The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-10-06
CHAPTER VIIl-Contlnued.
10

-lO-
Kitty rose. "I don't know now that
rye done right" she said. "I hope you
won't come to have any feeling against
me, dear. Only you didn't seem to un-
derstand-well, things. And what I'm
saying hasn't anything to do with Mr..
Bowyer, If you feel that you don't care
for him."
Scare for that beast !" said Molly.
Day by day the trestling grew, and
the embankment appeared about 1t un-
I'll the first part was hidden under the
permanent way. Thousands Of feet Of
logs had gone into the building. Each
day the engine pushed the laden bal
last trucks farther out upon the creak-
ing. swaying structure. Then the pres
sure of the lever, tons of debris dis
charged through the frame Of the
woodwork, and the engine went snort
Ing back toward the ballast pit, drag
gtng the empty trucks behind It.
Kitty had gone back to Clayton. She
had said that she would return, but
Wilton doubted 1t. He still cherished
the hope Of friendship, when time had
obiiterated> their joint memory Of that
afternoon. He could not bear to lose
her. She seemed part Of Joe, and he
found 1t hard to shake his mind free
Of his preconceptions. For the present,
however, he recognized that her re-
naming there would prove an embar-
rassment.
He sent her back to Clayton with An
dersen, who had proved entirely trust
worthy since the first night, and was
going in on business for him.
And he had very little time to think
Of Kitty in the critical period that fol-
lowed. Wilton slept only few hours
nightly. For ave days he could not
even go to the portage. On the sixth
success appeared at hand. The sink
holes had been filled In and there was
not the slightest subsistence Of the
grade. Andersen returned that night
and wilton went to bed In confidence.
Chambers was as confident as he.
On the following morning. as he left
his shack, the workmen came running
toward him, jabbering and gesticulat-
Ing. The foreman. .hurrying up behind
them, shouted and pointed In excite
ment in the direction Of the muskeg.
When Wilton reached the shore he
found that his worst fears had been
exceeded.
Two-thirds Of the trestle-work had
disappeared, including great stretch
Of the foundation, over which the loco
motives and ballast trucks had passed
the day before. The subsistence was
seventy or eighty yards In length. The
top alone remained above the treacher-
Gus swamp, and the rails hung fes.
tooned In 'midair.
The whole embankment would have
10 be reconstructed. AS the mere me
ehanical process of dumping might
serve merely to add to the weight su-
perimposed upon the treacherous bot
tom. Wilton determined to lay down q
eorduroy over the sink-holes--a mat
tress OF tree-trunks. The depositing Of
the ballast on this would serve to COM
press the muskeg and loose rock. max
Ing a firm foundation. and the trunks,
a. they became water-Iogged, would
harden, increasing the strength Of the
whole structure as time went by.
But for few hours he almost aban-
doned hope. At the best, II meant hold
ing up the construction Of the line, for
the permanent way was now only Z
few miles behind. and he dared not
start operations on the east shore until
he knew whether the muskeg could be
soanned.