The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-05-09
CHAPTER. xxxIll.
The Battle In the Night.

there, somewhere on tne treSCleS, OIL
one of those rock cars, was her Jim.
She sat on the bank by Innes and Mrs.
Marshall. .- ,.... y
Mrs. Hardin, foated by In her crisp
muslins. A few feet behind stalked
Godfrey, his eyes on the pretty figure
by his side. Innes turned from his
look, abashed as though she had been
peering through locked door.
Gayly, with a auttering Of ruf1es
Gerty established herself on the bank.
a trifle out Of hearing distance. A
hard little smile played on the lips ac-
cented with Partisan rouge. The child
ish expression was gone; her look ac-
cuseJ life Of having trif1ed with her.
But they would see =
'Don't look so unhappy, dearest"
whispered the man at her side. "Pm
going to make you happy, dearp
She flushed a brilliant, finished smile
at him. Yes, she was proud of him.
BE satisfA her sense Of romance, or
would, later, when she was away from
here, q dull pain pricking at her DELHI
crate planning. Godfrey found her
Young, young and distracting. His
lie had been hungry, too; the wife,
ND there in Canada somewhere, had
never understood him. Godfrey was
ambitious, ambitious as she was. She
would be his wife; she would see the
cities Of the world with him, the well
coined, wife Of Godfrey; she would
share TIE plaudits his wonderful voice
won. /, ..... -
- His eyes were on her now. she knew.
:. p--t-----r 1850 ----- . = ....5, .- ~
questioning, not quite sure Of her. She
had worried him yesterday because
she would not pledge herself to marry
him If he sued for his divorce. She
had told him to ask her that after tho
courts had set him free. She could
not have him sure of her.
An exclamation from him recalled
her. She found that he was no longer
staring at her; his eyes were fixed on,
the trembling structure over which 0
''battleship," laden with rock, was
creeping. .....,
81 want to stay with you, you know
that dearest. But 1t doesn't feel right
to see them all working like niggers
and me loafing here. You dbn't mind?"
Oh, no, Gerty did not mind! She
was tired, anyway! She was going
back to her tent! r..
He thrust yellow paper into her
hands. II sent that off today. Per.
haps you will be glad?', ..-, ........
She flung another Of her inscrutsjle
smiles at him, and went up the bank,
the paper unread in her hands.
The long afternoon wore away. They
were now dynamiting the largest rocks
on the cars before unloading, them.
The heavy loads could not be emptied
quickly enough. Not dribbled, the rock,
but dumped simultaneously, else the
gravel and rock might be washed
down stream faster than they could be
put together. Many cars must be un.
loaded at once; the din on Suent's
train was terrific. His crew looked
like devils. drenched from the spray
which rose from the river each time
the rock-pour began; blackened by the
smoke from the belching engine. The
river was ugly in Its wrath. It was
humping itself for its final stand
against the absurdity Of human inten-
ton; its yellow tail swished through
the bents Of the trestle.
The order came for more speed.
Rickard moved from bank to raft ;
knee deep in water, screaming orders
through the din; directing the gangs;
speeding the rock trains. Hardin oscil-
lated between the levee and dams, tax.
ing orders, giving orders. His energy
was superb. 1t had grown dark, but
no one yet had thought Of the lights,
the great Wells burners stretched
across the channel. Suddenly, the
lights flared out brightly.
Not one of those who labored or
watched would ever forget that night.
The spirit of reckIessness entered
even into the stolid native. The men
Of the Reclamation forgot this was not
their enterprise; the Hardin faction
jumped to Richards orders. The
watchers, on the bank sat tense,
thrilled out Of recognition Of aching
muscles, or the midnight creeping chill.
No one would 60 home.
To Innes. the struggle was vested
in two men, Rickard running down
'yonder with that light foot of his, and
Hardin with the fighting mouth tense.
And. somewhere, she remembered,
working with the rest, was Estrada.
Those three were fighting for the justi-
fication of a vision-an idea was at
stake, hope for the future. 49,.
Rickard passed and repassed her.
And had not seen her! Not during
those hours would he think of her, not