The Hero of Panama: A Tale of the Great Canal

by F. S. Brereton

  CHAPTER XII

  An American Undertaking

  "I never did meet such a fellow as you, Jim Partington," cried PhineasBarton, when our hero and his comrades turned up at the house situatedabove the huge dam of Gatun, in progress of building. "No, never before.You get introduced to me after a likely enough adventure. Perhaps Iought to say that I was introduced to you; reckon anyway our meeting wasas strange as one might imagine, and there was no end of excitement init. You behaved like a plucky young beggar."

  Jim went very red at once. "I thought we weren't to hear anything moreabout that," he said bluntly. "That was our agreement."

  But Phineas only grinned at him. "Agreement or no agreement," he saidseriously, "there are times when a chap has just got to sit down andlisten. Reckon that time is here now, and you're the chap. I was saying,when you interrupted me--ahem!--that you were a beggar for adventures.You come to my house, do one day's solid work, and then get gallivantingoff with an exploration party. Of course, being fired at in themeanwhile and the ruction you had with those rascals down at the hutabove Colon is nothing--just a kind of act between supper andbreakfast, as it were. Now there's this launch expedition, and there'sTomkins--a surly sort of fellow, who don't often open his mouth, andthen not always to be pleasant; there's this policeman, with the Major,his commanding officer, singing your praises down at the club, till theboys are jest jumping to get a grip at you. Time supper's ended to-nightyou've got to come right along there with me; and, jest remember this,they ain't got an agreement with you."

  Jim was horrified at the suggestion. Though he was American born, andwas blessed with an American's average allowance of assurance, the ladwas undoubtedly modest when his own actions were in question. He wouldhave given anything to escape from what promised to be an ordeal, andmade numerous excuses. But Phineas bore him off in spite of all of them,and Tom and Sam and Ching fell in as a bodyguard in rear, in case hisprotege should attempt to escape.

  "It's not what you owe to yourself," he said, with a laugh, "but whatyou owe to the boys. Remember that they're working here all day, withlittle chance of getting news but what comes to them at the club. We'resteadygoing stagers here on the canal, and it isn't often that a chaplike you turns up. When he does he's got to stand the ruction, and guessthat's what you've got to do. Don't I jest wish you and I could changeplaces."

  Jim agreed with him heartily, though, as a matter of fact, when he cameto face what in his imagination would be an ordeal, he discovered it tobe but the pleasantest ceremony. Quiet, earnest men crowded round himto shake his hand; then he was bidden to sit at a table in the centre ofhis new comrades.

  "Yer see," said Harry, who regarded our hero with an envious expression,"that 'ere Tomkins ain't the man to talk, while the Major's much toobusy; besides, guess his head's much too sore for chatting. You jest getright in at it, and give us the yarn from start to finish."

  ATTACKED BY NATIVES]

  Jim did as he was bidden, describing every incident, and drawing a growlfrom many of his audience when he came to that part of his narrativewhich dealt with the injury to the engine; for it can well be imaginedthat amongst those white employees on the huge canal a goodly numberwere, if not actually engineers by profession, certainly most stronglyimbued with a leaning towards it. All may have been said to have hadmechanical knowledge, since there were few who did not run a steamnavvy, a rock drill, a rail-laying plant, or a lifting derrick of somedescription.

  "Gee whiz! That's hot!" exclaimed one of them, interrupting for amoment. "One of those muzzle-loading gas barrels chucked a shot right atyour motor, did it? And knocked a hole clean through the water jacket?My, that must have been awkward! Reckon the water pumped up mosteverywhere, and swamped the ignition. Tell us jest how yer fixed it."

  Jim described exactly what had happened, how he had plugged the waterentrance to the pump of his motor, and drained the jackets dry. "It wasa near thing," he admitted, with a grin. "I thought I should never getgoing again; but we mopped the water from the magneto, and reckon wefixed it just in time. Of course I gave her plenty of oil, and all thetime I was scared that the motor would become overheated."

  "Excuse me, sir," said one of the audience, suddenly pressing forwardand disclosing himself as one of the officials. "All the time you werefixing this motor, shots were flying, and I understand that there was aboatload of dark-skinned gentlemen thirsting for the lives of yourselfand your comrades, and not forgetting to let you know it either. Reckonmany a man would have been too upset to think of extra lubrication,though everyone here who knows a gasolene motor realizes well enoughthat it was extra lubrication, and that alone, which saved your enginefrom overheating."

  He looked round at the assembled audience enquiringly, and was rewardedwith many a sharp nod of approval.

  "You've got it, siree," cried one of them. "You've jest put your fingeron the very point I was about to ask."

  "It's as clear as daylight," went on the official, "our young friendhere saved the whole party by keeping his head well screwed down and hiswits about him. If that motor had overheated, as any self-respectingengine might well have been expected to do under the circumstances, youwere all goners. All dead, sir. Wiped out clean by those natives."

  There came a grunt of acquiescence from the audience, while Jim went redto the roots of his hair.

  "You don't happen to have got fixed on a special job yet awhile?" askedthe official pointedly.

  "I'm to take a steam digger away up by Culebra."

  "And you wouldn't change, supposing I was to come forward with an offer?See here," said the official eagerly, "I'm from the machine shops 'wayover at Gorgona. You've heard of them?"

  Everyone in the canal zone had heard of these immense shops to which theofficial alluded, for there a great amount of engineering work wasundertaken. In such a colossal task as this building of a canal betweenPanama and Colon, between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the readerwill readily comprehend that an enormous number of locomotives, steamdiggers, and machinery of every sort and description was in constantoperation, and that, like machinery all the world over, such implementsbreak down on occasion and require repair. The works at Gorgona copedwith all such matters, and was staffed by such keen engineers that theyeven did not stop at repairs of whatever description. There, in thosesheds, engines were constructed, from the smallest bolt down to theheaviest crank shaft, according to the designs produced at the drawingoffices at Gorgona. The workers on the canal had long since discoveredthat special machines were often required to deal with the special jobsthey had in progress. And clever heads at Gorgona invented means tosatisfy them. Witness the ingenious rail layer, without which the taskof delving would have been much delayed; witness that other cleverarrangement which did in seven minutes the work of a hundred men, andswept the dirt clear from a whole line of earth wagons.

  "You've heard of those shops 'way over at Gorgona?" asked the officialagain.

  "I have," Jim admitted. "I'm longing to see them."

  "Then you shall, I promise. But, see here, about this job. A good mandeserves a proper place for his knowledge and his energies; down there,at Gorgona, we've just turned out a gasolene rock driller that'll knockthe other steam-driven concerns into the shade. I'm looking for a man torun it, one used to gasolene motors. Say, if I apply for you, sir, willyou take the work?"

  Jim looked round the circle before he replied, and almost smiled at theexpression he caught on Harry's face. The genial fellow who had givenhim a day's instruction in the working of a hundred-ton steam digger didnot look best pleased; but that was to be put down to his own keenness,to the keenness which he inherited in common with every white manlabouring on the canal. For in Harry's eyes it was the machine which hehimself ran which was helping the progress of the canal; it was theenormous mouthfuls of dirt which his digger tore from the soil thatplaced the undertaking nearer completion. And every man he coached inthe task was something approaching a traitor if he abandoned thatparticular machine for another.
Then, of a sudden, his face took onanother expression.

  "You ain't got no cause to think of me, young 'un," he said pleasantly."I don't deny as I'd have liked to see you running a digger, 'cos it'sme as taught you; but, then, I don't forget that you've shown that youknow one of these gasolene motors right away from the piston to thecrank shaft. You close with the offer if you like it; there'll be moredollars in it, I reckon."

  He addressed the last remark to the official, who nodded acquiescence.

  "Special work, special pay," he replied curtly. "We want a man, and wemust be prepared to spend dollars on him. I offer a dollar more thandigger rates. What's the answer?"

  "Of course he takes it!" burst in Phineas eagerly. "It ain't in humannature to refuse advancement, and of course Jim'll take that motor. Doyou want him yet awhile?"

  "In a couple of weeks perhaps. We're not quite ready."

  "Then I accept, with many thanks," said Jim, his heart beating fast withpleasure at such rapid progress; for here was advancement, here was paywhich made his own future and that of Sadie all the brighter. "In twoweeks' time; and in the meanwhile perhaps you'll allow me to see themachine and get an idea of its construction."

  "You can come along whenever you like and handle the concern. It'llknock spots out of those steam drills," declared the official.

  "And now, as this here business interview seems to have come to an end,supposing we get to with a song," cried one of the audience. "Didn't Ihear tell as you could play a banjo, Jim, and sing a tune when you wasaxed?"

  "I've done so before; I can try," answered our hero, breathing morefreely now that his ordeal was over. "I'll buy a banjo as soon as I can;then I'll let you see what I can do."

  "You'll get right away in at it, siree," said the man severely, grinningat his comrades. "See here, there's a banjo I brought along with me fromthe States. Not that I can tune on it; I allow as I've tried, but, gee!the performance was enough to make a cat laugh. The boys passed aresolution axing me to give over at once, and fer that reason theinstrument's been lying idle in my quarters this three months past. Getin at it, siree."

  He produced a stained and somewhat battered instrument from behind hischair and passed it to Jim. Now Jim was by no means a poorinstrumentalist, and in addition was one of those fortunate individualsgifted with a fair voice. Thousands of men have found before this thatthe power to sing and entertain their fellows is the key to popularity,and Jim was no exception. It had been his fortune to live as a ruleamongst small communities, where any form of entertainment wasappreciated, and none more than a song. It followed, therefore, thathere again, as in the case of the gasolene motor, he had had experience,and seeing that his audience were determined to hear him, he settleddown to the work without more ado. A fine young fellow he looked, too,seated in their midst, the banjo in correct position as he leant overit, touching the strings and tightening them till his keen ear wassatisfied. Burnt a deep brown by the hot sun of those parts, his hairsomewhat dishevelled, and his clothing by no means improved by theadventures through which he had passed, Jim had a rugged, healthy,out-of-doors appearance which was most attractive. That he was by nomeans a weakling was at once apparent, for he filled his clothing well,and presented a fine pair of broad shoulders. When he lifted his faceand glanced round at his audience, smiling in his own serene, inimitablemanner, there was not one who did not know in his heart that our herowas a stanch and jolly individual, free from side and that stupidconceit which spoils some young men of his age, but full of go andenergy as became an American; ready when his work was done, and onlythen, to enjoy himself as much as possible and help to give enjoyment toothers.

  "See here," laughed Jim, looking round the circle of men, all of whomhad their eyes on him, for there was no little curiosity to see how hewould accomplish the task; "if I break down, you must forgive me, for,gee! it's like being in a cage with a whole crowd watching."

  Down went the head over the banjo again, while his fingers played on thestrings; and at once, by the notes which issued, it became apparent thathere was no novice. Jim struck up a gay tune, and in a little while hadgiven his audience the first verse of a jaunty song, to which there wasan equally jaunty chorus; so that before the evening had passed therafters above were ringing to the sound made by a hundred or more lustyvoices.

  "Fine, jest fine!" cried one of the men.

  "Gee! If he don't take it!" shouted Harry.

  "I'm shaking hands with myself," declared the official who had offeredhim a post at Gorgona. "You men down here needn't think that you'regoing to have young Partington all to yourselves. A fortnight to-dayhe'll be a Gorgona man, when we'll send you invitations to ourconcerts."

  There was a shout at that, a shout denoting some displeasure. PhineasBarton rose from his chair, his fractured arm swathed and bandaged andslung before him, and regarded the official triumphantly. "Not a bit ofit, siree," he said. "Jim's my lodger. Don't matter whether he worksalong here at Gatun or way over there at Culebra or Gorgona, he jestcomes home every night of the week. The Commission's jest got to passhim a free ticket, and ef he's in a concert, why, guess it'll be here,and the folks at Gorgona will be the ones to be invited."

  There was a roar of laughter at the sally, and Jim was called upon for asecond song. Modestly enough he gave it too; for such open praise as hadbeen bestowed upon him is not always good for a lad of his age, andmight well be expected to turn the heads of many. Our hero had hisfailings without doubt, and we should not be recording truly if we didnot allow the fact, but a swelled head was not one of the ailments hewas wont to suffer from. So far his friends and acquaintances had neverknown Jim Partington to be too big for the boots he stood up in.

  "Which is jest one of the things that made me take to him right awayfrom the first," said Phineas, when discussing the matter that sameevening with the police officer who had been in command of the launchexpedition. "He ain't bumptious, Major. He's jest a lively young fellow,full of sense and grit, and I tell you, if there's one lad here in thezone who's made up his mind to make a job of the canal, it's Jim. He'sfixed it that he's going to rise in the world, and if nothing unforeseenhappens we shall find him well up the ladder one of these days, andmaking a fine living."

  They called Jim over to them, where they were seated at a small table inone corner, and at once the Major gripped our hero's hand, while heacknowledged that he felt wonderfully better. His head was heavilybandaged, for the bullet which had struck him had caused a nasty gash inthe scalp.

  "Not that it did any great harm," laughed the Major. "They tell me thatthere was tremendous swelling at first, but the blood which escaped fromthe wound brought that down wonderfully; but I admit that at first Ifelt that my head was as big as a pumpkin. How's your own wound?"

  Jim had forgotten all about it, though on his arrival that morning hehad taken the precaution to have it dressed. But it was alreadypartially healed, and caused him not the slightest inconvenience.

  "I think I had the best of the matter altogether," he answered, "forthough up there on the river I was unable to distinguish the man whobegan all this business by firing at me, yet both were hit, and I fancypretty badly."

  "You can count them as almost wiped out completely," agreed the Major."But I have serious news to give you regarding the other three. Duringour absence Jaime de Oteros and his comrades broke out of prison andmade good their escape. The scoundrels are once more free to carry onany form of rascality. Of course I have sent trackers after them; butthe latest news is that they have disappeared into the bush, and pursuitthere is almost hopeless. I own I'm vexed, for there is never anyknowing what such men may be up to. A Spaniard with a grudge to work offis always a dangerous individual."

  The information of the escape of the prisoners was indeed of the mostserious moment, and Jim and his friends were yet to learn the truth ofthe words that the Major had spoken. For Jaime de Oteros had indeed agrudge, and with all the unreasonableness of men of his violentdisposition he had already determined in his own mind
that our hero Jimwas the cause of all his troubles. He brushed aside the fact that one ofhis ruffianly comrades had most deliberately attempted murder, and thatthe effort made to capture the offender was but a natural reprisal. Thateffort had led to the discovery of the gang and its break-up, and inJaime's eyes our hero was the culprit. He swore as he lay in prison totake vengeance upon him, while he did not forget his animosity towardsthe police officials.

  "I tell you," he cried fiercely, once he had contrived to break out ofthe prison, "I don't move away from these parts till I've killed thatyoung pup, while as to these others, these Americans, I'll do them aninjury, see if I don't. I'll wreck some of the work they're doing; breakup the job they're so precious proud of."

  Meanwhile Jim had many other things to think of, and very promptlyforgot all about the miscreants. He sauntered back to the house withPhineas, and on the following morning boarded a motor-driveninspector's car running on the isthmian railway.

  "We'll just hop along first to Gorgona," said Phineas. "And on the waywe'll take a look at the valley of the Chagres River. You've got tounderstand that right here at Gatun, where we're building the dam, andwhere the river escapes between the hills which block this end of thevalley, we shall have the end of the lake we're going to form. For themost part the valley is nice and broad, running pretty nigh north andsouth. This track we're on will be covered with water, so that gangs ofmen are already at work fixing the track elsewhere on higher ground. ButI want to speak of this valley. It runs clear south to Obispo, wherethere is hilly ground dividing it from the valley of the Rio Grande, andthere, at Culebra, which is on the hill, we're up against one of thebiggest jobs of this undertaking. You see, it's like this: from Gatun toObispo we follow a route running almost due south, with the ChagresRiver alongside us all the way; but at Obispo, which I ought to havesaid is just twenty-six miles from the head of Limon Bay, the ChagresRiver changes its course very abruptly, and if followed towards itssource is found to be confined within a narrow valley through which itruns with greater speed, and in a north-easterly direction. Now, seehere, to figure this matter out correctly let's stand up in this car.There's the track running way ahead of us through the Chagres valley ina direction I described as southerly, though to be correct it issouth-westerly. Dead behind us is Limon Bay; right ahead is Panama. I'vegiven you an idea of the works we're carrying out at this end--firstdredging Limon Bay for 4-1/2 miles, then canal cutting for say another 4miles. There you get three tiers of double locks, and the Gatun damthat's going to fill in the end of this valley, and give us a lake whichwill spread over an area of no fewer than 164 square miles, and whichwill fill the valley right away up to Obispo, where the Chagres River,coming from a higher elevation, will pour into it."

  "And then," demanded Jim, beginning, now that he was actually in thevalley, to obtain a better conception of the plan of this huge Americanundertaking. "I can see how you will bring your ships to the Gatunlocks, and how you will float them into the lake. I take it that therewill be water enough for them to steam up to Obispo. After that, youstill have to reach Panama."

  "Gee! I should say we had. But listen here. Taking this line, withPanama dead south-west of us, we come at Obispo to a point where thedesigners of the canal had two alternatives. The first was to cut upnorth-west, still following the Chagres valley where it has become verynarrow, and so round by a devious route to Panama. That meant sharpbends in the canal, which ain't good when you've got big ships to dealwith, and besides a probable increase in the cost and in the timerequired to complete the undertaking."

  "And the second?" demanded Jim.

  "The second alternative was to cut clear through the dividing ridgewhich runs up at Obispo some 300 feet above sea level. Following thatroute for 9 miles in the direction of Panama you come to the alluvialplain of the Rio Grande, and from thence to the sea in another 6 miles.Forty-one miles from shore to shore you can call it, and, with thedredging we have to do at either end, a grand total of 50 miles. Butwe'll leave this Culebra cutting till we reach it. Sonny, you can getright along with the car."

  Jim would have been a very extraordinary mortal if he had not beenvastly interested in all that he saw from his seat in the rail motorcar. To begin with, it was a delightfully bright day, with a clear skyoverhead and a warm sun suspended in it. Hills lay on either hand, theirsteep sides clothed with luxuriant verdure, while farther away was adark background of jungle, that forbidding tropical growth with which hehad now become familiar. On his right flowed the Chagres River, windinghither and thither, and receiving presently a tributary, the RioTrinidad. Along the line there were gangs of men at work here and therelaying the new tracks for the railway, while, when they had progressedon their journey, and were nearer Obispo, his keen eyes discovered othersubjects for observation. There were a number of broken-down trucksbeside the railway, which were almost covered by vegetation, while nearat hand on the banks of the river a huge, unwieldy boat seemed to havetaken root, and, like the trucks, was surrounded by tropical growth.

  "Queer, ain't they?" remarked Phineas. "Guess you're wondering what theyare."

  "Reckon it's plant brought out here at the very beginning of this work,and scrapped because it was found to be unsatisfactory."

  "Wrong," declared Phineas promptly. "Young man, those trucks were madeby the Frenchmen. That boat is a dredger which was laid up before youwere born, and was built by the same people."

  The information caused our hero to open his eyes very wide, for he, likemany another individual, had never heard of the French nation inconnection with the isthmus of Panama; or if he had, had entirelyforgotten the matter. But to a man like Phineas, with all his keennessin the work in which he was taking no unimportant part, it was notremarkable that French efforts on the isthmus were a matter ofhistorical interest to him.

  "A man likes to know the ins and outs of the whole affair," he observedslowly, as they trundled along on the car. "There's thousands, I shouldsay, who don't even know why we have decided to build this canal, andthousands more who don't rightly guess what we're going to do with itwhen it's finished. But Columbus, when he discovered the Bay of Limonround about the year 1497, thought that he had found a short cut acrossto the East Indies. He didn't cotton to the fact that the isthmusstretches unbroken between the two Americas, and only came to believethat fact when his boats came to a dead end in the bay he haddiscovered. Cortes sought for a waterway at Mexico, while others huntedround for a channel along the River St. Lawrence, and all with the oneidea of making a short passage to the East Indies.

  "Then the Straits of Magellan were discovered, while some of those boldSpaniards clambered across the isthmus and set eyes upon the PacificOcean. You know what happened? Guess they built and launched ships atPanama, and the conquest of Peru was undertaken, and following it goldand jewels in plenty were brought by mule train from the Pacific to theAtlantic, across from Panama to Colon. So great was the traffic thateven in the days of Charles V of Spain the question of an isthmian canalwas mooted; for, recollect, Spain drew riches from the Indies as well asfrom Peru. And now we come to the nineteenth century. America badlywanted an isthmian crossing which would bring her western ports closerto those on the east, and vice versa. A railway seemed to be the onlyfeasible method, and we tackled the job splendidly. That railway wascompleted in 1855, in spite of an awful climate, and guess it filled thepurpose nicely. Just hereabouts came our war, North against South, and,as you can readily understand, there wasn't much chance of canalbuilding.

  "Now we come to the Frenchmen, to Ferdinand de Lesseps," said Phineas,pointing out another group of derelict trucks to our hero. "You want tobear in mind that the question of an isthmian canal was always in theair, always attracting the attention of engineering people. Well, deLesseps had just completed the Suez Canal, connecting the east with thewest, and guess he cast his eye round for new fields to conquer. Hefloated a company in France, and raised a large sum of money. Then hebought out the Isthmian Railway for twenty-five and a half milliondo
llars. You see, he knew that a railway was wanted to carry his plant,and I guess that the fact of having that railway made him decide tobuild his canal across where we are working. But there wasmismanagement. De Lesseps, like many another man, had been spoiled bysuccess, and had lost his usual good judgment. His expenses were awful,and finally, when the money ran out, his company abandoned theundertaking. In eight years he had spent more than three times theamount for the Suez Canal, and had got through some three hundredmillion dollars. He and his staff left behind them the trucks you see,besides a large amount of other machinery. At this day there's many aFrench locomotive pulling our dirt trains right here in the Culebracutting, while his folks set their mark on the soil. They, too, startedto cut through at Culebra, and in those eight years did real honestwork. But shortage of money ended their labours, and, as I've said,they've left behind these marks of their presence, with rows and rows ofgraves over at Ancon; for fever played fearful havoc with the workmen.Yes, it was that which gave America her warning, and set our medicalfolk at work to tidy up this zone and sweep it clear of mosquitoes andfever."

  It was all very interesting, and Jim listened most attentively, though,to be sure, every now and then his mind was distracted for a briefinstant by some new object to right or left of the line; while from thevery beginning the desire to ask one question and to receive informationin reply had been present.

  "That tale of the French is new to me," he said, "and I hadn't thefaintest idea that a canal had been previously attempted. You've saidthat Spain desired one by means of which to reach the East Indies andso save the long trip round by the Straits of Magellan; how does Americastand when all's finished?"

  The fingers of Phineas's only usable hand were clenched instantly. Wasit likely that a man such as he, who had counted the cost of theundertaking, and knew something of its vastness, would not also havecounted the gain?

  "What do we get when all's ended?" he cried eagerly. "Guess for that yourequire a map by rights, though I can tell you something from memory. Tobegin with, take New York as our important eastern port, and SanFrancisco as that on the west coast. Of course I know that we have aninter-oceanic railway. But if goods in bulk were shipped, the boat wouldhave to steam right away south, round by Cape Horn and the Straits ofMagellan. The Oregon, one of our best battleships, was lying away up inthe Pacific when our war with Spain began. She had to steam more than13,000 miles to reach Key West, and guess a ship wants overhauling aftersuch a long journey, putting aside the risks she ran of capture _enroute_, owing to her isolation. Well now, this isthmian canal will knockthe better part of 9000 miles off the route from New York to SanFrancisco. The English doing business with our firms in that port willhave a journey less by 6000 miles, while New York will be closer to theports of South America by a good 5000 miles. It'll be a shorter journeyfrom Japan or Australia to New York than it is to-day to Liverpool,while there's scarcely a trip from east to west that won't be helped bythis canal we're building. Just think of it, Jim! Where this trolley'srunning there'll be, one of these days, deep water, with bigger shipsfloating in it than you can dream of now. You and I will have helped tobring about that matter. When we're old we'll be able to tell theyoungsters all about it; for America will know then that she ownssomething valuable. Her people will have had time to grasp its fullsignificance, and guess then the question will not be, as now, 'Where isthe Panama Canal? What are our folks doing?' but 'How was America'sgreat triumph accomplished?' My! Ain't I been gassing? Why, there'sGorgona. Hollo, sonny! Pull her up."

  They descended from the car promptly, and made for the huge sheds whereone portion of the engineering staff undertook the upkeep of themachinery engaged along the whole line of the canal. The friendlyofficial was waiting for them, and very soon Jim's eyes were bulgingwide with delight at the sight of the motor drill he was to manage.