North Carolina Newspapers

OF By CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY Father and Son Here Is a Powerful Story of Failure and Sacrifice and Love and Courage and Success Copyright by Fleming H. Revell Co. WEB S TUTSI CHARACTER TEST CONFIDENCE and good-na. ture are easy for folks who are already prosperous and successful. The true strength of a man's character is revealed, however, In adversity. Tear the foundation from beneath on who has always enjoyed advan tages of wealth and position, and see if he has the backbone to conquer evil days to rise above Circumstances and win. In "Web of Steel" we have the story of a man whose foundation is de stroyed. His fight to rebuild it makes the novel. It is not mere ly entertaining fiction; it is a piece of inspiring literature. Wo feel sure all of our readers will enjoy this Cyrus Towsend Brady serial. THE EDITOR. CHAPTER I. Love of Woman. If meetings only lived up to their anticipations, life would be a succes sion of startling climaxes. It had been some months since Meade had seen Helen Ulingworth. He had dreamed of meeting her every day and had pic tured the meeting differently and more rapturously after every letter. As a matter of fact the whole thing was casual and ordinary to the last degree. It always is. Doctor Severence, a retired physi cian, who was vice president and financial man, and Curtiss, the chief engineer of the bridge company, were hard upon Miss Illingworth's heels" as she stepped down from the car to the station platform. He saw her, as it were, surrounded by prosaic men. The woman he loved got the same welcome and the same handshake as her father and the other two men. It was not until big Abbott, who had been belated by some sudden demand of work, came sweeping down the platform to engage the attention of the men that the anx ious Meade had a moment with the girl herself. Now Helen Ulingworth had also been seeing visions, so that she had been as disappointed as he. The only real sat isfaction that either of them could take In the situation lay In the fact that the other was there. It was midsummer and the girl was dressed In some light, 'filmy fabric which well became her ra diant beauty. Meade could look at a bit of structural steel work and tell you ,all about it. All that he could have told you abmrr Ns she wore was that it ate, but y with a Helen look f T sh r oproprl--71 that Artist 1iat theniX MeaLv efficient.1 things liked, whWe not for son yet not tor ticr -4L,... On that soft sL looked as subtly would at one time or'anV woman he loves oppear, b.i.xt moved from things strenuous another world I ne was wearmil rough clothes, flannel shirt, khaki sen?, heavy shoos and leggings were his habitual use at work. trusted with her fllmy and delic; colored fabric his well-worn drab habiliments stood forth hidej That is, he thought so, and fY. trast somehow seemed typica difference between them as hj ered her. There was the careless iri of conscious power In the ij the engineer which differenj from most of the men with : had been thrown in contact. life. The International Brl biggest thing of the kind company or any other Ami, tural plant had ever urv a, tlk constant topif r " "Ivedjier fathj VI Vput it. nes.i,- buUfrflvi it a steam JjAcj ie presence of '4 i Thoy were V Hwkward and con strained when left to themselves s if one had not been all over the world on man's Job for a decade' and the other bad not queened it among the nicest girls of the land for half as m any years. And with thoughts burn ing, passionate, and words embarrass ingly torrential at hand to give them utterance, they only spoke common places I "How Is the bridge getting along?" asked the girl, repeating her father's words of a few minutes before, as these two fell behind the others march ing down the long pi atf orm, while the maid standing by the private car with the porter looked curiously after the moving group and wondered if that gray-green, long-legged young man was the reason for the New York gown ! "It's doing splendidly," was the an swer, and even with his heart full of the girl by his side whom he longed to clasp In his arms but did not even dare touch the hem of her garment, some little enthusiasm came Into his voice. "It is the greatest bridge that was ever erected," he said. "How you love It," said the girl. Did Meade love the bridge? Ah, there could be no doubt as to that, lie had studied Its growth hour by hour. As the great steel web rose, his n$7 11 He Lingered About It heart expanded with it. ne took pride in it even more when they began to push the suspended span across the river on the outer end of the completed cantilever, toward its fellow rising on the other side. He lingered about it when the rest of the workaday world which was concerned with It had with drawn to rest. Frequently late In the night he had arisen and had left the sheet-iron shack he occupied near the work (for the topography of the land and the course of the river had deter mined the location of the bridge far from any town), and In the moonlight he had gazed bewitched by the great web of steel, all Its mighty tracery deli- ately silvered, faintly outlined, lace- ike, lofty, lifted high Into the heavens. He fell into a little reverie for a lef moment from which she recalled m. "Well?" she asked. "Yes, naturally," he found himself ylng In a conventional tone of voice, t means a great deal to me. aiy her" Oh, your father," she began lndlf-- tntly, although she knew and liked ,great engineer. A is his crowning work and " pour beginning." It Is not In me, or In any engineer, Vgin where my father left off," he "But this will count a great ecause through father's kindness fsome hand " I'lieve you did it all," interrupt ion. Ijroke Into sudden laughter, and Jerriment had that boyish ring jked. He seemed to think that A sufficient answer to that state i for he went on quickly. fnv long shall you stay?" in spite of himself he could not 1 is anxiety out of his voice. i Ink father's going on to the city ne tomorrow probably in the s face fell. :m as that?" r try to persuade him to stay live Been lots of bridges built 1 one like the International, puld enjoy standing by and ou work." fo the work. Abbott does e men, of course." "Iprk is the work th at makes Jd profitable the labor of the e answered. "You plan, you Vest only follow. By the J;r told me to ask you and Jtt to dine with us tonight in ...Je's mood changed into positive )in. I can't," he said dejectedly, "i haven't any clothes, neither has Ab bott We left our dress suits behind us when we came into the wilderness to work." "Oh," she laughed. "What difference does that make? Come Just as you are. It will be a relief. I like you that way. 1 I get so tired of black and white," she went on quickly to prevent him from taking advantage of her incautious ad mission. "Hang the clothes," said the man, radiant once more In that admission, "since you will allow it, I will come with what I can rake up. Hut you'll have to tell me which fork to use. I have almost forgotten out here in the wilderness." "It isn't six months since you were at our house." "Six months ! It's a thousand years," he went on, "and I'm going to take you out on the bridge after dinner. It's great at any time. It's the most mag nificent sight on earth even now, but in the moonlight there it is now," he pointed as the little group walked past the station which had hid the view and the great structure suddenly was revealed to them. The four men ahead had stopped and stood silent. There was something awe-inspiring and tremendous about the great, black, outreaching, far extending arms of steel. The first sight of it always gave the beholder a little shock. It was so huge, so massive, so grandly majestic, and withal so airy, seen against the impressive background of deep gorge and palisaded wall and far-off mountains. So ether-borne was It in Its perfect proportion that even dull and stupid people and none of these were that felt Its overpowering presence. Meade and the girl stopped too. After one glance at the bridge, she looked at him. And that was typ ical. For the first time he was not at the moment aware of, or immediately responsive to, her glance. And that, too, was typical. She noted this with a pang of jealousy. "You love the bridge," she said softly. He straightened up and threw his head back and looked at her. "I thought so," he said simply "un til today, but now" he stopped again. "But now?" she asked. "I have just learned what love really is and the lesson has not been taught me by a bridge," he answered directly. Yet Bertram Meade, the younger, did truly love the bridge which he had seen grow from the placing of the first shoe the great steel base on top of the pier which carries the whole struc ture to the completion of the soaring cantilever reaching out to meet its companion on the other side the great International, which was to be the tie that bound, with web of steel, two great countries which lay breast to breast; already in touch save for the mighty river that flowed between them. By no means would Meade, the younger, have been charged with the great responsibilities of the bridge had it not been for his exhaustive prepara tion and wide experience. To a thor ough technical training at Harvard, in the Lawrence Scientific school, had been added a substantial record of achievement. A fine bridge which he had erected in faraway Burma, trium phantly achieving the design despite all sorts of difficulties, had attracted the attention of old Colonel Dllng worth, the president of the Martlet Bridge company. He had kept the young man under his eye for a long time. "When he com missioned his father, Bertram Meade, Sr., to prepare the plans for the great International, the most-sought-for and famous of bridges, he had noted with satisfaction that the older man, who stood first among bridge engineers on the continent, had associated with him self his son. Meade, Jr., had recently returned from South America, where he had again shown his mettle. The two worked together In the preparation of the designs for what was to be the crown and triumph of the older man's life, the most stupendous of all the cantile'ver bridges in the world. The great engineer had a high idea of his only son's ability. He was will ing to proclaim it, to maintain it, and defend it against all comers except himself. When the two wills clashed, he recognized but one way, his own. The relations between the two were lovely but not ideal. There was lead ership not partnership, direction rather than co-operation. The knowledge and experience of the boy for so he loved to call him where of course nothing compared to those of his father. When, in discussing moot points, the younger man had been unconvinced by the cal culations of the elder, he had been laughed to scorn in a good-natured way. His carefully set forth objec tions, even in serious matters, had been overborne generally, and by trium phant calculations of his own the fa ther had re-enforced himself in his con clusions; and the more strongly be cause of the opposition. Young Meade's position was rather anomalous. He had no direct super vision of the construction. He was there as resident engineer representing his father. He had welcomed the posi tion because it gave him an opportu nity to see from the very beginning the erection of what was to be the great est cantilever bridge the feet of the world had ever trod upon, the wheels of the world had ever rolled across. He had followed with the utmost care, constantly reporting the prog ress to his father, every step taken under the superintendence of Abbott, a man of great practical ability as an erector, but of much less capacity as a scientific designer or office engineer. Meade had watched Its daily growth with the closest attention. Like every other man In similar case, the work had got Into his blood. It had become a part of his life. He loved the bridge ; yet more he loved Helen Ulingworth. CHAPTER II. The Witness for the Defense. One of the pleasant evidences of the possession of riches is in the luxury of a private car. Although Colonel ifllngworth was personally a man of simple tastes as became an old cam paigner, there was no appointment that wit could devise or that money could buy which was lacking to make his private car either more comfortable or more luxurious in its napery, glass, china and silver, the dining table need ed not to apologize to any other any where. The colonel was most punc tilious In dressing his part and Meade and Abbott were both scrubbed to within an Inch of their lives, but, climbing about the bridge, their hands were scratched, roughened, stained and torn. Aside from that, Meade was cer tainly most presentable, and old Ab bott, In spite of his indifference to such matters, looked the able and pow erful man he was. The conversation at dinner was at first light and frivolous. "I'm lost," began Abbott, "overpow ered with all this silver and glass and china." "Yes," laughed Meade, "we should have brought along our granite ware and tlncups, then we would be free from the dreadful fear that we are go ing to drop something or break some thing." "You can break anything you like," said the colonel with heavy pleasan try, "so long as the bridge stands." "And that Is going to be forever, isn't it, Mr. Meade?" asked Helen quickly. "I don't think anything built by man will survive quite that long," he an swered as much to her father and the others as to her, "but this gives every promise of lasting Its time." "You know," observed Curtiss, "there was some question in my mind about these big compression members. When I first studied your father's drawings, I wondered if he had made the lacing strong enough to hold the webs." "That matter was very thoroughly gone into," said Meade quickly. "It was the very point which I myself h ad questioned, but father is absolutely confident that we provided latticing enough to take up all the stresses. I looked Into that matter myself," he went on with much emphasis. "I guess it's all right," said Curtiss lightly. "I examined the webs and lac ings carefully this afternoon. They seem to be as right as possible." "Those trusses," said Abbott emphat ically, "will stand forever. You need not worry about that." "Are you going to finish this job on time?" asked Severence, the vice presi de. "You know the financial end of it is mine, and much depends upon the date of completion." "That depends upon you people at the shop, doctor. If you get the stuff It Had Been a Part of His Life. here to me I'll get It In place In short order," answered Abbott. "We aren't worrying about anything with you and Meade on the Job, Ab bott," said the colonel genially. "Yes, you are, father," said the girl. "Ever since the International has been started you have scarcely been able to give a thought even to me. I'm tired of It. I hope the old thing will soon be finished, so that we can all go back to normal life again." "I hope so, too," assented the colonel, "and I guess you are right. The fact Is. the bridge Is an obsession with us all. It is the biggest job the Martlet has ever handled. Indeed, It is the biggest thing In the world. It's the longest cantilever, the greatest span, the heaviest trusses, the " Tve heard all about it," interrupted the girl, waving him into silence, "ever since you began It. Sometimes I think It's beginning to obsess me, too." "You don't look like it," whispered Meade, under cover of the general laugh that greeted her remark. "What do I look like?" she whis pered back quickly, in return. But Meade had no opportunity to tell her. "It Is not exactly a subject for din ner conversation," said the colonel with sudden gravity, "but all of us here, even you, my dear, must realize how much that bridge means to us. I won't go so far as to say that its failure would ruin us, but it would be hard for us to survive." "Have you ever known anything that my father designed to fail?" asked Meade somewhat hotly. "No, and that is why we took his plans in spite of " "In spite of what, sir?" "In spite of Curtiss here and some others." "Mr. Curtiss," said Meade, turning to the chief engineer, "if It will add anything to your peace of mind, I will assume my full sh are of responsibility for the matter. You know the books by Schmidt-Chemnitz, the great Ger man bridge engineer?" Curtiss nodded. "At first I that is, we thought that there might possibly be weakness in those compression members, but I checked them with the methods he ad vocates and then submitted the figures to my father, and then he went through the whole calculation and applied co efficients he felt to be safe." "I'm willing to take your father's judgment in the matter rather than Schmidt-Chemnitz', or anybody's," said Curtiss, "so successful has been his ca reer." "Now that I have seen the members in place I have no doubt that they will stand," said the colonel. "Sure they will," added Abbott with supreme and contagious confidence, an assurance which helped even Meade to believe. "Of course we all know," said Doc tor Severence, who had been long enough In touch with engineering to learn much about it, "that there is al ways more or less of experimenting In the design of a new thing like this." "Yes," said the colonel, "but we don't want our experiment to fall In this instance." "They won't," said the young man boldly. He had long since persuaded himself that he had been all wrong and his father all right, so that he entered upon his defense and the defense of the bridge with enthusiasm. He was ready to break a lance with anybody on its behalf." "Well," began the colonel, "we have every confidence in your father and In you. I don't mind telling you, Meade,1 it need not go any further, that when this bridge is completed we shall be prepared to make you personally a very advantageous offer for future re lations with the Martlet company if you care to accept It. On the strength of your probable acceptance we are al ready planning to venture into certain foreign fields which we have hitherto not felt it to our interest to enter." "That is most kind of you, Colonel Ulingworth," said the young man grate fully, "and It appeals to me very strongly. I have been associated with father latterly. He wants . to retire with the completion of this bridge, and before I open any office of my own I should like the advantage of further experience. Such a connection as you propose seems to me to be ideal, from my point of view. No man could have any better backing than the Martlet Bridge company." "Well, we shall look to you to be worthy of It," said the colonel kindly. nis glance vaguely comprehended his daughter as he spoke. Colonel Ulingworth was a very rich man. The Martlet Bridge company was nearest his heart, but he had many other in terests. His only daughter would event ually be the mistress of a great for tune. Meade was not poor. Of course, his means were limited compared to Colonel Illingworth's great fortune, but what he had earned, saved, and Invest ed was sufficient yes, even for two. And he would Inherit much more. Old Meade had not been the greatest engi neer of his generation for nothing. In dependent and self-respecting, young Meade could not be considered a for tune hunter by anybody. He was the kind of man to whom a decent father likes to Intrust his daughter. Old Colonel Ulingworth found himself gaz ing wonderlngly at the two. After dinner the men sat out on the observation platform with their cigars and coffee. For those that liked It there was something In tall glasses In which Ice tinkled when the glasses were agitated, but Meade declined all three. "With your permission, sir," he said, "I am going to take Miss Ulingworth out on the bridge. The moon Is rising and " "I have-Jheard so much about it," said the girl, standing by the door. "I want to see it when the workmen are all off and It is all quiet, in the moonlight" "Very well. You had better change your dress, Helen, before you go," said the colonel, turning to Abbott and en gaging him In conversation on techni cal matters. "I'll wait for you at the front door of the car," said the engineer, his heart beating like a pneumatic riveter and sounding almost as loud in his ears. "I won't be long," she whispered as she left him. Helen did not want to waste time any more than Meade did. So, Instead of taking her father's advice, all she did was to cover her beautiful shoul ders with a light wrap and hasten to the car door in the shortest possible time. Every moment they were apart, since the sum-total In which they could be together was so small, was a mo ment lost. "Now," she said, coming out of tha door of the car and descending the steps toward him, eagerly expectant, "I want a prize for my swiftness." "A prize!" returned the man, "why, you've been gone years, and you haven't even changed your gown. You They Saw Her Round, Red, Full Face. can't go out on a bridge in that gown and those slippers, tramping over dirty tracks, piles of steel, rough wooden planks, paint and " "Can't I?" she said ; "you just see." "I hate to see you spoil your dress," he said uncertainly as she stopped. Really what gown on earth was worth half an hour of her society? At least that is the way he felt about It. and evidently she felt the same way. "It is settled, then," she said, slip ping her arm through his as they walked down the long wooden plat form near the siding. At the end of the platform, as they turned about the temporary station and storehouse, be fore them rose the bridge. The moon, was rising over the high hills that sprang up from the steep clifflike bank of the other side of the vast river. They saw her round, red, full face through an Interlacing tracery of steel The lower part of the bridge was still in deep shadow. Indeed, the moon had just cleared the hills of the opposite bank of the great gorge cut by the broad river flowing swiftly in its dark ness far below. At the farther end of the suspended arm extending far over the water the top of the traveler glis tened. The cantilever on the opposite shore, Incomplete and sunk under a high rise of sand, was still In shadow and not yet discernible. Unwittingly the woman drew a little near the man. He became more con scious than before of the light touch of her hand upon his arm. It was very still where they stood. The shacks of the workmen had been erected be low the bridge about a quarter of a mile to the right along the banks of the little affluent of the main stream. They could hear faint but indistin guishable noises that yet Indicated hu manity coming from that direction. The fires in the machine house and in the engines were banked. Lazy curls of smoke rose to be blown away in the limitless areas of the upper air. In the darkness all the unsightly evidences of construction work were hidden. "Oh," said the woman, drawing a long breath, "I don't wonder that you love it. Isn't it beautiful, flung up in the air that way? One would think It wasn't steel but silver and gold and " "Time was," said the man, "when I loved a thing like that above every thing except my father, but now " Young Meade comes out of his dream with a terrific bump the real story begins with the next installment Tell your friends to read "Web of Steel," the best serial of the year. (TO BE CONTINUED.