Show MUS TOWSEND TOWNSEND BRADY AUTHOR of THC or courm COUR till THC iafano of aneti ETC AND CYRUS BRADY JR CIVIL cop COPYRIGHT yllia vy py CO SYNOPSIS I 1 bertram meade mcade la is con can nutting bulling air representing his father the great meade who Is the designer of ot the international bridge tile the greatest can silever structure the ilia tas ever heard or of in the shadow of 0 the hie uncompleted arld bridge ge young mcade receives colonel illingworth ing wo worth pre president ident of 0 the Corn company PanY t lie constructors and the colon els el a daughter ter alvien whom lie loves loes cir PTER jr II at dinner the possible weakness ot at tile the members of 0 the bridge Is talked elf q and meade defends hla his fathers calculations chaiten III meade albade and helen go eo out uton upon tile bridge in the ht and I 1 helen elen i nar narrowly roily es escapes earies a fall all to t the a river below aliende alande tells lj love and they go 90 to tile the colonel who their marriage when the bridge la is finished ire fc feeling suddenly III fit as a very nervous high strung mail may fully feet feel under the sudden and unexpected shock lie ile was weak still from the lie ile leaned riga against frist the dIn diagonal at the end anil of air C lo 10 il 11 clinging to it tightly to keep from fall ins ing abbott who hafid followed more stopped stop by filin sonie somewhat what sur i rosed somewhat anju amused sed more indignant than both abbott hald mende fiercely ns as tile tho erecting engineer joined him on tho alio hend if you ion put another pound of load on that cantilever I 1 will not bo be answerable for the consequences what do you yon menn that deflection Is nearly two indies inches deep now an Levery every ounce or pound of lidded weight eight you put upon it will make inako it greater its limit will lie ile benched mighty soon if it collapses lie threw up ills his fiands tho whole thing will go yes if it collapses true said abbott but it avont ont youre anad aid arnld mendi taking unfortunately the wrong course with ith the older man why boy said abbott that bridge will ns its long ns as creation took look at it that buckle amount to he stopped feeling suddenly III riny nn thing it Is only I 1 in it one truss any rny the corresponding member in the other trus tru 3 Is perfectly straight abbottt abbott for gods sake hear me pleaded mcade in desperation draw back the traveler and put no more men on the bridge stop work until we cun can get word to dont talk to me boy I 1 know my business I 1 tell you I 1 can jack it back that in members embers big enough and strong enough to hold up the world what are you coln 4 to jack mende asked and for tile first time a little of abbotts contempt appeared in the younger mans mails voice abbott reflected that there was ans nothing firm enough to serve as a support for jacks and said rather grudgingly for it seemed like it concession to the younger and junior engineer well I 1 clin can hook on to tile opposite truss rind pull it back with turn buckles that will damigo the other truss too much abbott reade retorted promptly it possible then ill think up armo sonio other scheme returned antl indifferently 1 eferen aly n eq it if humoring the other we ve cont cant wait weve got to hurry it along theres going to bo be no penalty against us on account of me I 1 wont stop work a minute ho he explained patrol patronizingly there will bo be a bigger penalty it if you dont do what I 1 say and paid in another way in blood and it will bo be your fault now both men wore were angry and in their passion they confronted confront eJ each other more resolute an and fierce than ever look here herc said abbott his nery alery temper suddenly breaking train from his control who are you youre only a nil kid engl engineer neer your father ap proved of the lie plan pinn of this bridge I 1 geis we can lafford afford to brin bank on ills reputation rather ehni colim I 1 well lie Ines nt know of 0 this nobody Is on tile the bridge now noad no ad nobody body Is going to lo 10 10 orl on until tomorrow morning wire avire ailin it if you like hell cioll wiro wire illingworth ining worth down nt at rind well got get word what to do 4 boli tiler men at work oti on the bridge until I 1 not until tomorrow morning said abbott decisively it I 1 dont hear front from somebody nt at tomorrow morning tile work goes on dut but if roy my father wires you 1 I take orders from the company and noone else was the lie hiort answer with which abbott turned away tn in finality so that the other realized them the interview was over mcade wasted no more pleas picas on at ah bott As ill luck would have hae it something had happened to the telephone and telegraph wires betge between en the city acty and the camp blende dressed himself got a har hand idear carand find was hurried hunted to the nearest town on the lie railroads main line irom from there lie sent seat a telegram and tried to got get connection with new york by telephone but failed moved by a natural impulse in default of other means of at communication communicate ton 11 ho e jumped on the ho midnight train for new york he would go himself in person rind and attend to the grove grave affair nothing whatever could be so important there find been some friction be tween tw acu ecu abbott and monde before on occasions ca en not serious hut but several times mande had ventured to suggest something ahing which to abbott seemed useless and unnecessary and the fact that But sequent events had more often than not proved Al cades suggestions to be worth while had not put abbott in altogether the best mood toward ills young colleague abbott never forgot th tint thit it mcado hod had nally no official connection with the building of the bridge arin and that tie lie was only kliore us as n special representative of ills his father end and although tilt alt lie he could not help belp liking t the lie younger nian man abbott would jince been better pleased if lie he had been left alone mende had not rone gone about it in the right way to lu move a warl of abbotts abbott temperament lie ile realized that cs as ile ho lay awake on the lie sleeper speeding to new york abbott was a man who could riot not bo be delvin n lie was a tremendous inen dots driver himself and naturally colilli lie could riot not take tahe ills his own medicine it if mende had received the announcement more quietly will and if lie had find by some subtle suggestion put the lie iden idea of danger into abbotts whid ilind nil all would hue hilve been well for was not blinded i by prejudice or ills his authority or ills ability questioned abbott was n sensible man thoro to be depended nil upon but aut tile the news had coma to UL meade alle with such suddenness abbott had only casually mentioned it at the close of it lengthy conversation regarding the progress of the work as if it were nvere a matter of no special moment that the hudden shock had thrown meade oft off ills his balance therefore lie could see nothing but danger and the necessity for action ilow how lie should handle its ills superior or rather the bridges superior was the lust last thing in its hla mind aside from ills his lul pride la in his father and in the I 1 ridge bridge and ills his fear that lives would bo be lost if it failed unless ho he could get the men inen withdrawn there was thu tho complication of ills engagement to helen illingworth li meade could not close his eyes lie ho could not sleep in a moment on the train ills mind was in a turmoil prayers that lie he would get to his father and the bridge people in fit time to stop work and prevent loss of life schemes for taking up the deflection strengthening tho member and completing the bridge and fears that lie he would lose the stayed staged with litin him through the night might L CHAPTER CHAPTER V r the death message mcade sr was an old man although unlike moses closes his eye was dlin dim ella and lila ills natural force abated the evl evidences d e nees of power were still apparent especially to the observant there roso rose the broad brow of the think thinker or ills power of intense concentration was expressed outwardly by q n directness of gaze front from the old eyes which though faded could flash on oil occasion other facial ahn characteristics ra cherl sties of that snow crowned leonine head which bespoke that power without which n grent great engineer could not bo be in spite of scientific exactitudes had not been cut out of hla his countenance by the pruning knife of time ile ho was a grent great engineer and looked it sitting alone in ills his office with the te telegram legrain crushed in its ills trembling liand licud despite the tact fact that his gray erny face was avas the very picture of unwonted weakness of impotency fund abiding horror the ines message sage had find struck him a terrific blow lie ile had reeled under it rind had sunk down in tho ilia chair in a state of nervous colin collapse tise the tele gimm fairly burned the clammy palm palin of his hand ile he would fain have dropped it yet he could riot not slowly lie opened it once more ordinarily tin rily powerful elisca glanes ills hh vision ile ha needed roth nothing irig to rend read it ngath it Is doubtful whither ills hla eyes saw it or not orld and there ans not need for far the message was burned into his brain ire he road read again tho the mysterious words ona and three quartet inch camber in C 10 11 there could ho a no mi mistake strike the lauine ale sloped in tj t wy li fiame of his son the young engineer the child of ills fili old age the boy fig tile old nian thought of liliu find ventured to dispute ills fathers figures to question its a design blit tilt older man hall overborne him ills vast experience ills grent au dhority tho rity ills extensive learning ills high and now the boy was right 7 z i I 1 I 1 all he could think of was the im pending ruin strange to say some little thrill of pride came to the old engineer at that moment lie ile tried to find out from the tele grain when it had been sent seat that day was n R holiday the birthday of one or of tile the worthies of the republic in fit some goniu of the united states now york find pennsylvania among them and only ly by chance lind had lie earn coma down to the office that morning the wire warp was dated tilt mi night before and he recalled that thi state from froin which the bridge ran did bot e that day as a holiday holl duy they would lie he working on the dional as usual unless one find three quarter indies inches of deflection I 1 no bridge flint wits ever made could stand with a bend like that in the principal member of its compression chord much less so vast a structure as lint which was to span the t of nf rivers find to bring nation into alito touch with lie ought to to do something but what was there to do presently doubtless ills hla nind blind would clear nut but on oil tie the instant nil nl lie could think of was ilia impending r u in the uplift building tit in which lie it and nil his offices was mainly deserted on oil account of the holiday the bunks were closed aind the alie ollices odices and most of the shops rind and stores it was very trill in ill the lie liall fall find and therefore lie heard distinctly the door of tile he single jingle elevator in service open an unusual crash then the sound of rupla footsteps along lie ohp corridor as of someone running they stopped before the lie outer door of tile suite which bore lits ills name instantly lie he suspected a messenger of disaster the door was opened the office was crossed a hand was on tile the inner door ile he sank hack back almost as one dead walting waiting the shock tho the blow rather father exclaimed the newcomer you got my telegram telegrams the other tillet silently itly exhibited the crumpled crum crump pred fed paper tit in ills hand lin nill what linao you dono done its a holiday dont you know I 1 only got it a few ago tile tho bridge still st stands rinds nut but for how long 1 I cant say the marileta Mar tleta Is resident engineer Is mad I 1 begged thre threatened bened implored I 1 tried to get him to a stop work to take the men oft off the bridge to withdraw tile the traveler but lie wont do it said you designed desIgn ea it you ou knew I 1 was only a cub hut but tho the camber lie ile said til ill jack it into line again like every other engineer who sees A big thing before him film it looks to liani as aa it if it would last forever I 1 tried to get you on the telephone liere here and at tile house last night and failed I 1 wired you then I 1 jumped on tile the midnight express arid and what la Is to be done asked tho the old man meade sr was thankful it that lint tin tilt younger man mail had not said 1 I told you so ns ins well lie he might but really ills hla fathers condition was so pitiful that the son had not the lie heart telegraph the bridge company at once lie he an answered what shall we say asked tho ilia old man uncertainly Th ninn man shot a quick look at him that question evidenced the violence once of the shock ills father was waa old of broken helpless dependent at last give tile ino tile tho blank he answered ill wire in your name lie repeated the telegram that he had sent to ills father and added these words as lie he signed the old mans oame name to it put no fin more mora load on the br brlik lIp withdraw nien and traveler tra voler 1 I bennt understand why we dont hear said mid the young engineer two t 0 hours later walking up anil and down the room in its ills rigi agitation tation two tele telegrams graing and now wo we cant get a telephone connection coil tion or at least ally answer after our repeated calls its ft holiday there ns as well ns fis here mid fald ali aliff older offer num there Is no one lu in the office at 3 ill tv try tile lie telephone some it come in blany T to DO |