Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
April 19, 1933
Smyrna Times
Smyrna, Kent County, Delaware
What is this article about?
During a rainy evening party, engineer Paul Bassett leaves hostess Claire to check his uncompleted dam. He meets Dorothy, sister of rival Wayne, who shares his enthusiasm for the project. Learning of Claire's engagement to Wayne, Paul discovers his true feelings for the understanding Dorothy as the rain clears.
Clipping
OCR Quality
70%
Good
Full Text
SITTING READING BY THE DAM
The tarred paper shacks of the Gregory Gray Nesbit Construction [were] leased and the gangs and engineers bent over a pile of plans. A spectator would have seen the beating rain on the tin too absorbed to be aware of the roof.
In fact, Paul Bassett was so fascinated by the rain that was driven from his mind made him forget the girl whose company he was in, hostess, Claire Henry. It cost him the heart and soul, unprecedented at the party. He had told Claire about his uncompleted dam.
Of the year, was rainy. The dam will stand. Even so, "my common sense tells me the factor of safety is high."
"You could think," said Claire, "that you could surely finish before the party."
"I said not," he said ruefully. "If anything should happen... Like the captain and crew, duty before pleasure!"
"Doty!" came back. "Thank heaven, the bonding business is booming!"
And with that last word the conversation ended.
Wayne was there and had for some time been a rival.
There came a sudden downpour of rain and it struck Paul that it would be a good moment to take a reading of the gauges down at the dam. He made his way by flashlight along the narrow path that skirted a huge pile of debris now being hauled into fascinating shapes. He reached the dam and took his readings.
For a moment he stood watching the wild race of clouds overhead. Then as he turned to go, he noticed something moving. The shadow of a derrick caught his eye. Clamped in a cape, her hair down, was standing. For a minute his heart leapt, thinking Claire run down for something, but it was not Claire, it was Wayne's little sister, Dotie, who had been interested in the dam project herself since the first shovel of dirt turned.
"Get back to earth, Dot," he demanded. "What are you doing here?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I was caught in the pocket of the storm. Before that I seen this dam grow from the right. From the start? I couldn't help but think about it. Wanted to see it the first time in the four years the bad the run of the drain."
Naturally he saw Dorothy. And he had thought her a mere child that he hadn't noticed. "Why aren't you at the party?"
"Two reasons," she quickly retorted. "The most important one being that I don't like it here. The other—well, you asked. I may be a child, but Claire thinks I'm eighteen."
Eighteen! Paul would hardly have thought so, but now he saw that it was rather because of her slim little figure and girlish ways than from any childishness.
It flashed across him that she would make an excellent wife for an engineer. She would understand, as Claire never could, that intimate bond between a man and the thing he has created.
She startled him with a little cry. "Look, oh look! I do believe the old weather bureau was wrong! There's the moon!"
Sure enough, through a rift in the clouds, the whole disk of the moon, just past full, could be seen.
It was true that the crest of the flood might not be reached until noon tomorrow, but the chances were that the dam would hold if the rain was over. Paul felt like seizing the slender hands of his companion and whirling her round in a dance of celebration. Yesterday he would have done that very thing. But somehow, not tonight.
"I must go back," she was saying. "I-I wonder if you would mind walking up to the top of the hill with me where I can see the light in my window. It's really later than I thought. I suppose" and she threw a glance up at the big house on the hill where strains of music were floating down "everyone knows now of Claire's engagement to my brother."
Paul stopped short. "Claire engaged to your brother?"
"Why, yes. That was what the party was for. Abbott told me before he left. But it was to be a grand surprise. Claire loves surprises."
By rights, Paul should have felt as if a knife had been turned in his heart. On the contrary, he felt and he was amazed at the sensation, as if he had just received a reprieve from some dreadful fate.
The rain had ceased. The girl who could never understand what the dam meant to him was going to belong to somebody else, and he had discovered a lovely, awakening woman in the girl who had watched him build it.
The tarred paper shacks of the Gregory Gray Nesbit Construction [were] leased and the gangs and engineers bent over a pile of plans. A spectator would have seen the beating rain on the tin too absorbed to be aware of the roof.
In fact, Paul Bassett was so fascinated by the rain that was driven from his mind made him forget the girl whose company he was in, hostess, Claire Henry. It cost him the heart and soul, unprecedented at the party. He had told Claire about his uncompleted dam.
Of the year, was rainy. The dam will stand. Even so, "my common sense tells me the factor of safety is high."
"You could think," said Claire, "that you could surely finish before the party."
"I said not," he said ruefully. "If anything should happen... Like the captain and crew, duty before pleasure!"
"Doty!" came back. "Thank heaven, the bonding business is booming!"
And with that last word the conversation ended.
Wayne was there and had for some time been a rival.
There came a sudden downpour of rain and it struck Paul that it would be a good moment to take a reading of the gauges down at the dam. He made his way by flashlight along the narrow path that skirted a huge pile of debris now being hauled into fascinating shapes. He reached the dam and took his readings.
For a moment he stood watching the wild race of clouds overhead. Then as he turned to go, he noticed something moving. The shadow of a derrick caught his eye. Clamped in a cape, her hair down, was standing. For a minute his heart leapt, thinking Claire run down for something, but it was not Claire, it was Wayne's little sister, Dotie, who had been interested in the dam project herself since the first shovel of dirt turned.
"Get back to earth, Dot," he demanded. "What are you doing here?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I was caught in the pocket of the storm. Before that I seen this dam grow from the right. From the start? I couldn't help but think about it. Wanted to see it the first time in the four years the bad the run of the drain."
Naturally he saw Dorothy. And he had thought her a mere child that he hadn't noticed. "Why aren't you at the party?"
"Two reasons," she quickly retorted. "The most important one being that I don't like it here. The other—well, you asked. I may be a child, but Claire thinks I'm eighteen."
Eighteen! Paul would hardly have thought so, but now he saw that it was rather because of her slim little figure and girlish ways than from any childishness.
It flashed across him that she would make an excellent wife for an engineer. She would understand, as Claire never could, that intimate bond between a man and the thing he has created.
She startled him with a little cry. "Look, oh look! I do believe the old weather bureau was wrong! There's the moon!"
Sure enough, through a rift in the clouds, the whole disk of the moon, just past full, could be seen.
It was true that the crest of the flood might not be reached until noon tomorrow, but the chances were that the dam would hold if the rain was over. Paul felt like seizing the slender hands of his companion and whirling her round in a dance of celebration. Yesterday he would have done that very thing. But somehow, not tonight.
"I must go back," she was saying. "I-I wonder if you would mind walking up to the top of the hill with me where I can see the light in my window. It's really later than I thought. I suppose" and she threw a glance up at the big house on the hill where strains of music were floating down "everyone knows now of Claire's engagement to my brother."
Paul stopped short. "Claire engaged to your brother?"
"Why, yes. That was what the party was for. Abbott told me before he left. But it was to be a grand surprise. Claire loves surprises."
By rights, Paul should have felt as if a knife had been turned in his heart. On the contrary, he felt and he was amazed at the sensation, as if he had just received a reprieve from some dreadful fate.
The rain had ceased. The girl who could never understand what the dam meant to him was going to belong to somebody else, and he had discovered a lovely, awakening woman in the girl who had watched him build it.
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
What themes does it cover?
Love Romance
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Dam Construction
Romantic Realization
Engineering Passion
Stormy Encounter
Engagement Surprise
Literary Details
Key Lines
"Look, Oh Look! I Do Believe The Old Weather Bureau Was Wrong! There's The Moon!"
"Everyone Knows Now Of Claire's Engagement To My Brother."
By Rights, Paul Should Have Felt As If A Knife Had Been Turned In His Heart. On The Contrary, He Felt And He Was Amazed At The Sensation, As If He Had Just Received A Reprieve From Some Dreadful Fate.
The Girl Who Could Never Understand What The Dam Meant To Him Was Going To Belong To Somebody Else, And He Had Discovered A Lovely, Awakening Woman In The Girl Who Had Watched Him Build It.