Rapidly Thorpe explained what was to be done, and thrust his rifle into the Indian's hands. The latter listened in silence and stolidity1, then turned, and without a word departed swiftly in the darkness. The two white men stood a minute attentive2. Nothing was to be heard but the steady beat of rain and the roaring of the wind.
Near the bank of the river they encountered a man, visible only as an uncertain black outline against the glow of the lanterns beyond. Thorpe, stopping him, found Big Junko.
"This is no time to quit," said Thorpe, sharply.
"I ain't quittin'," replied Big Junko.
"Where are you going, then?"
Junko was partially3 and stammeringly4 unresponsive.
"Looks bad," commented Thorpe. "You'd better get back to your job."
"Yes," agreed Junko helplessly. In the momentary5 slack tide of work, the giant had conceived the idea of searching out the driver crew for purposes of pugilistic vengeance6. Thorpe's suspicions stung him, but his simple mind could see no direct way to explanation.
All night long in the chill of a spring rain and windstorm the Fighting Forty and certain of the mill crew gave themselves to the labor7 of connecting the slanting8 stone cribs so strongly, by means of heavy timbers chained end to end, that the pressure of a break in the jam might not sweep aside the defenses. Wallace Carpenter, Shorty, the chore-boy, and Anderson, the barn-boss, picked a dangerous passage back and forth9 carrying pails of red-hot coffee which Mrs. Hathaway constantly prepared. The cold water numbed10 the men's hands. With difficulty could they manipulate the heavy chains through the auger11 holes; with pain they twisted knots, bored holes. They did not complain. Behind them the jam quivered, perilously12 near the bursting point. From it shrieked13 aloud the demons14 of pressure. Steadily15 the river rose, an inch an hour. The key might snap at any given moment, they could not tell,--and with the rush they knew very well that themselves, the tug16, and the disabled piledriver would be swept from existence. The worst of it was that the blackness shrouded17 their experience into uselessness; they were utterly18 unable to tell by the ordinary visual symptoms how near the jam might be to collapse19.
However, they persisted, as the old-time riverman always does, so that when dawn appeared the barrier was continuous and assured. Although the pressure of the river had already forced the logs against the defenses, the latter held the strain well.
The storm had settled into its gait. Overhead the sky was filled with gray, beneath which darker scuds20 flew across the zenith before a howling southwest wind. Out in the clear river one could hardly stand upright against the gusts21. In the fan of many directions furious squalls swept over the open water below the booms, and an eager boiling current rushed to the lake.
Thorpe now gave orders that the tug and driver should take shelter. A few moments later he expressed himself as satisfied. The dripping crew, their harsh faces gray in the half-light, picked their way to the shore.
In the darkness of that long night's work no man knew his neighbor. Men from the river, men from the mill, men from the yard all worked side by side. Thus no one noticed especially a tall, slender, but well-knit individual dressed in a faded mackinaw and a limp slouch hat which he wore pulled over his eyes. This young fellow occupied himself with the chains. Against the racing22 current the crew held the ends of the heavy booms, while he fastened them together. He worked well, but seemed slow. Three times Shearer23 hustled24 him on after the others had finished, examining closely the work that had been done. On the third occasion he shrugged25 his shoulder somewhat impatiently.
The men straggled to shore, the young fellow just described bringing up the rear. He walked as though tired out, hanging his head and dragging his feet. When, however, the boarding-house door had closed on the last of those who preceded him, and the town lay deserted26 in the dawn, he suddenly became transformed. Casting a keen glance right and left to be sure of his opportunity, he turned and hurried recklessly back over the logs to the center booms. There he knelt and busied himself with the chains.
In his zigzag27 progression over the jam he so blended with the morning shadows as to seem one of them, and he would have escaped quite unnoticed had not a sudden shifting of the logs under his feet compelled him to rise for a moment to his full height. So Wallace Carpenter, passing from his bedroom, along the porch, to the dining room, became aware of the man on the logs.
His first thought was that something demanding instant attention had happened to the boom. He therefore ran at once to the man's assistance, ready to help him personally or to call other aid as the exigency28 demanded. Owing to the precarious29 nature of the passage, he could not see beyond his feet until very close to the workman. Then he looked up to find the man, squatted30 on the boom, contemplating31 him sardonically32.
"Dyer!" he exclaimed
"Right, my son," said the other coolly.
"What are you doing?"
"If you want to know, I am filing this chain."
Wallace made one step forward and so became aware that at last firearms were taking a part in this desperate game.
"You stand still," commanded Dyer from behind the revolver. "It's unfortunate for you that you happened along, because now you'll have to come with me till this little row is over. You won't have to stay long; your logs'll go out in an hour. I'll just trouble you to go into the brush with me for a while."
The scaler picked his file from beside the weakened link.
"What have you against us, anyway, Dyer?" asked Wallace. His quick mind had conceived a plan. At the moment, he was standing33 near the outermost34 edge of the jam, but now as he spoke35 he stepped quietly to the boom log.
Dyer's black eyes gleamed at him suspiciously, but the movement appeared wholly natural in view of the return to shore.
"Nothing," he replied. "I didn't like your gang particularly, but that's nothing."
"Why do you take such nervy chances to injure us?" queried36 Carpenter.
"Because there's something in it," snapped the scaler. "Now about face; mosey!"
Like a flash Wallace wheeled and dropped into the river, swimming as fast as possible below water before his breath should give out. The swift current hurried him away. When at last he rose for air, the spit of Dyer's pistol caused him no uneasiness. A moment later he struck out boldly for shore.
What Dyer's ultimate plan might be, he could not guess. He had stated confidently that the jam would break "in an hour." He might intend to start it with dynamite37. Wallace dragged himself from the water and commenced breathlessly to run toward the boarding-house.
Dyer had already reached the shore. Wallace raised what was left of his voice in a despairing shout. The scaler mockingly waved his hat, then turned and ran swiftly and easily toward the shelter of the woods. At their border he paused again to bow in derision. Carpenter's cry brought men to the boarding-house door. From the shadows of the forest two vivid flashes cut the dusk. Dyer staggered, turned completely about, seemed partially to recover, and disappeared. An instant later, across the open space where the scaler had stood, with rifle a-trail, the Indian leaped in pursuit.
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1
stolidity
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| n.迟钝，感觉麻木 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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stammeringly
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| adv.stammering（口吃的）的变形 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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auger
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| n.螺丝钻，钻孔机 | |
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perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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scuds
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| v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的第三人称单数 ) | |
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21
gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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shearer
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| n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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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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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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sardonically
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| adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地 | |
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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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outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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