Trestle

“ The legs are so shaped at their ends that they can be shod with steel shoes provided for the purpose, enabling them to get a good foothold even on shifty soil. The trestles are put together ashore, and each is taken out in a boat or on a pontoon to the place where it is to stand. Then it is launched feet foremost into the water, the boat being on the side away from the shore, so that a rope from the trestle to the shore will enable men on land to pull the trestle into an upright position. ”

“ The gorge was spanned by the usual Western trestle bridge, an openwork fabric of timber just wide enough to carry the single track rising out of the chasm on tapering piers that looked ethereally fragile in that wilderness of towering trees and tremendous slopes of rock. The chunk of axes and ringing of hammers jarred through the roar of the stream, and he could see men clinging in mid-air to little stages slung about the piers, and moving among the pines below. ”

“ The trestle is made by driving two sticks about 61⁄2 feet long and 3 inches in diameter in the ground and lashed at the intersection as shown in Plate 29a. In making the cradle, plant the two end trestles first. Stretch a line from one to the other over the intersection. Place the others 4 feet apart and lash them so that each intersection comes fairly to the line.
To build a fascine, straight pieces of brush, 1 or 2 inches at the butt, are laid on, the butts projecting at the end 1 foot beyond the trestle. ”

“ As the sides of the dam gave way, they were fairly half-way over the trestle. It seemed that the roaring, swooping mass would overtake them before they could clear the bridge.
The light caboose was swinging after its groaning pilot like the tail of a kite. A whiplash sway and quiver caused Ralph to turn his head.
The door of the caboose was open, and the light streaming from within showed the railroad president clinging to the platform railing, swaying from side to side. He evidently realized the peril of the moment, and stood ready to jump if a crash came. ”

“ The town was so full of people that we could not force an entrance; the gate was shut, and our field pieces kept firing from above. Trenk stopped the passage of the water; by midnight it was as high as our horses’ bellies, and we were almost entirely abandoned. We lost six men, and my horse was wounded in the neck—it is certain that the King as well as the rest of us, would have been made prisoners, if my cousin could have continued the attack. ”

“ The lieutenant’s weapon clattered upon the floor. For an instant he paused, immovable, overcome by amazement; then an irresistible admiration—a supreme tenderness, invaded his soul. He flung himself, weeping, in Trenck’s arms, exclaiming:
“You are my master!”
Then, drawing away from the prisoner, he contemplated him with the same enthusiasm, but more reflectively, and observed:
“Yes, baron, you far exceed me in the use of the sword; you are the greatest duelist of the day, and a man of your caliber must not remain longer in prison.” ”

“ There was nothing between us and a hundred-foot drop but this narrow trench and a low, rotten fence, and the fool behaved as though she wanted to jump it all. I hope no one will ever erect an equestrian statue in my honour; now that I have experienced the sensation of ramping over nothing, I find I dislike it. I believe I might have been there now, but just then a couple of hounds came up, and before I knew what she was at, the filly had jumped down after them into the trench as if she had been doing it all her life. ”

“ The town-major again began a parley. “For God’s sake, my dear Trenck,” said he, “in what have I injured you, that you endeavour to effect my ruin? I must answer for your having, through my negligence, concealed a knife. Be persuaded, I entreat you. Be appeased. You are not without hope, nor without friends.” My answer was—“But will you not load me with heavier irons than before?”
He went out, spoke with the governor, and gave me his word of honour that the affair should be no further noticed, and that everything should be exactly reinstated as formerly. ”

“ Jake’s goin’ to play his hand by force. Savee? Mebbe we’ve a notion o’ that force—Miss Dianny an’ me——”
“Yes, and we must think this thing thoroughly out, Joe. Developments must be our cue. We can do nothing but wait and be ready. There’s the sheriff——”
[Pg 156]
“Eh? Sheriff?” Joe swung round, and was peering up into Tresler’s face.
“Ah, I forgot.” Tresler’s expression was very thoughtful. They had arrived at the barn, and were dismounting. “I was following out my own train of thought. I agree with you, Joe, Red Mask and his doings are at the bottom of this business.” ”

“ He broke off, and looked up into Tresler’s face.
[Pg 32]
“Yes, I’m going there. You don’t happen to belong to—to Blind Hell?”
“Happen I do,” assured the washerman. “I do the chores around the ranch. Joe Nelson, once a stock raiser m’self. Kerrville, Texas. Now——” He broke off, and waved a hand in the direction of the drying clothes.
“Well, I’m John Tresler, and I’m on my way to Mosquito Bend.”
“So you’re the ‘tenderfoot,’” observed the choreman, musingly. “You’re the feller from Noo England as Jake’s goin’ to lick into shape.” ”

“ After supper many of them drifted back to their recreation-ground, the saloon. Tresler, although he had no inclination for drink, would have done the same. He wished to see more of the people, to study them as a man who wishes to prepare himself for a new part. But the quiet Slum drew him back and talked gently to him; and he listened.
“Say, Tresler,” the little man remarked offhandedly, “ther’s three fellers lookin’ fer a gamble. Two of ’em ain’t a deal at ‘draw,’ the other’s pretty neat. ”

“ The major turned his head aside with an air of indifference.
“One single fact suffices to discount everything you have said, Baron,” he replied dryly. “You have twice attempted to escape from the fortress. An innocent man awaits his trial with confidence, knowing that it cannot be other than favorable. The culprit alone flees.”
Trenck, though quivering with blind rage, continued to maintain his former attitude, his features composed, his eyes fixed upon the major’s sword.
“Sir,” he said, “in three weeks, on the twenty-fifth of September, I shall have been a prisoner for one year. ”

“ The tracks led for a distance through the thick timber, and then slanted down to the brook and continued northward along the unobstructed course of the stream. The killer walked with a free, unhurried stride, without pausing anywhere by the way to listen or glance behind. Particles of feathery snow still held loosely around the edges of the prints, and Corporal Dexter knew that the maker of the tracks was traveling not more than twenty minutes ahead of him. ”

“ With the bar that separated my hands, I loosened the bricks of my seat, which, being newly laid, was easily done, and heaped them up in the middle of my prison. The inner door was quite open, and with my chains I so barricaded the upper half of the second as to prevent any one climbing over it. When noon came and the first of the doors was unlocked, all were astonished to find the second open. There I stood, besmeared with blood, the picture of horror, with a brick in one hand, and in the other my broken knife, crying, as they approached, “Keep off, Mr. Major, keep off! ”

“ The rebels furnished the necessary timber, we built a scaffold and hanged them. From that time on every man ate his own rations.
There was one very large man, who was the the only fat man in the pen, among the six who were to be hanged. When they were swung off [Pg 31] the big man broke his rope, and then you should have seen him jump to his feet, strike out right and left with his fists, and lay out fifteen or twenty men, and finally fight his way through the crowd to the creek, but the poor fellow got mired in the mud, and was captured and brought back. ”

“ Trenck left his dungeon shielded from contempt; the day of freedom was the day of triumph. I, on the contrary, was exposed to every calamity. The spirit of Trenck again raised itself. I have laboured many a night that I might neither beg nor perish the following day: working for judges who neither knew law nor had powers of mind to behold the beauty of justice: settling accounts that, item after item, did not prove that the lord they were intended for, was an imbecile dupe. ”

“ Winding up from a distant notch in the mountains, the creek afforded the logical trail for any voyageur making in that direction from the southeast. The log commanded the opening in the juniper bushes, and Constable Graves had been sitting on the log.
Even under the covering of fresh snow, the marks were legible. The policeman's rifle lay buried as it had fallen in the cold drift near the log. Graves evidently had sat there for a long while, with his rifle across his knees. ”

“ For if a man once went down amid that yelling, struggling throng, he never got up again—he was trampled out of shape. Trench had seen such victims dragged from the prison each morning; and he was a small man. Therefore he fought for his corner in a frenzy like a wild beast, kicking with his fetters, thrusting with his elbows, diving under this big man's arm, burrowing between two others, tearing at their clothes, using his nails, his fists, and even striking at heads with the chain which dangled from the iron ring about his neck. ”

“ Not a man in Tresco but would give this shed the widest of berths, and if he saw the glint of this lantern through a chink, or heard, perhaps, as he was like to do, one loud cry--why, he would only take to his heels the faster. ”

“ In the broad daylight the judge was a stately figure, tall, stout, white-haired, with a high Roman nose and a mouth and chin like a Spartan’s. He always wore an old-fashioned, long frock coat, a high pointed collar and stiff black tie; in summer his waistcoat was white marseilles, with large buttons and a heavy watch-chain; he carried a gold-headed cane and he took snuff.
He found Trench in his shirt sleeves, plodding over some papers, his face flushed and his jaw set, a trick he had in perplexity. The judge eyed him grimly. “Well,” he said, “what’s the price of cockerels to-day?” ”

“ They had not gone very far, however, before the people, divining their intention, began to follow them, and while they were hesitating what course to pursue, the Socialist Van, escorted by five or six men on bicycles, appeared round the corner at the bottom of the hill.
As soon as the crowd saw the van they gave an exultant cheer, or rather, yell, and began running down the hill, and in a few minutes it was surrounded by a howling mob. The van was drawn by two horses ”

“ He is a man of colossal strength.”
Tresler laughed easily. “That depends. I’m not quite sure. I should probably have done my best to retaliate. I had an alternative. I might have shot him.”
“Oh!” the girl said with impulsive horror.
“Well, what would you have?” Tresler raised his eyebrows and turned his astonished eyes upon her. “Was I to stand lamb-like and accept a thrashing from that unconscionable ruffian? No, no,” he shook his head. “I see it in your eyes. You condemn the method, but not the man. Remember, we all have a right to live—if we can. ”

“ But as the calmest stream is ruffled at some time on its course, so there comes to every human life a shock that upturns hidden forces. And this came to Treesa. It was when she was one day summoned to the private office downstairs: that dread tribunal for the wrongdoers of the large household—a locality as little heeded by the girl as any other foreign place, albeit there had been new and strange proprietors as the years went by. ”

“ A shiver of apprehension ran through the herded humanity in squares and alleys; superstition stirred. Was this the requital? The old doctrine, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,—how it still appeals to the savage in men’s blood. The crowd pressed in around the court-house where Yarnall’s body lay in state, and outside, in a stiff cordon, stood sentries; the setting sun flashed upon their bayonets as the long tense day wore to its close.
In the court-house Caleb Trench had worked tediously [188] through the evening with Judge Ladd and Judge Hollis. ”

“ His musket stood in a corner; he was struck with terror, but one of them addressed him thus:—“Neither thee, nor thy vassals, Trenck, have we ever injured, yet thou dost pursue us with cruelty. Eat thy fill. When thou hast satisfied thy hunger, we will then, sabre in thy hand, see who has most justice on his side, and whether thou art as courageous as men speak thee.” ”

“ And when that call comes, and the latent savage is roused from the depths of subjection, is it wonder that men yield to what, after all, is only the true human instinct—the right of the individual to defend itself from all attacks of foes? No; and so Tresler argued as he thought of the men who were his comrades. ”

“ Their moody looks and slouching gait loudly voiced their feelings. No words passed between them until they were well out of ear-shot. And Tresler realized now the wonderful power of brain behind the sightless eyes of the rancher. Now, he understood something of the strength which had fought the battle, sightless though he was, of those early days; now he comprehended the man who could employ a man of Jake’s character, and have [Pg 120] strength enough to control him. ”

“ This noted thresher had got into the favour of the fairies, and he had but to call and they were at his service when he went to the barn to do his threshing in the morning. His master began to suspect there was something more than mortal power at the bottom of his servant’s success as a thresher. He resolved to find out; and one morning he secreted himself in the barn before the hour of threshing came, so as to have a full view of what would go on at the threshing floor. ”