There was nothing else to do. Jack called to
his faithful pony and guided him into the trail that
led to Richfield on the flats below. If that volume
of water were suddenly to be released through the breaking
of the dam, part of the village would be wiped out.
If they were warned in time the populace in the danger
zone could take to the hills on either side and escape.
“Come on, boy!” called Jack to his pony.
“It’s a ride for life all right!”
THE INSPECTOR
Down the rocky slope, toward the little settlement
on the flats below the dam, rode Jack. He thought
rapidly. If he could beat the flood, there would
be time to warn the sleeping population so they could
flee to the hills. There were not many who had
their homes in the danger zone, not more than twenty-five
families.
“I’ll wake some of ’em up,”
Jack reflected, “and then they can warn the
others. I don’t imagine they’ll have
time to save anything. Too bad! But that
dam is certainly going.”
The rain came pelting down once more, the drops stinging
in Jack’s face. He tried to listen, to
ascertain if he could hear the roar of the waters that
would indicate that the dam had already gone out, but
all he could catch was the splash of the rain.
Jack’s course was along the now turbulent stream
that was formed from the overflow of the pent-up waters.
In normal times this was but a mere brook, most of
the waters being led off through a pipe line to supply
a distant irrigation scheme. But now there was
so much water that not only was the pipe line filled,
but the overflow from the dam had turned the brook
into a river.
“The people ought to have seen the danger, and
gotten out before this,” reflected Jack, “but
perhaps they haven’t. Well, I’ll do
my best to save ’em!”
On galloped the faithful pony. Jack wished he
could put the mail and express stuff somewhere until
he could conclude his ride for life, but it would
not be safe to leave it anywhere. Fortunately,
he had not much of a load that night.
To Jack it seemed that he never would reach the little
town, nor see the lights of the first cabin loom into
sight.
“That is there’ll be lights if the folks
are up,” mused Jack, “and I hope some
of them are. There’ll be some tall scrambling
if I have to get ’em all up out of bed.”
The rain was a perfect torrent now, and the lad realized
that, with all this additional water falling into
the reservoir, and with what it would receive from
the swollen mountain streams flowing into it, the dam
would be further endangered.
The pony slipped and almost fell as he went around
a bad turn, where the trail was filled with rocks.
“Look out there, Sunger!” Jack cautioned
him, as he pulled up the faithful animal “This
is no time to fall!”
But Sunger recovered himself, and galloped on.
