The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-08
CHAPTER XXxIII.
The Battle in the Night.


 Gathering on the bank were the camp groups to watch the last stand of the river against the rock lombard mfent. Molly Silent had crept down from the Crossing, full of fears. Out there, somewhere on the trestles, on one of those rock cars, was her Jim. She sat on the bank by Innes and Mrs. Marshall.
 Mrs. Hardin, floated 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 a locked door.
 Gayly, with a fluttering of ruffles, Gerty established herself on the bank a trifle out of hearing distance. A hard little smile played on the lips ac- cented with Parisian rouge. The child ish expression was gone; her look ac- cused life of having trifled with her. But they would see
 Don't look so unhappy, dearest" whispered the man at her side. "Tm going to make you happy, dearI"
 She flushed a brilliant, finished smile at him. Yes, she was proud of him. He satisfied her sense of romance, or would, later, when she was away from here, q dull pain pricking at her delib- crate planning. Godfrey found her young, young and distracting. His life had been hungry, too; the wife, up 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 wei comed wife of Godfrey; she would share the plaudits his wonderful voice won.
 His eyes were on her now, she knew, 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 the 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 '.battleship," laden with rock, was creeping.
 q want to stay with you, you know that dearest. But it doesn't feel right to see them all working like niggers and me loafing here. You don't mind!'
 Oh, no, Gerty did not mind! She was tired, anyway She was going back to her tent!
 He thrust a yellow paper into hel hands. q sent that off today. Per haps you will be glad?'
 She flung another of her inscrutablt smiles at him, and went up the bank the paper unread in her hands.
 The long afternoon wore away. The, were now dynamiting the largest rock: on the cars before unloading them The heavy loads could not be empdet quickly enough. Not dribbled, the rock but dumped simultaneously, else tn gravel and rock might be washed down stream faster than they could b. put together. Many cars must be un loaded at once; the din on Silent train was terrific. His crew looked like devils, drenched from the spra, which rose from the river each tim the rock-pour began; blackened by tn smoke from the belching engine. Tn river was ugly in it's wrath. It wa humping itself for its final stan' against the absurdity of human inten tion; its yellow tail swished througl the bents of the trestle.
 The order came for more speed Rickard moved from bank to raft knee deep in water, screaming order through the din; directing the gangs speeding the rock trains. Hardin osci lated between the levee and dams, tak Ing orders, giving orders. His energ was superb. It had grown dark, bu no one yet had thought of the light; the great Wells burners stretche ncross the channel. Suddenly, tn lights fiared out brightly.