The St. Charles herald., 1922-08-05

beside the cars as the fantall ulppeO
into the water; Corvet, again leading
the crew, cleared the leader Of those
madly charging cars and ran it over
the stern.
The fore trucks fell and, before the
rear trucks reached the edge, the
stern lifted and caught the car in the
middle; it balanced, half over the wa
ter. half over the deck. COrvet
crouched under the car with q crow
bar; Alan and two others went with
him; they worked the car on until the
weight of the end over the water tipped
it down; the balance broke, and the
car tumbled and dived. Corvet, hav-
ing cleared another hundred tons,
leaped back, calling to the crew.
They followed him again, unques-
tioning. obedient. Alan followed close
to him. 1t was not pity which stirred
him now for Benjamin Corvet; nor was
it bitterness; but it certainly was not
contempt. OF all the ways in which he
had fancied finding Benjamin Corvet,
he had never thought of seeing him
like this!
1t was, probably, only for a flash;
but the great quality of leadership
which he had once possessed, which
Sheriff. had described to Alan and
which had been destroyed by the threat
over him, had returned to him in this
desperate emergency which he had Gre
ated. How much or how little of his
own condition Corvet understood, Alan
could not tell; it was plain only that
he comprehended that he had been the
cause of the catastrophe, and In his
fierce will to repair 1t he not only dis
regarded all risk to himself; he also
had summoned up from within him and
was spending the last strength OF his
spirit. But he was spending it in a
losing fight.
he got Off two more cars; yet the
deck only dipped lower, and water
washed farther and farther up over
| the fantail. Men, leaping from before
| the charging cars, got caught in the
| murderous melee of iron and steel
and Wheels; mems shrill cries came
| amid the scream of metal. Alan, tug
ging at q crate which had struck down
a man. felt aid beside him and, turn
ing. he saw the priest whom he had
passed on the stairs. The priest was
bruised and bloody; this was not his
first effort to aid. Together they lifted
an end of the crate; they bent-Alan
stepped back, and the priest knelt
alone. his lips repeating the prayer for
| absolutjon. Screams of men came from
behind; and the priest rose and tur1sel.
He saw men caught between two
wrecks Of cars crushing together !:
| there was no moment to reach them
he stood and raised his arms to them.
his head thrown back, his voice calling
TO them, as they died, the words OF
absolution.
Three more cars at the cost OF two
| lives the crew cleared, while the
sheathing of ice spread over the steel
inboard, and dissolution OF all the
cargo became complete. Cut stone and
| motor parts, CLASSES and castings, fur-
niture and beams, swept back and
forth. while the cars burst and splin-
tered. became monstrous missiles hurt
ling forward, sidewise, aslant, recoil-
ing. Yet men, though scattered singly'
fried to stay them by ropes and chains
while the water washed higher and
higher. Dimly, far away. deafened out
by the clangor, the steam whistle OF
Number 25 was blowing the four long
blasts of distress: Alan heard the
sound now and then with Indifferent
wonder. All destruction had come fol
him TO be contained within this cal
deck: here the ship loosed On itself al
elements of annihilation; who coult
aid It from without? Alan caught tht
end of a chain which Corvet flung hin
and though he knew 1t was useless
he carried It across from one stanchior
10 the next. Something. sweeping
across the deck. caught him and car
rted him with It; 1t brought him be
. fore the coupled line Of trucks which
hurtled back and forth where the rail-
of track three had been. He wal
hurled before them and rolled over
something cold and heavy pinned MIN
down: and upon him, the car truck
. came.
But, before them, something warn
, and liying-a hand and bare arm
! catching him quickly and pulling a
. him, tugged him little farther on
Alan, looking up, saw Corvet besid
him; Corvet, unable to move hin
: farther, was crouching down ther
| with him. Alan yelled to him to lear
: to twist aside and get out of the way
hnt Corvet only crouched closer an
put his arms over Alan; then tn
I wreckage came upon them, drivin
) them apart. AS the movement stopped
Alan still coulo see Corvet dimly D.
E the glow of the incandescent lamp
D OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
'