96 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 1. 



were standing, the pipes were so numerous 

 that the whole engine-room from" floor to ceil- 

 ing, almost, is filled with a literal network of 

 them. There are pipes innumerable, from the 

 size of your finger to the great water-pipes con- 

 nected with the steam-pump, as large as your 

 body. Then there are valves, from thr> size of a 

 silver dollar alt the way up to those as big as the 

 wheel of a Daisy wheelbarrow. Some of 'the 

 latter it takes the full strength of a strong man 

 to move. There are the live-steam pipes and 

 the exhaust-steam pipes; then there are the 

 water-pipes connected with the sprinkler sys- 

 tem, and another distinct system of water-pipes 

 to convey water all over the pi-emises. No 

 wonder we became demoralized. There seemed 

 to be a sound of rushing water, but no one could 

 find where it was. I remember of fearing that 

 if Ernest, the engineer, and myself could not 

 tell where the trouble was, it was not likely 

 that there was a living being in the ■whole ivide 

 world who could help us any. Some of the 

 pipes had been put in before Ernest and the 

 engineer knew any thing about it; therefore it 

 depended ou my memory alone. There we 

 stood, helpless. But the faithful, unfeeling 

 pressure-gauge kept steadily falling, and in a 

 little time more it would reach zero. My prayer 

 was something like this: 



"O Lord, we are weak but thou art mighty. 

 We are helpless, but thy strength and wisdom 

 are infinite. We come to thee acknowledging 

 our need. Give us wisdom that we have not of 

 ourselves, and help us to care for our property." 



Of course, the prayer was only in my mind. 

 No word was spoken. As soon as it was finished, 

 the thought came into my mind, " Now. if help 

 should come right off it would be only (mother 

 instance of similar answers to prayer during 

 the years that this business has been building 

 and growing up." Then my faith began to rise. 

 I had not found the text at the head of this talk 

 just then: but the feeling came into my heart, 

 very strong and vivid, '" Blessed is the man 

 whose strength is in thee." 



Just at this crisis the engineer declared, 

 "There is no leak at all." 



Then Ernest added. " Why. look here ! Put 

 on the big steam-pump and see if you can get 

 the accustomed pressure and hold it there." 



The necessary valves were opened and closed, 

 and in a moment we were ready to move the 

 great pistons just as we would do in case of fire. 

 All eyes were fixed, and we stood with breath- 

 less suspense as we watched the pressure-gauge 

 attached tp the pump. My heart began to sink, 

 when the engineer said: 



"Look out, boys I there is a tremendous pile 

 of water getting away somewhere." But he 

 added almost immediately afterward. "No! 

 hold on a momenti All right! There she is!" 



He let the pump work nniil the gauge show- 

 ed a pressure of nearly V.H) lbs. to the square 

 inch, then stopped, and there it stood. The 

 whole entire sprinkler system of all our build- 

 ings, and the hydrants over the whole of our 

 grounds, were tight and sound. This located 

 the difficulty somewhere between the tank on 

 the hill and the factory. Said the engineer, 

 " Your pipes are frozen up." 



" Well, I declare!" suggested I. " If the pipes 

 are frozen solid, the effect n'lll be almost exact- 

 ly the same as if the water were getting away." 



And then we all drew a breath of relief. But 

 where could they be frozen ? They were deep 

 under the ground, and th(> ground was deep 

 under the snow. Then Ernest suggested. ".It is 

 the pipe under the big tank on the hill. We 

 must get in there and build a fire at once." 



Now, I shall have to explain, that, as the 

 overflow-pipe was not sufficiently protected 

 during the excessively cold weather, it had 



frozen up about two weeks before. The conse- 

 quence was, the tank had become full, and had 

 run over. Icicles as large as an ox hung over 

 the sides of the tank, and the water had run 

 down befoi-e the doors, and frozen them fast. It 

 was a critical time, however, so I hastily decid- 

 ed what to do. One of us got a big sledge to 

 open the door. Of course, the door had to be 

 opened so it could be closed again quickly. The 

 engineer took the hand-sled, with a couple of 

 baskets of kindling, and. neighbor H. was sum- 

 moned to lend a hand also. I started on ahead 

 with a sledge, for I preferred to smash the door 

 in myself. I looked back and saw the engineer 

 in a huge snowdrift, with his sled and kindling 

 turned over, and neighbor H. just coming to 

 his relief. As I expected, the bottom of the 

 door could not be moved — not even with a 

 sledge. Somebody suggested that the door 

 would have to be broken: but I declared not so. 

 The zero air must not get in there many min- 

 utes at most. The top was loosened. Neigh- 

 bor H., the engineer, and the rest, with strong 

 arms sprung the door in until I thought I could 

 squeeze through. I got half way through and 

 stuck fast. I imagined to myself how it must 

 feel to be a rat in a trap, and I wai< in a trap, 

 sure; but after a little more exhortation to my 

 comrades to bend every nerve and muscle. I 

 wiggled through. Of course, the zero weather 

 was getting in to freeze the pipes up harder, 

 and they might burst. 



" Pile in your kindling, boys." I sang out: 

 and by the time they got it through the crevice 

 I had lighted a piece of waste saturated with 

 coal oil. I threw it against the big iron pipe, 

 piled on the kindlings, and then we had blaze 

 enough to see that every thing was frozen up 

 solid, sure enough. After I had got a big fire 

 to going (as it was on the bare ground it was 

 perfectly safe) I chopped away the ice from 

 around the door, so as to let in the rest of the 

 crowd. They were about as anxious to get out, 

 however, as they were to get in, because of the 

 smoke. The ice soon began to give way. Er- 

 nest thought it would take nearly all night to 

 thaw out the ice; but I had faith to believe 

 that the pressure-gauge in the factory was 

 taking a back track already. I thanked my 

 helpers, and told them they could all go home, 

 except the night watchman who sleeps in the 

 factory. He volunteered to see the pipe was 

 thawed out. I was a little behind when they 

 reached the innocent piece of mechanism which 

 had caused such a hubbub: but the joyful news 

 was soon proclaimed. "Hooray! hooray! the 

 pressure is right already!" 



We sat down and rested a little, and then 

 went home. I was wet with perspiration, not- 

 withstanding the low temperature. In our 

 search we had been obliged to be first outdoors 

 and then inside, in such rapid succession that 

 we did not dare to take off our overcoats, over- 

 shoes, and fur caps. I had my bath after all, 

 and went to bed a little before midnight, re- 

 joicing in another sharp and clear evidence of 

 the truthfulness of the many Bible promises, 

 to the effect that the great Father above is " a 

 very present help in trouble." The next morn- 

 ing, at our responsive readings at church, my 

 eye and ear caught oiu' opening text, " Blessed 

 is the man whose strength is in thee," and you 

 may be sure my heart echoed an emphatic amen. 



Let us now look at another picture. Some 

 time ago an old acquaintance got into trouble 

 with a neighbor in regard to a division-line 

 fence. It ended in a quarrel, and in a fit of 

 anger my friend transgressed the laws of our 

 land. Although a man of many excellent 

 qualities, he has, like the rest of us, peculiar 

 individual traits. One of these is, that he has 



