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,, - . - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - - - . - -
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&he S lazed i
Trail
Copyright. 1903. ky
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ff-v??C-.-JSJ
riiArrar.KXvi.
X tho meantime the m'n bo'y
of tin crew under Thorp" and
I.Ik inn-men wen hrlkly mm
Mini: the lnr Into tin e'trrvut.
I men had iiuitmually to keep alert.
at any moment they won ell'il
in to exercls. their b'st Judgment
I qulckiics to kivp from being oit
t downwanl with the rush or th
- Not Infrequently ii frowning
it wall of forty fvt would hes-.tn e
the lirlnR of plunge. Tln-n Slunnr
nvir pmvid IiIk rl:ht to the title or
T (lilt t).
'hiMrer won rnlki nrarly an Inch
lenutb. He had It"'!! known io rlile
n uiIIok wlthnii! Hhlftltm hl feet on a
i h Ktuall that r -oulil enrry it
thoitt Olttleulty. For wol nerv h
. tineXti'JIiil.
"I ilnn't nvd yon txVf liere any loi
vr." he K.dd unletly.
When the men had all tI'IiIiwii he
walked enntldently under the f-iint of
the railway. cHnHni: with nrrtetlii"l
re at tlio tt'n"tidli'Ular wall f ln:t
irer him. Then a a man irle Jae'c
Ktnw he flump xl hl peavy met
tttifpil nlfinly. 'At ouii" the ntllwar
flattened and tnn'ild mlulity thMh.
v rlurr of tlylnu foam and erithlm: Mm
lep. anil Ut 'it on whleh II e rlrr
niiiti Imil -tood wn li'irbtt lenea'h
twenty feel of oJM kpimi wihn!. To
Tliorj It "enie that SImmit uiM"f
hare'Non uvenrl'eluiint. tint the river
man nlwny mytiriouiy au'i-'ni) at
one n!(lt. or the other, noneh il.int nr:
tig the men to work befop the n-4
kIioiiM have ceased to move HNtnry
utated that Shearer had nevr lost h
man '.n t!e river !mply 'i"il milely be
I1lu, he Invariably took the danp'roin
tilhTiK UX1II llllUfM'If.
In thrtv daya the rollways were bro
ken. Now It berame necetwary to start
the rear. .
l-'or this purpose Ullly Tump, the
'" I
rook, had load.il his cook stove, a .plan-1
tlty of provisions and a supply or bed
ding aboard u wow. At either end wen
long sweeps to direct Its coarse. The
craft was jverlmp forty feet long, but
nither nantiw. in onier that it ink-lit
pass easily throiich the shoot or a d.im
It was called Ihe "w.tnlgau."
The huge, unwieldy crart fmm that
moment was to become possessed of
the devil. Down the white water of
rapids It would bump, smashing obsti
nately against bowlders, against the
branches or the stream side It would
Bcrapo. In the broad nmclies It would
sulk, refining to proceed. nirJ when
expediency demanded Its pause It
would drag Hilly Camp and his entire
crew at the rope's end. while they tried
tulnly to snub It against successively
uprooted tree and stumps. When at
last the wnnlgiiu was moored fast for
the night usually a mile or so below
the spot planned Itllly Camp pushed
back his battered old brown derby hat.
the badge or his odlcc. with a sigh or
reller. To be sure, he and his men had
still to cut wood, construct cooking
and ca nip tires, pitch tents, snip browse
and prepare supper ror seventy meu.
but the hard work or the day was
over.
Along either bank, among the bush
es, ou sand bars and In trees, hundreds
and hundreds of logs had been strand
ed when the main drive passed. Theso
logs the rear crew were engaged In re
storing to the current.
And. us a man had to be able to ride
any kind or log In any water, to propel i
that log by Jumping on It. by rolling It'
siUlrrel fashion with the feet, by punt
lug It us one would a canoe, to be skill
ful In pushing, prying and poling oth
er' logs from the quarter deck of the
same cranky craft: as he must be pre
pared at any and ail times to Jump
waist deep Into the river, to work In
Ice wuter hours at u stretch; as he was
called ii(hii to break the most danger
ous Jams on the river, representing, us
they did. the accumulation which the
Jam crew had left behind them. It wua
naturally considered the height or glo
ry to belong to the rear crew. Here
wen the best or the Fighting Forty,
men wltlj a reputation as "white wuter
blrlers." men arrald or nothing.
Every morning the crews were divid
ed Into two sections under Kerlle and
.lack Ilylanc'. Kucli crew had charge
or one aide or the river. Scotty Par
sons exercised a general supervisory
eye over both crews. Shearer nnd
Thorpo traveled back and forth the
length of the drive, riding the logs
down stream, but taking to u partly
submerged pole troll when ascending
the current.- On the surface of the
river In the clear water floated two
long, graceful bouts culled bateaux.
These were In charge or expert bout
men. They carried In racks a great
supply or pike poles, peaveys, axes.
ropu and dynamite for uso lu various
emergencies.
Inteuue rivalry existed as to which
4vv : 9si
- --........ ......... . - .-
' fcX
:a
s
-
By STEWART
EDWARD
WHITE
Effort ftwrW BCAf
SSiS-titm::
!i ; . :t
crew "taekiHl" the VaftlieKt" down the
atream In the ttuio or the day, There
wan no need o urp the men. Some
Mood iixni the InH, puHhluK mightily
with the loim pike polcn. I'rom one
end or the rear to the other nhnutrt,
wdlK. wnrnlni:.-' and jukeK Hew back
and forth. Onee or twliv u vam roin
of llomerle lauchter went up ok Home
unfortunate lppo and nousid Into
the water. When the current ritnekeil
and the Iou heltatnl la their run the
entire crew hanieneil. Iiohhlm: from
hv; to Ioa down river to hit about It.
Then they broke the Jam. xtaudlu
surely on the edi-e of the irreat dark
iickk. while the hv water KueHed In
and out or their lue-.
ttehlinl the rear Htu .lunk poled liln
bateau backward ami rmward espliMl
ln dynamite Many or the bottom
tier or Ioh In the railway had been
rrmt'ii d-twu. and III): Juuko hail t
loo-ieu them fnmi the IhmI or tin
Mniiin. He wai a bl man. tliN. iik
hN nickname Indicated, built or man?
owkwarilie-'ieK. HI cheek bouex wi
htxh. hl- note flat. IiIm l!i thick and
MablH'ry. He Mrtctl a wide, lein
cloui Ktrimultut! mu-ttnehe and loin.
eyebnnvK. under which lennicd llttl
tierce eyeg. Ill- fcirt'lM'iul Hlnpiil ba4
like a iH-ant'. but we.-t nlwayi hhldei
by a dNrcputahie felt lt:it I'.lu .lunk
d.'d not know much ami had the pi-
nioii oi ii wiiii aminai. inn ne wiik u
rf-kli--. river man and devoted to
Thorpe. Juit now be espliMhil dyna
mite. The tlck or powder were pid
amldxhlp' FHir .lunko croucliiil over
them. Iii4ertln the tm and nip-.
clonlm: the opcnlnc-i with Koap. llnally
IL'litlnt' them ami ilmpplm; them Into
th water alniiK'ddc. where they Imme
diately Kan' Then few Ktrokes of a
short puddle took him barely out or
danzer. He huddled down In IiIk craft,
waltlhc. One. twpvthree k.m-oihN pacil.
Then a hollow Imhuii nhook iheKtream
( nln.I.I ..! ."..,..... T... .... I
? ' '""" VX ' '. -. "
neiiujirnl After a moment the great
brown logs rose suddenly to the sur
face from Is'low. one arter the other,
like leviathans or the deep.
Thorjte and Tim Shearer nearly al
way slept In a dog lent at the rear,
though oiTUslonally they passed the
night al Ham Two. when- Hryiu Mo
louey and hi crew wen already en
gaged In sluicing the logs through the
shoot.
The affair was simple enough, Img
Itoouis arraugeit in toe roriu or an
open V uillded Hie drive to the -dulee
cate. through which a smooth apron
of water rnshi-d to turmoil lu an eddy
lug tool Itelow
Two men tramped
stendlly backward and forward ou tin
booms, urging the log forward by
means of long pike pole to where the
suction could sehe them llclew the
dam the pifb of the Imc water
forced them several miles down stream.
whore the rr o "ryun Moloney's
Tew took them lu charge.
Thus through (he wide gale nearly
three-quarters of a million reel .m
hour could he run. and at length the
last or the logs drifted Into lie wide
dam pool. The rear had arrived ul
Dam Two. and Thorpe congratiilatul
hlmseir that one stage of his Journey
hud been coinplctisl.
CIIAITKU XXVII.
TIK rear had been tenting nt the
dam ror two days and was
alMiut leady to break camp
when Jimmy Powers swung
T
across the trail to tell them or the hlg
Jam.
Ten miles along the river bed the
stream dropped over a little half falls
into a narrow, rocky gorge. U was al
ways an anxious spot for river drivers.
Tho plunging of the logs head-on ovci
tin rail had so gouged out the soft rock
below that an eddy or great power had
formed lu the basin. Here, In spite of
all efforts, the Jam had formed. The
bed was completely tilled, far above
the level or the rails, by a tangle that
lii'licii nil- jiiiii ill'" n ui'Fi ciii'im.
The rear at once took the trail down
the river. Thorpe and Shearer and
Scotty Parsons looked over the ground.
Without delay the entire crew was j
set to work. Nearly a hundred men (
can nick a great many logs In the
course or a day. Several times the Jam
started, but always "plugged" before
the motion hud become irresistible.
"We'll have to shoot." Shearer re-1
luctuutly decided,
Th
lie men were withdrawn. Scotty I
sons cut a sapling twelve feet long
trimmed It. Hlg Junko thawed his I
Parsons
ntwi
dynamite at u little tire, opening the
uiulte at u little tire, opening the
of the packages In order that the ,
ill I'l.liurntoil mli.lif luiimhii W'luiii .
ends of the packages In order that the ,
steam generated might escape. When,
the powder was warm. Scotty liound ,
twenty of the cartridges around the
end or the sapling, adjusted u ruse lu '
ouo of them ilnd soapcil the opening to
uvi'liiitit wiitiir. Tli-it niif .llinlin -liruul
p
TT
YT
T
st
. .
"f
tin Iouk Jiivclln ilbwn Into tho iicntlm
' r-r .-.. ..,.,.... ...
... . .... iiiiii. It'll II1V, II 1I1III HiriMllll 111
aiunKe behind lihn an he turned uwuy.
tslgxugglng awkwardly over tli Jitm,
t the long, ridiculous tallii of his brown
cutaway itmt Hopping behind htm as
ln HmiimhI. A scant moment later the
,htmrHt dynamite shouted.
(irtNit chunk or timber shot to nn In
conceivable height. Utitln log lifted
Iswllly Into the nlr with the motion of
a iHh JumpliiK. A fouutiiln or water
Klcamcd aualiiKt the muii and showered
down In line rain. The Jam HhrmtKcd
and settled. That was all. The "shot"
had railed,
( The men ran forward, cxnmlulmr cu
riously the crcat lade In tho lojj forma
tion. I "We'll have to Hood her." said Thorpe.
So all the piles of the dam were
rained, and the torrent tried Its hand.
It hail no effect. Evidently the alTalr
was not one or violence, but or pa
tience. The crew went doiwcdly to
work.
Day after day the clank, clank, clink
or the peaveys Hounded with the remi
larlty or machinery. It was cruel,
hard work. . man who has lifted his
utmost strength Into a H'avey knows
that. Auy but the r'lKhtltiK I'orty
would liave Krumhle!. )
rolllni, the tKMikkeper. came up to
view the taiiKle. loiter a photm;raplier
rrom Maniuette took some views, and
by the end or the week a iiuiuIht of
curlottty seekers were drlvini; over ev
ery day to siv the IiIk Jam, A ciTtaln
(Till-ago Journalist In search of balsam
threw hU ImXlcrui olil tell hot dclonlf
health or lungs even sent to his pa
per a little Item. This uiioxpectislly
drought Wallace Carpenter Io thcst.
The place was an amphitheater ror
such as cIio-m- to be spectators. They
could stand or sit on the summit or the
nrgo cliffs, overlooking the river, the
( rail and the Jam,
At last Shearer iMiiime angry.
"We've Ims-ii monkeying long
nough." snld In. "Next time we'll
I live a center that will go out. We'll
hut the dams dowu tight and dry
olck out two wings that 'II start her."
The dams were first run at roll
pecd and then shut dowu. Hardly a
Irop or water Howisl In the bed or the
ttroiim. The crews set laboriously to
wdrk to pull and mil the logs out in
Mich flat fashion that a head or water
ihould send them out.
This was eren harder work than tie
ther. ror they had not the floating
jower or water to help them lu the
irtlng. As usual, part or the men
ivorked twdnw, part alovo.
Jrrnmy Powers, curly haired, laugh
Ing fa ceil, wus Irrepressible. He bad
gered tho others until they threw bark
at him and menaced him with their
penvcys. Always he had at his tongue's
end the projwr quip ror the occuslon,
so that lu the long run the "work was '
lightened by him. When the men tnop-1
pod to think ut all they thought of I
Jimmy Powers with very kindly hearts. '
or It was known that he laid had more
trouble than most ami that colli was
"
not made too small for him to divide
nvlth ii needy comrade.
ThorjM? approved thoroughly of Jim
my Powers. He thought him a- good
Influence. He told Wallace so, stuud
Ing umong the spectators ou the cliff
top.
"He Is nil right." said Thorpe. "I
wish I had more like him. The others .
are irood bovs too." ' I
Five men wero at the moment tug-
nir nitllfllr nt a ruluctmit tlmlior.
ling futllolr
i They were attempting to roll one end
(of It over thj side of another projecting
log, but were continually foiled, because
the other end wan Jammed fast. Kacii
"f. .-,.-.- T - w . ...,..,...
bent his knees. Inserting his shoulders
under tho projecting pcuvey stock, to
straighten In a mighty effort,
It was u flue spring day, clear eyed
nnd crisp, with a hint of new foliage in
and crisp, with u hint of now foliage in
tho thick buds of tho trees. Tho nlr
u-iiii an iwillnilil I tin I nna .llalltn.tilulwul
tho thick buds of tho trees. Tho nlr
whb so pellucid that one distinguished
withput difficulty the straight entrunco
to tho gorge n mile away, nnd oven the
West Mend, fully tlvo miles dtant.
Jimmv. Powora tnoW off his cup and
jSM-3Z 1
.o- .
'jffiXsJ'
wIpM hla forohvridt
You troys," ho remarked politely,
"thjnk you are boring with a mighty
big auger." "
"My Uodl" screamed one of tho poo
tntora on top of tho cliff.
At tho same Instant Wnllnco Cnrpen-
ter seised his friend's arm and polntiHl.
Down the bed of the stream from the
upper bend rushed a solid wall of wn
,,,r several fiot IiIkIi. It flung itself
forward with the headlonir Impetus of
a cascade. Kvcn In the short Interval
between the visitor's exclamation nnd
CansMiter's rapid gesture it had loomed
In sluht. twlsteil a dosen tres from tho
river bank and roamed Into tho en
trance or the koikc. An Instant later It
collided with the tall or the Jam.
liven in the railroad rush or t lions
few moments several thttiK happened,
Thorpe leaped for a rope. The crew
working on top of the dam ducked
Instinctively to right and left and be
gan to scramble toward safety, Tho
men lelow. at llrst hcwlldi'rcd and m
comprehending, llnally uudcrWtood and
ran toward the face or the Jam with
the Intention or clambering up It. There
could be no escape In the narrow can
yon below, the walls or which nm
sheer.
Then the flood hit stpiare. A great
sheet or water rose like surr from the
tall of the Jam; a mighty calumet our
cd down over Its surface, lifting the
free logs; from either wing t mbers
trunclicd. spilt, rose suddenly Into
wracked prominence, twisted beyond
"-' semblaiice of theiiiMdves. Hire
muii uii'iv nuiKie ii;i nriv even w
Joctcd bodily upward, us an apple ed
ii snoi iroui ociwccii tue uiiiiiiu ami
foretluger. Then the Jam mined
Sinilty 1'iirsoiis. Jack Hyluiid. tied
Jacket and the forty or tlfiy men iiad
reached Ihe shore. Hy (he wriggling
activity which Is a river mans alone
they succeeded lu pulling thcni-elvcs
be.oud the snap of death's Jtws. It
was a narrow thing ror most or them
mid a m'racle ror some,
Jimmy Powers. Archie Harris, Umg
Pllie Jim, Hlg Nolan and Mike Mo
loney, Ihe brother or Hryau, wen lu
worm case. They were, as has Imvu
said, engaged In "flattening" pirt of
the Jam alsiut eight or ten rods below
the fius or it. When they llnally tilt
dersiiMsl that the affair was one or
escape, they ran toward tin Jam, hop
ing to cllmh out. Then the crash came.
They heanl tin roar or the waters, the
wrecking or the timbers; they saw the
logs bulgo outward lu untie p.itlou of
the break. Immediately they turned
Mild tied, they knew not where.
All but Jimmy Powers, lie stopped
short lu his tracks and threw his bat
tens! old felt hat deilautly full Into the
face or the destruction liairjug over
him. Then, his bright hair b.owlug In
the wind or death, he turned to the
sicclutor standing helpless and paru
lyzttl forty feet uhove lilm.
II was an Instant's lmpressou-ihe
arrcsti d motion seen lu the ilali of
lightning and jet to the onlooker It
had somehow the quality of time. For
perceptible duration ll scciiitsl Io them
Ihev stared at the contrast between the
raging hell alsive aUU tRe jet peacy
aide rher below.
Yet afterwanl. when they attempted
to ns-all dellultuly the Impression, they
knew It could have lasted but a frac
tion of a second.
"So mug. boys!" they lieunl Jimmy
Powers' voice. Then the rope Thorpe
had thrown fell across a caldron of
tortuml waters and or tossing logs.
CU.VITKU XXVIII.
rniNU perhaps ten seconds the
survivors watched Ihe end tit
'I horpe's rope trailing In tin
flood. Then the young man
D
with a deep sigh began to pull It to
ward him.
Al once a hundred surmises, ques
tions, ejaculations, broke out.
"What happened?" crhsl Vnllnce
' Carpenter.
"What was that man's name?" usked
the Chicago Journalist, with the eager
Instinct or his profession.
"This s terrible, terrible, terrible!" a
white haired physician rrom Maniuette
kept ropeutlii" over und over.
A half dosen ran tnwnnMhe point
of the cliff to peer dnwn stream, as
though they i-ouhl hope to distinguish ,
anything In that waste of flood water.)
"Th dam's gone out." replied Thorps.
"I l"u't understand it. Kverythlng
was lu goisl shape as fur as I could
. .... . .
nee. It dliln t act liwe an nmiuury .
broak. Tho witter came too fast. Viy,l
I
It wai nn rirv nn n bone until lost nn
hat wuvu came along. An ordluury
break would have eaten through little
by little before It hurst, and Davis
ihould huve been able to stop It. This
came ull at once, as If the dum hud
disappeared. I don't seo."
His wind or the professional had al
reud ,,ll,r t0 ,,m'ry t:uu',l,8 .
""w n the men?" usked Will-
iucc. -isn i inure someimng i can
do?"
"You can head a hunt down the rlv
rr." answered Thorpe. "I think It Is
useless until the wuter goes dowu.
, .. . ....
' P0 Jimmy! Ue wus one of the
f,e" J "- l wr0U,llQ "
JR,1,'nl
best
this
. uriui i
, tg !nK Jv
IUtO WUIIUCO Ct
. T w .b,rrp of tho wane-vr at hint
"' "'"'1 ' l" J,'' """ , """"J"'
nt0. u,lnc0 Carpentera luiprosstonu.
J,e, Imagination,
,, .
r "crf ,V0",
me,, rat
rlVCr.
ii.
he cried vehemently.
something crlmlnul ubout It
rather loso every log lu the
i Thome looked at him curiously, "k
ot- the chances of war." nald
ho.
I "I'd better divide the crow and take,
In both bunks of fh river." suggested
Wallace.
' ' If you enn't K"t volunteers from
this crowd," suggested Thorpe. "I can
let you have two men to dhow you
trails. I need an many of tho crew an
possible to use thin flood water,"
Oh, Ilarryi" cried Carpenter, shock
ed. "Vou can't be going to work again
today, before we have made the slight
est effort to recover the bpdlest'
"If the bodies win bo recovered, they
shall be," replied Thorpo quietly. "Hut
the drlvo will not wait. We havw no
dams to depend oil now, you must re-meinlH-r,
and we shall hove to get out
on the freshet water."
"Your men won't work. I'd refuse
Just as tiny will!" cried CnrpuHtor. bin
sensibilities Mill suffering.
Thorpe smiled proudly. "You do not
know them."
"Ily Jove." cried the Journalist In
sudden euthuslusiu. "Ily Jove, that Is
uiiigulllccnt."
The men on the river crew hnd
crouched on their narrow rootholds
wlille the Jam went out. V.wch had
clung to his pcavcy, as Is the habit or
river men, Dowu the current past
j their foot swept the debris or flood.
soon logs tx'gan to swirl ny -at nrsi
row. then many froru the remain. tig
rollways which the river hud automat
lea Ily broken, lu a little time the iddy
caught up tome of these logs, and Im
mediately another Jnm threatened. The
J elver men, without hesitation, us calm-
. ij- mm uioiigu catustropiie nan not
1 thrown the weight of Its moral terror
against their stolcltiu, spraug, savey
In hand. Io the Insistent work.
Thorpe's fins' lit with gnitltlcatlou.
He turned to the young man.
"You sco," he said in proud simplicity.
With the added danger of freshet wa
ter, Ihe work went ou.
Al this moment Tim Hhearor ap
proached from Inland, his clothes drip
plug wet, but Ids race rotulnltig Us ha
bitual exprosslou or Iron calmness.
"Anylssly caught?" wui his first ques
tion as he drew near.
"Five men under the face," replied
Thorpe briefly.
KIii'mht cast n glance nt tho river.
He uiMilcd to tx told no more.
"I was nfmld of It." said ho. "Tho
rollways must be all broken out. it's
saved Us thut much, but the frcshst
wuter won't lust long. It's going to I
a cloe squeak to got 'em nut now.
Don't exactly tlgun ou wiiat struck tin
dam. Thought tint I'd go right up
Hint way. tint then I came down to sen
about tin boys."
"When were you?" asked T'Krpo.
"On the pole trull. I got lu n little.
s you see."
ll "r tli foreman had had
do ""- Ids r,m.
"Wed better go up nnd take u look."
he suggested. "The boys bus things
go'ng here all right."
The two men turned toward tho
brush.
"HI. Tim!" called a voice Imlilnd
them.
Itetl Jacket appeared, clambering up
the cliff.
"Jack told me to give this to you."
he panted, holding nut a chunk or
strangely twisted wins..
"Whcro'd he get this?" Inquired
Thorpe quickly. "It's o piece or the
dam." he explained to Wallace, who
had drawn near.
Ticked II out or the cHrmit." re
plied the man.
The rnreiuan ami Ills boss laml ea
gerly over the morsel.., Then they
s tn red with solemnity into each other'
eyt-s.
"Dynamite!" exclaimed Hhearor.
CHAPTKK XXIX.
-10R a moment tho '1ip
I h stansl at each other w
I Ii I siwmklng.
p men
Ithotit
CJ "What does It mean?" slmoitt
wlilspored Carpenter,
"Mean? Foul play!" snarled Thorpe.
"Come ou, Tim,"
The two s'ruck Into the brush, thread-
tug the puius with the ease of woods-
men. it was necessary to keep to th
high Inland ridges. 1 lie pole fall had
by now become Impassable, Thorpe
npd Ills foreman talked briefly,
"It's Morrison & Daly." surmised
Hhearor. "I left them 'count of a trick
like that. I been suspecting some-
ming. i iiny ve oeeu laying too low.
Thorpe answerod nothing. Through
the site of the old dam they found s
ti.i.... r. i ..
torrent twmrlntr front tin. niirrnwnd
torrent iKiurlng from the narrowed
pond, at the end of which th dilap
idated wings flapping In tho current at
tested the former structure, Davis
stood staring at tho current.
Tlioriie strode forward and shook him
violently by the shoulder.
"How did this happen?" he demand
ed hoarsely.
The man turned to him In a date. "I
don't know," he answered.
"You ought to know, now was thai
shot exploded? How did they get in
here without ydur seeing them? An
swer me."
"I don't know,' repeated the man.
"I Jest went over In th' brcsh to 1(111 a
few pu'trldges. and when I come back
I found her this way."
"Wore you hired to watch this dnm.
or weren't you?" demanded the tense
voice of Thorpo. "Answer me, you
fool."
"Yes, I was," returned the man. e
shade of aggression creeping Into his
voice,