Show I The Water Tea Bearer I I CHAPTER XVI XVI Continued Continued 23 23 lie saw her eyes widen suddenly looking beyond him through the gnp gap between him and Cor Cox nt at something that riveted rl her attention A touch on his elbow distracted him from flom the Incident Burns the superintendent i of ot cement construction whispered anxiously I Feely hns has Just come through Number Number Num Num- ber her One flow conduit he lie said He Ite ports a crack In the roof Caleb slid out of ot his seat sent and drew the superintendent to one side This fills was startling news Caleb had prepared prepared prepared pre pre- pared all the specifications for the tunnels The responsibility for their efficiency was all nU his If the wel weight ht of at the fifty feet of oC gravel threatened the roof root of the conduit any disaster even a temporary delay for tor repair would mar the demonstration It might be kept private but the stigma would rest on Caleb professionally Ill look at It myself he said It may be only superficial If It seems dangerous well we'll shore with timber Immediately immediately Im Im- im- im mediately and close the conduit Number Two will have to supply the Intake Wheres Where's Feely now Gone to Inspect Number Two wo Good Walt for m my report Burns Feely may be an nn alarmist though he lie was vas perfectly right to report Go Goback Goback back to your seat sent Ill I'll be here again as s soon as I can TIe ITe hurried down clown the road to the gatehouse as fast as fiS he could go afoot The cars were parked and he did not want to draw attention to his sudden b by taking one If his hii absence was marked he lie wished to tomake tomake tomake make It lt as Inconspicuous as possible Hinckley was talking as he lie left the theDO theDos DO Dos DOor VT as ns he went widening the flaw while he rapidly rapilly went over the details of reinforcement reinforcement reinforcement rein rein- and the building of the forms the mixing of the cement He lie had followed Hinckley's ancient example example exam exam- pie and had practically Inspected e every ery ry wheelbarrow load of at the stuff Impressing rigidly on all hands the necessity for prime materials and absolute absolute absolute ab ab- ab- ab solute following of the formula He felt certain his fi figures ures his computations computations of stress and thrust and resistance resistance resistance resist resist- ance were correct allowing ample margin Yet Yet Yet-If If the tunnel gave way the glory of ot his achievement was tar tar- lIe He did lid not wait walt for slicker or rubber rubber rubber rub rub- ber boots but went swiftly down the ladders an electric elE torch In his pocket Burns had told him the crack was midway Y between the gallery filter gate and the forebay pit With the beam of the torch boring Into the black tunnel he fairly ran through the film of water underfoot his splashing footfalls resounding In the confined space his head bowed to avoid old the roof root counting his strides to calculate the distance Three hundred hundred hun hun- dred yards In hm he began begun to spray the roof with light going more slowly Eighty Eight yards further the light betrayed betrayed be he- the crack crad It extended halfway halfway halfway half half- way across the level summit of the top of or the conduit and a little wa way down clown one of the slopes At glimpse It yawned ominously n a black split across the gray circle illumined on the cement Caleb thrust the tips of at his fingers lingers Into It probing And sighed wll with h suddon sud- sud don flen relief reHer It was shallow end and there them was no sign of any bulge about It H. It was wa a superficial crack cruel to which any cement face Is subject In th the hurry of final preparation when the form hoards boards had been stripped It had hadnot hadnot not been heen noticed might not have acI actually ac ac- I de developed delored lored until later Inter In Interior interior in- in surface of the tunnel had not boon heen faced the grain of the form boards hoards still showed A board In utti- utti soaked before pouring or with knotted fibers that had resisted the water might hn have clung to the ce ce- ment There might have happened to 11 he a small mall streak with too much sand In that one spot the tamping might have been heen Insufficient It amounted to nothing as f regards the stability of nt the structure But he sta stayed ed to make c certain wanting to be satisfied that the rush of water venter would not enlarge p time the fissure Later he would have ha It filled hut for fOt today he needed both hoth conduits to tomake tomake tomake I make an efficient display play I Suddenly while he probed he became became be he- came aware of water swirling about I his ankles of a hissing nol noise sp t that rose swiftly to a n roar re echoing from front wall to roof as us the water swiftly deepened eddying ld ln above ubo his shoes In a u savage age ru h that rug rugged ed and lifted that threatened his purchase on the slippery slip sill- pery per floor S Some me one had opened ned the the- Watergate from the gallery filter r 1 t Against t all orders And he was trapped By the ladders a quarter er of a mile awa away the dim lI light h sifting down the shaft showed shoved the tune gray leap of ot the ten-foot ten I cascade foaming Into the conduit the push of half half mii a of solid water held In the six foot gallery galler back of IL It The floor was slightly Inclined to tn facilitate the flow With the time gate fully open the flood would sweep down clown the conduit with velocity and power power- sufficient to tear away all nil Ills only hope la lay in reaching I the ladd ladders ts Behind him tour Mur hundred hundred hun hun- dred tired yards back was the forebay forbay Against the Increasing tide Caleb made his rush desperate feeling U It useless but hut d d d to battle for foi his hance The rhe wager wa-er boiled balled to his kne knees s. s s sucking at him clutching at ais lIS feet the tunnel resounding rebounding with its mn chuckling A foot j i Slipped unit he t trust both hands sud sut- tt Jle HIP flip angles ancle of or the roof By J. J ALLAN DUNN Author of A UA MAN TO HIS MATE RIMROCK TRAIL H By Dy Dodd Mead A Co ec Service his palms to the cement dropping the torch of necessity Save ve f for r the gray light tight at the bottom orthe of or the shaft lessening as ns the gate lifted and the water rose In turmoil he was waH In darkness Up It came and a Jl swirling lunge almost flung him down Once engulfed It would he be nil all over with him lIe He could not dream of ot holding his own for n a moment in the tho torrent which would tumble him tilling tillIng tilling till till- ing his lungs and hurl him Into the forebay pit perhaps carry him on a n sodden corpse to the Intake drowned battered slain In his own contrivance The Time details of ot his fate his helplessness helpless helpless- ness crowded his mind Then he was forced to slowly give Ive wa way sliding sliding slid slid- In ing gradually back pressing his feet teet Into the nn angles les of or floor and sides cupping cupping cup cup- ping his palms against the damp cell coll ing tag lIe He thought of ot the crack I If he ho could get his fingers Into that he hp might gain purchase enough h to hol hold 1 fast But nut he lie was In the dark clarl He lie flung up one hand at al the risk of going IDt down and It scraped along the top of the tunnel Back Buck back inch by Inch foot by hy foot j Th Ie It was at last lie forced his tin finger er tips Into the fissure and braced himself a again ain It could not be he for tor forlong long His nis head hend was ns bent his neck cramped Soon the waters must reach his mouth and nose nose but but long before that the lie force of the torrent would have swept him away The loud lappIng lapping lapping lap lap- ping of It was confusing It sounded triumphant as If It a multitude of water devils were wele Inu laughing at his plight The compressing air aJr made his ears buzz and he began to get dizzy There were no vivid flashes of former former for- for mer ncr life Bettys Betty's face smiling at nt him after atter he had made his speech came up once before him Life had played a scurvy trick on him It was very close to the end enil of things for Caleb Warner engineer The Icy chill of ot the water sapped his vitality Now it t gurgled about his lower ribs al almost nl- nl most to his heart With feet wide wille apart one palm splayed a against the roof root fingers of the other hand i 7 e eY Y f r rs s I f t a He Took Her in His Arms and Raised Her Limp and Pitiable crooked Into the little crack he resisted resisted re re- re- re with all the time strength th he knew must prove Inadequate His Jaw was set his muscles ri rigid ld lie snarled In Inthe Inthe inthe the blackness forced to lean backward backward backward back back- ward a against the force of the mounting mounting mount mount- In ing flood Well Vell here I go lie he muttered There was no philosophy In the statement state state- statement ment no bravado only the submission submission sion slon of a n brave man who accepts the inevitable lOne One foot slipped agahi was sucked out trailing In the time tide But he got It down battling to the time last spark sparl of or his vitality every ery c remnant of ener energy centered in the will to cling to n tight light off collapse Seconds passed that seemed like hike hours his brain became I a blank blunk Dimly thought formulated The water was no longer er rising it I strengthened his brain cleared to time the fact that spurred his weariness to hope Some one was at the time gate gate gate- closing It lie could have ha shouted as ashe ashe ashe he knew the race subsiding down to his waIst his thighs hs ever lower l r while the roar lessened the chuckling ceased but he emitted only a hoarse croak Revulsion He gripped him him and ancl left lett him weak for a few moments he be before fore he started to wade toward the ladders while the cataract lost form reduced finally to a mere re dribble spurting underneath the vertical MUcal shut- shut off orr As he clasped the lower rungs sudden sud sullo den rage possessed him to hind find theman the theman theman man who had hud disobeyed ed his orders The wrath renewed all uti his vitality and he lie climbed swiftly toward ur th the head of the shaft and the time blessed 11 light g h t A sight met his e eyes es a as his nis head emerged above the time gatehouse gatehouse- Hoor floor that girt him vaulting from the shaft over the that guarded It H. The Time wheel that controlled the ate ate ateva was va down and across the of its Its threaded rod lay Iny Betty Clinton one hand still clutching the rim of pf f the l. l Tier Her hat was ofT off and her hat hall streamed loose framing the pallor of I 1 her f fn CP One fine RI t hp her white serge coat had been torn away and the shoulder ripped Her flimsy blouse skin of was In shreds the fair white arm and neck and rounding bosom showed where a rude hand had torn her undergarment He had an un Impression sion sion-no sion no more more of of a shadow rl rising by bythe bythe bythe the door and vanishing lIe He had e eyes e J Jonly only for the girl consciousness only of her plight and the knowledge that she had closed the gate and saved him sifter after some sonic desperate tight fight He lIe took her in his arms arm and raised her limp and 1 pitiable A red bl blotch tchon on her curving cur shoulder and marks markson on her wrist were already purpling Into angry bruises He called to her but she did lid not respond There here was n a rough bench in the place and he laid her on It catching down clown a sweater Jacket from a nail nail nail-it It belonged to the who had gone one to get his share of the barbecue barbecue and and he lie buttoned buttoned buttoned but but- toned It around her before he ran out of the gatehouse for aid The speeches were over the crowl crowd I getting Into their cars ready to complete complete com com- the trip The They would not come conic comeIn In this direction he lie knew and shouted shout shout- ed at the time top of ot his lungs to attract attention He felt that Betty was not badly hurt be beyond ond bruises and shock but hut he lie felt helpless not wanting to leave her not knowing what hest best to do There were thousands of gallons of water under his Ills feet but none with which to revive e her save that which dripped from his clothes A woman was needed needed perhaps perhaps a doctor He lie did not want to take her Into the curious crowd He shouted again Just as fiS a a. car broke from the ruck and came down towards the time gatehouse The occupants saw him waving If they did not hear him him they sensed trouble In his pose and the car leaped ahead under time tIle flow of gas gns It was Cox with Burns coming to see what delayed him The Time superintendent had told the time president that Warner Varner was giving the Ule tunnel final Inspection As the car came up Caleb hailed Cox Theres been an accident he said Foul play of some kind Nothing serious hut but I want Mrs Carquinez to attend to Miss Clinton She w was s I attacked tr trying to save me You i know Mrs Carquinez Cor Cox shell she'll be beby beby be by hy my car Get her Wife of at the artist 1 I remember I her Do you ou want Burns But Caleb had turned back Into the the gatehouse Coxs Cox's driver turned the car on the ramp and the car went went I back hack at full speed Burns halted In Inthe I the time doorway uncertain at the time sight I of Caleb kneeling beside Betty Clin Clin- ton The girl was reviving saying something to him No place for me Burns told him him- self elf I 1 cant can't do anything In there He TIe turned his back waiting for rein rein- Youre safe Betty raised her head hend and Caleb pillowed It on his arm Yes thanks to you he said What happened Oh Im I'm so glad Sudden tears choked her utterance and she began to sob h hysterically The car came racing back a again aln with Carquinez and his wife In the with Maria Luis Luls Padilla on the running board Maria Marla swept Caleb aside her eyes resenting Mrs 1 Carquinez as she loosed a n rush of Spanish with her arms about her senorita Betty Clinton Clinton Clinton Clin Clin- ton fou fought ht off her hysteria braced at I the time entrance of the rest and sat Ul up Im Imn all right Maria Iaria she said want to know what happened ened I saw that gentleman she gentleman she looked at Burns hovering In the background with speak to Mr Warner Yarner Then you left the tables She turned to talk directly to Caleb I thought that something had gone wron wrong by your face and I watched you going toward the gatehouse I saw aw a Jl man pass one of the openings opening's In the time screens and follow v you I had seen him before looking In from where the food was served back bael of where you rou sat Just before you left He lie had a beard he looked rough and wild Ills His e eyes es were glittering gUttering like a n amad amad mad dogs logs I fancied I knew him somehow and I tried to remember where I knew the memory was In some way sinister sinister- It may have been heen intuition but It possessed me So o I slipped sUpped from my seat sent while white Mr Ir was speaking and went to where I could watch the road rondo You were were nearl nearly r at the gatehouse almost running And this other man was running too not on the thc road but amon among the sage bent double lurching as If he lie was drunk trying not to be he seen following you A fl figure ure of evil elI And I suddenly placed him I knew It t was Baxter And I T was sure he hemant meant mant harm to yc-u yc 1 1 t tI I should have used my head hend better bet bet- ter she confessed color coming hack to her cheeks slowly spreading over face and neck under Caleb's Calebs gaze A At t least I should have called Luis Luls but I Ionly Ionly Ionly only tho 1 thought ht of one thing to warn you I think that even en then |