like a hound.
And behind the barrier the logs, tossing and tumbling, the white spray
flying before their onslaught, beat in vain against the barrier, like
raging wild beasts whose prey has escaped.

"Close call," said Orde briefly.

"Bet you," replied Marsh.

Neither referred to the tug's escape; but to the fortunate closing of
the opening.

XLI

Orde now took steps to deflect into the channel recently dredged to
Stearn's Bayou the mass of the logs racing down stream from Redding. He
estimated that he had still two hours or so in which to do the work. In
this time he succeeded by the severest efforts in establishing a rough
shunt into the new channel. The logs would come down running free. Only
the shock of their impact against the tail of the jam already formed was
to be feared. Orde hoped to be able to turn the bulk of them aside.

This at first he succeeded in doing; and very successfully as affecting
the pressure on the jam below. The first logs came scattering. Then in
a little while the surface of the river was covered with them; they
shouldered each other aside in their eagerness to outstrip the rushing
water; finally they crowded down more slowly, hardly able to make their
way against the choking of the river banks, but putting forth in the
very effort to proceed a tremendous power. To the crew working in the
channel dredged through to Steam's Bayou the affair was that of driving
a rather narrow and swift stream, only exaggerated. By quick and skilful
work they succeeded in keeping the logs in motion. A large proportion of
the timbers found their way into the bayou. Those that continued on down
the river could hardly have much effect on the jam.

The work was breathless in its speed. From one to another sweat-bathed,
panting man the logs were handed on. As yet only the advance of the big
jam had arrived at the dredged channel.

Orde looked about him and realised this.

"We can't keep this up when the main body hits us," he panted to his
neighbour, Jim Denning. "We'll have to do some more pile-driver work."

He made a rapid excursion to the boom camp, whence he returned with
thirty or forty of the men who had given up work on the jam below.

"Here, boys," said he, "you can at least keep these logs moving in this
channel for a couple of hours. This isn't dangerous."

He spoke quite without sarcastic intent; but the rivermen, already over
their first panic, looked at each other a trifle shamef