"Jump!" he cried, pulling him forward.
Dick made an awkward leap, and alighting on the steep front of the dam,
fell heavily on his side. As he clutched the stones to save himself from
sliding down, a black mass plunged from the line above and there was a
deafening crash as it struck the spot he had left. Then a shower of
fragments fell upon him and he choked amidst a cloud of dust. Hoarse
shouts broke out above, and he heard men running about the dam as he got
up, half dazed.
"Are you all right, Jake?" he asked.
"Not a scratch," was the answer; and Dick, scrambling up the bank, called
for a lamp.
It was brought by a big mulatto, and Dick held up the light. The
last-fitted block of the ribbed course was split in two, and the one that
had fallen was scattered about in massive broken lumps. Amidst these lay
the guard-rail, and the front wheels of the truck hung across the gap
above. There was other damage, and Dick frowned as he looked about.
"We'll be lucky if we get the broken molding out in a day, and I expect
we'll have to replace two of the lower blocks," he said. "It's going to
be an awkward and expensive job now that the cement has set."
"Is that all?" Jake asked with a forced grin.
"It's enough," said Dick. "However, we'll be better able to judge in the
daylight."
Then he turned to the engineer, who was standing beside the truck,
surrounded by excited peons. "How did it happen?"
"I had my hand on the throttle when I got the order to go ahead, and let
her make a stroke or two, reckoning the guard-rail would snub up the car.
I heard the wheels clip and slammed the link-gear over, because it looked
as if she wasn't going to stop. When she reversed, the couplings held the
car and the block slipped off."
"Are you sure you didn't give her too much steam?"
"No, sir. I've been doing this job quite a while, and know just how smart
a push she wants. It was the guard-rail slipping that made the trouble."
"I can't understand why it did slip. The fastening clamps were firm when
I looked at them."
"Well," remarked the engineer, "the guard's certainly in the pit, and I
felt her give as soon as the car-wheels bit."
Dick looked hard at him and thought he spoke the truth. He was a steady
fellow and a good driver.
"Put your engine in the house and take down the feed-pump you were
complaining about. We won't want her to-morrow," he said, and dismissing
the men, returned to his shack, where he sat down rather limply on the
veranda.