and you
can't tell when the creek's going to rise, so as to be over before the
bridge is flooded."

"That's true," said Harry. "Crooked Creek doesn't give much notice when
it's going to rise."

"No, it don't," continued Mr. Martin. "And it won't do, either, for any
one of you to live on the other side, just to be ready to work the line
in time of freshets. The creek isn't up often enough to make that pay."

"But what can we do?" asked Harry. "You surely don't think we're going
to give up this telegraph line just as it begins to work, and after all
the money that's been spent on it, and the trouble we've had?"

"No, I don't think you are the kind of fellows to give up a thing so
soon, and we don't want you to give it up, for it's been a great deal of
use to us already. What I think you ought to do is to run your line from
the other side of the creek to Hetertown. Then you'd have no trouble at
all. When the creek was up you could go down and work this end, and an
arrangement could easily be made to have the operator at Hetertown work
the other end, and then it would be all plain sailing. He could send the
telegrams right on, on the regular line, and there would be no trouble
or expense with messengers from the creek over to Hetertown."

"That would be a splendid plan," said Harry; "but it would cost like
everything to have a long line like that."

"It wouldn't cost very much," said Mr. Martin. "There are pine woods
nearly all the way, by the side of the road, and so it wouldn't cost
much for poles. And you've got the instruments for that end of the line.
All you'll have to do would be to take them over to Hetertown. You
wouldn't have to spend any money except for wire and for trimming off
the trees and putting up the wire."

"But that would be more than we could afford," said Tom Selden. "You
ought just to try to make the people about here subscribe to anything,
and you'd see what trouble it is to raise money out of them."

"Oh, I don't think you need let the want of money enough to buy a few
miles of wire prevent your putting up a really useful line," said Mr.
Martin; "our company would be willing to help you about that, I'm sure."

"If you'd help, that would make it altogether another thing," said
Harry; "but you'd have to help a good deal."

"Well, we would help a good deal," said Mr. Martin. "It would be to our
benefit, you know, to have a good line. That's what we want, and we're
willing to put some money