he suction could seize them. Below
the dam, the push of the sluice water forced them several miles down
stream, where the rest of Bryan Moloney's crew took them in charge.

Thus through the wide gate nearly three-quarters of a million feet an
hour could be run--a quantity more than sufficient to keep pace with the
exertions of the rear. The matter was, of course, more or less delayed
by the necessity of breaking out such rollways as they encountered from
time to time on the banks. At length, however, the last of the logs
drifted into the wide dam pool. The rear had arrived at Dam Two, and
Thorpe congratulated himself that one stage of his journey had been
completed. Billy Camp began to worry about shooting the wanigan through
the sluice-way.

Chapter XLVIII

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 gorge. It was always an anxious spot for
the river drivers. In fact, the plunging of the logs head-on over the
fall had so gouged out the soft rock below, that an eddy of great power
had formed in the basin. Shearer and Thorpe had often discussed the
advisability of constructing an artificial apron 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 tangle 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," decided 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 irresistible.
This was mainly because the rocky walls narrowed at a slight bend to
the west, so that the drive was throttled, as it were. It was hoped
that perhaps the middle of the jam might burst through here, leaving t