Bob Hazard, dam builder

by Carl Brandt

Bob’s perch on the tower was far from comfortable, so he hoped the conference going on below him would last no great length of time. The thin iron rungs of the ladder cut into his legs and his arms had begun to ache from the strain of holding himself in place without making any noise that would give him away. To add to his discomfort, he soon realized that although he could overhear clearly every word that passed between the figures on the ground it would do him no good, as they were talking in Spanish, a language in which Bob remembered Jerry could at least make himself understood. Since his arrival at the dam, the Eastern boy had made some attempt to pick up a working knowledge of it, but his time had been so short that he had not got very far. Therefore, only a word here and there meant anything to him and as these were simple words, they gave no clue to what was being discussed.

About all he could gather was from their actions. Jerry seemed to be instructing the Mexican and emphasizing that certain things must be done. Miguel at times grew excited and waved his hands frantically as a torrent of words came from his lips. Finally, just as Bob was sure his cramped muscles would force him to move his position, thereby giving away his presence, they seemed to come to an agreement.

A moment later Jerry had slipped out of the open space into the underbrush directly behind the side of the tower to which Bob was clinging. For a long moment Bob held his breath, fearing that Jerry might turn and see his dark form making an unaccustomed blot against the iron work. But as the cracklings of the bushes died away, he realized that Jerry’s one desire was to get as far away as possible in the shortest space of time.

“He’ll have to hike some,” thought Bob, “if he’s going to get back to Rutherford to-night.” Then he turned his attention to the Greaser, who had not moved out of the sprawling position he was in. The ache in Bob’s muscles became almost unbearable. When the Mexican rolled and lit another cigarette as if he expected to stay where he was all night, he was almost tempted to drop off the ladder and let the worst happen.

But this would not do except as a last resort, when all his will power and determination had fled. With infinite care Bob shifted his position a little and so gave his tortured muscles a slight rest. A few moments later he was glad he had not given up to his fatigue, for Miguel arose leisurely and sauntered down the hill, evidently not at all bothered about being seen.

When he thought it was safe, Bob dropped off the ladder and for a moment or so sat quietly, fully occupied in nursing his cramped limbs back to some degree of usefulness. Then, having given the Mexican plenty of time to reach the bottom of the hill, Bob followed, his mind busy with the new angle of the situation chance had laid before him.

One thing was sure. After what he had seen he could no longer pretend even to himself that Jerry was not mixed up somehow in what certainly seemed to be a disgraceful business. He could put no other explanation on it. Although it was hard to think that the boy who had shared the adventure of the Labyrinth with him could be guilty of anything really wrong, he realized the time had come when he could not let anything but facts sway him. Jerry was on the other side without a doubt. Most probably he was the connecting link between the cattlemen who wished to stir up trouble for the dam by means of the Mexicans, and the leaders of the Mexicans themselves.

But it puzzled him to know why Jerry could be a traitor to Mr. Whitney and the Service. What was the inducement the cattlemen had offered him, and what had happened on the job that had made him unhappy enough to be unfaithful to it? There was no answer to these questions. He gave it up as a bad job.

The next thing to decide was whether the time had come to tell Mr. Whitney what he had learned. This was easy. He did not have a complete case yet and would not until Ted came back with some sort of report.

The best thing for him to do was to learn as much as possible regarding Miguel and to find out if he had been at all active in stirring up discontent among his countrymen. Acting on this resolve, he made guarded inquiries the next day of some of the men on the job who came in contact with the gang of which Miguel was a sort of deputy foreman.