FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>  
--proud of what he's done--! "As nearly as I can make it out, they have got a boat leaning against the dam with five hundred pounds of TNT in it--or hanging under it--I don't know which-- "There is a battery in the boat, and clockwork to set the whole thing off at ten o'clock tonight. He didn't come right out and say so, you understand, and I may be making a fool of myself. But if I am--God knows, it won't be the first time ... Anyhow we'll soon know." It was a circuitous road that led to the dam. The rain was pouring again, the streets deserted. Once they were held up at a railroad crossing.... The clock in the car pointed at five minutes to ten when their headlights finally fell upon the bridge. As they drew nearer they could hear nothing in the darkness but the thunder of the water. The bridge was a low one and only twenty yards up the stream from the falls; but though they strained their eyes to the uttermost they couldn't see as far as the dam. "I'll turn one of the headlights," said Archey, "and we'll drive over slow." The lamp, turned at an angle, swept over the edge of the dam like a searchlight. Half way over the bridge the car stopped. They had found what they were looking for. "Why doesn't it go over?" shouted Archey, jumping out. "Anchored to a tree up the bend, I guess," Paul shouted back. "They must have played her down the stream after dark." Nearly over the dam was a boat painted black and covered with tarpaulin. "The explosive is probably hanging from a chain underneath," thought Paul. "The current would hold it tight against the mason-work." "We ought to have brought some help," shouted Archey, suddenly realizing. "If that dam breaks, it will sweep away the factory and part of the town.... What are you going to do?" Paul had dropped his hat in the stream below the bridge and was watching to see where it went over the crest. It swept over the edge a few feet to the right of the boat. He moved up a little and tried next by dropping his coat. This caught fairly against the boat. Then before they knew what he was doing, he had climbed over the rail of the bridge and had dropped into the swiftly moving water below. "Done it!" gasped Hutchins. Paul's arms were clinging around the bow of the boat. He twisted his body, the current helping him, and gained the top of the tarpaulin. Under the spotlight thrown by the car, it was like a scene from some epic drama, staged by the gods
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>  



Top keywords:
bridge
 

shouted

 

stream

 

Archey

 

current

 
tarpaulin
 
headlights
 

dropped

 
hanging
 

realizing


brought

 

breaks

 
suddenly
 

explosive

 
Nearly
 

painted

 
played
 
covered
 

thought

 

underneath


clinging

 

twisted

 

Hutchins

 

gasped

 

swiftly

 

moving

 

helping

 

staged

 

thrown

 

spotlight


gained

 
climbed
 

watching

 

Anchored

 

fairly

 
caught
 

dropping

 
factory
 

uttermost

 
making

understand
 

pouring

 
circuitous
 
Anyhow
 

tonight

 

leaning

 
hundred
 

pounds

 
clockwork
 

battery