell to it again. The more ignorant,
unaware of the feebleness of the pail
sade, the more knowing Indifferent to
it, seeing only the job, alike realized
only their duty to fight on, to answer
the appeal to their manhood, to refuse
to admit defeat even when life trem-
bled in the balance.
Yes, to use the ancient smile again,
the fountains of the great deep were
broken open. What had befallen them
before was nothing to this. The hard
rain of the night seemed trif1ing COM
pared to this avalanche of water. This
was a cloudburst indeed. And to
make it worse, to make their task
harder, to render their efforts useless,
the high wind roaring down the valley
piled the water up and drove it in
thunderous assaulting waves against
the great mound of earth on which the
men struggled and labored frantically.
Vandeventer, shovel in hand-he did
not dare to throw it down, lest his ac-
ton be mtscOnstrued-went from gang
to gang, from man to man, talking to
them, appealing to them, pointing out
weaknesses here and there, inspiring
them, holding them up as man might
hold a stricken line against the on
Slaught of a victorious and overwhelm-
ing force. And against wind and rain
in that thick darkness, blinded by the
flashing lightning, stunned by the peal
ing thunder, with zeal superhuman
they toiled on and on and on.
Back and forth went the chief, show
ing himself a leader of leaders, and
wherever he stopped the fury and des-
peratiOn of the effort to stem the tide
increased. When he came plodding
along the muddy roadway to the part
committed to Meade he did not find
the engineer.
"Wheres Roberts?" he yelled above
the noise of the storm.
"He and two men have gone, sir"
"GOne?" cried Vandeventer, cut to
the heart at what he thought was a
desertion. "Well," he shouted realiZ-
ing there was nothing he could do then
and that he had neither breath nor