The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-04-03

the Palo Verde, the ranch d scream-
Ing horror. Scores Of Others" he
would not mention his own case; and
then he itemized his rnisfortunes. Par.
rish, his place secured beyond ali fu-
] ture usefulness. What had they come
into the valley for2 Who had urged
themY There were pledges Of tho /
R., water pledges. That was all those
ruined men were pleading. the redemp-
ton Of those pledges. Individual ruin,
what did 1t mean2'A curtailing Of lux
uries, Of personal indulgence. 81 tell
you, it means food, bread, potatoes;
milk for the babies; or starvation"
Black had touched the deep note
This was the answer. This was what
they wanted to say.
"You ash us to help you, us, We who
: are taxed already to our breaking
point. You say your company WON'T
90 any further. What does that help
mean to you? Poverty A few thou
sands, q million to the O. p, q cor
poration, what does a loss mean to
them2 Poyerty9 / tel you mo. a
smaller dividend. maybe, to whomY
Yes, to whom7 To the men who live
In Fifth avenue, whose wives are
dragged about In limousines. With
draw their suitsi Help Faradny. and
ruin men like Parrish? Men Of the
valley, what Is your answer to Fara-
dayT
The crowd was on It's feet, swaying
and pushing. The air was fetid with
breaths. Wilson's crowd had forgotten
its lorgnettes. "No," yelled the ranch
ers. "We say, no."
A boy made his way from the wings,
q yellow envelope In his hand.
Babcock waved him on to Marshall.
The audience was crying itself hoarse.
Babcock lost control Of the meeting
in that minute Of turning. Hollister,
of the Palo Verde, was striving to be
heard; Babcock's hammer sounded in
vain. But MarshalPs eve had caught
a spark from the yellow sheet. He
sprang forward, throwing the dispatch
toward MacLean. His excitement
caught the eye Of the crowd, 'The
riyerw There was a sudden hush.
'The rivers out again !" A groan
swept through the house, there was a
break toward the doors.
Marshall's voice halted them. 'Men
Of the valley" The audience, swayed
again, listened. "Hear me. The riv-
er's running away again down yonder.
This is message from Rickard. It's
broker through the levee. It's started
for the valley. Now, who's going to
stop It? Can you? Where's your
force, your equipment? Who can rush
to that call but the company you are
bounding? / gave you Faraday's mes
sage. His hands on the table. Not
another cent from him unless you
Withdraw those suits. You say you
have given me your answer, Blacks
answer. Now the river plays trick.
It calls your bluff. Shall we stop the
river, men of the valley? We can.
VIII you withdraw your suits? You
can. What is your answer now. I'm
perial valley% -
The scene broke into bedlam. Men
Jumped to their chairs, to the velvet
rim Of the boxes, all talking, scream
ing, gesticulating at once. The Yellow
Dragon was never so fearfully visual
lied. Out Of the chaos Of mems voices
came a woman's Shrek, "For Gods
sake, save our homes" 1t pitched the
panic note. "Save the valley! Stop
the riyerw
Marshall's Indian eyes were reading
that mass Of scared faces as though 1t
were sheet Of typed paper. Barton"
he called through the din. where's
Barton"
Two men lifted Barton's puny fig
ure upon their shoulders. His vibrant
voice rolled above the shouting. "The
valley withdraws it's suits against the
company"
"Then the company" yelled Mar
shall's oratory, "the company with
draws the river from the valley!"
Pandemonium was loose. There were
cheers, and the sound Of women sob
bing. Barton was carried out on the
shoulders of his henchmen. Black led
a crowd out, haranguing to the street.
On the street, Marshall fell back to
MacLean. ''That was neat trick the
river threw In our hands" His voice
had dropped from oratory; the de-
claiming fire was gone from the black
eyes. 'It's only break in the levee.
Rickard says he can control it; estf-
mates two weeks or so. 1t may cost
the o. P. a few thousand dollars, but
It saved them half million. Now
we'll have that game Of poker. Mac.
Leanw
In the balcony, Hardin was staring
at Brandon.
"If that wasn't the devils own
luck"