Three or four of them crept cautiously along the driftwood bridge. It heaved and worked beneath them; the foam sluiced across it, and the stream forced the thinner tops of shattered trees above the barrier. It was obvious that the men were risking life and limb, and there was a cry from the rest when one of them went down and momentarily disappeared. He scrambled to his feet again, but those behind him stopped, bracing themselves against the stream, knee-deep in rushing froth. Most of them had followed rough and dangerous occupation in the bush; but they were not professional river-Jacks trained to high proficiency in log-driving, and one turning shouted to the watchers on the bank. "This jamb's not solid," he explained. "She's working open and shutting; and you can't tell where the breaks are." He stooped and rubbed his leg, and Vane understood him to add: "Figured I had it smashed." Vane swung round towards Carroll, who was standing close by. "We give them a lead." Salter ventured another remonstrance: "Stay where you are. How are you going to manage if the boys can't tackle the thing?" "They haven't as much at stake as I have," was Vane's reply. "I'm a director of the company as you pointed out. Give me two sticks of giant-powder, some fuse, and detonators." After cramming the blasting material into his pocket, Vane called to Carroll: "Are you coming with me?" "Since I can't stop you, I suppose I'd better go," Carroll replied. They sprang down the bank. Vane crawled out on the working timber, with Carroll, who carried a heavy hammer, a few feet behind him. The perilous bridge they traversed groaned beneath their feet, but they had joined the other men before they came to any particularly troublesome opening. Then the cluster of wet figures was brought up by a gap filled with leaping foam, in the midst of which brushwood swung to and fro and projecting branches ground on one another. Whether there was solid timber a foot or two beneath, or only the entrance to some cavity by which the stream swept through the barrier, there was nothing to show, but Vane set his lips and jumped. He alighted on something that bore him, and when the others followed, floundering and splashing, the deliberation which had hitherto characterised their movements suddenly deserted them. They had reached the limit beyond which it was no longer useful. When they had crossed the gap, Vane and those behind him blundered on in hot fury. They had risen to the demand on them, and the curious psychic change had come; now they must achieve success or face annihilation. But in this there was nothing unusual; it is the alternative offered to many a log-driver, miner, and sailor-man.