RED OLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF
f.
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v.
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WEB OF STEEL
By CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY
FATHER AND SON
CopyrlSht by riemlntf II. Uevell Co.
YOUNG MEADE MAKES A DISCOVERY WHICH TERRIFIES
HIM AND HE TRIES TO SAVE MANY LIVES
Tho Martlet Construction company Is putting up n groat Inter
national bildge planned l)y llortriim Monde, Sr., lainoiis engineer.
Ills son, Heitrnin Meade, Jr., resident engineer at tin- bridge, Is In
love with Helen llllngworth, daughter of Colonel llllngworth, pros
lilent of the construction company and they will iniiiry as .soon as the
brltlKO Is complete. The young engineer questioned his father's Judg
ment on the strength of certain Impoitant gliders, hut was laughed
at. His doiihts nie vorlllod, however, and he makes desperate efforts
to' stop construction, foailng groat loss of life.
CHAPTER IV Continued.
But Meade was out of the house. It
Was summer and the sun had set, hut
tho Ions twilight of the high latitude
BtlH lingered. Hoforo lilm lose the gl
Kuntlc structuro of the brldgo. For alt
Ita airiness It looked as substantial us
tliu Hock of Glbtnltar, and It looked
oven more Mihstuntlnl If possible, us
tho man, seizing a lantciu and, for
getting his weakness, ran down be
neath the overarching steel to the pier
head, climbed up to the shoe, and
crawled out on the lower choid as rap-
Idly as ho could.
Meade needed but one glance to see
tho dellectlon from the right line In
tho Important member. Kor all his
years of Inexperience ho was a better
trained engineer than lough-utnl-ronily
Abbott. What appeared to the latter
oh a slight dellectlon, Meade saw In Its
true relation. There was a variation
In tho center of tho member of an
Inch and a half at least, althoiiKh un
noticeable to an untrained eye. It had
all come in tho last week. They had
extended the suspended span far out
beyond the edge of the cantilever and,
with the heavy traveler at the end,
tho downward pressure on the great
lower chord members had greatly In
creased.
It was a terribly heavy bildge at
best It had to bo to sustain so long a
ppnn, tho longest In the world. And
tho load, continuous and Inei easing,
hail brought about this, to the layman
trilling, to the engineer mighty, bend. If
It bent that way under that much of a
load, what would it do when the whole
great span was completed and it had
to carry Its transitory loads of tralllc
beside?
When two different views meet It Is
natural that age, e.peilcnee, reputa
tion and authority shall carry the day.
Although Heitriim Meade, .lr., had
never been persuaded In all paitiou
lara of the soundness of his father's
design, and could not be persuaded,
Unit vast experience, that great repu
tation, that undoubted ability with Its
long record of brilliant nchleeincnt
had at last silenced him. He had ac
cepted through loyalty that which he
could not accept in argument. Once
uccepted, he acted accordingly, heart
ily seconding anil carrjlug out the
wishes of the older and, as the worltl
would say, the abler man.
Tho thing that smote the engineer
hardest was that this weakness was
exactly what he had foreseen and
pointed out. It was the possibility of
tho Inability of this gieat member to
enrry the stress that nuug Meade had
deduced by using the formula of
Schnildt-Chomnlt.. It was this point,
nml this point partlculaily, that he
had dwelt upon with his father and
which they had argued to a finish. So
strongly had he been Impressed with
tho nosslble structural weakness of
this member that he had put himself
on record In writing to his father. The
old man had oeihorne him and now
tho little curve, one and a half to ono
nml three-quarter Inehes In sixty feet,
established the accuracy of his un
heeded contention. Vainly now he
wished lie had not let the old habit of
affection and the little touch of awe
with which ho regarded his father per-
Braado him against his reason.
rio Btopped, feeling suddenly 111, as
n very nervous high-strung man may
feel under tho sudden and unexpected
physical shock. Ho was weak still
from tho tonsllltls. Ho leaned against
tho diagonal at tho end of C-10-It,
clinging to it tightly to keep from fall
ing. Abbott, who had followed more
slowly, stopped by him, somewlmt sur
prised, somewhat amused, more Indig
nant than both.
"Abbott," said Meade fiercely as tho
erecting engineer Joined him on tho
plerhcnd, "If you put another pound of
Joad on that cantilever I will not bo
answerable for tho consequences."
"What do you mean?"
"Thnt dellectlon is nearly two Inches
deep now and every ounce or pound of
added weight you put upon It will make
it greater. Its limit will bo reached
mlehtv soon, if it collapses" ho
threw up his hands "tho whole thing
will go."
"Yes, If It collapses, that's true,"
guild Abbott, "but It won't."
"You'ro mad," said Meado, taking
onfortunatcly tho wrong courbo with
tho older man.
"Why, boy," said Abbott, "that bridge
will stand us long as creation. Look
t It. Thnt bucklo doesn't amount to
nnythln" It Is only In one truss tuiy-
way. The corresponding member In
the other truss Is perfectly straight."
"Abbott, tor Hod's sake, hear me,"
pleaded Meade In desperation. "Draw
back the traeler and put no more men
on the bridge. Stop work until we can
get word to "
"Don't talk to me, hoy. I know my
business. I tell jou I can Jack It back.
Thai member's big enough and strong
enough to hold up the world."
"What aie jou going to Jack
against?" Meade asked, and for the
first time a little of Abbott's contempt
appeared In the younger man's voice.
Abbott rellected that there was noth
ing linn enough to sere as a support
for Jacks and said lather grudgingly,
for It seemed like a concession to the
jounger and Junior engineer:
"Well, I can book on to the opposite
truss and pull It buck with turn
buckles."
"That will damage the other truss
too much, Abbott," Meade retorted
pi omptly. "It Isn't possible."
"Then I'll think up some other
scheme," returned Abbott Indifferently,
as If humoring the other. "Wo can't
wait, we'e got to hurry It along.
SSrB5
thing which to Abbott seemed useless
and unnecessary, and the fact that
subsequent ecnts had more often than
not pi oved Meade's suggestions to be
wot th while, had not put Abbott In al
together the best mood toward his
young colleague. Abbott never forgot
that Meade had really no olllclal con
nection with the building of the bridge,
and that he was only there as a special
representative of his father, and al
though he could not help liking the
ounger man, Abbott would hae been
better pleased If he had been left
alone.
Meade had not gone about It In the
right way to move u man of Abbott's
temperament. He realized that as he
lay awake on the sleeper speeding to
New York. Abbott was a man who
could not bo driven. He was a tre
mendous driver himself anil naturally
he could not tuke his own medicine. If
Meade bad iccolvoil tho announcement
more quietly mid If he had by some
subtle suggestion put the Idea of dan
ger Into Abbott's mind nil would have
been well, for when he was not blind
ed by prejudice, or his authority or his
ability questioned, Abbott was a sen
sible man thoroughly to bo depended
upon. Hut the news had come to Meade
with such suddenness, Abbott had only
casually mentioned It lit the close of a
lengthy conversation regarding the
progress of the work as If It were a
matter of no special moment, that the
sudden shock had thrown Meade off
his balance.
Therefore he could see nothing but
danger and the nocosIty for action.
How he should handle his superior, or
rather the bridge's superior, was the
last thing In his mind. Aside from his
natural pride In his father and In the
bridge and his fear that lives would bo
lost If It failed, unless ho could get
tho men withdrawn, thero was tho
complication of bis engagement to
Helen llllngworth.
Meade could not close his eyes, he
could not sleep u moment on the train.
Ills mind was In a turmoil. Prayers
that he would get to his father and tho
bridge people In time to stop work and
present loss of life, schemes for taking
up the dellectlon, strengthening the
member, and completing tho bridge,
and fears that ho would lose tho wom
an, stuyed with him through the night.
CHAPTER V.
He Stopped, Feeling Suddenly III.
There's going to be no penalty against
us on account of me. I won't stop work
a minute," he explained patronizingly.
"There will he a bigger penalty If
.vou don't do what I say, and paid In
another way, In blond. And It will he
jour fault."
Now both men were angry and In
their passion they confronted cat h
other more lesolute and llerco than
ever.
"Look here," said Abbott, his fiery
temper suddenly breaking fiom his
control, "who aro you anyway? You're
only a kid engineer. Your father ap
prised of the plan of this bridge. I
guess we can si mil to bank on his
reputation lather than jours."
"Well, he doesn't know of this."
"Nobody is on the bildge now, and
nobody Is going to be on there until
tomonow moinlng. Wire him If jou
like. He'll wlie llllugwoith down at
Martlet and we'll get woul what to
do."
"You won't put any men at wotk on
the bridge until"
"Not until tomorrow morning," said
Abbott decisively, "If I don't hear fiom
.somebody at Martlet tomorrow morn
ing the work goes on."
"Hut If my father wires jou"
"I take orders from tho Maitlet com
pany aad no one else," was the slant
answer with which Abbott turned away
In Unalltj', so that the other realized
tho Inters lew was oer.
Meade wasted no more pleas on Ab
bott. As ill luck would hae It some
thing had happened to the telephone
and telegiaph wires between the city
and tho camp. Meade dressed himself,
got a handcar, and was hurried to tho
nearest town on the railroads main
line. Prom thero he sent a telegram
and tried to get connection with New
York by telephone, but failed. Moved
by a natural Impulse, In default of
other means of conmiunlcatlon, he
Jumped on tho midnight train for New
York. He would go himself in person
and attend to tho grao affair. Noth
ing whatever could bo so Important.
Thero had been some friction be
tween Abbott and Meade before on oc
casions, not serious, hut several times
Meade hnd ventured to suggest some-
The Death Message.
Meade, Sr was an old man. Al
though unlike Moses his eye was dim
and his natural force abated, tho evi
dences of power were still apparent,
especially to the observant. There rose
the lit nail brow of the thinker. His
power of Intense concentration wns ex
pressed outwardly by a directness of
gaze from the old eyes which, though
faded, could Hash on occasion. Other
facial characteristics of that snow
crowned, leonlno head, which bespoke
that Imaginative power without which
a great engineer could not be In spite
of all his sciential- exactitudes, had not
been cut out of his countenance by the
pruning knife of time.
Ho was a great engineer and looked
It, sitting alone In his olllce with the
telegram crushed In his trembling
hand, despite the fact that his gray
face was the ery picture of unwonted
weakness, of Impotenej', and abiding
honor. The message had sttuck him a
terrific blow. He had reeled under It
and had sunk down In the chair In a
state of nerous collapse.
The telegram fairly burned the
clammy palm of his hand. Ho would
fain have dropped It yet he could not.
Slowly he opened It once more. Ordl
tinrlly. powerful glasses stimulated his
lslon. Ho needed nothing to read It
again. It Is doubtful whether his eyes
saw It or not and there was not need,
for the message was burned Into his
hralu.
He lead again the mysterious words:
Ono nml threo-ciuiirtor-liicli camber In
C-10-U.
There could be no mistake. The
name that was signed to It was the
name of his son, the young engineer,
the child of his father's old age. Tho
boy, as the old man thought of him,
had entured to dispute his father's
llgutes, to question his father's design,
hut the elder man had overborne him
with his Mist expei lence, his great mi
tliorlty. his etense learning, his high
reputation. And now the boy wns right.
Stiange to say some little thrill of
pride came to tho old engineer at that
moment.
Ho tried to find out from the tele
grant when It had been sent. That day
was a holldaj- the birthday of ono of
tho worthies of tho republic In somo
of the United States, New ork and
Pennsylvania among them, and only by
chance had he come down to tho otllco
that morning. The wlro was dated the
night before. And ho recalled that the
stato from which tho bridge ran did
not observo that day as a holiday.
They would bo working on the Interna
tional as usual unless
Ono and three-quarter Inches of de
llectlon l No brldgo thnt was ever mado
could stand with a bend llko that In
the principal member of Its compres-
il. nlinr.l 11U111 lK3 Rfl VIIRt II HtlMHV.
turo as thnt which was to bpan tho
greatest of rivers nnd to bring nation
Into touch with nation. Ho ought to
do something, but what was there to
do? Presently, doubtless, his mind
would clear. Hut on the Instant all he
could think of wns the Impending ruin.
The Uplift building, In which he had
his ulllccs, was mainly deserted on ac
count of the holiday. The banks were
cloed and the olllces nnd most of the
shops and stores. It was very still In
the hall and, therefore, he heard dis
tinctly the door of the single elevator
In service open with an unusual crash,
then the sound of rapid footsteps along
tb rrlilor us of someone running.
They stopped before the outer door of
the suite which boio his name. In
stantly he suspected a messenger of
disaster. The door was opened, the of
fice was crossed, a hand was on the
Inner door. He sank back almost us
one dead waiting the shock, the blow.
"rather," exclaimed the newcomer.
"You got my telegram?"
The other silently exhibited the
crumpled paper in ids band.
"What have you done?"
"It's a holiday, don't you know? I
only got It a few moments ago. The
bridge?"
"Still stands."
"Hut for how long?"
"I can't say. The Martlet's resident
engineer Is mad. I begged, threatened,
implored. I tried to get hlni to stop
work, to take the men off tho bridge,
to withdraw tho traveler, but be won't
do it. Said you designed it, you knew.
I was only a cub."
"Hut the camber?"
"He said, 'I'll Jack it Into line again.'
Llko every other engineer who sees a
big thing before him It looks to him ns
If it would last forever. I tried to get
you on the telephone here and at tho
house last night and failed. I wired
you. Then I Jumped on the midnight
express and "
"Whut Is to be done?" asked tho old
man.
Meade, Sr., was thankful that the
younger man had not said, "I told you
so," as well he might. But really his
father's condition was so pitiful that
tho son bud not tho heart.
"Telegraph tho Martlet Hrldgo com
pany at once," ho unswered.
"What shall wo say?" asked the old
man, uncertainly.
Tho young man shot a quick look at
him, that question evidenced the vlo
lenco of tho shock. Ills father was
old, broken, helpless, dependent, nt
last. . . .
"Give me the blank," ho answered,
"111 wire In your name."
He repeated the telegram that he
had sent to his father and added these
words as he signed the old man's
name to It:
With
out no more loud on tho brlduro.
draw men and traveler.
"I enn't understand why we don't
hear," said the young engineer two
hours later, walking up and down the
room In his agitation. "Two telegrams
and now we can't get u telephone con
nection, or at least any answer after
our repeated calls."
"It's a holiday there us well as here,"
said the older man. "Theie Is no one
In the olllce at Martlet."
"I'll try the telephone again. Some
one may come In at any time."
He sat down at the desk, and after
live minutes of feverish and excited
waiting he llnally did get tho olllce of
the Martlet Hrhlge companj'. Hy a
happy fortune It appeared that some
one happened to come into the olllce
Just at that moment.
"This Is Meade." began the young
man, "the consulting engineer of the
International bridge. Well, at ten-
I in I -p
1 cr
?., i j?
jgr?m&wj2gjU?WB&7Z
tflf PlBKIa f o Hi
SBlKrsl
the lm-
All He Could Think of Was
pending Ruin.
thirty this morning I sent n telegram
to Colonel llllngworth nnd mi hour
later I sent another. Whnt's that?
Hnth tnlecrams aro on tho desk? Give
mo your name Johnson you're ono
of tho clerks thero? Well, telephone
Colonel llllngworth nt his home
what ' lie Isn't at homo? is tne vice
pros' i nt there tho superintendent
iinjbody? How far away ate they?
Twenty miles' There's no telephone?
Now, listen, Johnson, this Is what jou
must do. Get a car, the strongest and
fastest you can rent and the boldest
chauffeur, and a couple of men on
horses too, and send up to that place
wherever they me. and tell Colonel
llllngworth that he must telephone me
and come to his olllce at once. There
are telegrams there that mean life or
death and the safety of the bridge.
You understand? Good, lie says he'll
do It. father. We've done all we
can," he added. He bung up the re
ceiver, sprang to his feet, looked at
his watch. "It's so important that I'll
go down there mjself. 1 can catch the
two o'clock train, and that will get mo
there In two hours. You stay quietly
here In the olllce and wait until I gut
In touch with those people. I mean, I
want to know where I can reach jou
instantly."
"I'll stay right here, my boj Go,
and God bless jou."
As usual when In n great hurry
then were unexpected delajs and the
clock on the tower above the big struc
until shop was striking live when it
rickety station wagon, drawn by an ex
hausted horse, which bad been driven
iiuspmlnglj', drew up before the olllce
door, rilnglng the money at the driver,
Meade sprang down from his seat and
dashed up the steps. He threw open
the door end confronted Johnson.
"Did you get hlni?" be cried
"He Isn't here yet. I sent an nuto
inohlle and two men on hoisebacl:
and"
The next minute the faint note of
an automobile horn sounded far down
the vallej-.
"I hope to God that Is he." cried the
young engineer, running to the win
dow. "That's the car I sent." said John
son, peering over his shoulder. "And
there are people In It. It's coming this
way."
"Johnson." said Meade, "you have
acted well In this oil-Is and I will see
that the Hrl Ige company remembers
It."
"Would you mind telling me what
the matter In Mr. Meade?"
"Matter! The International"
"Hert," exclaimed a Joyous voice, as
Helen llllngworth, smiling In delighted
surprise, stepped through the open
door and stood expectant with out
stretched hands.
Young Johnson was as discreet as he
was prompt and roatlj. He walked to
the window out of which ho stared,
with his back ostentatiously turned to
ward them. After a quick glance at
the other man, Meade swept the girl
to his heart and held her there a mo
ment. He did not kiss her before be
released her. The woman's passionate
look at hlni was caress enough nnd his
own adoring gliince fairly enveloped
her with emotion. Johnson coughed
and turned ns the two separated. It
was the woman who recovered her
poise quicker.
"What were you saying about our
bridge when I came Into the room?"
she began, nnd Meade fully understood
the slight but unmistakable emphasis
In the pronoun our bridge, Indeed "I
was lying down this nfteinoon. but
when I nw akened my maid told me
about your urgent calls for father,"
she ran on, realizing that some trouble
portended and seeking to help her
lover by giving hlni time. "I knew
something must be wrong, so I came
here. I didn't expect to see you. Oh,
what Is It?" she broke off, suddenly
realizing from the mental strain In her
lover's face, whloh the sudden sight of
her had caused hlni to conceal for a
moment, that something terribly seri
ous had happened, and she turned a
little pale herself as she asked the
question, not dreaming what the an
swer would be.
"Helen," said the young man, step
plug toward her nnd taking her hands
again, "we're In awful trouble."
"If It Is any trouble I can share,
Hert," said the girl, Hashing lit hlni a
look which set his pulses bounding at
least she was to be depended on
"you know jou can count on me."
"I know I can," he exclaimed gratefully.
"Now tell me."
"The International bridge Is nhout to
fall."
The color canio to her face again.
Was that all? came Into her mind.
That was serious enough, of course,
but It would not matter In tho long
run. Helen realized the awful gravltj',
the terrible seriousness, of the situa
tion of course. The bildge meant much
to her even If In quite a different wnj
It was there he had saved her from the
awful fall. It was there that he had
told her that he loved her. Tho brldgo
might fall, but It was ns eternal as her
affection In her memory. Their en
gagement, or their marriage, had been
made dependent upon the successful
coinnletlon of the bridge. What of
that? The proviso meant nothing to
her when she looked lit the white-faced
agonized man to whom she had given
herself.
"It Is terrible, of course," she said
quietly. "Hut you can do nothing?"
"If I could, do j-ou think I'd let tho
bridge, and you, go without"
"I'm not going with the bridge," was
her quick and decisive Interruption.
They had both forgotten tho pres
ence of young Johnson, who wns not
only decidedly uncomfortable, but des
perately anxious. Ho was about to
speak when, Into this ulrendy broken
scene, cntno another interruption.
Thero was a rush of wheels on tho
driveway outride, tho roar of a motor.
Hofore Monde could answer tho state
ment, into tho room burst Colonel ll
llngworth. Ho was covered with dust,
his fnco was white, his eyes filled with
uuxletj'. Tho character of tho sum-
vice president, nnd Curtis", ihe chlei
engineer.
"Meade, what of Uie bridge?" ho
burst out, with a quick nod to his
daughter. Colonel llllngworth bad not
stopped to hunt for a wajslde tele
phone. The automobile driven madly,
recklessly through the hills and over
the rough roads, had brought him di
rectly to the olllce In the shortest pos
sible time.
"There Is a deflection one Inch nnd
three-quarters deep In one of the com
pression members, C-10-It," was the
prompt and terrible answer.
Colonel llllngworth had not been
president of the Martlet Hrldge com
pany for so long without learning some
thing of practical construction. Ho
was easily enough of an engineer to
realize Instantly what that statement
meant.
"When did you discover It?" ho
snapped out.
"Last night."
"Is the bildge gone?"
"Not jet"
"Why didn't jou let us know?"
"I telegraphed father and, not hear
ing from hint. I came down on the mid-
Into the Room Durst Colonel lllington.
night train. It Is a holiday in New York
as well as here. I Just happened to
moot father lu the olllce. He sent a
telegram to jou and not healing from
you, duplicated it an hour later. I
tried half u dozen times to get you on
the telephone nnd llnally, by a happy
chance, got hold of young Johnson."
"Where are your father's tele
grams?" "Here."
Colonel llllngworth tore the first
open with trembling fingers.
"Why didn't you tell Abbott?" asked
tho chief engineer.
"Yoir know Abbott. He said tho
bridge would stand until the world
caved In. Said he could jack the mem
ber Into line. He wouldn't do n thing
except on direct orders from here."
"Your father wires, 'put no moro
weight on the bridge.' V.'hnt shall wo
do?" Interposed Colonel llllngworth.
"Telegraph Abbott at once."
"If the bridge goes It moans ruin to
tho companj'," said the agitated vice
president, who was the financial mem
ber of the firm and who could ensily bo
pardoned for a natural exaggeration
under the terrible circumstances.
"Yes, but If It goes with the men on,
It means Johnson, lire you a telegraph
operator?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take the key," said tho colonel,
who, having been a soldier, thought
first of the men.
Johnson sat down at the table whero
the direct wire ran from the brldgo
company to the telegraph olllce. Ho
reached his hand out and laid his
lingers on the key. P.ofore he could
give the faintest pressure to the Instru
ment, it suddenly clicked of Its own
motion. Kvorjbody In the room stood
silent.
"It Is u message from Wllehlngs, tho
chief of construction foreman of,"
Johnson paused a moment, listening to
the i apld click "the International "
he said lu an nwestruck whisper.
It had come!
"Head It, man ! Read It, for God's
sake!" cried tho chief engineer.
"The bridge Is In tno river," faltered
Johnson slowlj', word hy word, trans
lating tho fearful message on tho wire.
"Abbott and ono hundred and fifty men
with It."
What happens after the crash
is told In the next Installment.
What hnppenB to tho Meadea
and llllngworths, and the vast
trouble stirred up, makes thrill
ing chapters.
mons hn disquieted him beyond meas
ure, Uuck of hlni ciimo Scverence, tho
(TO I11J CONT1NUUD.)
Beware the Loaded Gun.
The mail who returns from hunting
and sets his loaded gun In the corner
or hangs It an the wall Is, In reality,
setting u death-trap. Yet It Is surpris
ing how often this Is done. Tho gun
wo "didn't know was loaded," is an
old, old storj. says Farmer's Guide.
You cannot bo too cautious. Tho
londed gun you may keep on tho wall
to shoot crows with when they get In
tho corn Is liable to ciiuso you moro
loss than a million crows cnu. It takes
only a second to put u cartrldgo In a
gun when tho time Is nt hnnd. It
tukes no longer to take It out.
Blossom Remains.
IJncon "Crlmsonbeak suys his wife
keeps his noso to the grindstone." Kg.
hert "Well, It doesn't seem to wear
tho red off of it."
I t
&
N
-r""T
V,
