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Show The bottom of the big I-beam jutted out four inches for a foothold; Jame balanced on it as casually as if he were walking along a boardwalk. Karl wanted to close his eyes against the emptiness beneath him it was crazy to walk underneath a bridge, on the support beams! He clung to the triangular trusses which stretched from the under-beam up to the bridge's roadbed. The steel trusses gave him a good handhold, so he felt more confident, until he looked at the river below. The quiet waters of the Monongehela moved beneath him, wide, deep, and awesome, reflecting the pearl color of morning sky around rippled images of blast-furnace flame. Karl looked up quickly to erase the fearful specter of the river. His foot felt leaden as he slid it forward, an inch at a time. When he reached for the next handhold, his sweat-soaked palms slipped from the steel truss. Panicked, he flailed both arms in a grab for the truss and clung to it, unable to move. Jame was leaning against the first piling that supported the bridge, arms folded across his chest -- not even holding on! With terror-filled eyes, Karl implored for help. "How's your sister Kathleen?" Jame asked him. "She's f..fine," Karl answered, his voice shaking. "What's she doing these days?" Jame asked. "She plays piano at the nickelodeon six nights a week." It was ridiculous! Karl was frozen with fear, certain he was going to fall into the river and drown before he ever got a chance to be a steelworker, and Jame kept asking him silly questions as though they |