griddle cakes had about ceased. Hallam, Duncan, and the young engineer,
Temple, taking new courage from Barbara's report concerning the
disposition of the men, were going about among the gangs, wading knee
deep in water and mud, and giving such directions as were needed.
Duncan, especially, was rendering service. As an old soldier, who had
had varied experience in the hurried construction of earthworks under
difficulties, he was able in many ways to hasten the present work. One
thing he hit upon which went far to make success possible. That end of
the crib which reached and crossed the county line offered a cavernous
space to be filled in. It was thickly surrounded by trees, and Duncan
ordered all these felled, directing the chopping so that the trunks and
branches should fall into the crib. Then setting men to chop off such
of the branches as protruded above the proposed embankment level, and
let them fall into the unoccupied spaces, he presently had that part of
the crib loosely filled in with a tangled mass of timber and tree tops.
Gangs of men were meanwhile pushing cars along the temporary track, and
dumping their loads of earth among the felled trees. Duncan, with a
small gang, was extending these temporary tracks along the crib as fast
as the earth dumped in provided a sufficient bed.
This work of filling was very slow, of course, and when Duncan's watch
showed ten o'clock, he was well-nigh ready to despair. Under the strain
of his anxiety he had forgotten to take any breakfast, and the prolonged
exposure to water and rain had so far depressed his vitality that he now
found a chill creeping over him. He hurried to Barbara's fire for some
coffee and a few mouthfuls of greatly needed food. There for the first
time he saw what Barbara's promised dinner was to be. The two separated
halves of a dressed hog hung before and partly over the fire, roasting.
"Where on earth did you get that?" he asked in astonishment.
"Bob got it last night," she answered, "and dressed it himself."
"But where, and how?"
"I don't know yet. He laughs when I ask questions. I'm sorely afraid
Bob stole the hog from some farmer. I sent him out with some money to
buy whatever meat he could find, for I saw that the men must have
substantial food. He came back about daylight, and told me he had a
dressed hog 'out dar in de bushes.' He gave me back all the money I had
given him, and, as I say, he simply laughs when I ask questions. I'll
make him tell me all about it this afternoon. If he stole the hog, we
can pay for it. And meanwhile the men shall have their dinner. How is
the work getting on?"
"Rapidly--but not rapidly enough, I fear. I must hurry back now."
"I'll go with you," said the girl. "Bob can watch the roasting," for Bob
had reappeared at the fire.
"But you can't go with me," replied Duncan. "The water's knee deep, and
more, between here and the crib."
"It can't make me any wetter than I am now," replied the resolute girl,
as she set off in Duncan's company.
At the crib she studied the situation critically. She knew nothing of
engineering, of course, but she had an abundance of practical common
sense, and in most of the affairs of this life, common sense goes a long
way as a substitute for skill.
"What time is it now?" she asked, after she had watched the slow
progress of the work long enough to estimate the prospect.
"Half past ten."
"Then we've only an hour and a half more. It isn't enough. You can never
fill that hole in time."
"I'm afraid we can't. I'm afraid we've lost in the struggle."
"Oh, no, you mustn't feel that way. We simply must win this battle. If
we can't do it in one way, we must find another."
Duncan made no answer. There seemed to him no answer to be made. The
girl continued to look about her. After a while she asked:
"Is the end of the crib at the county line?"
"Yes--or rather the line lies a little way this side of the end of the
crib."
Again she remained silent for a time, before saying:
"There are two big tree trunks lying longways there in the crib. They
extend across the county line. Why can't you jack them up into place,
and lay your rails along them, without filling the space, and without
using any ties?"
For half a minute the young man did not answer. At last he exclaimed:
"That's an inspiration!"
Without pausing to say another word Duncan started at a run through the
water till he reached the mud embankment. Then he ran along that to the
point where Temple was superintending the earth-diggers.
"Quit this quick!" he cried, "and hurry the whole force to the crib. I
see a way out. Order all the jack-screws brought, Dick, and come
yourself in a hurry!"
The two great tree trunks were quickly cleared of their remaining
branches by the axmen. Then Temple placed the jack-screws under them,
and set to work to raise them into the desired position, so that they
should lie parallel with each other, at the track level, with a space of
about four and a half feet between their centers.
As the jack-screws slowly brought them into position, Will Hallam and
Duncan, one at either end of the logs--directed men in the work of
placing log supports under them.
At half past eleven Temple announced that the great tree trunks were in
place. Instantly twenty axmen were set at work hewing a flat place for
rails along the top of each log, while other men, as fast as the hewing
advanced, laid and spiked down the iron rails.
At five minutes before noon, a gang of men, with shouts of enthusiastic
triumph, seized upon the dumping car, which stood waiting, and pushed it
across the line! As this last act in the drama began, Guilford Duncan
seized Barbara by the elbows, kissed her in the presence of all, lifted
her off her feet, and placed her in the moving car.
"You have saved the railroad!" he said with emotion in his voice, "and
you shall be its first passenger."
* * * * *
It was ten days later when Barbara reached home again, after a wearisome
journey through the flooded district, under the escort of Duncan and
Captain Will Hallam, and with the assistance of Temple, at the head of a
gang of his ready-witted miners.
That evening Duncan stood face to face with her in the little parlor.
Without preface, he asked:
"Will you now say 'yes,' Barbara, to the question I asked you so long
ago?"
"I suppose I must," she answered, "after--after what you did when you
set me in the car that last day of the struggle."
THE END
Good Fiction Worth Reading.
A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the
field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and
diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.
A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE. A story of American Colonial Times. By Chauncey
C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.
Price, $1.00.
A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of
Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one.
It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to devour
chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes
with patriotism. The love story is a singularly charming idyl.
THE TOWER OF LONDON. A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady Jane Grey
and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four
illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.
This romance of the "Tower of London" depicts the Tower as palace,
prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is
the middle of the sixteenth century.
The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane
Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other
notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the
interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy,
extending considerably over a half a century.
IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. A Romance of the American Revolution. By
Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson
Davis, Price, $1.00.
Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee
bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the
spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel
ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. His whole
story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to
finish it. As a love romance it is charming.
GARTHOWEN. A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo.
with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
"This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare
before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some
strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty temper, the
quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story,
interesting alike through its romance and its glimpses into another
life than ours. A delightful and clever picture of Welsh village
life. The result is excellent."--Detroit Free Press.
MIFANWY. The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, 12mo. with
four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
"This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care
to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the
characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though
the author had known them all personally. Simple in all its
situations, the story is worked up in that touching and quaint
strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often the lights
and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and does not tax
the imagination."--Boston Herald.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
Good Fiction Worth Reading.
A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the
field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and
diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.
DARNLEY. A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. By
G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.
Price, $1.00.
In point of publication, "Darnley" is that work by Mr. James which
follows "Richelieu," and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing to
the advice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we are
indebted primarily for the story, the young author questioning
whether he could properly paint the difference in the characters of
the two great cardinals. And it is not surprising that James should
have hesitated; he had been eminently successful in giving to the
world the portrait of Richelieu as a man, and by attempting a
similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting
fortune. Irving insisted that "Darnley" came naturally in sequence,
and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author
set about the work.
As a historical romance "Darnley" is a book that can be taken up
pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle
charm which those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James
have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas.
If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial
attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic
"field of the cloth of gold" would entitle the story to the most
favorable consideration of every reader.
There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the
author has taken care to imagine love passages only between those
whom history has credited with having entertained the tender
passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as
all the world must love.
CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE. By Lieut. Henry A. Wise,
U.S.N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson
Davis. Price, $1.00.
The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea
yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as
can come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a
story of the sea and those "who go down in ships" been written by
one more familiar with the scenes depicted.
The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and
which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is
"Captain Brand," who, as the author states on his title page, was a
"pirate of eminence in the West Indies." As a sea story pure and
simple, "Captain Brand" has never been excelled, and as a story of
piratical life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and
thunder, it has no equal.
NICK OF THE WOODS. A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By Robert
Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson
Davis. Price, $1.00.
This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life
in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel,
long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its
realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the early
days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with all the
art of a practiced writer. A very charming love romance runs
through the story. This new and tasteful edition of "Nick of the
Woods" will be certain to make many new admirers for this
enchanting story from Dr. Bird's clever and versatile pen.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
Good Fiction Worth Reading.
A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the
field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and
diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.
GUY FAWKES. A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison
Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank.
Price, $1.00.
The "Gunpowder Plot" was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament,
the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of
England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient
scheme of extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the
Catholics. In their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful
of bold spirits concluded to overthrow the government. Finally the
plotters were arrested, and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and
the other prisoners with royal vigor. A very intense love story
runs through the entire romance.
THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER. A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio
Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth. 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson
Davis. Price, $1.00.
A book rather out of the ordinary is this "Spirit of the Border."
The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the
Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader
is given details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who
broke the wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief
among these, as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the
most peculiar, and at the same time the most admirable of all the
brave men who spent their lives battling with the savage foe, that
others might dwell in comparative security.
Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian
"Village of Peace" are given at some length, and with minute
description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are described
as they never have been before, and the author has depicted the
characters of the leaders of the several Indian tribes with great
care, which of itself will be of interest to the student.
By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid
word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense
paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken
forests.
It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by
it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too,
willingly braved every privation and danger that the westward
progress of the star of empire might be the more certain and rapid.
A love story, simple and tender, runs through the book.
RICHELIEU. A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G. P. R.
James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price,
$1.00.
In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, "Richelieu," and was
recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.
In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great
cardinal's life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it
was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic
outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost
wave of prosperity. One of the most striking portions of the story
is that of Cinq Mar's conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal
cases, and the political trickery resorted to by royal favorites,
affording a better insight into the statecraft of that day than can
be had even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful
romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and
absorbing interest has never been excelled.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
Good Fiction Worth Reading.
A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the
field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and
diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.
WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII.,
Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth,
12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.
"Windsor Castle" is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne
Boleyn. "Bluff King Hal," although a well-loved monarch, was none
too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and
unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce
from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The
King's love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting
maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was forced to the
block to make room for her successor. This romance is one of
extreme interest to all readers.
HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina in
1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical
fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger number of
Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only
story which depicts with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts
of the colonists in South Carolina to defend their homes against
the brutal oppression of the British under such leaders as
Cornwallis and Tarleton.
The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread
of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail
concerning those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of
the people, is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and honestly
by one who spared neither time nor labor in his efforts to present
in this charming love story all that price in blood and tears which
the Carolinians paid as their share in the winning of the republic.
Take it all in all, "Horseshoe Robinson" is a work which should be
found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most
entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable
information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it has
been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something which
will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an
opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have tried
vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might read
it for the first time.
THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By Harriet
Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.
Written prior to 1862, the "Pearl of Orr's Island" is ever new; a
book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array
themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the "sea like an
unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr's
Island," and straightway comes "the heavy, hollow moan of the surf
on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some savage animal."
Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which
came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel's
wings, without having an intense desire to know how the premature
bud blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of
the character of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest,
amid the angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother's breast.
There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that
which Mrs. Stowe gives in "The Pearl of Orr's Island."
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
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* Transcriber's Note: Dialect, and unusual and alternative spellings *
* have been retained as they appear in the original. *
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