Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-05-20
CHAPTER /


M& &s4&A& FQM
Caleb Warner conscientiously fished
every foot of the Misunderstanding hole
he had seen on Hermanos creek. but
there came no rise. no eager tug. no
submerged CLEAN Of a rainbow's SHIN
mering flank.
He waded ashore, put up rod and
tackle, climbed through the thick, tall
ferns and brandy underground to the
narrow trail and turned upstream.
All the day was his, the next, for that
matter, and he fancied the fishing
would be better higher up. Caleb
walked with his coat tucked between
the sings OF his creel, his shirt open
at the throat; lean, long. well-shoul-
dered and slender danked, tanned OF
skin, springy Of action, generally good
toSiook at By the canons of moving
pictures and magazine Illustrations he
was not handsome New England an
cestry had made him too aquiline Of
feature, but he had youth and
strength, his gray eyes were clear, his
forehead high to his straight, close
cropped hair. his lips clean-cut and
his chin well forward, not too narrow.
HIS general makeup was typtcaf1y-
American, YaRkee-American. I'M
married by inbreeding.
Below him Hermanos creek sang,
half hidden by the underground. His
economic, New England brain saw POI
tentiality going to waste. In Massa-
chusetts Hermanos creek would long
ago have been harnessed. Mills and
factories would have sprung up along
its banks. Here was water for steam,
for turbines, for commercial and do
nestle use, for irrigation; all unused,
its energy seemingly doomed, for there
was a peculiar thing about the creek
that Caleb. as an engineer. had noted.
Contrary to the habit of most we'll
hammered watercourses, its volume
diminished as It flowed.
He was twenty-seven, six years out
Of the college chrysalis that he had
spun at Columbia. He had served In
the war, hard, practical service in
tasks that were low-grade but neces-
aary. the crude. swift york Of build
ing and repairing war-roads and |
bridges, and In II Caleb Warner had,
in large measure, found himself He |
had acquired initiative, resource, COM
mand Of men, If nothing else. And he |
had come out unscathed, unwounded,
ungassed, reduced to an acme Of CO. |
ordination. sane mind and sound body. |
He had been granted wider horizons.
So he had come west to 1nd his oyster
and to open t.
Swiftly the woody cave Of the can
yon became q tunnel, the creek now
far below him In q water-chIseIed
gorge. The tunnel became a gut A
suspension bridge. a shivery thing OF
wire rope and short pIanks, anchored
with wire cables to high walls Of rock,
crossed the gorge. 1t shook under his
tread and hung trembling as he
stopped midway to look at the gush
Of compressed water surging through
the gap. twenty feet down. There
were signs on the rock that at times
the creek rose close to the flooring.
Before him, to the south, lay Her
manos valley, a green bowl Tipped by
rolling hills, their crests bronzed by
the summer sun. blazoned with great !
patches Of golden peoples, with
dumps OF purple Iupine. the lower
slopes furred thick with Wild oats
waving In the wind, oats as high as
caleb's head, shimmering sea Of EN- /
raid and silver.
He stood for a while undecided
whether to adventure on to the water I
all or TO stay where be was until II
vas time to fsh down the canyon with
he hope OF better results than the Z
hrse trout his Dersistenee had lured
rom the creek. he had 3 book tucked '
nto his pocket bat he was not tired. I
md he had iunched an hour before. {
The view heId him. Looking down, 1
g saw that the stream waa 3 vaRrnnf, 9
bat In the rains. one bed was not =
nough TO cOnvey its waters. A Sec v
nd course. now dry and paFtly grown e
YER. erraticaiIy paraIIeled the actual q
reek. willows b0rdered t. e
Along this Idle waterkrack, raeing D
D fast II seemed gray streak, head y
owus brush lowered. coyo9e ran at e
~ speed. puFsued. not hunffng. cor q
sing aroun0 sc franfae pmcs, u
reassd to IT'S msnaost BY 1ear. b
Amer 4. psrhaps nfzv yaras away =