The rear had been tenting at the dam for two days, and was about ready to break camp, when Jimmy Powers swung across the trail to tell them of the big jam.
Ten miles along the river bed, the stream dropped over a little half-falls into a narrow, rocky gorge1. It was always an anxious spot for the river drivers. In fact, the plunging2 of the logs head-on over the fall had so gouged3 out the soft rock below, that an eddy4 of great power had formed in the basin. Shearer5 and Thorpe had often discussed the advisability of constructing an artificial apron6 of logs to receive the impact. Here, in spite of all efforts, the jam had formed, first a little center of a few logs in the middle of the stream, dividing the current, and shunting the logs to right and left; then "wings" growing out from either bank, built up from logs shunted too violently; finally a complete stoppage of the channel, and the consequent rapid piling up as the pressure of the drive increased. Now the bed was completely filled, far above the level of the falls, by a tangle7 that defied the jam crew's best efforts.
The rear at once took the trail down the river. Thorpe and Shearer and Scotty Parsons looked over the ground.
"She may 'pull,' if she gets a good start," decided8 Tim.
Without delay the entire crew was set to work. Nearly a hundred men can pick a great many logs in the course of a day. Several times the jam started, but always "plugged" before the motion had become irresistible9. This was mainly because the rocky walls narrowed at a slight bend to the west, so that the drive was throttled10, as it were. It was hoped that perhaps the middle of the jam might burst through here, leaving the wings stranded11. The hope was groundless.
"We'll have to shoot," Shearer reluctantly decided.
The men were withdrawn12. Scotty Parsons cut a sapling twelve feet long, and trimmed it. Big Junko thawed13 his dynamite14 at a little fire, opening the ends of the packages in order that the steam generated might escape. Otherwise the pressure inside the oiled paper of the package was capable of exploding the whole affair. When the powder was warm, Scotty bound twenty of the cartridges15 around the end of the sapling, adjusted a fuse in one of them, and soaped the opening to exclude water. Then Big Junko thrust the long javelin16 down into the depths of the jam, leaving a thin stream of smoke behind him as he turned away. With sinister17, evil eye he watched the smoke for an instant, then zigzagged18 awkwardly over the jam, the long, ridiculous tails of his brown cutaway coat flopping19 behind him as he leaped. A scant20 moment later the hoarse21 dynamite shouted.
Great chunks22 of timber shot to an inconceivable height; entire logs lifted bodily into the air with the motion of a fish jumping; a fountain of water gleamed against the sun and showered down in fine rain. The jam shrugged23 and settled. That was all; the "shot" had failed.
The men ran forward, examining curiously24 the great hole in the log formation.
"We'll have to flood her," said Thorpe.
So all the gates of the dam were raised, and the torrent25 tried its hand. It had no effect. Evidently the affair was not one of violence, but of patience. The crew went doggedly26 to work.
Day after day the CLANK, CLANK, CLINK of the peaveys sounded with the regularity27 of machinery28. The only practicable method was to pick away the flank logs, leaving a long tongue pointing down-stream from the center to start when it would. This happened time and again, but always failed to take with it the main jam. It was cruel hard work; a man who has lifted his utmost strength into a peavey knows that. Any but the Fighting Forty would have grumbled29.
Collins, the bookkeeper, came up to view the tangle. Later a photographer from Marquette took some views, which, being exhibited, attracted a great deal of attention, so that by the end of the week a number of curiosity seekers were driving over every day to see the Big Jam. A certain Chicago journalist in search of balsam health of lungs even sent to his paper a little item. This, unexpectedly, brought Wallace Carpenter to the spot. Although reassured30 as to the gravity of the situation, he remained to see.
The place was an amphitheater for such as chose to be spectators. They could stand or sit on the summit of the gorge cliffs, overlooking the river, the fall, and the jam. As the cliff was barely sixty feet high, the view lacked nothing in clearness.
At last Shearer became angry.
"We've been monkeying long enough," said he. "Next time we'll leave a center that WILL go out. We'll shut the dams down tight and dry-pick out two wings that'll start her."
The dams were first run at full speed, and then shut down. Hardly a drop of water flowed in the bed of the stream. The crews set laboriously31 to work to pull and roll the logs out in such flat fashion that a head of water should send them out.
This was even harder work than the other, for they had not the floating power of water to help them in the lifting. As usual, part of the men worked below, part above.
Jimmy Powers, curly-haired, laughing-faced, was irrepressible. He badgered the others until they threw bark at him and menaced him with their peaveys. Always he had at his tongue's end the proper quip for the occasion, so that in the long run the work was lightened by him. When the men stopped to think at all, they thought of Jimmy Powers with very kindly32 hearts, for it was known that he had had more trouble than most, and that the coin was not made too small for him to divide with a needy33 comrade. To those who had seen his mask of whole-souled good-nature fade into serious sympathy, Jimmy Powers's poor little jokes were very funny indeed.
"Did 'je see th' Swede at the circus las' summer?" he would howl to Red Jacket on the top tier.
"No," Red Jacket would answer, "was he there?"
"Yes," Jimmy Powers would reply; then, after a pause--"in a cage!"
It was a poor enough jest, yet if you had been there, you would have found that somehow the log had in the meantime leaped of its own accord from that difficult position.
Thorpe approved thoroughly35 of Jimmy Powers; he thought him a good influence. He told Wallace so, standing36 among the spectators on the cliff-top.
"He is all right," said Thorpe. "I wish I had more like him. The others are good boys, too."
Five men were at the moment tugging37 futilely38 at a reluctant timber. They were attempting to roll one end of it over the side of another projecting log, but were continually foiled, because the other end was jammed fast. Each bent39 his knees, inserting his shoulder under the projecting peavey stock, to straighten in a mighty40 effort.
"Hire a boy!" "Get some powder of Junko!" "Have Jimmy talk it out!" "Try that little one over by the corner," called the men on top of the jam.
Everybody laughed, of course. It was a fine spring day, clear-eyed and crisp, with a hint of new foliage41 in the thick buds of the trees. The air was so pellucid42 that one distinguished43 without difficulty the straight entrance to the gorge a mile away, and even the West Bend, fully44 five miles distant.
Jimmy Powers took off his cap and wiped his forehead.
"You boys," he remarked politely, "think you are boring with a mighty big auger45."
"My God!" screamed one of the spectators on top of the cliff.
At the same instant Wallace Carpenter seized his friend's arm and pointed46.
Down the bed of the stream from the upper bend rushed a solid wall of water several feet high. It flung itself forward with the headlong impetus47 of a cascade48. Even in the short interval49 between the visitor's exclamation50 and Carpenter's rapid gesture, it had loomed51 into sight, twisted a dozen trees from the river bank, and foamed52 into the entrance of the gorge. An instant later it collided with the tail of the jam.
Even in the railroad rush of those few moments several things happened. Thorpe leaped for a rope. The crew working on top of the jam ducked instinctively53 to right and left and began to scramble54 towards safety. The men below, at first bewildered and not comprehending, finally understood, and ran towards the face of the jam with the intention of clambering up it. There could be no escape in the narrow canyon55 below, the walls of which rose sheer.
Then the flood hit square. It was the impact of resistible power. A great sheet of water rose like surf from the tail of the jam; a mighty cataract56 poured down over its surface, lifting the free logs; from either wing timbers crunched57, split, rose suddenly into wracked prominence58, twisted beyond the semblance59 of themselves. Here and there single logs were even projected bodily upwards60, as an apple seed is shot from between the thumb and forefinger61. Then the jam moved.
Scotty Parsons, Jack34 Hyland, Red Jacket, and the forty or fifty top men had reached the shore. By the wriggling62 activity which is a riverman's alone, they succeeded in pulling themselves beyond the snap of death's jaws63. It was a narrow thing for most of them, and a miracle for some.
Jimmy Powers, Archie Harris, Long Pine Jim, Big Nolan, and Mike Moloney, the brother of Bryan, were in worse case. They were, as has been said, engaged in "flattening64" part of the jam about eight or ten rods below the face of it. When they finally understood that the affair was one of escape, they ran towards the jam, hoping to climb out. Then the crash came. They heard the roar of the waters, the wrecking65 of the timbers, they saw the logs bulge66 outwards67 in anticipation68 of the break. Immediately they turned and fled, they knew not where.
All but Jimmy Powers. He stopped short in his tracks, and threw his battered69 old felt hat defiantly70 full into the face of the destruction hanging over him. Then, his bright hair blowing in the wind of death, he turned to the spectators standing helpless and paralyzed, forty feet above him.
It was an instant's impression,--the arrested motion seen in the flash of lightning--and yet to the onlookers71 it had somehow the quality of time. For perceptible duration it seemed to them they stared at the contrast between the raging hell above and the yet peaceable river bed below. They were destined72 to remember that picture the rest of their natural lives, in such detail that each one of them could almost have reproduced it photographically by simply closing his eyes. Yet afterwards, when they attempted to recall definitely the impression, they knew it could have lasted but a fraction of a second, for the reason that, clear and distinct in each man's mind, the images of the fleeing men retained definite attitudes. It was the instantaneous photography of events.
"So long, boys," they heard Jimmy Powers's voice. Then the rope Thorpe had thrown fell across a caldron of tortured waters and of tossing logs.
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1
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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gouged
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| v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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shearer
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| n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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throttled
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| v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制 | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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javelin
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| n.标枪，投枪 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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zigzagged
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| adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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futilely
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| futile（无用的）的变形； 干 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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pellucid
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| adj.透明的，简单的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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auger
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| n.螺丝钻，钻孔机 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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50
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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51
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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52
foamed
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| 泡沫的 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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56
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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57
crunched
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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wrecking
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| 破坏 | |
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bulge
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| n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀 | |
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outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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