Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 99: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘* PRIDE OF TYSON. “He seems rather—queer,”’ she sug- gested. ‘‘ Not exactly your sort of man.” “You don’t know him,’ replied Tyson quickly. “You see the rust; you don’t see the finely tempered steel that lies under-" Oh, there’s metal in that man!” e nodded in silent conviction. ‘“ He has qualities you would never dream from hearing him talk. You must see him in ac- tion. A pile-driver is a blunt and ugly thing in action, but when it drops it shakes the earth. This isn’t an age for heroics in the ordinary sense of the term, but perhaps you'll understand. me when I say that - Garth is truly one of the heroes of the in- dustrial world. ‘“‘ If you take a deep breath as you stand here at the window you'll taste the alkali in the air. Think, Margaret! In six months, when someone stands at this same - window and draws the same kind of breath he will taste the scent of green, growing things. Growing things on the desert! And that’s what Garth will have done! Think of it! The power of a man who can affect the very quality of the air.” She nodded dubiously, but something of his excitement was beginning to affect her. She was very lovely standing against the black of the night with her eyes commenc- ing to gleam. “Tl look at him m a different manner when. I meet him again. But it’s hard to get past his exterior. I’m afraid that I haven’t much insight.” | “ Possibly not,” he said dryly. ‘“ But don’t- bother your head about him. He’s .purely a man’s man.” “Tell me more about him.” ‘“You’re open to conviction?”’ ** At least, I’m interested.” “ Haven’t I told you enough about him?” “But I should think that you'd leve to speak of him. If you are the soldier, he’s the general.” . néa “T-could talk with you all night,” he - said, ‘and never leave the subject of Garth. In fact, he hasn’t been out of my mind this fortnight. Never for half an hour at a time. I even dream of him.” “If I didn’t know you, Hal, I’d call this hero worship.” ‘“‘ He'll have the same effect on you, once ware lh yiti { Google 381 you. get past his exterior. Consider the man who came out here and looked at this white stretch of burning, useless sand with a muddy trickle in the midst of it, and out of that caught the idea of the dam. Some- thing in that?” ~ “There is something in him,” she said thoughtfully, ‘“ but I was inclined to call it mere mass of physical strength.” “ Listen to me. Once he started ‘he met the most terrific difficulties. His labor merely to finance the dam was enough to fill the lives of two ordinary men. But then the mechanical troubles. He had-to build this entire town and make it like a true bit of Mexico to hold his employees. Then the dam itself. It was a terrible task to haul fuel to the dam; no railroad came within twenty miles until he built his own branch, and even operation:of the branch line was an expensive thing. They had worked for several months, and it seemed hopeless.” . Tyson was so wrapped up in his subject that he forgot to watch the effect on Mar-’ garet. She was looking far away, ‘like one who struggles to understand difficult music. “‘ Garth went to the upper waters of the Chiluah, brought two streams together, carried them to a cliff’s edge, and erected an electri- cal plant. Hence the electric light in this room!” And he pointed to the little globe. She smiled at his enthusiasm, but the smile went out quickly. She felt as if Tyson was probing the soul of that big, clumsy man, and the result was a revelation. “Hard work over?” and the eye of Ty- son hardened and brightened. “No, the worst lies ahead of him. He has to have the dam completed before the spring floods strike down the valley. If he loses that first rush of water he might as well leave the gates of the dam open for another year. Yes, if he is a week late with his work this year is thrown. away. < .. “So he is fighting every minute. labors day and night. He drives his men with whips, you might say. Yet he has to keep his labor contented while he wrings He . the last possible drop of effort from them. ‘‘ And think what a terrible danger hangs over him all the time. If the rains come tunnelled a whole mountain, . Original froma ~--_— -BLa ms. _ \ ~ pee - 7 C O) E THE OHIO STATE U N\ \ fu —_» 1NOO S C@ Al C UNIV