Part 19 (1/2)

”It's a sensible att.i.tude. Fight against a thing you don't like, but make the best of it when it's an accomplished fact.”

”I don't like steam-plows at Allenwood,” said Beatrice with a flush of color.

”Allenwood is hifalutin,” Mrs. Broadwood put in. ”They're trying to run it on ideals.”

”Is it necessary to separate ideals from practical efficiency?” Harding asked.

”They don't often go together,” Beatrice answered scornfully.

”There's some truth in that. But it's the fault of human nature; you can't blame the machines.”

”The machines are to be admired,” the girl returned. ”One blames the men who use them with the wrong object.”

Harding smiled; but before he could answer, Broadwood came up with Kenwyne to announce that everything was ready.

”You'll have to be careful,” he warned Harding. ”We'll lock the back wheels before we hook on the tackles. Will you let the front team loose?”

”No; I may want them to swing me round the bends. First of all, I'll take a look at what you've done.”

He walked down the trail with them and examined the fastenings of a big iron block through which ran a wire rope with a tackle at one end.

”The clevis is rather small, but it's the strongest I could find,”

Kenwyne said.

A little farther on they stopped where the bank fell nearly perpendicularly for some distance below the outer edge of the road.

”We banked the snow up here and beat it firm,” he pointed out. ”For all that, it would be wise to keep well to the inside.”

”We'll s.h.i.+ft the tackle when I get to the bend above,” Harding replied, and went down to the bridge. It was rudely built of logs and had no parapet.

”I found the turn awkward the last time, but I see you have made it a bit easier,” he said. ”Well, we'd better make a start.”

Lance and one or two others joined them when they reached the top.

Harding examined the wagon and harness, and Beatrice watched him with interest. He certainly lived up to his belief in efficiency, because she did not think he omitted any precaution he could have taken. There was something to admire in him as he quietly moved about beside the horses and the ponderous ma.s.s of iron. It would not be an easy matter to transport the load to the bottom of the gorge, but Beatrice felt that he was at his best when confronting a difficulty.

”The locked wheels won't hold her if anything goes wrong,” he said.

”Keep all the strain you can upon the rope.”

They hooked it to the back axle, and Harding cautiously led the team down the incline while Devine went to the leading horses' heads, and the others checked the wagon with the tackle. The teams were obviously nervous, and the pole-horses now and then lifted their haunches to hold back the load, although they did not feel much of its weight. After some trouble Harding got the wagon round the first turning, taking the leaders up the side of the ravine in order to do so; but the trail ahead was steeper, and the big drop not far below. They chocked the wheels with logs while they moved the tackle, and Harding stood for a few moments, breathing heavily, as he looked down into the gorge. He could see the snowy trail wind for a short distance among the trees, and then it dipped out of sight beyond a turn. It was beaten hard, and here and there its surface caught a ray of light and flashed with an icy gleam.

They were half-way down; but the worst was to come.

”It's an ugly bit,” he cautioned Devine. ”Hold the leaders in to the side of the hill.”

They started, and as the weight came upon them the blocks screamed, and the men began to strain against the drag of the rope. Foot by foot they let it slip round the smooth trunk of a tree, while the women stood watching the tall figure at the pole-horses' heads. The powerful animals braced themselves back, slipping a yard or two now and then, while Harding broke into a run. The cloud of steam that hung over them grew thicker as the trees closed in; the tackle was running out and those who held it were panting hard, but they had rope enough to reach the next bend.

Then there was a crash and Kenwyne, reeling backward with those behind him, fell heavily into the snow while the broken wire struck the trees.

A shout from Devine came up the hollow, and Hester clenched her hand as she saw him flung off by a plunging horse and roll down the trail. He dropped over the edge, but the wagon, lurching violently, went on, and for a few moments Harding, running fast, clung to the near horse's head.

Then he let go; but instead of jumping clear, as the watchers had expected, he grasped the side of the wagon as it pa.s.sed and swung himself up. They saw him seize the reins, standing upright behind the driving-seat; and then the wagon plunged out of sight among the trees.

Devine, scrambling to his feet, ran madly after it and vanished; and the men who had held the tackle picked themselves up and looked down in dismay. There was nothing they could do. The disaster must happen before they could possibly reach the scene. It seemed impossible that Harding could get round the next turn.