THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. When the Colorado Burst Its Banks and Flooded the Imperial Valley of California The RIVER By Ednati Aiken Copyright. Boljbs-MerrlU Company J CHAPTER XXXII. 13 The White Night. "Lord, I'm tired." gronncd Hlcknrd, Btuinbllng into camp, wet to the Bkln. "Don't you sny letters to mo, Muc. I'm going to bed. Tell Ling I don't want any dinner. He'll wnnt to fuss up something. I don't wnnt to hco food." The day, confused nnd Jumbled, burned ncross his cycbnlfs; u turmoil of bustle nnd hurry of Insurrection. He had mndo u swift stnnd ugulnst that. He wns to be minded to the Inst man jficlf of them, or anyone would go, his threat Including the engineers, Silent, Irlrii, Woostcr, Hnrdln himself. This wns no time for fnctlons, for lender feeling. In bed, the dny with Its lrrltntlons fell nwny. He could see now the step ahead that had been taken; the Inst trestle wns done; tho rock-pouring well on; he cnlled thnt going some I Ho felt plcnsnntly lnnguld, but not yet loopy. Ills thought wandered over the resting camp. And then Innes Hardin came to him. Not herself, but as a soft little thought which came creeping nround tho corner of his dreams. She had been there, of course, all day, tucked nway in his mind, ns though In his home waiting for him to come bnck to her, weary from tho pricks of the day. Tho wny he would come homo to her, please God, some day. Not hearing his burdens to her, ho did not believe In that, but asking her diversions. Con tentment spread her soft wings over him. He fell nslcep. Hlcknrd wakened ns to a cnll. Wnnt hud stnrtlcd him? He listened, rais ing himself by his elbow. From a dis tance, a sweet high voice, unreal in its pitch and thrilling quality, camo to hltn. It was Godfrey, somewhere on tho levee, singing by tho river. It brought him again to Innes Hardin. Ho pulled aside Ills curtain which hung over tho screening of his tent nnd looked out Into a moon-flooded world. Illcknrd'o eyes fell on a little tent over yonder, a whlto shrine. "Whlto ns that fino sweet soul of hers I" Wandering Into tho night, Godfrey passed down tho river, singing. His voice, tho footlights, tho listening great audiences wero calling to him. To him, tho moon-flooded lovee, tho glistening water, rondo a star-sot ftcono. no was treading tho boards, tho rushing waters by tho bank gavo tho orchestration for his melody "La Donna o Mobile." Ho began It to Gcrty ftnrdln ; she would hear It In her tent ; ftho would tnko It ns tho tender ro pronch ho had teased her with that Afternoon In tho rnmnda. Ho gavo for encoro n bnlind long forgotten ; ho had pulled it back from tho cobwebs of two decades; ho hnd rondo it his own. "But, my darling, you will be, Ever young and fair to mo." It came, tho soaring voice, to Tom Hardin, outsldo Gerty's tent on his lonely cot. Ho know that song. Dis dained by his wife, n pretty ilguro n Jnan cuts I If his wife enn't stnnd felra, who enn? Ho wusn't good enough for her. Ho was rough. His llfo had fcept him from fitting himself to her taste. She needed pcoplo who could talk like Itlcknrd, sing llko Godfrey. I'coplc, other pcoplo, might miscon strue her preferences, Ho know they were not fllrtntlons; sho needed her tlmL Sho would always keep straight; Alio wns straight ns u whip. Llfo was .s hard for her ns it wns for him; ho jould feel sorry for her; his pity wnB divided between tho two of them, tho 'lusbund, tho wife, both lonely in their .vn wny. on tno other sido of tho ennvns Walls, Gcrty Hnrdln Iny listening to tho message meant for her. Tho llcklo lex, he hnd cnlled hers; no constnncy ui womnn, ho hnd declared, fondling acr hair. Ho had tried to coax her -'nto pledges, pledges which wero also disavowals to tho man outsldo. Silver threads 1 Age shuddered nt ?lor threshold. She hated thnt song. Cruel, llfo hnd been to her; nono of its v promises hnd been kept. To bo hnppy, why, 'thnt was n human's birthright; irnb It, thnt wob her creed I Thero was a chance yet ; youth had not gono. ' Ho was singing it to her, her escape f "Darling, you will bo, , Ever young nnd fair to me." ' Godfrey, singing to Gcrty nardin, hnd awakened tho enmn. Innes, In ior tent, too, wns listening. "Dnrllng, you will be, Ever young and fair to mol" So that is tho miracle, thnt wild ftush of ccrtnln feeling I Yesterday, doubting, tomorrow, moro doubts but tonight, the song, tho night lsolntcd them, herself nud Itlcknrd, Into a H-orld of their own, Llfo with htm on any terms sho wautcd. CHAPTER XXXIII. ' Tho Battlo In the Night. .Gathering on tho bank wero tho camp groups to wntch tho InBt stand of tho river against tho rock bombard ment Molly Silent had crept down from the Crossing, full of fears. Out (hero, somewhere ou do trestles, on one of those rock cars, wns her Jim. She sat on the bank by Innes and Mrs. Mnrshnll. Mrs. Hardin, floated by In her crisp muslins. A few feet behind stalked Godfrey, his eyes on tho( pretty figure by his side. Innes turned from his look, nbuHhcd as though sho hnd been peering through a locked door. Guyly, with a fluttering of ruffles, Gcrty established herself on tho bank, n trlflo out of hearing distance. A hard little smile plnycd on the Hps ac cent oil with Parisian rouge. The child ish expression wns gono; her look ac cused llfo of having trilled with her. Hut they would sec "Don't look so unhappy, dearest," whispered tho man nt her side. "I'm going to make you happy, dear!" She flushed u brilliant, finished smile nt him. Yes, sho wns proud of him. He Hutlsfled her sense of romance, or would, later, when she was nway from here, a dull pain pricking at her delib erate plunnlng. Godfrey found her young, young and distracting, nis life hnd been hungry, too; the wife, up there In Canada somewhere, had never understood him'. Godfrey wns ambitious, nmblttous ns she wns. She would bo his wlfo; she would sea the cities of the world with him, the vel coined wlfo of Godfrey; she would shuro the plaudits his wonderful volco won. His eyes wero on her now, sho knew, questioning, not quite sure of her. Sho hnd worried him yesterdny because sho would not pledge herself to murry him If ho sued for his divorce.' Sho had told him to nsk her thnt after tho courts hnd set him free. Sho could not have him sure of her. An exclamation from ulm recalled her. She found that ho t ns no longer staring at her; his eyes orc fixed on the trembling structure over which n "battleship," luden with rock, was creeping. "I want, to stay with you, you know that dearest. But It doesn't feel right to see them nil working like niggers nnd mo loallng hero. You don't mind?" Oh, no, Gerty did not mind I She wns tired, nnywuyl Sho was going buck to her tent I no thrust n yellow paper Into her hands. "I sent that oft today. Per haps you will bo glad?" Sho flung another of her Inscrutable smiles nt him, nnd went up tho bnnk, tho pnper unrend In her hands. Tho long afternoon wore away. They wore now dynamiting tho largest rocka on tho cars beforo unlondlng them. Tho henvy londs could not bo emptied quickly enough. Not drlllbled, tho rock, but dumped simultaneously, else tho gravel nnd rock might bo washed down stream faster than they could bo put together. Mnny enrs must bo un- londed nt once; tho din on Sllent's train wns terrific. His crow looked llko devils, drenched from tho epruy which roso from tho river ench time tho rock-pour began ; blnckened by tho emolco from tho belching engine. Tho river was ugly In its wrath. It was humping Itself for Its final stand against tho nbsurdity of human inten tion; its yellow tail swished through tho bents of tho trestle. Tho order camo for moro speed. ilickard moved from bank to raft: kneo deep In water, screaming orders through, tho din; directing tho gangs; speeding tho rock trains. Ilurdln oscll luted between tho lovco nnd dnms, hik ing orders, giving orders. His energy was Buperb. It hnd grown dnrk, but no one yet had thought of tho lights, tho great Wells' burners stretched ncross the chnnnel. Suddenly, tho lights flared out brightly. inoi ono oi inoso who innorcu or f .1 m . . . . watched would ever forget that night, Tho spirit of recklessness entered even Into tho atolld native. Tho men of tho Itcclnmntlon forgot this was not their "enterprise; tho Hnrdln faction jumped to RIckard's orders. Tho watchers . on tho bank sat tense, thrilled out of recognition of aching muscles, or tho midnight creeping chill. No ono would go home. To Innes, tho struggle was vested In two men, Itlcknrd running down yonder with that light foot of his, nnd Hnrdln with tho lighting mouth tense, And somewhere sho remembered working with tho rest, wns Estrada, Thoso thrco wero lighting for tho Just! Mention of a vision an idea was at stuke, a hope for tho future. Hlcknrd passed nnd rcpnsscd her. And had not Been her! Not during thoso hours would ho think of her, not until tho Idea fnlled, or was trlum pliant, would ho turn to look for her. VlBlbly, tho drama moved toward Its climax. Beforo many hours passed tho river would bo captured or tho Idcn forever mocked. Each tlmo a belching engine pulled across that hazardous truck It flung a credit to tho mun-sldc, Each tlmo tho waters, Blowly rising, hurled their weight ngainst tho creak lng trestles whero tho rock wns thin a point wns gained by tho militant rlv cr. Its ronr Bounded like tho last cry of a wounded animal In Innes' cur tho Dragon wns u reality that night as it spent its rugo against tho shackles of puny men. Molly Silent had seen her husband $ truln pull In. Sho watched for It to go out again. Tho whistle blew twice Something wns wrong. Sho loft her plnco In time to see Silent, his fnce shining ghastly pale under tho Boot, pull himself up from tho "battleship' where he had been leaning. Estrada sent by Ricknrd to And out why tin trnln did not pull out, snw him tin samS Instant us did Molly. Sllcm swayed, waving them buck unscclngly like a mnn who Is drunk. "God, mnn, you enn't go llko thnt!" cried Estrada. "Who's going?" demanded Silent, hl tongue thick with thirst und cxhnus tlon. The whistle blew again. "I Willi" The train moved out on the trestle, ns the whistle blew nngrllv twice. Only Molly nnd Silent saw Es- God, Man, You Can't Go Like That!" trnda go. Silent staggered unseelngly up the bunk toward the camp, "Molly following. The river was hutaplng out yonder; tho rolling muss camo roaring, flunk- on, nguinst the dnm. "Quick, for God's snke. quick!" yollcd Itlcknrd. His slgnuls sounded short and sharp. "Dump It on, throw tile cars In!' Marshall was dancing, his mouth full of oaths, on the bank edge. Breathlessly all watched tho rushing water fling Itself over the dam. For several hushed seconds tho struc ture could not bo seen. When tho foam fell a cheer went up. The dam was standing. Silent, It; wub supposed, wus bringing In his train. Above tho distant Jagged lino of mountains roso n red bnll. A new day began. And again tho Drngon rose ; a mountain of water camo rolling dnm- wurd. Three trains ran steaming on the rails. "Don't stop now to blnst tho big ones. Pour 'em on I" ordered Ilickard, Thero was a long wait before any rock fell. Mnrshnll nnd Itlcknrd wait cd for tho pour. Tho whistles blew again, alien tney saw what was -wrong. Tho morning light showed ft rock weighing several tons which was resisting tho efforts of the pressing crew. Out of tho gloom sprang other figures with crowbars. Tho rock tot tered, fell. Tho river tossed It as though It wero a tennis ball, sent It hurtling down tho lower face of tho dum. Tilings began to go wild. Tho men wito growing recuiess. They wero sagging townrd exhnustlon; mistakes wero made. Another rock, ns henvy as tho Inst, wnB worked toward the edge. ilea wero thick about It with crow burs. They hurried. One concerted effort, drawing back as tho rock top pled over tho edge. Ono man was too slow, or too tired. Ho slipped. The watchers on tho bank saw a flush of waving arms, heard a cry ; they hnd a glimpse of a blackened faco us the fonm caught It. The waters closed over him. Thero was a hush of horror; a hnlt. "God himself couldn't buvo that poor devil," cried Marshall. "Havo tho work go on!" rour rocks on that wretch down thero? Pin him down? Never had it seemed moro like wnrl "A mnn down? Rldo over hlml to victory 1" Soberly Itlcknrd slgnuled for tho work to go on. Tho rock-pour stuttered ns If in hor ror. Tho women turned sick with fenr, No one knew who it was. Some poor Mexican, probably. "Who was it?" demanded Ilickard, running down to the track. "The young Mexican, Hestrada. tried to 'elp. E wasn't fit." "Who was It?" Mnrshnll hnd run down to seo why tho work unused, Ilickard turned shocked eyes on his chief. "Estrada!" Tho beautiful uiuuriuui eyes or. lJitunrtio wero on nun, not Mnrshnll's, horrified. Now lio knew why Estrada hud said, "I can' see It finished." -uicKurur Th8 engineer did not recognize tho quenched vole). "TV work has got to go on." It camo to Hlcknrd as ho gave tho orders that Equnrdo tvaa closer to Mar shall than to him. "As near a son us he'll ever have." Ho turned a minute later to see his chief standing bare headed. " His own cap came off. "We're burying tho Ind," snld Mnr- slinll. Tho mlnuto of funeral hnd to be pushed aside. The river would not waft. Train after train was rushed on to tho trestles; wave after wave hit them. But perceptibly tho dam was steadying. Tho rnpld flro of rock wns telling. Another rldgo of yellow wntcrs rose. The roll of water came slowly, dwln- Ming as It came; It broke .against the trestle weakly. For the first time the trestle never shuddered. Workers nnd watchers breathed as a unit the first deep breath that night. Thero wns u chnnge. Every eye wns on the river where it touched the rim of the dnm. Suddenly a chorused cry rose. Tho river had stopped rising. Tho whlstlea screamed themselves hoarse. And then a girl, sitting on tho bnnk, snw two men grnb ench other by the hnnd. Sho was too far nwnv to henr their voices, but the sun, rising red through tho hnnks of smoke, fell on tho blnckened faces of her brother and Itlcknrd. Sho did not enro who saw her crying. CHAPTER XXXIV. A Desertion. When the afternoon waned nnd God frey did not call on her Gerty was roused to uneasiness. Had sho angered him by refusing to make tho definite promise? Could it bo love, the sort of love sho wanted, If he could stay away llko this when they could havo tho camp to themselves, every ono down nt tho break, no Uardlns running In every minute? Their first chance and God frey slighting it I He would surely como thnt evening, knowing thnt sho would be ulone I The little watch Tom hnd given her for nn nlmost forgotten birthday set the puce for her resentment. Nine, ten, eleven ! How dared' he treat her so? She blew out the lamps when she found that she was shaking with anger and undressed in the dark. She could not seo him. ho enmo now, her self-control all gono! But she could not go to bed. She stood In her darkened tent, shaken by her angry passlous. Suppose that ho were only trifling with her? What wns that paper ho had thrust m her hand? With a candle she found the yellow paper. It was n copy of n telegram to Godfrey'3 law yer. "Start divorce proceedings nt once. Any grounds possible. Back soon. Godfrey." Tho frightened blood resumed Its normnl flow. If he had done this for her then she had not lost him. An ap parent elopement, why had she never thought of that before? That would cement their bond, ner scruples could grow on tho road. Oh, she could man age Godfrey I She would go with him. Sho remembered that she must go tc bed If sho wero to havo any looks In tho morning. When Godfrey camo to her next af ternoon, penitent, refreshed after a Long morning's sleep, he found a charming hostess. Sho wns shy about his telegram. Enchantlngly distant when ho tried to reach her hand I "I can't go without you," ho cried, Ho had discovered her interpretation of his telegram and it delighted him; ho began to believe In his own Intention I know. You shrink from It all. You dread tho steps that will free you. You need me besido you to help you. Let's cut tho knot. Tonight I" "Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow,' whispered Gcrty, and then sho mnn aged n few tears nnd ho was allowed to kiss her. It was all arranged before ho left the ramadn. They were to lenvo together tho next dny. Her ob Ject would bo accomplished by their leaving together. Ho would feel that ho owed her h(s name. Of course Gerty must do it In tho conventional way I She would have used ropo ladders had they been needed. The conventional noto wus pinned to her bureau scarf. Innes wns with Tom when ho found It. They enmo In together from the river. Neither hnd noticed the odd looks from the men ns they passed through the encampment. A dozen men had Been Hardin's wlfo leavo for the North with Godfrey. Gerty's letter told Tom that It was all over. She hnd tried to stnnd It, to bo truo even through his cruelty, but a feeling stronger than she was mado her true to herself, und so truo at last to hlml Jnnes' revulsion lacked speech. Tho common blatter sickened her. Sho could offer no comfort, nis eyes told her It was worse than death. Ho struck off her hand when It touched his shoulder. Gerty's hnnd hnd coerced him thut way. IIo was done with softness. Ills silence oppressed her. This wns a man she did not know ; Inarticulate, Binlttcn. Sho told herself thnt oven n sister wnB un intruder but Bho vyns afraid to leave' him alone. She took a station by her own tent door. She would not go down to dinner. For hours sho watched his tent. When It grew dark she could no longer endure It. Sho found him whero sho hnd left him. Sho forced herself toward tho vol cano s edgo; and tno swift eruption Bcorchcd her. It wan tho pitiable wreck of dignity, of pride. Ills words were Incoherent; his wrath Involved his sis ter, crouching In tears. Innes shrunk from him, the man she did not know. The coarse streak was uncovered In nil Its repulslvenesa. IIo turned on Innes suddenly. She wns crying, a huddled heap on tho couch. "I've had enough crying between you nnd Gerty. Will you get out? I've got to have some sleep." Through her sobs ho could mnko out that she was afraid to leavo hltn. "Well, then, I'll go. I'm used to hav ing to lenvo Jny own tent. A dog's life." He flung out into the night. CHAPTER XXXV. A Corner of His Heart. The second evening after tho closure Illckurd was dining with the Mar- shalls In their car. The Palmyra was to pull out tho next day. Hnrdln's nnmo wns brought up by Tod Mnr shnll. "Sho waa light potntoes," he dismissed the womnn. "But eho's broken the mnn's spirit." Ilickard, It"' was discovered, had nothing to say on tho subject of the elopement. "I'm sorry his sister is not here to night," began Marshall mischievously. "I did ask her. Tod" Claudia has tened to interrupt her lord. "But she would not leave her brother her last evening." "Her last evening?" exclaimed Rlck- ard. "Is she going away 7" Marshall subdued his twinkle. "We nro carrying her off. She Is to visit Mrs. Marshall while I am on tho road." Ilickard gulped down his coffee, boiling. "Mrs. Mnrshull, will you let me run away .early?". Why should he give any excuse? They knew what he was running away fori Ho made his wny to the little white tent on tho fur side of the trapezium. Innes, by the door, wns bidding good- by to S'enora Maldonudo. He forgot to greet tho Mexican. She stood wnltlng; her eyes- full of him. Surely, the kind senor hnd something to sny to hor? He hnd tnken the white girl's hnnd. He wns staring Into the whlto girl's eyes. Something came to her, n memory like forgotten music. Silently, sho slipped nway Into the night. Bicknrd would not release Innes' hand; Ker eyes could not meet the look In his. . "Come out nnd havo a walk with me I You were not going to tell me you wero going. You were running away from me?" "You know thnt I love you I I have been waiting for this minute, this woman, all these lonely years." Her head she kept turned from him. He could not seo tho little maternal smile that ran around the curves of her mouth. Those yenrs, filled to the brim with stern work, hnd not been lonely. Lonely moments ho hnd had, that was all. "Nothing for mo?" Ho stopped, and mndo her fnce him, by taking both of her hands In his. She would not look nt him yet, would not meet the look which alwnys She Would Not Look at Him Yet compelled her will, stultified her speech. She had something to Buy first "We don't know ench other ; that Is you don't know me !" "is that all?" There wus relief In his voice. "I don't know you? Hnvcn't I aeon you day by dny? nnven't I seen your self-control tried, proved haven't I Been your Justice, when you could not understand Look at mol' Sho shook her head, her eyes on the sand nt her feet. He could scarce ly eaten ner words. They did not know each other. Ho did not know hor ! ueari i uon c unow whether you love red or blue, tlint'a a fact; Ibsen or Rostand; heat or cold. Docs that matter? I know youl" An upward glance hnd caught him smiling. Her speech wus routed. "I'm the only girl herd" "D( you think that's why I lovo you?" "Ah, but you loved Gerty I" Thnt slipped from her. She hnd not mennt to Buy thnt! "Docs thnt hurt?" Abnshcd by her own daring, yet she wns glad she had dared. She wanted him to deny 1L For he would deny it? She wondered 1C ho were angry, but she could not look at hltn. The minutes, dragging liko weighted hours, told her that he was not going to answer her. It camo to her then that she would never know whether Gerty's Btory were wholly false, or partly true. She know, then, that no wheedling, wife's or sweethenrt's, would tease that story from him. It did not belong to him. His silence frightened her Into ar- tlculatcness. He must not think that she was foolish! It was not that, In itself, she meant. The words jostled one nnother in their soft swift rush. He he had made a mistake once be fore. He had liked the sort of woman he hnd thought Gerty was. She her self was not llko the real Gerty any more thun she was like the other, the woman that did not exist. He would find that they did not think alike, be lieve alike, that there wero differ ences "Aren't you making something out of 'nothing, Innes?" That voice could always chide hor Into silence I Her speech lay cluttered In ruins, her words like useless broken bricks falling from the wall sho was building. He took her hand nnd led her to a pile of rock the river hud not eaten. Ho pulled her down beside him. "Isn't It true, with us?" "It Is, with me," breathed Innes. Their voices were low ns though they i ...i- "And you think Is Isn't, with me I" Ilickard stood before her. "Is It be cnuso I trust you, I wonder? Thnt I, loving you, love to haye the others love you, too? Don't vydu suppose I unow now it is with the rest, Mac- Lcnn; how It wns with Estrada? Should I be jealous? Why, I'm not. I'm proud ! Isn't that because I know you, know tho fine steady heart of you? You hated me at first and I am proud of that I don't lovo you enough?" He knelt at her feet, not listening to her pleading. Ho bent down and kissed one foot;. then tho other. "I love them!" The fnce ho raised to her Innes hnd never seen be fore. He pressed n kiss against her knee.. "That, too I It's mine. I've not said ray prayers since I was a boy. I shall sny them ngnln, here, you teach ing me." His kisses ran up her arm, from Uio tips of her limp fingers. His mouth, close to hers, stopped thero. He whispered : "You kiss me, my girl I" Slowly, unseelngly, ns though drawn by an external will, her face raised to his; slowly, their Hps met. His arms wero around her; tho world was blob ted out. Innes, minutes later, put her moutt. against his ear. It was the Innes ho did not know, thut ho hud seen with others, mischievous, whimsical, romp ing ns n young boy. "I love red," sho whispered. "And heat and sunshine. But I lovo blue, on you; nnd cold, If it wero with you and the rest of the differences " Ho caught her to him. "Thero aro not going to be any differences 1" (THE END.) Biblical Town of Gaza. Al-MIntnr, or tho watchtower, still exists to tho east of tho town of Gaza. It is whero Samson Is said to have car ried tho gates of the city. On the road from Gaza to Jaffa are ancient olivo trees, ninny of them moro thun ono thousand years old, with gnarled bark and immense trunks. Thero Is nn old legend which credits Gnzn with the In vention of the ilrst mechnnlcal clocks. Theso wero perhaps the sand clocks which nro still "used In somo mosques. Little Things Cause Sunshine. Tho sunshine of llfo Is made up ot very little beams that nre bright all tho time. To give up something, when giving up will prevent unhapplness; to yield, when persisting will chafe and fret others ; to go a little around rath er thnn como nguinst nnother; to tnko an ill look or a cross word quietly, rather than resent" or return It theso nro the wnys in which clouds nnd storms nro. kept off, nnd n plensnnt nnd steady sunshine secured. Alkln. Beginning of Pittsburgh. November 25 is tho anniversary of tho raising of tho English flog over tho rtilns of Fort Duquesno in 1754. Tho plnco was then named Pittsburgh, In honor of Britain's fnmous prime minis ter. It owes its great growth to Its proximity to cool nnd Iron fields of vast magnitude. Dally Thought ne who begs timidly courts g ro fusul. Seneca. V