Argosy All-Story Weekly, 4 February 1922 — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

MA | u ; Ary aE Pee ON. o Ons a | Os 7 mt i 7 w 4 I Tea wien * ‘WAI U Wi . ie Wee | : ate . ‘ A "hae : hl ART big! ; : a a Oy fenh Re o” Me te Ui: ko - HU PAO ORAS RT aT ‘ “i Wee f : 4 : “Sy Th per Fd dark, grizzled, showing signs of age, was short in body, unusually long of arm; his arms, shoulders, and hairy chest were knot- ted with lumps of muscle bulging beneath the skin. Sissek, younger, and by far the larger man, was all pink and white; he was like a fighter at the peak of perfect form, and displayed feline control in every _ Movement. “ Ready,” called the judge with a stop- watch in his hand. The two men took their places by the stone. Griffith, lifting a heavy sledge, weighed its balance judiciously in his hand. Sissek carefully rearranged the steel more to his liking, lifted a short six- inch piece in one hand and held a twelve- inch bit in readiness in the other. “ Strike!” called the judge. Instantaneous on the word Sissek. slid the starting bit into place a little to one side of the center of the rock; Griffith struck, lifting the sledge barely to his shoul- der, firmly, yet delicately, the second stroke dropping little more than the distance of the rebound from the steel. A tiny chip sprang from beneath the slightly slanted drill; then another at right angles to the first, smearing the smooth face of the rock with dust. Clang! Clang! Each blow fell slightly harder than the last. Griffith was feeling out the texture of the stone, driving the start of the hole clean and even, letting the bitt bite for a firm support. At each blow Sissek lifted the short steel, holding it firmly with one hand, dropping it back after each blow with a slid- ing and turning motion of his wrist, slant- ing it a little with each turn. The white powder flew; a scar appeared on the face of the rock; became a circle, true and even, deepening with each turn of the drill, “ Steel!” cried Griffith when an inch was won. He heaved the double-jack high above his head. With a single motion Sis- sek swept the short drill from the hole, passed the longer steel from one hand to the other, and dropped it into place .an in- stant before the swift blow fell. Steel beat on steel like the sound of a ringing bell. Sissek grasped the longer bar in both his hands. Each blow found his arms as rigid as the steel itself, but as he | ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. = = and stood naked to the waist. Griffith, jerked the bitt free from the cut to turn the drill each separate tendon seemed to crawl like serpents beneath the smoothness of his skin. The drill bit deeper. Sissek dropped to his knees between two hammer-strokes. He drew the bucket of water nearer with an outstretched leg, and as he turned the steel with one hand, poured a cup of water into the deepening hole. The water, mixed with the powdered rock, splashed up and spotted the faces of the men. Griffith, with unblinking eyes fixed on the brightening battered drill-head, was fling- ing the sledge far back behind his shoulders, to be whirled upward high above his head. Descending as the lightning strikes, the sledge bounced from the drill-head like a thing alive. “One minute!” called the judge. The drill had gained two inches in the hole. Clang! Clang! Clang! The blows fell with measured precision, behind each one ali the strength of Griffith’s knotted arms. He increased the time little by little as he gained his stride until the sledge was swing- ing rhythmically without the tenth part of a second difference between the strokes. The two men were working as one machine, Griffith breathed deeply, grunting with the labor of each stroke; sweat burst out on his body; his torso was like a bronze statue that moved gleaming in the sun. “Two minutes!” Not quite eight inches of the twelve-inch drill still showed above the hole. “ Steel!” Griffith panted. Sissek reached out for another bar. One twist only with a single hand snatched the quiv- ering drill from the hole as the sledge up- rose and Sissek slid a two-foot steel into place just in time to receive the impact of the descending jack, “ Three minutes!” At the cry Griffith dropped to his knees, following down the impulse of the swinging sledge. Even as his last blow was struck, he released the handle of his jack, and crouching, seized the drill. At the same moment Sissek had arisen, still crouching, with one hand on the drill, reaching for the handle of another jack held ready by his side. As Griffith stooped, Sissek straightened— swung the sledge. He stepped into Griffith’s com Ebooks m ie ee z x See Se Aik ee — a — . atlas ‘cO ee Se a oa. > a a . ~~ ~ > * " — 2 Pl a 7