The Crittenden press., 1920-01-23
CHAPTER WI.
-" ook 10 Your Booml"

Bnptstc worked all the next Monday
on the boom. nercely and unsparing Of
himself or his men. Hilary. little
puzzled by the little mans sutlon man
ncr toward himself. attributed II 10 his
personal distress at what had hap
pened In Ste. Marie. He did not know
that Baptlste was aware OF his pres
ence there, and felt happy In the con
sclouSness that he had done him some
service. Nothing would have Pleased
him better than to have seen his suit
with Marie Dupont successful.
The Strengthening OF the boom was
finished. The wooden structure had
been immensely fortified with great
trunks. dashed and nailed together,
resting In concrete which had been
nodded into the crcviccs Of the rocks
on either side Of the cataract. Hilary
examined and approved Of the work.
II seemed to remove all possibility Of
danger.
Everything depended on the first
minute after the Jam was broken. II
/ the torrent could he carried of through
| the slulce gates. In the main, the logs
would find nm easy passage over the
dam Into the lake. But actually the re.
| enforced boom seemed to resist the
torrent without any likelihood OF
/ brcnkngc
The charge was 30 be exploded nj
| three In the afternoon. That day Hi
AIRY was kept busy In his office. going
over the pay roll in preparation for
the October changes. Gangs OF men
had been returning from the south
shore and hc had signed on number
He was aware that some OF Brous'
scnu's agents had been nt work at'
tempting to dlssuudc them; however
the men wanted work. and even
BrouSscnu could not hire them and
keep them Idle upon his skeleton com
pnny ut Ste. Marie. Hilary d.scoy
cred thut the Ste. Marie enterprise eN
listed only upon that of 81. Bonfnce
aud, like the parasitic plant, wltherct
when Its prop aud sustenance was
withdrawn.
II was two o'clock by his watch
when he pushed his papers aside ant
sirollcd up the path That led through
the woods toward the gorge. Hilary
had left 81. Bonifacc behind him IN,
was approaching the gorge. from whicl
he could hear the shouts of the gan.
making preparations for the discharge
when he saw Madeleine Rosuy ridInI
along the road toward him.
She had evidently been tn the Ste
Marie territory, and, he suspected, NJ
n visit 10 Brousseau. The path wa,
narrow, with the descending bank o
the wooded gorge on one hand and {
steep, shelving ascent, ovcrgrown will
young spruce and pine, upon the other
Hilary drew to one side, to give N,
rlrl passage. lie was watching IL,
trottlng horse, now swiftly nenrlnl
him. and wondering whether he ough
10 make amy sign of recognition, whcr
he was almost thrown from his Zee
by n vibration ~ the ground followe,
hy n duh roar that grew into nm In
fcrnnl crcScpndo and rolled away nm
dcrground In prolonged rcvcrhcrI
tlun. The charge hnd been exploited
Hilary saw the horse rear, curvet
aud then, mnddcncd with fcnr, lem
wildly forward. An instant later II he
came clear that II was no longer un
der control. The terrified animal bolt
cd Mt full speed along the road 10
ward him. while the girl pluckily kcp
her seat and pulled with ull her Nigh,
but unnvuilingly, on curb and snni,lc
She was n practiccd horscwoman
for none other could have kept he
seat when the horse went rcarlnl
backward; hut no amour, NJ skill
could nynil unless the hcnst were 90
under control before the downhlll int,
the village was reached. There wa
a gate across the truck. which lllnr.
had closed. Flung over this, 1t wOul,
he n miracle II the girl escaped will
her life.
Hilary made his decision In an IN
s,nni. made I, with the roar NJ IN
released torrent In his ears, aud IN
thunder NJ the breaking jam, the Crnsl
of logs hurled free aud rchoundln
from aud butrctlng one another u
planted himself directly In the cours
NJ the mnddcncd animal. whose hotf
rhhrnrd up n shower of stones
Keep your seat" he shouted TO IN
girl.
For one instant he saw her, pal,
with frightened eyes, but firm In N
saddle. stlll pulling ngnlnst the curl
while the open mouth, distorted b
the bit aud chain that pressed the ur
derllp. foamed, and the white Of IN
oxoa cleaned wIckedly beneath IN