the stream, the camera men were blind to Ruth's danger.

"She'll be killed!" shrieked Jennie Stone, while Helen Cameron ran to
the water's edge, stretching forth her arms to Ruth as though she would
seize her from across the stream.

The next moment the water flooded up around Helen's ankles. The stream
was rising, and had Jennie not dragged her back, Helen would have been
knee-deep in the water--perhaps have been injured herself by one of the
flying logs.

Ruth was out of reach of the logs in the stream, although they charged
down with mighty clamor, their ends at times shooting a dozen feet into
the air, the bark stripping in ragged lengths, displaying angry gashes
along their flanks. It was from that great heap of logs above, on the
brink of the steep bank, that Ruth was in danger.

A fringe of low brush had hidden the foot of the logpile up there. This
hedge had also hidden from the observation of the party across the
stream the villains who must have deliberately knocked out the chocks
which held the high pile of timbers from skidding down the slope.

Mr. Hooley had seen the logs start. Squeezed out by the weight of the
pile, the lower logs, stripped of bark and squealing like living
creatures started over the brink. They rolled, faster and faster, down
upon the unwarned Ruth Fielding. And behind the leaders poured the whole
pile, gathering speed as the avalanche made headway!

The turmoil of the river and the crashing logs would have smothered the
sound of the avalanche until it was upon the girl of the Red Mill. No