Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-08
FLOWING GOLD
BY REX BEACH
D INLN DLAC1I
CHAPTER XXV.-Continued

INSTINCT, rather than reason, warned
Buddy not to check the binding revolu-
tions of the bull wheel. Without thought
he leaped forward into the midst of those
| swiftly forming loops, and as he landed upon
the slippery floor he clinched his fist and
struck with all the power he could put behind
his massive arm. Gray's back to him,
the blow was like that of walking beam,
and it sent the elder man flying as tenpin
| is hurled ahead of bowling ball. Buddy
| fell, too. He went spraWling. AS he slid
across the muddy floor he felt the steel cable
writing under him like thing alive, and
| the touch of it as it streamed into the we'll
burned his flesh. He kicked and fought it
as he would have fought the closing folds of
a python, for the bailer was falling again
and the wire loops vanishing the
coils in a WhiElash vanish during its flight
Buddys booted legs were thrown high he
was tossed aside like a thing of paper, but
blind, half stunned, he scrambled back to his
post. BY this time the whole structure of
the derrick was rocking to the mad gyrations
of the bull wheel; the giant spool spin
ming with a speed that threatened to send it
flying, like the fragments of bursting bomb,
but the youth understood dimly the danger
of stopping it too suddenly-to fetch up the
plunging weight at the cable and might snap
the line collapse the DERRICK Jim the well.
Buddy weayed dizzily tracks; nevertheless,
his hand was steady, and he applied a grad
ually increasing pressure to the brake. Nor
did he take his eyes from his task until the
drum had ceased revolving and the runaway
baiIer hung motionless in the we'll.
They carried Gray to the bunk house. and
his limbs hung loosely, his head loled in
manner terrifying, to Buddy and his sister.
But Gray not dead. Buddys blow had
well-nigh broken his neck, and he had suf
fered further injury to his head in falling;
nevertheless, he responded to such medical
aid as they could supply, and in time he
opened his eyes.
When for a second time he lapsed into
semi-consciousness it was Allie Briskow who
put his orders into execution. "You amt
doing any good standing around staring at
him and whispering. Bring in that we'll, as
fast as ever you can, and bring it in big. Now,
get out and leave him to me-"
1t late that night when the we'll came
in. 1t came with a rush and roar, drench-
ing the derrick with geyser of muddy water
and driving both crew and spectators out into
the gloom. Up, up the column rose, SPRAYING
itself into mist, and from it's iron throat is
sued, a sound unlike THAI of any other phe-
nOmenOn.
ficiently to understand the meaning of that
uproar, and he tried TO get up, but Allie held
him down upon his bed. She was still strug-
Cling with him when her brother burst into
the house, shouting:
ITS gasser, Mr.. Gray! Biggest 1 ever
seen"
GASP" the latter mumbled, indistinctlv.
isn't there any-oiI?" His words were al
most like a whisper because of the noise.
mot yet May be later Say, she's
heller, amt she? I'll bet she's maxim twenty
million feet"
"Gassers no good"
Cant tell yet. We gotta shut her down
easy She won't blow tho 81 n
wild on us, understand" Budd was still
breathless, but he plunged out the door and
back into that of sound.
With tragic intensity akin to wIdness.
Gray stared up into Allie Briskows face
"Worthless, Ell? And they told me ten
thousand barrels" He carried shaking
hand to his bandaged head and tried vainly.
to collect his wits. whats matter?' he
querled' thlckly. Everything whirling-
sick"
'You had an accident but it's all right:
all right No, no. Please lie still"
Running wild, Ell? That's what hurts,
my mead so. Blown the casting out-Bau,
isn't it? Sometimes they run wild for weeks,
rise then insisted ENORMOUSLY: "Got to get
oil in this well! I've got to! Last chance.
Allie. Got to get ten thousand barrels!"
Please! You mustn't" Allie had her
strong hands upon his shoulders; she was
arguing firmly but as gently as possible un-
der the circumstances, when something ocI
CURED so extraordinary, so Unexpected as
10 paralyZe her OF a sudden the interior
the dlm-Ht, canVas-rOofed shack was illumi-
mated as If by a searchlight and>she turrad
her head to that the whole out-of-doors
was visible and that the night itself had
turned into day.
With a cry that died weakly amid the
chaos OF sound beating over her. the girl
ran to the window and looked out What
she beheld was a nightmare scene The well
was alive, 1T had exploded into flame
Allie tore her eyes away from the spectacle
hnaIly. She turned back to the bed. then
she matted, for it was empty. The door. still
agar from Buddy's headlong exit inform ed
her whence her patient had gone. and She
flew after him. ~
She found him not half dozen naces
away. In fact, She stumbled over his pros-
trate body. With an Amazons STRENGTH she
3athered MIN into her arms then STAGGERED
WIN WIN MIN back to his couch, and as she
Sualhed MIN to herself she loudly called his
name. ~
When she had laid her inert burden unon
the bed, Allie knelt and took Gray's head
upon her bosom. Then, for the first time
thoSe FORCES imprisoned deep within her bn-
ms ran wild, and under the red glare of that
naming geyser she kissed his hair. his evos
ms Ups. over and over again she kissed
lhem with the hungry passion of a woman
starved. "ii
Continued Tuesday. Renew now. so as not
" HISS an lhstaliment of this splendid story.
Bessie was lunching with her mother in
restaurant. "
Mother (heIping herself to sauce). "yor
won like this, dear. It's parsley sauce p
Bessie: oh let me have conoo 1-