ld wave.
Questions flew like feathers at a cock-fight.

Muller held up his hand and there was something in his grief-stricken
eyes that held the gentlemen of the press in silence. They had time to
look around. They saw the handsome, dark-haired, brown-eyed Jenks poring
over the plans. Dust from the carpet smudged his knees, and he had
rubbed some of it over a sweating forehead, but he still looked the
picture of self-confident efficiency.

"Gentlemen," said Muller slowly, "I can answer all your questions at
once. Our firm is one of the oldest and staunchest in the trade. Our
buildings stand as monuments to our integrity--"

"All but one," said a young Irishman.

"You are right. All but one," confessed Muller. "But that one, believe
me, has been visited by an act of God. Some form of earthquake or some
unlooked for, uncontrolled, almost unbelievable catastrophe has
happened. The Muller company stands back of its work to its last dollar.
Gentlemen, you know as much as we do. Mr. Jenks there, whose reputation
as an engineer is quite sturdy, I assure you, was the last to inspect
the building. He passed upon it when it was finished. He is at your
service."

Jenks arose, brushed some dust from his knees.

"You look like you'd been praying," bandied the Irishman.

"Maybe I have. Now let me talk. Don't broadside me with questions. I
know what you want to know. Let me talk."

The newspapermen were silent.

"There has been talk of probing this disaster, naturally," began Jenks.
"You all know, gentlemen, that we will aid any inquiry to our utmost.
You want to know what we have to say about it--who is responsible. In a
reasonable time I will have a statement to make that will be startling
in the extreme. I am not sure of my ground now."

"How about the ground under the Colossus?" said the Irishman.

"Don't let's kid each other," pleaded Jenks. "Look at Mr. Muller: it is
as if he had lost his whole family. We are good people. I am doing all I
can. Mr. Linane, who had charge of the construction, is doing all he
can. We believe we are blameless. If it is proven otherwise we will
acknowledge our fault, assume financial responsibility, and take our
medicine. Believe me, that building was perfection plus, like all our
buildings. That covers the entire situation."

Hundreds of questions were parried and answered by the three engineers,
and the reporters left convinced that if the Muller Construction Company
was responsible,