Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-04-16
CHAPTER xvlli-con.Inued.

CHAPTER NVttF-Continueo.
-
His eyes glued to the lurching sta
tion-house, Babcock took a brown
paper-rolled cigarette from the prof.
fered box.
Look" he cried. "There. she'll go.
See that"
There was a splash of splintering
timber; a Niagara of spray as 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 feet? 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 weti" The men looked
to find the water creeping in-Bab-
cock climbed on his chair.
This means the station" cried
Wooster. Every man jumped. If the
waters had got to them, Ii wouldn't
De long before they were reaching the
y. T. depot The tracks would go
They were pillng out of the door
when the telephone caught them. IT
was a message from Richard. A car
was to be rugged up. papers, tickets
and express matter taken from the
station. The river was cutting close
10 the track. The car would be the
terminal, half-mile from town.
The situation looked black. Coul.
ter Eggers, began to pack their stock.
The levee. 1t was said, would not hold
half of Mexicali was gone. Calexico
would go next. Richards Indians
were kept stolidly piling brush and
stuffed sacks on the levee. This, the
word ran, would be the fierce night
no one expected to sleep.
They were preparing for the big
battle. the final struggle, when the
grade recession passed the town.
Spectacular as was its coming, there
was an anticlimax In It's retreat. The
water reached the platform of the
depot and halted. The town held its
breath. There was some sleep that
night.
The next day, the nerves of the val.
ley relaxed. The river was not cut
ting back. The men at the levee
dropped their shovels, and went back
to the discussion of their lawsuits.
Their crops were ruined; too much
water, or too little. Whatever way
they had been hurt, the company
would have to pay for It'll
small shift guarded the river.
Richard, in his room at the Desert
hotel, and Hardin up the river. slept n
day and night without waking. The
chair-tilters picked up thcsr argument
where they had left it; was the rail-
road reaping harvest of damage
suits when they should be thanked
instead? Faraday. the newspapers
reported, was trying to shift his re-
sponsibility; he had appealed to the
president. Their correspondence was
%blished. The government was in no
hurry to take the burden. A tele-
graphic sermon, preaching duty, dis
tributing blame, was sent from WASH
ington. Perhaps not Faraday himself
was more disturbed than the debaters
of the Desert hotel.
"The railroads no infant I'm arms
1t wasn't asleep when 1t took over
the affairs of the d. r." Here smoke
the majority. "a benefaction! II
was self-interestI When the river is
harnessed, who'll profit the most from
the valley prosperity? 1t can afford
60 pay the obligations; that is, 1t
could. 1t will find way" the ravens
croaked. "of shaking the Desert Re
clamation company's debts; of evad-
ing the damage suits. Look how
Hardin was treated"
The feeling ran higher. For many
of the ranchers were ruined; there
was no money to put In the next
years crop unless the promises of the
irrigation company were kept. A
few landowners, and others who had
not completed their contracts, dis
trusting the good faith of the COM
pany, or its ability 70 pay, had quit"
10 disgust, to begin again some
where else. Parrish, and Dowker,
Ind others of the sixth" secured dis
trict had secured the promise of en-
ployment at the Heading. Work, IL
was expected, would be begun at once
now that the danger to Calexico had
passed.