Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1928-09-07
What the Dam
Meant
By GREGORY GRAY
INCONSISTENCIES


(CopyrRht-l
IN ONE of the tarred-paper shacBs
L which housed the gangs and en-
gineers of the Nesbit Construction
company a man bent over pile OF
blueprints. spectator would have
thought him too absorbed to be aware
Of the beating rain on the unsubstan.
tial roof
As a matter OF fact, Paul Bassett
was so dominated by the rain tina.
everything else was driven from his
mind. II even made him forget the
party on the hill whose foregoing he
believed had cost him the heart and
hand of Its hostess. Claire Hendricks
This downpOur, unprecedented AZ
this season of the year, was threaten
ing his uncOmpleted dam and with II
the labor Of four hard years.
"Of course" he had told Claire over
the phone, my common sense tells
me the dam will stand. Even unfin
ished the factor Of safety is ridicu.
lousy high"
Then | should think" said Claire
petulantly, that you could surely
come to the party"
81 am afraid not" he said ruefully.
"If anything should happen-well, it's
like the captain and his ship, Duty
before pleasure
"Imagined duVw came back
Claire's taunt. Thank heaven Alb.
bolt Wayne's bonding business Is not
so demandingl"
With that unkind last word the
conversation ended. Wayne was the
man Paul had for some time been
fearing as rival.
At midnight there came a sudden
lull In both gale and rain and II o..
CURED to Paul that 1t would be a ia
vOrable moment TO take a reading of
certain guages down at the dam IT,
self which registered their recordings
over wires to special Instruments at
the surface.
Picking his way by iashlight along
the narrow path that skirted the great
piles OF debris. now being washed and
quilted into fantastic patterns, he
reached the dam and made his read.
ings.
For moment he stood watching
the turbulent race Of clouds over his
head. Then, as he turned to go, a
glimpse Of something moving In the
shadow Of Il derrick caught his eye.
A girl, wrapped in a cape, her hair
wind blown. was standing there. For
a minute his heart leaped Had Claire
run down for a mOmentl
Then he saw 1t was not Claire, but
Abbott Wayne's little sister, who had
made the dam project her own ever
since the first shovel of dirt had been
turned.
what on earth. Dot" he demanded
The girl shrugged her shoulders.
Il love the racket of the storm Be,
sides, haven't seen this dam grow
from the very start? couldn't help
worrying about It, Wanted to see II
It was all right"
For the first time In the four years
that be had had the run of the
place. Paul really saw Dorothy And
she wasn't the mere child that he
thought, "Why aren't you at the par
tyr" he said.
1.-TWO reasons she retOrted prompt.
ly. "Unimportani one being that I'd
rather be here. The other-w well,
wasn't asked. | may be eighteen. al.
NEST but Claire thinks me II Kid
Eighteen! Paul would hardly have
thought so. but now he saw that II
was rather because Of her slim little
figure and glrlish ways than from any
real chlldlshness II flashed across
him that she would make an excel!enl
wife for an engineer She would un
dersiand, us Claire never could. that
intimate bond between man and the
thing he has created
She startled him with a little cry
Look oh, look do believe the old
weather bureau was wrong There
Is the moon
Sure enough, through riff In the
clouds the whole disk of the moon
| Just past full. could be seen.
Ii was true thn the crest OF the
Hood might not be reached until moon
tomorrow, hut the chances were that
the dam would hold II the rain was
over. Paul felt like SELLING the slender
hands OF his companion and whirlin,
her around In a dance of celebration
Yesterday he would have done that
very thing But. somehow uoi Ionish'
~ musl 20 back" she was saying
IL wonder If you would mind walk
Ing up to the top of the hill with me
where ! can see The light IN my win
dow. It's really later than | thought
| suppose" and she threw glance
up at the big house on the hill whenc,
the strains OF music were floating
dOwn-"everyone musl know now OF
Claire's engagement to my brother.
Paul stopped short "Claire-you
brother?"
"Why, yes. That was what the
party was for. Abbott told me before
he left. II was to be grand sur
prise Claire loves surprises
by rights, Paul should have fell II.
II II knife were being turned In hi,
heart. On the contrary lie felt. IN,
he was amazed al the sensation. rs
II he had just received repricv,
from some dreadful fate.
The rain had ceased, the girl VIII,
could never understand what the dan
meant to him was going TO belong {,
somebody else. and he had discOvere'
a lovely, awakening woman In the Cir