thought of
this here committee of welcome deal. If I do say it, I've mixed with
good people in my time. We kept the big mitts in there and one of the
Injuns just brought me word the road was clear."

Jim stared at his rough-neck friend for a minute, too moved to speak.
Then he held out his hand.

"Henderson, you've saved me a big mortification. I knew that wall should
have been blasted back. Gee! Henderson! I'll remember this!"

"You're welcome," replied Henderson gently. "Don't let on to anyone but
Williams and us fellows is mum."

And so the Director made his trip down and up the Makon Road and praised
much the forethought and care that Jim had expended on it. And Jim,
because the secret meant so much to his men, did not tell of their
devotion until the Director had gone and Arthur Freet was established on
the job. And after he had heard the story Freet said, looking at Jim
keenly:

"You know what that kind of carelessness deserves, Manning?"

Jim nodded and Freet laughed at his serious face. "Pshaw, boy! Your
having gotten together an organization with that sort of motive power
would offset worse carelessness than that. Get ready to shove them into
the tunnel."

So Jim's rough-necks began to open the tunnel.

The Makon Project was a six years' job. Freet gave Jim a chance at every
angle of the work. Jim admired his chief ardently and yet the two never
grew confidential. Freet, in fact, had no confidants among the
government employees, but he seemed to know a great many of the
politicians of the valley and of the state. And when he was not too
deeply immersed in the work at hand Jim felt vaguely troubled by this.

And the problems of actual construction were so many that the dam and
tunnel were completed and Jim had begun work on the ditches before he
realized that there was a whole group of questions he must face that had
nothing to do with technical engineering.

For the first mile the tunnel had to be driven through solid granite.
Then the way led through adobe hills, so soft that the sagging walls
were a constant menace. Not until six workmen had died at the job was
the adobe finally sealed with concrete. After the adobe came sand,
spring riddled. More rough-necks gave up their lives fighting the
gushing floods and falling walls, until at last the tunnel emerged into
the open foothills of the valley.

During all this time, the men for whom Jim had spent his first savings
stayed solidly by him, save t