1
THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEDRA8KA.
WEB
OF
:By
CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY and CYRUS TOWNSEND B&ADY, Jr.
Author and Clergymnn Civil Engineer
Copyright by Fleming II. Kevell Co.
TRY AS HE WILL TO CONCEAL HIS EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
OF ENGINEERING MEADE FAILS AND PROMOTION
COMES TO HIM RAPIDLY AT THE DAM
Following the collnpse of n Brent bridge which hla father, n noted
engineer, had plnnned, nnd the old man's sudden death from disgrace
and shock, Bertram Mendo takes the blumo for the disaster which cost
many lives nnd disappears from his homo In New York. He goes to
the Southwest, gets n Job under the name of Itoborts on an Irrigation
dam project and mnkes good. Mennwhllo Ilclon Illlngworth, Meade's
sweetheart, and Itodnoy, an old friend, are quietly working to elenr
the young man's namo and to lenrn his whereabouts. They are par
ticularly anxious to get possession of a letter written by tho elder
Mcado to assume responsibility for tho accident. This paper Is secret
ly held by Shurtllff, who had been tho old man's devoted private sec
retary for many years.
CHAPTER XII Continued.
"I bellovo you are right," said Itod
noy, leaning back In his chair and
staring at her through his glasses. "If
we can only mako him speak But
whero Is ho?"
"Working for my father."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I suspected him from
tho first, nnd ns there was an opening
for a prlvato confidential man, who un
derstood engineering a vacancy made
by tho promotion of my father's prl
vato secretary I prevailed upon him
to give tho position to Shurtllff. Fa
ther hates tho namo of Meade, but ho
worships efficiency and ho knows that
ghurtllff Is tho very Incarnation of tho
particular kind of ability that ho de
sires, so ho la with my father con
otantly nnd I have him nlwnys under
ray eyo. When wo go nwny In tho car,
ho goes along."
"What aro you going to do?"
"Win his confidence, his nffectlon If
I can, appeal to him, and"
"By Jove," said Itodnoy, "I bellovo
you can do It You can't drlvo that old
nan."
"I know It," said tho woman.
"You haven't told him that you
thought It was hi fault?"
"No."
"I couldn't do anything with a innn
llko Shurtllff. You can. You can win
his devotion, you can let him see how
much tho reinstatement of Bert Meado
In honor again means to you. You can
do it."
"Moanwhllo you will help mo, won't
you?"
"In any way, in ovcry way. Do you
know whero ho has gonoY"
"I haven't tho slightest idea, no
might be in Afrlcn, or South America,
or out West, or up North. Do you sco
thoso flowors?" sho pointed to a great
bunch of American Beauty roses,
which had been forced for her appar
ently, and which she had received on
that very day "Dards, you know, tho
Madison nvenuo florist, sends mo a box
of magnificent blossoms roses, vlo
lots, orchids, always different overy
week. Thoy speak to mo of him."
"Ilnvo you ever tried to traco them?"
"No. I know whenco thoy como and
Mint Is all. Wo will hear from him
omo day, Bomowhcro, somehow.
Ht Had a Natural Instinct for Topog
raphy.
Meanwhllo wo will work, work, work I"
"And you will allow mo to say bo
foro I go that Blnco I have had this
conversation with you I do not aco
kew even love for his father or his
family name would have led Mcado to
olt"
"Don't say anything against him,'
Mid Helen Illlngworth quickly, "Ho
vtm mad with anxiety, shamo, regret.
Whatever he did, I lovo him just tho
Mine."
CHAPTER XIII.
Working Up.
The autumn went by as a dream,
Winter, warm and mild 1b that far
southern clime, was at hand before
Jkcodo realized lb An ordinary eatf-
eer of half the ability oi Bertram
Mcnde, so suddenly reduced to the
ranks, would have chafed against tho
position of subordination nnd would
liavo resented tho humblo duties with
which ho was charged. But Meudo
was happy to bo following, oven in tills
extremely modest way, the profession
that ho loved. And ho did Ills unim
portant work with zeal and care. It
Is not much to say, but ho was tho
most efficient of tho Junior engineering
force on tho dam.
It was not becauso Mcado was un
social that ho kept to himself not at
nil. From his own galvanlzcd-lron
quarters ho used to staro longingly at
tho men grouped around tho big camp
fires, for tho nights wero growing chill,
smoking and laughing, exchanging ex
periences nnd telling stories. Nothing
would hnvo pleased him better than to
hnvo Joined In, and ho could havo told
stories and related experiences that
would have been uniquo even In that
gay crowd of young adventurers. But
lie did not dare. IIo feared to betray
himself. What ho wanted nbovo ev
erything was to prcsorvo his Incognito.
It would bo fatal to his chances of over
working up to anything worth while
if they found out who ho was.
And ho had n tremendous prldo to
sustain him. They respected him now.
As a matter of fact, thoy put his with'
drnwal of himself down to vagaries of
temperament or causes thoy could not
Imagine, and they grew rather to llko
him even ns they left him alone. And
a few of tho men of tho humbler sort
to whom ho had been kind on occasion,
nnd helpful, wero stoutly devoted to
him.
Tho Idleness of nn nimlcss life did
not appeal to him oven in his off-duty
periods. Doing nothing had no attrac
tion. Ho could not got relief that way.
Even rambling nlono about tho hills
would not servo. So quick nnd nctlvo
a man, so vigorous and buoyant n
spirit, so strong a body nnd mind wero
not calculated for aimless wandering.
Mcado was a very accomplished en
gineer indeed. Thcro was no branch
of tho art about which ho did not know
a little, although hydraulics and struc
tural Btecl wero tho things that most
appealed to him. Ho got relief in tho
duality of his affections for theso
branches of his profession. Neither ono
of tlicra ever palled on him becauso ho
did not work monotonously at cither of
them. Ho had .a natural Instinct for
topography, and instead of purpose
lessly strolling about tho country, ho
mado a careful inspection of tho valley
which was to bo converted into a hugo
reservoir by tho dam.
tho uam useir was, perhaps, an
eighth of a mllo long at tho bottom and
touched tho receding hill on ono sldo
nnd tho spur of Spanish mesa on tho
othor at tho ton a hugo mound of
earth with n clay coro extending from
sldo to Bldo at tho narrowest part of
tho valley. When completed It would
bo 125 feet high abovo tho old river
bed, with n roadway 20 feet broad on
top of It Below tho (lam and on tho
low ground between tho mesa nnd
Baldwin's knob tho camp, with its gal
vatdzed lrou shops, bunkhouscs, dining
halls, kitchens and officers' quarters,
had been erected. Tho configuration
of tho ground was such Unit, although
It was unusual to put them there, con
vcnlcnco had rendered It dcslrnblo la
tills case.
It was Intended to complcto tho dnm
beforo tho curly spring of next year,
which was, If any tlmo In tho country
could bo so chuructorlzcd, tho rainy
senson. Of course, Just as booh as tho
dam had begun to rlso, tho flow of tho
Picket Wlro below it had boeu stopped,
except when nn occasional freshot had
been allowed to pass the undcrslulce.
It wna known Unit tho run-off of tho
river in tho rainy season of somo years
was so small as scarcely to fill tho rca
crvolr, and It had been decided to storo
all tho flow of tho autumn and winter
so that oven If tho spring rainy season
were deficient, tho beginning of tho
next summer would And tho reservoir
full and tho now Irrigation system
could coiumenca operations success
fully. Vnndevcnter, llko tho lost Abbott of
tho International, was also a driver,
who spared neither his men nor him
self. Tho work had proceeded with as
tonishing rapidity, although this wus
partially accounted for by Uio fact
that tho spillway, which should havo
occupied their attention, had fia jet
been only partially excavnted. Now,
to thoso ignorant of engineering, nn
earth dam may seem a temporary ex
pedient, although most of tho great Ir
rigation dnms of tho world aro of that
character; and everybody knows that
If the water should rlso high cuough to
overflow an earth dam It would not Inst
longer than it takes to describe Its
utter giving way. A flood would sweep
It out of the way at once.
The device whereby posslblo floods
are controlled and such dangers avert
ed, consists of a brond channel at ono
side of tho dam, id at such n dis
tance below Its crest that If, through
any mischance or natural happening,
such as tho failure of the sluice gates,
excess! vo rains, cloudbursts, or floods,
tho height of tho water is increased
until It promises to overflow tho dam,
this opening will enrry off tho surplus
harmlessly. An earth dam without a
spillway would presage almost certain
destruction to all who lived In tho val
ley below It
In tho enso of the Picket Wire dnm,
tho spillway had to be cut and, In part,
blasted out of the mountain side that
Is, through the spur of the mesa, which
reached down from Its high wall
towurds the narrows. There had been
series of blunders and mlshnps,
which Included tho explosion of a ship
mcnt of dynamite on the railroad, with
Very disastrous consequences to accom
punying rock crushers and mixers, and
othor machinery. Tho spillway hud not
been completed. Its opening should
have been about twelvo feet below the
level of the dam. Vandcventcr was not
responsible, of course. Tho chief cngl
nccr had fumed and protested, but had
been directed by headquarters to go
nhcad with tho other work nnd tncklo
tho spillway later. There was, Indeed,
llttlo reason to hold up tho building of
that particular dam becauso of tho
noncomplctlon of tho spillway.
That was a country, so tho most de
voted inhabitants freely admitted, in
which it was always safo to bot that
it would not rain, no matter how
threatening might bo tho appcaranco
of tho sky ; for In nlncty-nlno times out
of a hundred tho ncgatlvo would win
tho bet. Said Inhabitants did not say
tho hundredth tlmo might compensato
for all tho other failures. Tho weather
was llko the llttlo girl with tho pro
verblal curl when it did rain thcro
was no doubt in anybody's mind ns to
tho fact Sometimes the fountains of
tho great deep, which, in Holy Scrip
turo nt least, extended overhead, would
bo broken open nnd tho vlolenco of tho
fall nnd tho quantity of it, and sudden
ncss of It, would bo such that tho West
crncrs would graphically can it a
cloudburst," which, Indeed, It seemed
to be.
Outside tho rainy season cloudbursts
wero unheard of, and even in that sea'
son extremely rnre. For tho valley
of the Picket Wiro and. in tho plain
beneath carefully tabulated reports of
tho rainfall for years had been consid
ered by tho engineers. They had cho
sen tho right season for the building
of tho dam, but when Its crest begun
to rlso nbovo tho designed level of tho
spillway the delay In opening tho chan
nel gnvo causo for somo alarm. It Is
not tho probable or certain that la
feared. An old version that, of "omno
Ignotum pro mngniflco" It is only tho
unknown of which men aro afraid, or
only the unknown to bo feared I Still
Uicro was nothing Vnndevcnter could
do but obey orders nnd go nhcad. Tho
dnngcr, after nil, wns trifling. Another
conscqucnco of the wnltlng wns that
in his inability to work on tho spill
way, hp had moro hands to devoto to
tho dam und It roso tho quicker,
Tho shapo of the country behind It
was such that when tho Picket Wlro
flowed with sufficient volume to fill It,
a long lake going back through tho val
ley, or canyon, and twisting among tho
hills for somo miles would result. In
othor words, the dnm would mako a
beautiful artificial sheet of water bor
dered on ono side by a high rnngo of
hills, on tho other by tho dam, and on
tho third by tho hills and tho low hog
back nbovo Spanish mesa, which scpa
rated tho Picket Wlro valley from tho
Kicking Horso gorgo up which tho rali-
roud run.
Burled In hla own thoughts, com'
munlng with himself, considering cease
lessly his position, dreaming of tho
woman he loved, planning a new ca
rccr, Mcado yet explored overy foot of
tho valley nud ravine. Ho climbed to
tho top of Spanish mesa, and from Its
height tho whole country clear up tho
vnlloy to tho main rnngo was vlslblo
to him. He could look down into tho
holiday to go out and Inspect the hog
back and ascertain Its elevation with
relation to the dam. 'Of courso the en
gineers who planned tho grent irriga
tion works had done thnt, but ho want
ed to do It for himself. At ono place,
whero tho dlstanco betweon what
might be called tho edge of the valley
nnd the head of the ravine was narrow
est Indeed, he estimated nftcr pacing
It that It measured not over twenty
feet across ho discovered that tne
rounded earth crest wns slightly lower
than tho Intended level of the top of
the dnm.
When ho returned to tho office, ho
found on examining tho construction
drawings that an earth dike wns
plnnned to run along tho hogbnek so
thnt the top level should bo higher
thnn thnt of tho dam. This dike would
bo only a hundred and fifty feet long
nnd a few feet high, and could bo built
In a few days' time. Work on tho main
dnm being more importnnt, nothing
hud as yet been dono on the dike.
Mendo had been promoted toward
the end of the fall nnd in n rather
unusual way. Ono of tho transit men,
n young engineer, got n better Job
nnd left his Instrument Vandeventer
called Mcado beforo him.
"Roberts," he snld, "there's a vn-
enncy for a transit mnn. You've dono
such good work so fnr nnd shown such
familiarity with flcldwork, that I'd
give It to you If I had any idea that
you knew anything about handling In
strumcnts."
"I think I mny bo trusted with one,
sir." nuswercd Meade, his eyes bright
ening.
"Yes, perhaps; but I havo watched
you in odd hours, a no young men
around hero nro constantly practicing
with tho transits. I've never seen you
put a hnnd to one. How about It?"
"I'm not exactly a youngster, Mr.
Vandeventer," returned Meade, "and
I really didn't think It necessary to
practice, but If you trust mo with ono
I believe I can manage it"
Old Vandeventer leaned back in his
chair in the office nnd looked enre-
lessly away from Meade to nil nppear
ances. Ho clasped Ills hands back of
his head and seemed lost In thought
Suddenly ho began humming a little
scrap of verso about anotner conego
which Cambridge men sing with zest:
"Good; tho instrument Is yours."
That was tho first step and the next
step enmo very shortly nftcr, when,
having further demonstrated his ca
pacity In other ways, Mcado was giv
en charge of tho work on tho cast end.
of tho dam.
"I don't care who ho Is," said Van
deventer to his chief subordinate, "ho
knows what ho's nbout, nnd If you
wntch him you'll see. He's keen on
hnndllng men. Tho other section fore
men will bo hnrd put to keep up with
him. lie keeps wntch on himself. Ho's
got somo secret ho won't betray. Ho
doesn't mingle with tho crowd, but
every onco In n while something slips
out Whnt ho doesn't know nbout en
gineering nobody needs to know, I'll
wngcr."
"now-do you account for his being
out hero?"
"Oh, It's the old story, I suppose;
he's como n cropper somewhere
down and out nnd wants to begin
ngnln, and enn't do anything but this.
It's not our business, Stafford ; ho does
good work for us and we're sntlsflcd."
CHAPTER XIV.
The Former and tne Latter Rain.
Tho work on the dnm wus progress
ing splendidly. Vnndeventcr, driving
his men hnrd, shared in all their furi
ous efforts. Ho was not only their
leader, but their Inspiration. Ho had
surrounded himself with a body of
able assistants, and his teamsters and
workmen had been culled until they
had becomo a small army of picked
men of which to bo proud.
Among nil tneso Meaue stoou very
high. In the four months he had been
with Vnndevcnter ho had Bhown such
a grasp of tilings, such nn ability to
handle men, In one or two instances
when, with intention to try him, tho
resident engineer had given him
deep ravlno of tho Kicking Horso, nnd
noto tho marvelous beauty and airiness
of tho arch bridge for all it so solidly
carried tho heavy freight trains of tho
railway.
Ho could sco far up and around tho
crooked courso of tho Picket Wlro. Tho
big grass-covered, but otherwise baro
nnd treeless hogback, that ran from
tho upper end of the stono island of
tho mesa wus equally vlslblo to him.
As It was the low tide of the new res
ervoir, ho descended to It and studied
It carefully. On anothor occasion, hav
ing said nothing to nnyono about his
excursion, ho took advantago of a half-
I'm a physical wreck.
From the gratia old Tech',
Dut a h of an englneerl
Ho stopped abruptly, whirled about
In his swingchalr, and shot a quick
glance at Meade. It was a trap. And
as he sprang it Vandeventer surprised
the ghost of a smile, repressed quickly
but there, on Meade's lips. The chief
engineer was sutlsfled. Beforo this
llttlo things had betrayed a follow
nlumnus, or at least a fellow student
of tho old Lawrence Scientific school
Vandeventer was pleased at his adroit
ness. He did not, however, refer to
It
"There's a new transit In that box
on tho floor there," ho said, resuming
hlB Indifferent manner. "I've had tho
caso opened, but I haven't taken It out
Get It and we'll go outside and see
what you can do with It"
Now a transit, for all It Is used in
rough flcldwork, Is ono of tho most
expensive nnd dellcnto of instruments.
It is capable of tho most accurate ad
justment, and if it Is to bo of any
renl use, tho refinement of theso adjustments-must
not be Impaired In any
degreo by unskilled nnd reckless pack
ing. Tho boxes In which tho Instru
ments nro shipped nro very carefully
constructed in accordance with tho
principles which experience hns shown
to bo necessary, and each ono Is espe
cially fitted to tho particular Instru
ment to bo contained therein. Tho
box Is a complicated thing and the
transit cannot bo taken out or replaced
except In ono way. With a knowledge
of tho combination, so to speak, It Is
comparatively slraplo to take a transit
from tho box; without that knowledge,
which none but an expert transltmnn,
or tho packer himself can have, It is
rather difficult without running a risk
of ruining tho Instrument
Tills command was another of Vnn-
deventer's tests, therefore. Meade
knew this as well as his superior. In
splto of himself, ho would havo to be
tray his familiarity. Well, ho had
brought himself to the conclusion that
ho could not continue his work with
out very soon disclosing tho fact that
ho had been an engineer. And in caso
of tho Inevitable, the sooner tho bet
ter. So long as ho hnd to betray him
self, ho would havo all tho advantages
as well as the disadvantages, no un
locked tho door of tho box, slid tho
Instrument out quickly, nccurntcly,
without a moment's hesitation, nnd
rapidly unscrewed the head from the
slide-board, and scrowed it carefully
on tho tripod. Vandeventer's eyes
sparkled.
"Como outside," ho said, leading tho
way to tho side of tho hill, "nnd set It
up thcro over tho tack in that stako
and level It"
Beglnucrs hnvo been known to tnko
ten minutes to get a transit set up,
leveled and centered. It Is good work
If It Is dono lnsldo of a minute; thirty
seconds Is very fast In forty-flvo sec
onds Mcado reported, "all ready, sir.'
Ho could havo dono It in less, but ho
was a llttlo out of practice, ho said
Ho Had Accompanied the Younger
Man on One of His Rambles.
to himself.
"Look here," Bald vnnueventer, "you
can't pull any moro bluff on me, Rob
orts; you'ro an engineer, nil right"
"I know something about tho practl
cal sldo of It, sir," answered Meade,
turning n llttlo pnlo nnd wondering
how far Vandeventer would press his
questions and what ho would learn.
But tho engineer was a man.
"Practical, yes, and theoretical too
ril bo bound, but I don't seek to pry
into your nntccedonts. It's enough for
me If you do good work for mo hero."
Til do my best sir."
charge of some special work, that
Vandeventer unconsciously looked to
him In any emergency. He nctually
found himself consulting Meado on
occasion.
Ho had accompanied tho younger
man on one of thoso rambles which ho
had hitherto taken alone. Ho had not
broken down Meade's reserve, but ho
had won his admiration and regard.
Vandeventer was not unknown In en-
glneering circles. In earthwork ho
was by way of being an authority.
His experience had been varied and
extensive. Meade's reserve and reti
cence rather hurt the older engineer,
He hnd Invited confldenco und had
even given his nffectlon. Ho Intlmnt-
delicately that If tho other wero
under a cloud Vandeventer might bo
In a position to help him.
It was fortunate for Meade's pur
pose of concealment, for his Incognito
that most of his engineering work had
been dbno nbroad and that ho had
been out of touch with American en
glneering for practically tho whole of
his career. Vandeventer was a Har
vard man, too, and that mado It espe
cially hard for Meado to keep from
betraying himself. As a matter of
fact tho younger man actually longed
to mako a clean breast c It, but ho
could not quite bring himself to do It
yet. That might come later.
Three months ought to see the com
pletion of tho dam and tho long cunul,
which was to carry tho stored water
to tho Irrigation ditches below. Van
deventer was already making plana
for another big Job, and ho hud de
cided, In his own mind, that amoug tho
subordinates whom ho would tako
with him tho newcomer should have
tho first chnncc. Vandeventer felt
proud and satisfied when ho surveyed
tho work that had been accomplished
In tho six months of labor. To be sure
tho delay In tho completion of tho
spillway disquieted him a little.
Tho dam had reached Uio spillway
level a fortnight before, and had now
passed It Indeed, on tho fifth of Jan
uary tho dam builders wero within
five feet of tho top; thnt is, tho crest
of tho dnm wus 120 feet ubove the
lovel of tho vulloy. They iud plnnned
to run tbo spillway around the east
ern end of tho dnm. Tho rock drills
and dynnmlto which had been ordered
had finally arrived in December, and
by putting as many as posslblo to
work on tho spillway Vandeventer had
succeeded In opening It for Its entire
width to un average depth of about
soven feet below the Intended top of
tho dam; that Is, It was now about
two feet deeper thnn the nctunl crest
of tho dum, but It still lacked flvo feet
of its designed depth.
The rulny senson, nn inspection of
tho rpcords bad shown, wus not duo
for a month and a half yet That
would give him ample tlmo to com
plete tho dnm nnd tho splllwny. This
yenr, however, thcro hnd been some
very unusual ruins during tho full and
tho water hack of the dam was now 08
feet deep, which mado It 22- feet below
tho level to which the dam had risen
nnd 20 feet below tho splllwny. This
wns much moro wnter thnn nnyone
hud drenmed would bo In tho reser
voir at thnt time, nnd wns perhnps
more thnn should hnvo been allowed.
Still there wns a safety margin of -4
2 feet, which Vandeventer was sure
would be ample. Tho financial promo
ters of the project wero very anxious
to linve tho reservoir full when tho
Irrigating senson opened, and the en
gineer's. Judgment had been influenced
by their eugerness to get it working.
The brond sheet of wnter ran back
into the valley for muny miles. In
fuct the dum hud transformed .the
country Into n bcnutlful lnke. Some
times it ruined in the mountains when
it did not rain down in the vnlley,
und thcro wns a constant, If very
small, rise in tho level. Vandeventer
personally carefully gauged the water
every day. Naturally he had noted
that It roso gradually, but as the dam
roso proportionately more rupldly, ho
was not uneasy. Yet, ns a good en
gineer, ho wus wntchful nnd lurgely
becnusc of the unfinished splllwny he
urged tho men to tho very limit.
Tho wentherwlse from tho town,
who sometimes rode up to Inspect the
work, nssured Vnndeventer that It
could not possibly rain before March,
and the mere fnct thnt so much wntei
hud fallen rendered It more lmprob
nblo that uny more would come down
But ut three on the afternoon of Jun-
unry sixth It suddenly begnn to ruin
hnrd without wurntng nnd with no
premonition on the purt of anybody,
It was not ono of those terrible down
pours known as cloudbursts, but It
wus nn excessively hurd, steudy rain.
The heavens over the range were
bluck with clouds nnd so fur us any
one nt the dum could see, It wns raln-
ing from the crest of the mountains
down. There were somo anxious dis
cussions in the dining room of the res
ident engineer and his American assistants.
At four o'clock It was decided to
open tho underslulce gate about half-
way, but when this was done tho vol
ume of water It was capuble of dis
charging wns too small to help very
much, and on opening It to its fullest
extent the velocity of the wnter rush
ing through wns so grent thnt the
river bed wus rupldly scoured out Foi
feur of undermining the toe of the
dum It wns necessury purtinlly to
closo tho sluice once more.
Tho wnter wns rising, first at th
rate of threo or four inches nn hour,
then half a foot, and finally nenrly a
foot. By six o'clock that night 11
had risen two feet. It was still rain
ing hard at thnt hour, nlthough not
quite so furiously ns It hnd been. Ii(
It did rain until morning at the pres-
ent rate, there would still be a mar
gin of snfety of perhups fourteen oi
fifteen feet nt duwn. Although the
situation required watchfulness and
wns somewhat alarming, it was not
desperate. Tho men wero advised tc
put In all tho time In their bunks so
as to bo good and ready for the hard
battle which might como in the morn
ing, nnd as they wero nil tired out
with their dny's work the llttlo group
soon broke up nnd cuch mnn went to
his quurtcrs.
Vnndeventer, however, could not
sleep. The ruin kept up stendlly all
night The resident engineer finally
got up and dressed himself, and pro
tected by high rubber boots and a
cowboy slicker and a sou'wester, left
his quarters nnd went out to Inspect
tho dnm. He enrried a lantern, of
course, for it was pitch dark and, 11
possible, the rain dropping from tha
black sky mnde It more difficult to see.
He wns surprised when ho got to the
dam to see on tho other side another
lantern. Closing tho slide of his own
lantern to prevent observation, and be
ing on fnmlllnr ground, ho went !
straight towurd tho other side. The
nolso of tho rain subdued nny sound
thnt he mnde, and he wns nble to coma
quite close to the other light without
being noticed.
How young Roberts, the mys
terious engineer, uses hla talents
and knowledge to good advan
tage Is told In the next Install
ment ho gets the opportunity to
wipe out all disgrace, real or
fancied.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Alexandria.
Thero aro few cities that can look
back to n past llko that of Alexandria,
nnd fewer still with such a past that
can contrive to keep up with tho times
and look forwnrd to tho future. Tho
relics of 25. deud centuries of Alex,
undrlnn history huve to bo looked fot
In tho guldo books. In tho city Itself
they tiro covered up by tho lntost mod
ern Improvements. A few erudite
Alexnndrlnns muy nrguo about tho real
nationality of Cleoputra, but most of
them aro talking about the prlco of
cotton nnd tho lntest project for dredg.
Ing tho harbor.
Wanted Joy Distributed.
Mnrion wns given a beautiful ring
Christmas eve. Sho wus overjoyed,
but chnnged It from ono finger to tho
other nil evening. No one noticed It
thnt evening, but sho kept It up tho
next morning. Her mother, fearing
Marlon would loso tho ring, said:
"Why don't you put your ring on ono
finger nnd keep It thero, Marlon "
Well, I don't llko to bo mean. When
I keep It on one finger I pity tho others."
