Jerome County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1919-1920, 1919-07-17

ship, took the rapids.
"Hustle-whatT murmured rs
trada.
Babcock glared At him, then at the
river. His eye caught the approach .
ing wreckage Men came running
with their poles. The caylng bank was
too far gone. The instant the arr. /
ing mass struck it. there was shuu-
der of falling earth, the car toppleu
toward the flood waters. the waves
breaking into clouds of spray.
Human responsibility fell to clpher.
The rivers might was magnificent.
Even Babcock. come to carp, caush.
the excitement. "Come. MacLean.
he cried. watch this The stations
goingl" He joined Estrada by the
adobe wall.
"Have cigarette?" murmured
Eduardo.
His eyes glued to the urching sta
tion-house. Babcock took brown
paper-rolled cigarette from the prof
fered box.
"Look." he cried. There, she'll go.
See that"
There was Il splash of splintering
timber; a Niagara of spray us the
building fell into the flood a minute
later, wreckage Of painted boards
was floating downstream.
At table Babcock resumed his cam
paign. "The trouble with you all,
you have cold feet. You're all scared
Off too soon."
Wooster up from his nap. looked
across the table. Gold feetl So
you'd have if you had been up for
nights. wetting your feet on the levee'
as some of us have. as Hardin has.
Mine are cold all right" He lifted an
amazed foot. Gold Look here
boys, they're wet" The men looked
to find the water creeping ln-Bab-
7 cock climbed on his chair.
5 ''This means the station" cried
Wooster. Every man jumped If the
waters had got to them, it wouldn't
$ be long before they were reaching the
o. F. depot The tracks would GO
IAic1 WNAt lliilH hhA VI llt hhoi
when the telephone caught them. il
o was a message from Richard. A cal
was to be rugged up, papers, tickets
II and express matter taken from thu
!. station. The river was cutting clos,
= to the track. The car would be thu
# terminal, half-mile from town.
a The situation looked black. Coul
ter, Eggers, began to pack their stock
If The levee, it was said, would not holt
Ia half of Mexicali was gone. Calexic
would go next. Richards Indian
were kept stolldly piling brush an
stuffed sacks on the levee. This, tn
word ran, would be the fierce night
no one expected to sleep.
They were preparing for the bi
battle, the final struggle, when tn
grade recession passed the tow
Spectacular as was its coming, ther
was an anticlimax In its retreat III
water reached the platform of III
depot and halted. The town held Il
breath. There was some sleep thu
night.
The next day, the nerves Of the va
ley relaxed. The river was not Gu
ting back. The men at the lev,
dropped their shovels, and went bat
to the discussion of their lawsuit
Their crops were ruined; too mu,
water, or too little. Whatever W,
they had been hurt the compal
would have to pay for it
A small shift guarded the rlv,
Richard, in his room at the Desc
hotel, and Hardin up the river, slept
day and night without waking. IT
chair-tilters picked up their argume
where they had left It; was the ra
road reaping a harvest of DANA
suits when they should be thank
instead? Faraday, the newspape
reported, was trying to shift his
sponsbility; he had appealed to
president. Their correspondence W
published. The government was in
hurry to take the burden. A te
graphic sermon, preaching duty d
tributing blame, was sent from Wa,
ington. Perhaps not Faraday hims
was more disturbed than the debot,
OF the Desert hotel
"The railroads no infant I'm arn
II wasn't asleep when II fool, n,
the affairs Of the d. r." Here sno
the majority. "a benefactionl
was self-interest When the river
harnessed, who'll profit the most r.
the valley prosperity? It can afr,
to pay the obligations; that is
could II will find way" the rov,
croaked, "of shaking the Desert
clamation company's debts: Of ev
ing the damage suits. Look h
Hardin was treatedw
The feeling ran higher. For M,
Of the ranchers were ruined. m
was no money to put in the n
years crop unless the promises of
irrigation company were kent
few landowners, and others who
not completed their contracts
trusting the good faith of the o.