ung with every blow. Though some
men with good thews and sinews can never learn to use the axe to any
purpose, he could chop, and the heavy blade he whirled rang with a
rhythmic precision in the widening notch, then flashed about his head,
and fell with a chunk that was sharp as a whip-crack into the gap
again. In between Gordon's axe swept down, and the blades flashed
athwart each other's orbits without a check or clash. It requires
years to acquire that kind of proficiency with the axe, but the result
is a perfecting of the co-operation between will and hardened muscle.

It was fortunate that both could chop, for the men with the crosscut
appeared in difficulties. The tree bent on the pile of rock, and in
straining closed the cut upon the saw. Another man who had joined them
was endeavouring to hammer a wedge in, but with that crushing weight
against him the attempt seemed futile. He persisted, however, and
stood above the white froth of the rapid, a puny figure dwarfed by the
tremendous rock wall, whirling what appeared to be a wholly
insignificant hammer. His comrades were scattered about the grinding
mass making ineffective efforts to heave a butt or top clear of the
others with their handspikes, but there was clearly only one
vulnerable point of attack, and that was the one Nasmyth and Gordon
were hewing at. Wheeler, who felt the tension, watched them, clutching
hard upon an unlighted pipe. He was aware that if the mass of timber,
which grew rapidly larger, once wedged itself fast, it might be a
month or two before a flood broke it up; but he had also sense enough
to recognize that, since most of the men's efforts were futile, he
might just as well sit still.

The trunk was partly hewn through when the top of it bent outwards,
and Gordon flashed an anxious glance at it. It was evident that if
none of the others wedged themselves in upon and reinforced it the
weight behind would shortly rend the trunk apart. Then the position
would become a particularly perilous one, for the whole mass would
break away in chaotic ruin, and he and his comrade stood close in
front of it; but he could not tell how much further strain the tree
would bear, and he recognized that it was desirable to hew the notch
as deep as possible before he relinquished chopping. The axes rang for
another two minutes, and then there was a sudden crash, and a cry from
Wheeler that was drowned in the tumult of sound that rose from the
liberated timber.