unskillful and hasty repairs to satisfy speculating
stockbrokers, and that it had lately shown signs of leakage and sapping
of its outer walls; that, in the event of an outbreak, the little
triangular valley, from which there was no outlet, would be instantly
flooded. Asked still more pressingly to give her authority for these
details, she at first hesitated, and then gave the name of Tom Sparrell.

The derision with which this statement was received by us all, as the
opinion of a sedentary clerk, was quite natural and obvious, but not
the anger which it excited in the breast of Judge Piper; for it was not
generally known that the judge was the holder of a considerable number
of shares in the Pioneer Ditch Company, and that large dividends had
been lately kept up by a false economy of expenditure, to expedite a
"sharp deal" in the stock, by which the judge and others could sell out
of a failing company. Rather, it was believed, that the judge's anger
was due only to the discovery of Sparrell's influence over his daughter
and his interference with the social affairs of Cottonwood. It was said
that there was a sharp scene between the youngest Miss Piper and the
combined forces of the judge and the elder sisters, which ended in the
former's resolute refusal to attend the picnic at all if that site was
selected.

As Delaware was known to be fearless even to the point of recklessness,
and fond of gayety, her refusal only intensified the belief that she was
merely "stickin' up for Sparrell's judgment" without any reference to
her own personal safety or that of her sisters. The warning was laughed
away; the opinion of Sparrell treated with ridicule as the dyspeptic and
envious expression of an impractical man. It was pointed out that the
reservoir had lasted a long time even in its alleged ruinous state; that
only a miracle of coincidence could make it break down that particular
afternoon of the picnic; that even if it did happen, there was no direct
proof that it would seriously flood the valley, or at best add more than
a spice of excitement to the affair. The "Red Gulch Contingent," who
WOULD be there, was quite as capable of taking care of the ladies, in
case of any accident, as any lame crank who wouldn't, but could only
croak a warning to them from a distance. A few even wished something
might happen that they might have an opportunity of showing their
superior devotion; indeed, the prospect of carrying the half-submerg