OCR Text |
Show OF STEEL By CYRUS TOWNSEND' BRADY Father and Son ' Here Is a Powerful Story of Failure and Sacrifice and Love and Courage and Success nicest girls of the Innd for half as m any years. And with thoughts burning. passionate, and words embarrassingly torrential at hund to give them utterance, they ouly spoke commonplaces I "How Is the bridge getting along?'' asked the girl, repeating her father's words of a few minutes before, as these two fell behind the others marching down the long pi atform, while the maid standing by the private car with the porter looked curiously after the moving group and wondered If that CHARACTER TEST and Confidence for folks who are already prosperous and successful. The true strength of a man's character Is revealed, however, In adversity. Tear the foundation from beneath one who has always enjoyed advan-tage- s of wealth and position, and see If he has the backbone to conquer evil days to rise abovo circumstances and win. In "Web of Steel" we have the story of man whose foundation is de stroyed. His fight to rebuild it makes the novel. It is not mere ly entertaining fiction; It Is a piece of inspiring literature. We feel sure all of our readers will enjoy this Cyrus Towsend Brady serial. THE EDITOR. WJ M long-legge- grny-gree- d young man was the reason for the New York gown I "It's doing splendidly," was the answer, and even with his heart full of the girl by his side whom he longed to clusp In his arms but did not even dare touch the hem of her garment, some little enthusiasm came Into his voice. "It Is the greatest bridge that was ever erected," he said. "IIow you love It," said the girl. Did Mende love the bridge? Ah, there could Jbe no doubt as to that He had studied Its growth hour by hour. .As the great steel web rose, his CHAPTER I. Love of Woman. If meetings only lived up to their anticipations, life would be a succession of startling climaxes. It bad been some months since Meade had seen Helen Illingworth. He had dreamed of meeting her every duy and had pictured the meeting differently and more rapturously after every letter. As a mat pr of fact the whole thing was casual and ordinary to the last degree. t . . It always is. Doctor Severeqpe, a retired physician, who was vice president and financial man, and Curtiss, the chief engineer of the bridge company, were linrd upon Miss Illingworths heels ns she stepped down from the car to the station platform. lie saw her, as it were, surrounded by prosulc men. The woman he loved got the same welcome and the Bame hundslinke os her father and the other two men. It was not until big Abbott, who had been belated ty some sudden demand of work, came sweeping down the platform to engage the attention of the men tlmt the anxious Meade had a moment with the girl Jberself. Now Helen Illingworth had also been seeing visions, so that she had been as disappointed as he. The ouly real sat lsfactlon that cither f them could take in the situation lay la the fact that the other was there. It was midsummer and the girl was dressed la some light, filmy fubrlc which well became her ra dlaut beauty. Mende could look at a bit of structural steel work and tell ;you .all about It. All that he could have told you about the dress she wore was that It was exquisitely appropriate, but it never occurred to him that with a great price to a great artist Helen Illingworth had obtained that look of delightful simplicity. ( The gown was not wasted on Meade, she decided, as she caught his rapturous glance. She had never looked lovelier. She was not a fragile, ethereal woman; quite the reverse. That was one of ten thousand things Meade liked about her. She could do all those atb letlc and practical things that modern young women can do and she could do .Thera well. Monde was intensely practical and efficient. He could do all of those things himself and many more and he liked, to do them, and that Is one reason why he had been attracted to her; yet not for tlut alone did he love her. On that soft summer afternoon she looked as subtly delicate 'as every man would at one time tr another have the woman he loves appear, and as far removed from things strenuous as if In another world I lie was wearing the rough clothes, flannel slirt, khnkl trousers, heavy shoes and leggings which were his habitual use. at work. Contrasted with her fllray and delicately olive-dra- b colored fabric his well-worhabiliments stood forth hideously. That Is, he thought so, and the contrast somehow seemed typical of the difference between them as ho considered her. There was the careless Insouciance of conscious power In the bearing of the engineer which differentiated him from most of the men with whom sho bad been thrown In contact during her life. The International Bridge was the -- ' n - biggest thing of the kind the Martlet company or any other American structural plant hud ever undertaken. It .bad been a constant topic of convers atlon wherever her father was. She bad heard all about it, and although, strictly speaking, the bridge wns the work of Meade, Sr yet she always Identified It with Meude, Jr. There w as a feeling In her mind that It was her bridge and that, through him, she commanded It She was a supremely assured and entirely confident young lady, yet with the man by her side she experienced a passing sense of uneasiness, such as one might conceive the butterfly would feel in the presence of -. si steam hammer. They were" as awkward and constrained when left to themselves as If one had not been all over the world on mans jobs for a decade and the other had not queened It among the He Lingered Abput It heart expanded with It He took pride la it even more when they began to push the suspended span across the river on the outer end of the completed canttlever, toward Its fellow rising on the other side, ne lingered about It when the rest of the workaday world which was concerned with It had withdrawn to rest Frequently late In the night he hud arisen and hnd left the sheet-iroshack he occupied near the work (for the topography of the land and the course of the river had determined the location of the bridge far from any town), and In the moonlight he had gazed bewitched by the great web of steel, all Its mighty tracery delicately slivered, faintly outlined, lofty, lifted high Into the heavens. He fell Into a little reverie for a brief moment from which Bhe recalled n lace-llk- him. e, enre, constantly reporting the progress to his father, every step taken under the superintendence of Abbott, a man of great practical ability as an erector, but of much less capacity as a scientific designer or office engineer. Monde had watched Its dally growth with the closest attention. Like evdry other man In similar case, the work had got Into his blood. It hnd become a pnrt of his life. He loved the bridge ; yet more he loved Ilelea Illingworth. I get so tired of black and white," she went on quickly to prevent him from taking advantage of her Incautious admission. "Hang the clothes," said the man, radiant once more in that admission, "since you will allow It I will come with what I can rake up. But you'll have to tell roe which fork to use. I have almost forgotten out here In the wilderness. "It Isnt six months since you were at our house." "Six months t Its a thousand years," he went on, "and I'm going to take you out on the bridge after dinner. Its great at any time. It's the most magnificent sight on earth even now, but In the moonlight there It Is now, he pointed as the little group walked past the station which had hid the view end the great structure suddenly was reveuled to them. The four men ahead had stopped and stood silent There was something and tremendous about the great black, outreachlng, arms of steel. The first sight of It always gave the beholder a little shock. It was so huge, so massive, so grandly majestic, and withal so airy, seen against the Impressive background of deep gorge and palisaded wall and far-of- f was mountains. So. ether-born- e It In Its perfect proportion that even dull and stupid people and none of these were that felt Its overpowering presence, Meade and the girl stopped too. After one glance at the bridge, she looked at him. And that was typical For the first time he was not at the moment aware of, or immediately responsive to, her glance. And that, too, was typical. She noted this with a pang of Jealousy. "You love the bridge," she said softly. CHAPTER II. The Witness for ths Defense. One of the plensant evidences of the possession of riches Is In the luxury of a private car. Although Colonel Illingworth wns personally a man of simple tastes as became an old campaigner, there wns no appointment that wit could devise or that money could buy which wns lacking to make his private car either more comfortable or more luxurious In its nnpery, glass, china and silver, the dining tnble needed not to apologize to any other anywhere. The colonel was most punctilious la dressing his part and Meade and Abbott were both scrubbed to within an Inch of their lives, but, climbing about the bridge, their hands were scratched, roughened, stained and torn. Aside from that, Meade wns certainly most presentable, and old Abbott, In spite of his Indifference to such matters, looked the able and powerful man he was. The conversation at dinner was at first light and frivolous. 'Tm lost," began AbbStt, "overpowered with all this 6Hver end glass and china. "Yes, laughed Meade, we should have brought along our granite ware and tlncups, then we would be free from the dreadful fear that we are going to drop something or break something "You can break anything yeu like, said tbe colonel with heavy pleasantry, "so long as the bridge stands. "And that Is going to be forever. Isnt It, Mr. Meade?" asked Helen quickly. "I dont think anything built by man will survive quite that long, he answered as much to her father and the others as to her, "but this gives every promise of lasting Its Jlme." "Yon know," observed Curtiss, "there was some question In my mind about these big compression members. When I first studied your fathers drawings, I wondered If he had made the lacing strong enough to hold the webs." "That matter was very thoroughly gone Into," said Meade quickly. "It was the very point which I myself had questioned, but father Is absolutely confident that we provided latticing enough to take up all the stresses. I looked Into that matter myself," he went on with much emphasis. "I guess Its all right," said Curtiss lightly. "I examined the webs and luc-lucarefully this afternoon. They seem to be as right as possible." "Those trusses, said Abbott emphatically, "will stand forever. You need not worry about that" "Are you going to finish this job on time?" asked Severance, the vice president "You know the financial end of It Is mine, and much depends upon the date of completion." "That depends upon you people at the shop, doctor. If you get the stuff awe-inspiri- He straightened up and threw his head back and looked at her. "I thought so," he said simply un til today, but now he stopped again. "But now?" she asked. . "I have just learned what love really Is and the lesson has not been taught me by a bridge," he answered directly. Yet Bertram Meade, the younger, did truly love the bridge which he had seen grow from the placing of tho first Bhoe the great steel base on top of the pier which carries the whole structure to the completion of the soaring cantilever reaching out to meet its companion on the other side the great International, which was to be the tie that bound, with web of steel, two great countries which lay breast to breast; already la touch save for the mighty river that flowed betweca them. By no means would Meade, the younger, have been charged with the great responsibilities of the bridge had It not been for his exhaustive preparation and wide experience. To a thorough technical training at Harvard, In the Lawrence Scientific school, had been added a substantial record of achievement. A fine bridge which he had erected la faraway Burma, triumphantly achieving the design despite all sorts of difficulties, had attracted the attention of old Colonel Illingworth, the president of the Martlet "Well?" she asked. Bridge company. "Yes, naturally," he found himself He had kept the young man under saying In a conventional tone of voice, his eye for a long time. When he com'it means a great deal to me. My missioned his father, Bertram Meade, Sr to prepare the plans for the great father" "Oh, your father," she began Indif- International, the and ferently, although she knew and liked famous of bridges, he had noted with the great engineer. satisfaction that the older man, who "It Is his crowning work and" stood first among bridge engineers on "Your beginning." the continent, hnd associated with him"It Is not in me, or in any engineer, self his Bon. Meade, Jr hod recently to begin where my father left off," he returned from South America, where said. "But this will count a great he had again shown his (nettle. The deal, because through father's kindness two worked together In tho preparation I had some hand" of the designs for what ,wns to be tbe "I believe you did it all," Interrupt- crown and triumph of trie older mans ed the girl. life, the roost stupendous of all the He broke Into sudden laughter, and cantilever bridges la the world. his merriment had that boyish ring The great engineer hnd a high Idea she liked. He seemed to think that of his only sons ability. He was willwas a sufficient answer to that state- ing to proclaim It. to maintain It, and ment, for he went on quickly. deond It against oil comers except "How long shall you stay?" lilmself. When the two wills clashed, And In spite of hltnsclf he could not he recognized but one way, his own. keep his anxiety out of his voice. The relations between the two were "I think fathers going on to the city lovely but not Ideal. There was leadsometime tomorrow probably In the ership not partnership, direction rather morning." than The knowledge and Meades face felL experience of the boy for so he loved "So soon as that?" to cull him where of course nothing "I will try to persuade him to stay compared to those of his futher. When, longer. Ive seen lots of bridges built In discussing moot points, the younger but never one like tho International, man hnd been unconvinced hy the and I should enjoy standing by and of the elder, he had been watching you work." laughed to scorn In a "I don't do the work. Abbott docs way. - His carefully set forth objecthat, and tho men, of course. tions, even In serious matters, hnd been "Your work Is the work th at mnkes overborne generally, and by triumpossible and profitable the labor of the phant calculations of his own the faothers, she answered. "You plan, you ther hnd himself in his conlead, tho rest only follow. , By the clusions; and the more strongly beway, father told me to ask you and cause of the opposition. Mr. Abbott to dine with us tonight In Young Meade's position wns rather the car. anomalous. He bud no direct super-visio- n Meade's mood changed Into positive of the construction. He was " gloom. there as resident engineer representing "I cant," ha satd dejectedly. "I his father. He had welcomed the posihaven't any clothes, neither has Ab- tion because It gave 1dm so opportubott We left our dress suits behind nity to see from the very beginning the us when we came Into the wilderness erection of what was to te the greatto work." est cuntllcver bridge the fet of the "Oh, she laughed. "What difference world hud ever trod upon, the wheels does that make? Come just as you are. of the world hnd ever rolled across. It will be a relief. I like you that way. He hud followed with the utmost most-sougbt-f- j W'i good-nature- biggest thing In the world. Its the longest cantilever, tho greatest spun, the heaviest trusses, the " "Ive heard all about It," Interrupted the girl, waving him Into silence, "ever since you began It Sometimes I think Its beginning to obsess me, too." "You dont look like it, whispered Meade, under cover of the general laugh that greeted her remark. What do I look like? she whispered back quickly, la return. But Meade bad no opportunity to tell her. "It Is not exactly a subject for dinner conversation, 6ald the colonel with sudden gravity, "but all of us here, even you, my dear, must realize how much that bridge means to us. I wont go so far as to say that Its failure would ruin us, but it would be hard for us to survive." "Have you ever known anything that my father designed to fall? asked Mende somewhat hotly. "No, and that Is why we took his of" plans la spite "In spite of what, sir?!. "In spite of Curtiss here' and some others." "Mr. Curtiss," said Meade, turning to the chief engineer, 'if it will add anything to your peace of mind, I will assume my full sh are of responsibility for the mutter. - You know the books tbe great Gerby man bridge engineer!" Curtiss nodded. "At first I that Is, we thought that there might possibly be weakness in those compression members, but checked them with the methods he advocates and then submitted the figures to my father, and then he went through the whole calculation and applied coefficients he felt to be safe. "Fm willing to take your fathers Judgment in the matter rather than or anybodys, said Curtiss, "so successful has been his ea reer. "Now that I have seen the members In place I have no doubt that they will stand," said the colonel "Sure they will," added Abbott with supreme and contagious confidence, an assurance which helped even Meade to Schmldt-Chemnlt- Schmldt-Chemnlt- Been a Part of HI Life. by th. . the Qm,t 15 moonlight." "Very well. You had better your dress, Helen, before you the colonel, turning to Abbott tin1!) gaging him In conversation oo A cal matters. "Iil wait for you at the front J of the car," suld the engineer, hind beating like a pneumatic rtveterj sounding almost as loud la hu J "I wont he long," she wblJ) she left him. Helen did not want to wustr j any more tlmn Monde did. So of taking her fathers advice,' tiii did was to cover her beautiful ders with a light wrup and hssv, the car door In the shortest po time. Every moment they were in which they since the sum-totbe together was so small, wai ment lost "Now," she said, coming out door of tho car and descend J steps toward him, eagerly eipecj "I want a prize for my swiftness." "A prize P returned the man, V youve been gone years, and j havent even changed your gowi i J Lake nve t ws on Its behalf." "Well," began the colonel, "we have every confidence In your father and In you. I don't mind telling you, Meude, It need not go any further, that when this bridge Is completed we shall be prepared to make you personally very advantageous offer for future relations with the Martlet company If you care to accept It On the strength of your probable acceptance we are already planning to venture Into certain foreign fields which we have hitherto not felt it to our Interest to enter." "That Is most kind of you, Colonel Illingworth," said theyonng man gratefully, and It appeals to me very strongly. I have been associated with father latterly. He wants to retire with the completion of this bridge, and before I open any office of my own I should like the advantage of further experience. Such a connection as you propose seems to me to be Ideal, from my point of view. No man could have nny better backing than the Martlet Bridge company." "Well, we shall look to you to be worthy of It, suld tlio colonel kindly. His glance vaguely comprehended his daughter as he spoke. Colonel Illingworth wns a very rich mnn. The Martlet Bridge compnny was nearest his heart, but he bud many other Interests, Ills only daughter would eventually bo the mistress of a great fortune. Meude wns not poor. Of course, tils means were limited compared to Colonel Illingworths great fortune, but what ho hnd earned, saved, and Invested wns sufficient yes, even for two. And ho would Inherit much more. Old Meude hnd not been the greatest engl-neof Ms generation for nothing. Independent and young Mende could not bo considered a fortune hunter by anybody. He was the kind of man to whom a decent father likes to Intrust his duughter. Old Colonel Illingworth found himself gazing wonderlngly at tho two. After dinner ttid men sat out on the observation platform with their cigars and coffee. For those that liked It there was something In tall glasses In which ee tinkled when tho glasses were agitated, but Meade declined all here to me Ill get It In place In short order,", answered Abbott "We aren't worrying about anything with you and Meade on the Job, Abthe said "colonel bott," genially, "Yes, you are, father," Uld the girl. "Ever Jnre the International has been started you have acsreely been able to give a thought even to me. Im tired of It I hope the old thing will soon he finished, so that we can all go hock to normal life again." "I hope no, too," assented the colonel, three. "and I guess you are right. The fact "With Is the bridge le an obsession with us I sro your permission, sir," he said, to take Miss Illingworth all. It la the biggest Job the Martlet out mi going tho bridge, Tho moon Is rlHlng I'M ever handled. Indeed, it is the . and" 1 belli :.hs yen rang icens' iken sti le irgoln Ingot a da coat J te J ey a ons I Ct Heat al ughoi iught minln serin Jr., i, et fai itatof last ) rted ce th la fer h flalt Blxt; th ose ( o ol on te i uble 5, 18 gove z, believe. "Of course we all know, said Doctor Severance, who had been long enough In toach with engineering to learn much about It, "that there Is always more or less of experimenting In the design of a new thing like this." "Yes, said the colonel, "but we dont want our experiment to fall In this Instance." "They wont," said the young man boldly. He had long since persuaded himself that he had been all wrong and his father all right, so that he entered upon his defense and the defense of the bridge with enthusiasm. He was ready to break a lance with anybody i ery z, er It Had sold the girl, standing "! want to see It when are all off and It Is all L cord seen tract mobl ea, try. iven nmd Ins iniza. pro iGei eeplt They Saw Her Round, Red, Full Fi cant go out on a bridge In that r and those slippers, tramping ova t tracks, piles of steel, rough m planks, paint and " Cant I?" she said; "you Just "I hate to see you spoil your do he said uncertainly as she stopp'd Really wbnt gown on earth i worth half an hour of her society? least that is the way he felt shoe and evidently she felt the same "It Is settled, then," she said. ping her arqi through his ait walked down the long wooden f, form near the siding. At the td the platform, as they turned about temporary station and storehou fore them rose the bridge. The was rising over the high bilk sprang up from the steep cllffllke of the other side of the vast m They saw her round, red, full through an Interlacing tracery of The lower part of the bridge wu In deep shadow. Indeed, the dreh brenth, "I dont love 0 m epori s of uni ) pen co It beautiful, flo"f the air that way? One ould wasn't steel but silver and 6"' "Time 'wns, "'sold tho mnn, loved a thing like tlmt nbove 00 tiling except my father, but hoi 1 ait 1 t of be r 6 Wl tl er be y r. 'he f I beg appr ?r or kinth ed. pres r. E nicat ling on d of nev ben n or tbe f m ol otf be 1 y hag seen rhe i tlnnii th th iy m wt ttwi Salt J i dui tectl 1 too Stat vy t Wlnj y nij Suit tn' It Isnt tlu a t dra"J wonder to La mo Just cleared the hills of the bank of the great gorge cut bf brood river flowing swiftly la It ness far below. At the further ed the suspended arm extending fir the water the top of the traveler tened. The cantilever on the shore, Incomplete and sunk nod high rise of saud, was still In j and not yet discernible. J Unwittingly the wotuun near the mnn. ne became more sclous than before of tho light Wj of her hand upon his arm. It still where they stood. The s" of tho workmen hnd been erect low tho bridge about a quarter mile to the right along the ban tho little affiuent of the main In They could hear faint but Imllcnt" noises that yet gulshable manity coming from Hint The fires In tho machine house the engines were bonked. Larj (f of smoke rose to bo blown 'VF limitless areas of the upper all the unsightly evldeo construction work were lilddcn. "Oh," snld tho woman, the ..j it ogod atup( ldn bsoo amjx boon ftah 25 i Young era, fre Mende comes hit dream with a L, tho real story begins Tell next Installment H friends to read ")Yeb of beat aerial of tha Jr (TO BE CONTINIjLDI f V. ilnti on let aj |