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CONTENTS
Preface xiii CHAPTER 3

Planning for Earthwork
CHAPTER 1 Construction 62
Machines Make It Possible 1 Planning 62
Being Competitive 1 Graphical Presentation of Earthwork 67
The History of Construction Equipment 3 Earthwork Quantities 70
The Construction Industry 10 Mass Diagram 78
Safety 11 Using the Mass Diagram 79
The Contracting Environment 13 Pricing Earthwork Operations 87
Planning Equipment Utilization 14 Summary 89
Summary 15 Problems 89
Problems 16 Resources 92
Resources 16 Website Resources 92
Website Resources 17
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 2 Soil and Rock 94
Equipment Economics 19 Introduction 94
Important Questions 19 Glossary of Terms 95
Equipment Records 20 Soil and Rock Properties 95
The Rent Paid for the Use of Money 21 COMPACTION SPECIFICATION
Cost of Capital 27 AND CONTROL 105
Evaluating Investment Alternatives 28 Compaction Tests 106
Elements of Ownership Cost 30 Soil Processing 109
Elements of Operating Cost 37 Summary 114
Cost for Bidding 41 Problems 115
Replacement Decisions 50 Resources 117
Rent and Lease Considerations 51 Website Resources 117
Summary 56
Problems 56 CHAPTER 5
Resources 61 Compaction and Stabilization
Website Resources 61 Equipment 118
Compaction of Soil and Rock 118
Glossary of Terms 119
Types of Compacting Equipment 120
Roller Production Estimating 130
Soil Stabilization 131
vii
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viii Contents
Stabilizing Soils with Lime 133 CHAPTER 8

Cement-Soil Stabilization 135 Scrapers 219
Summary 138
General Information 219
Problems 139
Scraper Types 220
Resources 139
Scraper Operation 226
Scraper Performance Charts 227
Scraper Production Cycle 230
CHAPTER 6
Scraper Production Estimating Format 231
Mobile Equipment Power Operational Considerations 245
Requirements 141 Scraper Safety 247
General Information 141 Summary 248
Required Power 142 Problems 248
Available Power 149 Resources 250
Usable Power 155 Website Resources 251
Performance Charts 159
Summary 166 CHAPTER 9
Problems 166
Excavators 252
Resources 170
Hydraulic Excavators 252
FRONT SHOVELS 256
CHAPTER 7 General Information: Shovels 256
HOES 264
Dozers 171 General Information: Hoes 264
Introduction 171 LOADERS 274
PUSHING MATERIAL 177 General Information: Loaders 274
General Information 177 DRAGLINES AND CLAMSHELLS 284
Project Employment 182 General Information: Draglines and Clamshells
Dozer Production Estimating 184 284
Dozer Production Estimating Format 190 Draglines 285
Dozer Safety 195 Clamshell Excavators 297
Land-Clearing Operations 196 ANCILLARY EXCAVATORS 303
Land-Clearing Production Estimating 199 Backhoe-Loaders 303
RIPPING ROCK 203 Trench Safety 304
Rippers 203 Summary 306
Ripper Attachments 208 Problems 307
Ripping Production Estimates 211 Resources 309
Summary 214 Website Resources 310
Problems 214
Resources 218 CHAPTER 10
Website Resources 218 Trucks and Hauling Equipment
312
Trucks 312
Rigid-Frame Rear-Dump Trucks 314
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Contents ix
Articulated Rear-Dump Trucks 315 Drill Bits 363

Tractors with Bottom-Dump Trailers 316 Rock Drills 364
Capacities of Trucks and Hauling Equipment Drilling Methods and Production 368
317 Estimating Drilling Production 372
Truck Size Affects Productivity 319 GPS and Computer Monitoring Systems 380
Calculating Truck Productivity 320 Drilling Soil 381
Production Issues 327 Removal of Cuttings 382
Tires 328 Trenchless Technology 383
Truck Performance Calculations 330 Safety 388
Truck Safety 336 Summary 389
Summary 337 Problems 389
Problems 337 Resources 392
Resources 339 Website Resources 392
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 11 Blasting Rock 394
Finishing Equipment 341 Blasting 394
Introduction 341 Glossary of Blasting Terms 396
GRADERS 341 Commercial Explosives 397
General Information 341 ANFO 400
Grader Operations 345 Primers and Boosters 402
Time Estimates 349 Initiating Systems 402
Fine Grading Production 350 Rock Fragmentation 404
Grader GPS Control 351 Blast Design 405
Grader Safety 352 Powder Factor 417
GRADALLS 353 Trench Rock 419
General Information 353 Breakage Control Techniques 419
Safety 354 Vibration 422
TRIMMERS 354 Safety 423
General Information 354 Summary 425
Operation 354 Problems 425
Production 356 Resources 428
Summary 356 Website Resources 428
Problems 356
Resources 357 CHAPTER 14
Website Resources 358 Aggregate Production 429
Introduction 429
CHAPTER 12 PARTICLE SIZE REDUCTION 431
Drilling Rock and Earth 359 General Information 431
Introduction 359 Jaw Crushers 432
Glossary of Drilling Terms 360 Gyratory Crushers 438
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x Contents
Roll Crushers 442 Safety 508

Impact Crushers 446 Summary 509
Special Aggregate Processing Units 448 Problems 509
Feeders 449 Resources 511
Surge Piles 450 Website Resources 512
Crushing Equipment Selection 451
SEPARATION INTO PARTICLE CHAPTER 16
SIZE RANGES 454 Concrete and Concrete Equipment
Scalping Crushed Stone 454 513
Screening Aggregate 455 Introduction 513
OTHER AGGREGATE PROCESSING CONCRETE 515
ISSUES 460 Fresh Concrete 515
Log Washers 460 Batching Concrete Materials 516
Segregation 461 MIXING CONCRETE 520
Safety 461 Concrete Mixing Techniques 522
Summary 462 Ready-Mixed Concrete 527
Problems 463 Central-Mixed Concrete 531
Resources 465 PLACING CONCRETE 533
Website Resources 465 Buckets 533
Manual or Motor-Propelled Buggies 535
CHAPTER 15
Chutes and Drop Pipes 535
Asphalt Mix Production and Belt Conveyors 535
Placement 466 Concrete Pumps 536
Introduction 466 CONSOLIDATING AND FINISHING 545
Glossary of Asphalt Terms 467 Consolidating Concrete 545
Structure of Asphalt Pavements 469 Finishing and Curing Concrete 549
Flexible Pavements 470 CONCRETE PAVEMENTS 552
Asphalt Concrete 477 Slipform Paving 552
ASPHALT PLANTS 478 Paving Production 558
General Information 478 ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS
Batch Plants 478 AND CONSIDERATIONS 560
Drum Mix Plants 484 Placing Concrete in Cold Weather 560
Dust Collectors 488 Placing Concrete in Hot Weather 560
Asphalt Storage and Heating 489 SAFETY 560
Reclaiming and Recycling 489 Pumping Concrete 560
PAVING EQUIPMENT 492 Summary 561
Sweeper/Broom 492 Problems 562
Haul Trucks 492 Resources 564
Asphalt Distributors 493 Website Resources 565
Asphalt Pavers 496
Compaction Equipment 502
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Contents xi
CHAPTER 17 Concrete Piles 621

Cranes 567 Steel Piles 627
Composite Piles 628
Major Crane Types 567
Sheet Piles 629
MOBILE CRANES 569
DRIVING PILES 634
Crawler Cranes 569
The Resistance of Piles to Penetration 634
Telescoping-Boom Truck-Mounted Cranes 572
Site Investigation and Test Pile Program 635
Lattice-Boom Truck-Mounted Cranes 573
Pile Hammers 637
Rough-Terrain Cranes 574
Supporting and Positioning Piles during Driving
All-Terrain Cranes 575
647
Modified Cranes for Heavy Lifting 576
Jetting Piles 650
Crane Booms 578
Spudding and Preaugering 650
Lifting Capacities of Cranes 578
Hammer Selection 651
Rated Loads for Lattice- and Telescoping-Boom
Pile-Driving Safety 653
Cranes 579
Summary 654
Working Ranges of Cranes 583
Problems 655
TOWER CRANES 584
Resources 655
Classification 584
Operation 589
Tower Crane Selection 597
CHAPTER 19
Rated Loads for Tower Cranes 599
RIGGING 602 Air Compressors and Pumps 657
Rigging Basics 602 Support Equipment 657
Slings 605 COMPRESSED AIR 658
SAFETY 606 Introduction 658
Crane Accidents 606 Glossary of Gas Law Terms 658
Safety Plans and Programs 609 Gas Laws 660
Zones of Responsibility 610 Glossary of Air Compressor Terms 661
Summary 611 Air Compressors 662
Problems 612 Compressed-Air Distribution System 665
Resources 613 Diversity Factor 671
Website Resources 614 Safety 672
EQUIPMENT FOR PUMPING WATER 674
CHAPTER 18 Introduction 674
Piles and Pile-Driving Equipment Glossary of Pumping Terms 674
616 Classification of Pumps 675
Centrifugal Pumps 676
Introduction 616
Loss of Head Due to Friction in Pipe 682
Glossary of Terms 616
Rubber Hose 683
PILE TYPES 618
Selecting a Pump 684
Classifications of Piles 618
Wellpoint Systems 686
Timber Piles 619
Deep Wells 689
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xii Contents
Summary 689 Combined Vertical and Horizontal Systems

Problems 690 766
Resources 692 Shoring Towers 771
Website Resources 693 Safety 779
Summary 780
CHAPTER 20 Problems 781
Planning for Building Resources 782
Construction 694 Website Resources 783
Introduction 694
Site Layout 696 APPENDIX A
Delivery of Structural Components 703 Alphabetical List of Units
Steel Erection 704 with Their SI Names and
Tilt-Up Construction 706 Conversion Factors 785
LIFTING AND SUPPORT
EQUIPMENT 710 APPENDIX B
Cranes 710 Selected English-to-SI Conversion
Aerial Work Platforms 714 Factors 787
Integrated Tool Carriers 716
Telescopic Handlers/Forklifts 718 APPENDIX C
Generators 720 Selected U.S. Customary (English)
Welding Equipment 722 Unit Equivalents 788
CONTROL OF CONSTRUCTION NUISANCES 725
Construction Noise 725 APPENDIX D
Noise Mitigation 727 Selected Metric Unit
Lighting 731 Equivalents 789
Dust 731 Index 790
Vibration 732
Summary 732
Problems 733
Resources 734
CHAPTER 21
Forming Systems 737
Classification 737
Formwork and the Project Engineer 739
Formwork Design 741
Formwork Economics 745
Vertical Systems 752
Horizontal Systems 760
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PREFACE
The past decade has seen a shift in project delivery with these fundamentals, the constructor is prepared to eval-
owners seeking ways to accelerate project completion. uate those reams of computer-generated data and to
Contractors have responded and are successfully deliv- develop programs that speed the decision process or
ering projects much more rapidly. A key element lead- that enable easy analysis of multiple options.
ing to successful execution of an acceleration effort is Significant changes have been made to this edi-
planning. Planning must include detailed analyses of tion. Cranes are used on both heavy civil and building
equipment utilization. Additionally, there must be projects for vertical movement of materials, yet there
backup plans for all possible impediments. Speed is has been a shift in the culture of crane use. We have
also achieved by working concurrent activities and captured this change of perspective. The construction
opening multiple fronts, which means that a knowledge industry has seen a rash of crane accidents since publi-
of equipment productivity is critically important to cation of the seventh edition; therefore, greater empha-
those wishing to compete in this new environment. sis has been placed on crane safety and lift planning.
The use of design-build contracting is facilitating Contracts for projects in urban environments are
the introduction of innovation in design and construc- becoming more restrictive in terms of work schedule,
tion. Further, the use of a new delivery approach, Con- vibration and noise, and any regulations that will limit
struction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC), allows work or logistic activities. Following a course plotted
the owner to participate in the design phase while with the seventh edition, we have included more mate-
obtaining critical constructability input from the con- rial about how to deal with such machine utilization
tractor. This CMGC approach provides for a coopera- issues and information concerning small machines used
tive relationship and also promotes innovation. Con- for building construction and urban projects in the
tractors striving to work in these new contracting “Planning for Building Construction” chapter.
environments are finding that equipment planning is Formwork systems are another component of
now much more important. accelerated construction. The “Forming Systems”
Today, in the age of iPods, PDAs (personal digital chapter focuses on advanced modular and industrial-
assistant), laptop computers, the Internet, and the imme- ized forming systems that can help realize faster project
diate download of data, there is an even greater need to delivery.
plan equipment operations properly. A machine is eco- The chapter on “Draglines and Clamshells” is now
nomical only if used in the proper manner and in the envi- a part of the “Excavators” chapter so that all excavation-
ronment in which it has the mechanical capabilities to type activities are discussed in one chapter.
function effectively. Technology improvements greatly We have also found equipment manufacturers are
enhance our ability to formulate equipment, planning, continuing to place more machine specifications and
and construction decisions, but we must first have an operation materials on the Internet. Therefore, Web
understanding of machine capabilities and how to prop- resource information is provided. In addition, Web-
erly apply those capabilities to construction challenges. based exercises, which in some cases
To accelerate project work a contractor must direct the student to specific machine
develop its plans to a much greater level of detail due information on the Web, have been
to schedule constraints and overall contracting risk. added to some chapters. When you
This eighth edition follows in the tradition of the first see the website icon in the text mar-
seven by providing the reader with fundamentals of gin, visit our website at www.mhhe.com/peurifoy8e for
machine selection and production estimating in a logi- additional resources and exercises available on the
cal, simple, and concise format. With a grounding in Web.
xiii
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xiv Preface
All chapters have undergone revision, ranging Wisconsin. Mr. R. R. Walker of Tidewater Construction
from simple clarification to major modifications, Corporation has consistently worked with us to improve
depending on the need to improve organization and the “Piles and Pile-Driving Equipment” chapter. Addi-
presentation of concepts. Many photographs in the tionally, Prof. Amnon Katz from the Technion, Israel,
chapters have been updated to illustrate the latest has again helped with the “Concrete” chapter.
equipment and methods, and more pictures of operating We would like to express our thanks for many use-
equipment have been used in this edition. Drawings ful comments and suggestions provided by the follow-
have been added beside many of the figures so that the ing reviewers:
important features under consideration are clearly iden-
Lauren Evans
tified. Safety discussions are again presented in each of
Montana State University
the chapters dealing with machine or formwork use.
Paul M. Goodrum
The world of construction equipment is truly
University of Kentucky
global, and we have tried to search globally for the lat-
Jiong Hu
est ideas in machine application and technology. We
Texas State University–San Marcos
have visited manufacturers and project sites in over two
Victor Judnic
dozen countries around the world in gathering the
Lawrence Technological University–Michigan
information presented in this edition.
Byung-Cheol Kim
This book enjoys wide use as a practical reference
Ohio University
by the profession and as a college textbook. The use of
Joel Lieberman
examples to reinforce the concepts through application
Phoenix College
has been continued. Based on professional practice, we
Gene McGinnis
have tried to present standard formats for analyzing
Christian Brothers University
production. Many companies use such formats to avoid
Dustin Lee Olson
errors when estimating production during the fast-
Brigham Young University
paced efforts required for bid preparation.
Aziz Saber
To enhance the value of the book as a college text-
Louisiana Tech University
book, we have changed problems at the close of each
Steve Sanders
chapter. We have also included several problems that
Clemson University
compel the student to learn using a step-by-step
Scott Shuler
approach: these problems specifically request the solu-
Colorado State University
tion for each step before moving on to reach a final
Kenneth J. Tiss
solution. This approach focuses student learning by
SUNY College of Environmental Science and
clearly defining the critical pieces of information nec-
Forestry
essary for problem solving. The solutions to some
problems are included in the text at the end of the prob- However, we take full responsibility for the mate-
lem statements. Together with the examples, they facil- rial. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the comments
itate learning and give students confidence that they and suggestions for improvement received from per-
can master the subjects presented. sons using the book. We are all aware of how much our
We are deeply grateful to the many individuals and students help us to sharpen the subject presentation.
firms who have supplied information and illustrations. Their questions and comments in the classroom have
Four individuals are owed a particular debt of gratitude guided us in developing this revised book. For that and
for their support and efforts. Prof. John Zaniewski, much more, we want to thank our students at the Air
Director, Harley O. Staggers National Transportation Force Academy, Arizona State University, Louisiana
Center, West Virginia University, has consistently pro- Tech, Purdue, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology,
vided assistance with the “Asphalt Mix Production and University of New Mexico, University of Wisconsin–
Placement” chapter, and for this edition we also Platteville, Virginia Tech, the Universidad de Piura,
depended on Mr. Jeff Williams, Vice President of Universidad Technica Particuar de Loja, and the Uni-
Asphalt Plants for Payne and Dolan, Inc. in Waukesha, versidad de Ricardo Palma, who have over the years
peu01129_fm_i_xvi.qxd 1/11/10 10:01 AM Page xv
Preface xv
contributed so much helpful advice for clarifying the Cliff Schexnayder

subject matter. Del E. Webb School of Construction
Most importantly we express our sincere apprecia- Tempe, Arizona
tion and love for our wives, Judy, Reuma, and Lisa, Aviad Shapira
who typed chapters, proofread too many manuscripts, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology
kept us healthy, and who otherwise got pushed farther Haifa, Israel
into the exciting world of construction than they prob-
ably really wanted. Without their support this text Robert Schmitt
would not be a reality. University of Wisconsin–Platteville
We solicit comments on the edition. Platteville, Wisconsin
Cover photo: Construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass Composite Arch Bridge 880 feet over the Colorado River.
It is the first hybrid arch bridge in the United States. The overall length is 1,900 feet, with an arch span of 1,060
feet. The concrete arch was cast of 10,000 psi concrete, the highest utilized in the United States. Completion of
the bridge is scheduled for November 2010. Photo by C. J. Schexnayder
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C H
1 A P T E R
Machines Make It
Possible
Construction is the final objective of a design, and the transformation of a
design by construction into a useful structure is accomplished by men and
machines. Men and machines transform a project plan into reality, and as
machines evolve there is a continuing transformation of how projects are con-
structed. This book describes the fundamental concepts of machine utilization.
It explains how to match machine capability to specific project requirements
economically. The efforts of contractors and equipment manufacturers, daring
to develop new ideas, constantly advance machine capabilities. As the array
of useful equipment expands, the importance of careful planning for construc-
tion operations increases.
BEING COMPETITIVE
The past decade has seen a shift in project delivery, with owners seeking ways
to accelerate project completion. Contractors have responded and are success-
fully delivering projects much more rapidly. A key element leading to success-
ful execution of an acceleration effort is planning. Planning must include
detailed analyses of equipment utilization. Additionally, backup plans must
exist for all possible impediments. Speed is also achieved by working concur-
rent activities and opening multiple fronts, which means that a knowledge of
equipment productivity is critically important to those wishing to compete in
this new contracting environment.
The Yerba Buena Island (YBI) Viaduct carries Interstate 80 traffic across
Yerba Buena Island and links the east spans of the San Francisco–Oakland
Bay Bridge (SFOBB) with the YBI Tunnel. A 348-ft. portion of the YBI
Viaduct was in need of replacement. It was decided to build a new structure
next to the existing structure and then quickly demolish the old structure and
move in the new structure. The SFOBB was closed to traffic at 8 P.M. on Fri-
day night. Since there was no room to roll out the existing superstructure span,
1
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2 Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods
the contractor chose to demolish the 6500-ton structure on-site within two
days. The existing floor beams (75.5 ft. long each) were saw cut and hauled
across the east span of the SFOBB to a dump site in Oakland. The substructure
was demolished using demolition hammers. Lifting and moving the new span
into place required slightly less than three hours. The clearance between the
new and existing structure was 3 in. on each end. The superstructure was set
on its new columns, and the column pins were installed. The column pins were
dropped through prefabricated holes in the edge beam into prefabricated holes
in the columns. The successful installation of the column pins was a testament
to the tight tolerances the contractor was able to achieve during construction
and moving. Traffic was placed back on the Bay Bridge at 6 P.M. Monday, 11
hours ahead of the scheduled 5 A.M. Tuesday opening. A video of the demoli-
tion and roll-in operation can be found on the McGraw-Hill website supporting
this book. This project is a vivid example of what can be accomplished when a
job is properly planned.
This book introduces the engineering fundamentals for machine planning,
selection, and utilization. It helps you analyze operational problems and arrive
at practical solutions for completing construction tasks. Its focus is the applica-
tion of engineering fundamentals and analysis to construction activities and the
economic comparison of machine choices.
The construction contractor’s ability to win contracts and to perform them
at a profit is determined by two vital assets: people and equipment. To be eco-
nomically competitive, a contractor’s equipment must be competitive, both
mechanically and technologically. Old machines that require costly repairs
cannot compete successfully with new equipment’s lower repair costs and
higher production rates.
In most cases, a piece of equipment does not work as a stand-alone unit.
Pieces of equipment work in groups. An excavator loads trucks that haul mate-
rial to a location at the project where it is required. At that point, the material
is dumped and a dozer spreads the material. After spreading, a roller compacts
the material to the required density. Therefore, a group of machines—in this
example an excavator, trucks, a dozer, and a roller—constitutes what is com-
monly referred to as an equipment spread.
Optimization in the management of an equipment spread is critical, both in
achieving a competitive pricing position and in accumulating the corporate
operating capital required to finance the expansion of project performance
capability. This book describes the basic operational characteristics of the
major heavy construction equipment types. More important, however, is that it
explains the fundamental concepts of machine utilization, which economically
match machine capability to specific project construction requirements.
There are no unique solutions to the problem of selecting a machine to
work on a particular construction project. All machine selection problems are
influenced by external environmental conditions. The noise and vibrations
caused by construction operations and machines impact those adjacent to the
project. Nearby residents complain about noise and glare from temporary light-
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Chapter 1 Machines Make It Possible 3
ing systems, and city codes restrict operations. Therefore, it must be under-
stood that selecting a machine for a project involves an understanding of the
environment in terms of soil type and moisture conditions—the physical envi-
ronment of the work site—and also in terms of the surrounding environment
impacted by the construction operations.
THE HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION

EQUIPMENT
Machines are mechanical/electrical systems that amplify human energy,
improve our level of control, and process information. They are a vital
resource necessary for the accomplishment of most construction projects (see
Figure 1.1). One of the most obvious problems in constructing a project is how
to transport heavy building materials. Machines provide the solution to that
problem. The proof of how well the planner understands the work that must be
accomplished and selects appropriate machines for that purpose is revealed by
counting the money when the contract is completed. Did the company make a
profit or sustain a loss?
From the time the first man decided to build a simple structure for protec-
tion from the elements through to the construction of the Egyptian pyramids,
the Great Wall of China, the Inca monuments at Machu Picchu, and continuing
until the mid-nineteenth century, work was accomplished by the muscle of
FIGURE 1.1 Modern hydraulic excavator on pneumatic tires

peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 4
man and beast. When Ferdinand de Lesseps began excavating the Suez Canal
corvée in April 1859, corvée laborers, provided by the Egyptian viceroy, did the work
Labor required of digging that trench in the desert.
in lieu of taxes. Human labor assisted by only a very few machines continued the work on
the canal for the next four years. But in 1864, Lesseps and his engineers began
experimenting with machines, and eventually 300 steam-powered mechanical
dredges were at work. Those machines, in the final three years of the project,
excavated the majority of the main canal’s 74 million cubic meters. Mecha-
nization—machines—transformed the project and continues to transform how
projects are built today.
The Dreams
The development of construction equipment followed major changes in trans-
portation modes. Where travel and commerce took place via water systems,
builders dreamed of machines that would aid in dredging ports, rivers, and
canals. As early as 1420, the Venetian Giovanni Fontana was dreaming of and
diagramming dredging machines. Leonardo da Vinci designed such a machine
in 1503, and at least one of his machines was actually built, but the power
source was a lonely runner on a treadmill.
On July 4, 1817, at a site near Rome, New York, ground was broken for
the 363-mile-long Erie Canal. It was excavated by the efforts of local laborers
and Irish immigrants—human labor. However, by the 1830s, construction in
the United States was changing from canal building to railroad construction.
The Middlesex Canal, which connected Boston to the Merrimack River at
Lowell, had been in service since 1803, but in 1835 the Boston & Lowell Rail-
road opened for service. Nevertheless, construction, be it building canals or
railroads, was still achieved by the brawn of man and beast.
Steam Power Machines

William S. Otis, a civil engineer with the Philadelphia contracting firm of
Carmichael & Fairbanks, built the first practical power shovel excavating
machine in 1837 (Figure 1.2). The first “Yankee Geologist,” as his machines
were called, was put to work in 1838 on a railroad project in Massachusetts.
The May 10, 1838, issue of the Springfield Republican in Massachusetts
reported, “Upon the road in the eastern part of this town, is a specimen of what
the Irishmen call ‘digging by stame.’ For cutting through a sand hill, this
steam digging machine must make a great saving of labor.”
Continued development of the steam shovel was driven by a demand for
economical mass excavation machines. In the early 1880s, an era of major
construction projects began. These projects demanded machines to excavate
large quantities of earth and rock. In 1881, Ferdinand de Lessep’s French com-
pany began work on the Panama Canal. Less than a year earlier, on December
28, 1880, the Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company, of Bucyrus,
Ohio, came into being. Bucyrus became a leading builder of steam shovels,
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 5
FIGURE 1.2 The Otis steam shovel; this machine was mounted on steel wheels that
ran on rails.1
and 25 years later when the Americans took over the Panama Canal work, the
Bucyrus Company was a major supplier of steam shovels for that effort.
Still, the most important driver in excavator development was the railroad.
Between 1885 and 1897, approximately 70,000 miles of railway were con-
structed in the United States. William Otis developed his excavator machine
because the construction company Carmichael & Fairbanks, for which he
worked and in which his uncle Daniel Carmichael was a senior partner, was in
the business of building railroads.
The Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company came into being
because Dan P. Eells, a bank president in Cleveland, was associated with sev-
eral railroads. In 1882, the Ohio Central Railroad gave the new company its
first order for a steam shovel, and sales to other railroads soon followed.
Internal Combustion Engines

By 1890, courts of law in Europe had ruled that Nikolaus Otto’s patented four-
cycle gasoline engine was too valuable an improvement to keep restricted. Fol-
lowing the removal of that legal restraint, many companies began experiment-
ing with gasoline-engine–powered carriages. The Best Manufacturing Company
(the predecessor to Caterpillar, Inc.) demonstrated a gasoline tractor in 1893.
The first application of the internal combustion engine for excavating
equipment occurred in 1910 when the Monighan Machine Company of
1 “Steam Excavating Machine,” London Journal of Arts and Science, Vol. 22, 1843.
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FIGURE 1.3 Photograph with Eisenhower’s description of conditions

Courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
Chicago shipped a dragline powered by an Otto engine to the Mulgrew-Boyce

Company of Dubuque, Iowa. Henry Harnischfeger brought out a gasoline-
engine–powered shovel in 1914. Following World War I, the diesel engine
began to appear in excavators. A self-taught mechanic named C. L. “Clessie”
Cummins, working out of an old cereal mill in Columbus, Indiana, developed
the Cummins diesel engine in the early 1900s. The Cummins engine soon
replaced the steam boiler in shovels. Warren A. Bechtel, who in 1898 entered
the construction business in Oklahoma Territory and quickly built a reputation
for successful railroad grading, pioneered the use of motorized trucks, tractors,
and diesel-powered shovels in construction.
In the winter of 1922–1923, the first gas-powered shovel was brought into
the state of Connecticut, and in the spring of 1923, it was employed on a
federal-aid road project. The third phase of transportation construction had
begun. Contractors needed equipment for road building. In 1919, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, as a young army officer, took an Army convoy cross-country to
experience the condition of the nation’s roads (see Figure 1.3). But as the
country began to improve its road network, World War II intervened, and road
building came to a near halt as the war unfolded.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 7
Incubators for Machine Innovation

Los Angeles Aqueduct Large construction projects provide a fertile testing
ground for equipment innovation. William Mulholland, as Los Angeles city
engineer, directed an army of 5000 men for five years constructing the Los
Angeles Aqueduct, which stretches 238 miles from the Owens River to Los
Angeles. In 1908, the Holt Manufacturing Company (the other predecessor to
Caterpillar, Inc.) sold three gas-engine caterpillar tractors to the city of Los
Angeles for use in constructing the aqueduct. In addition to crossing several
mountain ranges, the aqueduct passed through the Mojave Desert, a severe test
site for any machine. The desert and mountains served as the testing ground
for the Holt machines, but Benjamin Holt viewed the entire project as an
experiment and development exercise.
Holt found that cast-iron gears wore out quickly from sand abrasion, so he
replaced them with gears made of steel. The brutal terrain broke suspension
springs and burned up the two-speed transmissions in his tractors. The low
gear was simply not low enough for climbing the mountains. Holt made modi-
fications to the tractors both at his factory and in the desert. His shop manager,
Russell Springer, set up repair facilities in the project work camps. After com-
pletion of the project, Mulholland in his final report labeled the Holt tractors as
the only unsatisfactory purchase that had been made. But Holt had developed a
much better machine because of the experience.
Boulder Dam In the years between the two world wars, one particular con-
struction project stands out because of the equipment contributions that
resulted from the undertaking. The Boulder Dam project (later named the
Hoover Dam) was an enormous proving ground for construction equipment
and techniques.
The use of bolted connections for joining machine pieces together came to
an end in the Nevada desert as the project provided the testing ground for
R. G. LeTourneau’s development of welded equipment and cable-operated
attachments. LeTourneau, through his numerous innovations in tractor/scraper
design, made possible the machines that later built airfields around the world
during World War II. Other developments that came from the Boulder Dam
project included sophisticated aggregate production plants, improvements in
concrete preparation and placement, and the use of long-flight conveyor sys-
tems for material delivery.
Three Significant Developments

After World War II, road building surged, and in 1956 Eisenhower, now presi- torque converter
dent, signed the legislation that established the Interstate Highway Program. A fluid-type coupling
To support the road-building effort, scrapers increased in capacity from 10 to that allows an engine
30 cubic yards (cy). With the development of the torque converter and the to be somewhat
power shift transmission, the front-end loader began to displace the old “dip- independent of the
per” stick shovels. Concrete batch and mixing plants changed from slow, transmission.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 8
manually controlled contraptions to hydraulically operated and electronically

controlled equipment. But the three most important developments were high-
strength steels, nylon cord tires, and high-output diesel engines.
1. High-strength steels. Up to and through World War II, machine frames had
been constructed with steels in the 30,000 to 35,000 psi yield range. After
the war, steels in the 40,000 to 45,000 psi range with proportionally better
fatigue properties were introduced. The new high-strength steel made
possible the production of machines having a greatly reduced overall
weight. The weight of a 40-ton off-highway truck body was reduced from
25,000 to 16,000 lbs, with no change in body reliability.
2. Nylon cord tires. The utilization of nylon cord material in tire structures
made larger tires with increased load capacity and heat resistance a
practical reality. Nylon permitted the actual number of plies to be reduced
as much as 30% with the same effective carcass strength but with far less
bulk or carcass thickness. This allowed tires to run cooler and achieve
better traction, and it improved machine productivity.
3. High-output diesel engines. Manufacturers developed new ways to coax
greater horsepower from a cubic inch of engine displacement. Compression
ratios and engine speeds were raised, and the art of turbocharging was
perfected, resulting in a 10 to 15% increase in flywheel horsepower.
Today, no radically new equipment appears on the horizon, but manufac-
turers are continually refining the inventions of the past, and the development
of new attachments will mean improved utility for the contractor’s fleet. The
future of equipment technology or innovation can be divided into three broad
categories:
■ Level of control: equipment advancements that transfer operational control
from the human to the machine.
■ Amplification of human energy: shift of energy requirements from the man
to the machine.
■ Information processing: gathering and processing of information by the
machine.
The Future
A time may come when the base machine is considered only a mobile counter-
weight with a hydraulic power plant. The base machine will perform a variety
of tasks through multiple attachments. This trend has started with hydraulic
excavators having many attachments, such as hammers, compactors, shears,
and material-handling equipment. Wheel loaders, no longer standard bucket
machines, have seen the introduction of the tool-carrier concept. Other attach-
ments such as brooms, forks, and stingers are available so that a loader can
perform a multitude of tasks. Other attachments will be developed, offering the
contractor more versatility from a base investment.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 9
FIGURE 1.4 Grader working with an automatic blade control
Safety features and operator station improvements are evolving to com-

pensate for today’s less experienced workforce. Related to workforce quality is
the proliferation of supporting machine control technologies. Navigation of
equipment is a broad topic, covering a large spectrum of different technologies
and applications. It draws on some very ancient techniques as well as some of
the most advanced in space science and engineering.
The new field of geospatial engineering is rapidly expanding, and a spec-
trum of technologies is being developed for the purposes of aeronautic naviga-
tion, mobile robot navigation, and geodesy. This technology is rapidly being
transferred to construction applications (Figure 1.4).
The laser and global positioning system (GPS) guidance are becoming GPS
more common and reduce the need for surveyors to stake the work in the field. A highly precise
All the grader or dozer operator will need to do is load the digital terrain satellite-based
model into the onboard computer and then guide the machine where the dis- navigation system.
play indicates. Machine position, along with cut or fill information, will appear
on a screen in front of the operator at all times. This may turn the operator’s
job into a video game of sorts.
Ultimately, operators sitting in a machine cab may be eliminated alto-
gether. Caterpillar is developing and testing automated rock-hauling units for
mining. These units are linked by radio to the office and tracked by GPS. The
superintendent need only use a laptop to send the start signal and the trucks do
the rest, leaving the lineup at set intervals and following the prescribed course.
The superintendent can track the progress of each machine on the computer. If
a truck develops a problem, the situation is signaled to the superintendent for
corrective action.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 10
Further in the future, machine designers are thinking of an operator work-

ing from home. The field operations would be projected by large-scale display
devices onto the walls of a room. The operator would operate the machine
from these images enhanced by glasses that provide a 3D effect. Machine per-
formance data would go directly to the machine maintenance contractor. His-
torical data and an electronic design file will guide the operator’s control activ-
ities. Machine work data will flow directly into the project schedule data file
as work is accomplished.
THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

By the nature of the product, the construction contractor works under a unique
set of production conditions that directly affect equipment management.
Whereas most manufacturing companies have a permanent factory where raw
materials flow in and finished products flow out in a repetitive, assembly-line
process, a construction company carries its factory with it from job to job. At
each new site, the company proceeds to set up and produce a one-of-a-kind
project. If the construction work goes as planned, the job will be completed on
time and with a profit.
Equipment-intensive projects present great financial risk. Many projects
involving earthwork are bid on a unit-price basis, and large variations can exist
between estimated and actual quantities. Some projects require an equipment
commitment that is greater than the amount that a contractor will be paid for
completing the work. Such a situation forces a contractor into a continuing
sequence of jobs to support the long-term equipment payments.
Additional risk factors facing contractors in equipment-intensive work
include financing structure, construction activity levels (the amount of work
being put out for bid), labor legislation and agreements, and safety regulations.
Project size and outdoor work that is weather-dependent contribute to long
project durations. Projects requiring two or more years to complete are not
uncommon in the industry.
Government-initiated actions that seriously affect the operating environ-
ment of the construction contractor are labor legislation and safety regulation.
In each of these areas, many regulations impact a contractor’s operations.
These actions can directly influence equipment decisions. Legislative acts that
exert direct pressure on equipment questions include the Davis-Bacon Act,
which is concerned with wage rates, and the Occupational Safety and Health
Act (OSHA), which specifies workplace safety requirements. More than half
of the dollar volume of work in the equipment-intensive fields of construction
is subject to wage determinations under the Davis-Bacon Act, and this strongly
influences the labor costs incurred by contractors. OSHA, by its rollover pro-
tective structures (ROPS) mandate, substantially increased the cost of those
pieces of construction equipment that required that these structures be included
as part of the basic machine. This particular regulation had a single-point-in-
time effect on equipment decisions, much like that resulting from the introduc-
tion of new equipment technology. Similarly, there remains the possibility of
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 11
additional safety requirements. Sound and emissions are issues that are receiv-
ing greater regulatory attention. Some owners, by clauses in the construction
contract, are limiting machine noise levels.
Construction equipment to be certified includes any equipment of

the types listed in Table XX brought on site.
This equipment must be retested every six months while in use on
site. Any equipment used during construction may be subject to con-
firmatory noise level testing by the contractor at the request of the
engineer.
SAFETY
The rate of personal injury and death resulting from construction work is too
high. Of all major industry classifications, construction has one of the poorest
safety records. The construction industry employs nearly 6.4 million people—
about 6% of the American workforce. However, according to the National
Safety Council, the industry has about 23% of the deaths and 10.3% of
the injury accidents every year. That translates into 1150 to 2000 deaths
and 400,000 disabling injuries annually. The Construction Industry Institute
estimates the direct and indirect costs of construction accidents may be as high
as $17 billion annually. The major causes of deaths and injuries are falls
from elevations, electrocution, being struck by equipment, being caught in
between equipment, and trench excavation cave-ins. As an industry, we are
responsible and accountable for those statistics. It is the responsibility of con-
struction managers to create the safety programs that will prevent accidents
(Figures 1.5 and 1.6). We have both a moral and a business interest in doing
so. The key is to provide the leadership, the programs, and the incentives to
create a safe industry.
In the late 1960s, Congress began an investigation of construction safety,
and in 1970, it enacted the Williams-Steiger Act, more commonly referred to
as the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The act provided a comprehensive
set of safety rules and regulations, inspection procedures, and safety record-
keeping requirements. It imposed nationwide safety standards on the construc-
tion industry. It also permitted the states to enact their own OSHA legislation
as long as the state legislation is at least as stringent as the federal legislation.
Employers are required to provide their employees a safe place to work and to
maintain extensive safety records.
The act also established the Occupational Safety and Health Administra-
tion (OSHA), with regional offices in cities throughout the country. OSHA is
responsible for the administration of the legislation and the development of
rules and regulations to implement the act. The OSHA rules and regulations
are published in the Federal Register. OSHA Safety and Health Standards,
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29, Part 1910, contains the safety features
that must be included in construction projects by the architect or engineer.
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FIGURE 1.5 Cranes will easily overturn when not operated properly.
FIGURE 1.6 Job site and shop area housecleaning and neatness is important for
safety reasons.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 13
Construction and Health Regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1926,

pertains specifically to construction contractors and construction work. The act
provides both civil and criminal penalties for violations of OSHA regulations.
The civil penalty for failure to correct a violation is $7000 per day with a max-
imum penalty of $70,000. Criminal penalties can include both fines and
imprisonment. It is OSHA’s intent to establish a uniform set of safety stan-
dards that apply to construction and to enforce those standards actively. Con-
tractors must maintain a current, up-to-date file of OSHA regulations and work
proactively to comply with OSHA requirements.
THE CONTRACTING ENVIRONMENT

Construction contractors work within a unique market situation. The job plans
and specifications that are supplied by the client dictate the sales conditions
and product, but not the price. Almost all work in the equipment-intensive
fields of construction is awarded on a bid basis, through either open or selec-
tive tender procedures. Under the design-bid-build method of contracting, the
contractor states a price after estimating the cost based on a completed design
supplied by the owner. The offered price includes overhead, project risk con-
tingency, and the desired profit.
There is movement toward more design-build contracts, where the con-
tractor also has control of the project design. With a design-build project, the
contractor must state a guaranteed price before the design is completed. This
adds an additional element of risk, because estimating the quantities of materi-
als required to complete the project becomes very subjective. But the advan-
tage to the contractor is that the design can be matched in the most advanta-
geous way to the contractor’s construction skills. In either case, it is tacitly
assumed that the winning contractor has been able to underbid the competition
because of a more efficient work plan, lower overhead costs, or a willingness
to accept a lower profit.
Not infrequently, however, the range between the high and low bids is
much greater than these factors would justify. A primary cause of variance in
bids is a contractor’s inability to estimate costs accurately. The largest portion
of estimating variance is probably not caused by the differences between past
and future projects but by a lack of accurate cost records. Most contractors
have cost-reporting systems, but in numerous cases the systems fail to allocate
expenses to the proper sources and therefore cause false conclusions when
used as the historical database for estimating future work.
A construction company owner will frequently use both contract volume
and contract turnover to measure the strength of the firm. Contract volume
refers to the total dollar value of awarded contracts that a firm has on its books
(under contract) at any given time. Contract turnover measures the dollar value
of work that a firm completes during a specific time interval. Contract volume
is a guide to the magnitude of resources a firm has committed at any one time
and to possible profit if the work is completed as estimated. But contract
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 14
volume fails to answer any timing questions. A contractor who, with the same
contract volume as the competition, is able to achieve a more rapid project
completion, and therefore a higher capital turnover rate while maintaining the
revenue-to-expense ratio, will be able to increase the firm’s profits. Contrac-
tors who finish work ahead of schedule usually make money.
PLANNING EQUIPMENT UTILIZATION

Each piece of construction equipment is specifically designed by the manufac-
turer to perform certain mechanical operations. The task of the project plan-
ner/estimator or the engineer on the job is to match the right machine or com-
bination of machines to the job at hand. Considering individual tasks, the
quality of performance is measured by matching the equipment spread’s pro-
duction against its cost. Production is work done; it can be the volume or
weight of material moved, the number of pieces of material cut, the distance
traveled, or any similar measurement of progress. To estimate the equipment
component of project cost, the planner/estimator must first determine machine
productivity, which is governed by engineering fundamentals and management
ability. Chapter 5 covers the principal engineering fundamentals that control
machine productivity. Each level of productivity has a corresponding cost
associated with the effort expended. The expenses that a firm experiences
through machine ownership and use and the method of analyzing such costs
are presented in Chapter 2.
Although each major type of equipment has different operational charac-
teristics, it is not always obvious which machine is best for a particular project
task. After studying the plans and specifications, visiting the project site, and
performing a quantity take-off, the planner must visualize how best to employ
specific pieces of equipment to accomplish the work. Is it less expensive to
make an excavation with scrapers or to top-load trucks with a dragline? Both
methods will yield the required end result, but which is the most economical
method of attack for the given project conditions?
To answer that question, the planner develops an initial plan for employ-
ment of the scrapers and then calculates their production rate and the subse-
quent cost. The same process is followed for the top-load operation. The type
of equipment that has the lowest estimated total cost, including mobilization of
the machines to the site, is selected for the job.
To perform these analyses, the planner must consider both machines’
capability and methods of employment. In developing suitable equipment
employment techniques, the planner must have knowledge of the material
quantities involved. This book does not cover quantity take-off per se, but that
process is strongly influenced by the equipment and methods under considera-
tion. If it is determined that different equipment and methods will be used as
an excavation progresses, then it is necessary to divide the quantity take-off in
a manner that is compatible with the proposed equipment utilization. The per-
son performing the quantity take-off must calculate the quantities so that
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 15
groups of similar materials (dry earth, wet earth, rock) are easily accessed. It is
not just a question of estimating the total quantity of rock or the total quantity
of material to be excavated. All factors that affect equipment performance and
choice of construction method must be considered in making the quantity take-
off, such as location of the water table, clay, or sand seams; site dimensions;
depth of excavations; and compaction requirements.
The normal operating modes of the particular equipment types are dis-
cussed in Chapters 5, 7 to 19, and 21. That presentation should not blind the
reader to other possible applications, however. The most successful construc-
tion companies are those that, for each individual project, carefully study all
possible approaches to the construction process. These companies use project
preplanning, risk identification, and risk quantification techniques in approach-
ing their work. No two projects are exactly alike; therefore, it is important that
the planner begins each new project with a completely open mind and reviews
all possible options. Additionally, machines are constantly being improved and
new equipment is being introduced.
Heavy equipment is usually classified or identified by one of two methods:
functional identification or operational identification. A bulldozer, used to push
a stockpile of material, could be identified as a support machine for an aggregate
production plant, a grouping that could also include front-end loaders. The bull-
dozer could, however, be functionally classified as an excavator. In this book,
combinations of functional and operational groupings are used. The basic pur-
pose is to explain the critical performance characteristics of a particular piece of
equipment and then to describe the most common applications for that machine.
The efforts of contractors and equipment manufacturers who dare to
develop new ideas constantly push machine capabilities forward. As the array
of useful equipment expands, the importance of careful planning and execution
of construction operations increases. New machines enable greater economies.
It is the job of the estimator and the field personnel to match equipment to
project situations, and that is the central focus of this book.
SUMMARY
Civilizations are built by construction efforts. Every civilization had a con-
struction industry that fostered its growth and quality of life. This chapter pre-
sented an abridged history of construction equipment, an overview of construc-
tion work, and the risks associated with bidding work. Machine production, the
amount of earth moved or concrete placed, is only one element of the machine
selection process. It is also necessary to know the cost associated with that
production. The critical learning objective is
■ An understanding of how construction equipment and machines have
been developed in response to the demands of the work to be
undertaken.
This objective is the basis for the problems that follow.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 16
PROBLEMS
1.1 Research these engineers on the Web and write a one-page paper about
their accomplishments:
William Mulholland
Stephen D. Bechtel Sr.
Benjamin Holt
R. G. LeTourneau
William S. Otis
1.2 Research these engineering accomplishments on the Web and write a one-
page paper about the equipment used to accomplish their construction:
Hoover Dam
Panama Canal
Interstate highway program
1.3 What is the function of the Occupational Health and Safety
Administration (http://www.osha.gov)?
1.4 Does your state operate an occupational safety and health program in
accordance with Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970?
1.5 Why do some construction workers resist the use of safety equipment
such as hard hats and fall protection harnesses? Why does the practice of
resisting the use of safety equipment persist? What should be done about
it?
1.6 Review several issues of Engineering News Record, or ENR
(http://enr.construction.com/), to find reports about construction
accidents. Be prepared to give your perspective in class about what
should be done about the types of accidents mentioned in the reports.
RESOURCES
1. Building for Tomorrow: Global Enterprise and the U.S. Construction Industry
(1988). National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
2. Davis-Bacon Manual on Labor Standards for Federal and Federally Assisted
Construction (1993). The Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America,
Alexandria, VA.
3. OSHA Safety & Health Standards for Construction (OSHA 29 CFR 1926
Construction Industry Standards) (2003). The Associated General Contractors
(AGC) of America, Alexandria, VA.
4. Schexnayder, Cliff J., and Scott A. David (2002). “Past and Future of Construction
Equipment,” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE,
128(4), pp. 279–286.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 17
WEBSITE RESOURCES
Significant additional information about the construction industry can be found posted
on the following websites.
Associations and Organizations

Following are sites about construction associations and organizations:
1. http://www.asce.org The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a
professional organization of individual members from all disciplines of civil
engineering dedicated to developing leadership, advancing technology, advocating
lifelong learning, and promoting the profession.
2. http://www.asme.org The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is a
nonprofit educational and technical organization that publishes many standards in
reference to construction equipment.
3. http://www.agc.org The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is an
organization of construction contractors and industry-related companies.
4. http://www.construction-institute.org The Construction Industry Institute (CII) is a
research organization with the mission of improving the competitiveness of the
construction industry. CII is a consortium of owners and contractors who have
joined together to find better ways of planning and executing capital construction
programs.
Codes and Regulations

Sites that provide information about codes or regulations that impact the construction
industry include the following:
1. http://www.osha.gov The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) establishes protective standards, enforces those
standards, and reaches out to employers and employees through technical
assistance and consultation programs. OSHA’s mission is to ensure safe and
healthful workplaces in America.
2. http://www.nist.gov/welcome.html The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce
Department’s Technology Administration. NIST develops and promotes
measurement, standards, and technology.
3. http://www.ansi.org The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a
private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary
standardization and conformity assessment system.
4. http://www.iso.ch The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a
non-governmental organization. It is a network of the national standards institutes
from 148 countries, with one member per country and a Central Secretariat in
Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
5. http://www.astm.org ASTM International, formerly known as the American
Society for Testing and Materials, is a not-for-profit organization that provides a
global forum for the development and publication of voluntary consensus standards
for materials, products, systems, and services.
peu01129_01_001_018.qxd 12/14/09 12:11 PM Page 18
Safety
1. http://www.nsc.org National Safety Council (NSC) has an excellent library for
workplace safety consultants and human resources managers offering resources,
member information, services, and publications.
2. http://www.osha.gov The Occupational Safety and Health Administration site
includes news, statistics, publications, regulations, standards, and reference
resources.
3. http://www.ntsb.gov National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an
independent federal agency that conducts investigations on significant
transportation accidents and offers synopses and public hearing overviews.
4. http://www.crmusa.com Contractors Risk Management (CRM), Inc., offers
manuals, customized plans, and training programs for construction industry safety
and health guidelines.
5. http://www.agc.org The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) deals
with contracting and safety issues and construction laws.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
“In that case,” he went on, “I think it but honest that you should give
back this pearl.” And he watched her keenly.
“The pearl!” she cried. She was walking to and fro, her head high
“The pearl will pay me for the loss of Miguel. Yesterday I said, ‘I shall
give Anastacio back the ring, for I hate the sight of it. And, besides,
the pearl is doubtless only glass, after all, and I can easily get a
better.’ But now—I shall keep it.” (This with an imperious glance of
her eyes.)
“Miguel was not worth so much,” argued Anastacio. “He was little
and thin. And the pearl——” His eyes rested upon it, where it flashed
on the hand at her side.
“You shall not have the pearl,” she declared, “not if you die asking for
it. You killed my pretty Miguel—and it was not even on a feast-day.
So now, this is how you pay.” As she crossed the floor with slow
grace, she smiled mockingly.
Again his look rested longingly on the round whiteness of his gift.
“Ah, Paloma,” he said tenderly, “you but increase my passion as you
storm. Little dove, your sweet mouth is the colour of pepper-tree
berries. Your eyes——”
“Have done with my mouth and my eyes!” ordered Paloma, pausing
against the window. But she spoke perhaps a shade less angrily
than before. “They are not for you. Go hunt among the Indian girls
for a wife. One of these you can lead about on a rope, as you do
your cows. But, ah, I pity the one you would choose! A squaw is too
good for you—much too good.”
“I must speak of your beauty,” insisted Anastacio. “It fills my eyes like
the light of the sun. When I shall see it no more the night will fall for
me. O my Paloma!” And he took one step toward her.
She waved him back with her two hands. “Keep your compliments!”
she said haughtily. “I do not want them. And take yourself off. I never
wish to see you again.”
But Anastacio, undaunted, approached another step or two. “Do not
be cruel, Paloma,” he begged. “Say farewell kindly to me, sweet
dove. And before I go let me—yes, be merciful—let me kiss your
little hand.”
“No! No! I say!” She leaned farther away, and struck at him as he
came—though not hard.
With a tender cry of “Ah! my beautiful one!” he caught her two flying
hands in his. Then, holding all her fingers firmly, he bent his dark
head down to her left hand swiftly. The next moment, he retreated,
almost with a leap, swung the door open, closed it behind him, ran
swiftly to where the sheriff was waiting for him on the path by the
chapel, threw himself on to a horse, and led the way at a gallop to
the river.
Paloma pursued him, and so fleetly that her hand all but touched the
tapadero of his stirrup as he rode into the river. Those who saw her
then, standing at the edge of the stream, splashed upon face and
dress with the yellow water sent into the air by his horse’s hoofs,
were appalled as they looked at her. She was livid with anger and
screamed wild things that no one understood—execrations and
threats. Then she fell down at the ford in a very spasm of wrath.
It was Señor John who lifted her up and gave her into the comforting
arms of her mother. “What did he do?” he questioned. “He’s a bad,
heartless wretch, that’s what he is.”
“Señor! My adored pearl!” wailed Paloma, finding her voice. “Oh, he
has taken my precious pearl!” She held out her left hand tremblingly.
“The pearl?” echoed Father José, joining the others.
“See what he did!” wept Paloma. “He made as if to kiss my fingers—
and bit the pearl from my ring!”
At sunset Anastacio was back at Los Morales again, where he bade

fair to become a hero before long, since the Indians could not but
honour a man who was able so promptly to throw off the clutches of
the jailer. Anastacio related his adventures to those Pueblos who
were lounging before the single store of the town, and who, as they
listened, surrounded him in an eager, many-hued circle. It was easy,
he explained, to guard against being kept in custody if one but used
a little forethought. As for his own case, it had presented no
difficulties. He had paid his fine with the pearl.
When the boast reached the ears of Paloma, what could have
maddened her more? At once she sat herself down to think.
Revenge was what she most desired. Revenge was what she must
have—but how? Not till she had paced the floor many times, and
torn all the fringe from the bottom of the scarlet shawl, did she think
out the best way.
The girl who rode the spotted mustang came past the chapel the
very next morning. Paloma ran to halt her, holding up a flower culled
from Father José’s garden by way of an inducement to stop. And
when Paloma had made sure that no one was watching them, or
listening, she divulged an earnest wish. It was that Señorita Roberta
would give her the loan of a ring.
A pair of blue eyes laughed down at her knowingly. “Punish him
well!” whispered Señorita Roberta, and slipped a band from a finger.
“Here—take this one with a green stone. It will make him terribly
jealous!” Then she rode to where Señor John was painting beneath
the empty belfry in the shadow of the chapel wall.
Putting on the borrowed ring Paloma hastened to dress herself with
great care. After which, strolling carelessly, she made through the
sunlight to the store.
The man who kept the store was young, but with the pallid skin and
sad, hollow eyes that denote a mortal illness. He could move about
but slowly in the little room, and take down and display and put away
only with much effort.
As he waited upon her, Paloma walked to and fro with a gay step, all
the while talking: “Show me the calico with the yellow flower, señor.
Yes—a yard, please. Did you hear that Señor Gordon is to paint me?
Well, he is—and with the padre’s peacock. I am to wear a certain
white dress that I shall not use for the purpose it was once intended.
No; I shall buy another white dress—very soon, I think—a much
richer dress. And, look, señor, is this ring not beautiful? The stone
came from beyond the Pacific Ocean.”
Behind the stove, as she sauntered about, boasting, sat a figure
wrapped to the ears in a torn serape. But the figure did not move, or
appear to see, or even so much as cough.
“Yes,” babbled Paloma, “first I’m to be put in a picture. Then—who
knows?—I may go on a long trip. Oh, farther than Albuquerque,
señor. Yes, one spool of white thread, very fine. I may even go as far
as Chicago.” She tossed her pretty head with meaning. “A girl cannot
always live in Los Morales,” she added. “It is but a poor place.”
Thereupon, she gathered up her packages, put down some coins
upon the counter, gave the sick young man a saucy smile, and went
out.
Perhaps it was ten—perhaps fifteen—minutes later when Anastacio
rose from his seat by the stove. A change had come over him—a
change that was not good to see. His thin face was as ghastly white
as the face of the man behind the counter. Out of it gleamed his
black eyes, which were so wide open that each was rimmed with
white. And his lips were purple under his long moustache and parted
to show the line of his set, white teeth. Now his hat was not hiding
his forehead, but back upon his shining hair; nor was the torn serape
about his shoulders—it was wound around his left arm. He went
down through the village, out upon the path which led to the chapel,
along this to where Señor John was still painting under the belfry,
and so on to the ford, where he disappeared from sight under the
high bank that stood a little way back from the river.
The day had begun warm and still, and the noon had been hot,
without a breath of air to stir the drooping flowers in Father José’s
garden or wave the bright fan of the strutting peacock. But at the
middle of the afternoon black clouds suddenly lowered upon river
and town, dropping from off the high dirt-cliffs to the west, and
bringing twilight with them. A gusty wind marshalled the clouds
along, bent the reeds in the marsh, drove through the winding streets
of the pueblo and caught at the blankets of the Indians who were
scurrying to cover, and brushed all the surface of the river into a
white lather. Then came great drops of rain.
Señor John fled into Father José’s kitchen. “Do you think I’d better
start home now?” he inquired, “or wait a while?”
“Wait,” advised the father. “There will be tamales for supper, and a
loaf of bread heated with butter. After a day like this one, señor, the
storm soon passes.”
But as night came on swiftly the wind grew to a gale and the rain
began to drive, beating upon the panes of the wide-ledged window
like whips of grass.
Señor John ate his supper in silence, getting up nervously every now
and then to open the front door a trifle in order to look out, or he
shaded his eyes from the lamplight as he peered through the
window. The father touched little food, and following supper took his
seat in the cane chair before the open grate of his stove—his head
lowered and his eyes closed.
Before long the young painter could not contain his impatience
further. “I think I’d better start,” he said. “It doesn’t act like quitting for
sometime.”
Father José rose. “Why go home to-night?” he asked. “You will not
be able to see the cross on the other side, señor. You are welcome
here.”
“Oh, I must get over somehow. They would worry about me.”
The father looked grave. “The storm still increases,” he said.
The rain was coming in sheets against the window now, but at short
intervals, so that it was as if a white wraith were returning noisily
again and again to peer through the blurred glass. The blue blinds
outside the father’s bedchamber were banging forward and back
with a rattle of loose laths. Upon the level roof overhead sounded the
unbroken roar of the tempest.
“A cloudburst and a hurricane,” went on the father. He also opened
the front door a little to look out. “I have never seen its like before,
señor. They will surely not expect you to brave this.”
The young painter’s face had grown suddenly anxious. “But she
might try to come—looking for me,” he said.
“Señorita Roberta? No. She knows how dangerously the river rises
in a storm and how the sands shift.”
Señor John was pulling his soft hat down to his ears. “You said
yourself, though, father, that she doesn’t know what it means to be
afraid of the Rio Grande. I must go. My horse is all right. He’ll take
me over.”
“Do not risk it,” advised Father José. “Listen!” And he held up a
finger.
There was now a deep voice in the tumult outside—a voice that
boomed in heavy undertones.
“It is the river, señor. Oh, I shall worry too.”
“I’ll yell when I get across.”
“I could not hear. But I have an old pistol which I took from a
quarrelsome Indian.” The father disappeared into his bedroom and
returned carrying a long-barrelled revolver of an old make. “Fire this
when you reach the other side.”
“Good-night, Father.”
“Good-night, my son.”
They shook hands and Señor John went out through the door
leading into the garden.
A little moon-faced clock on a shelf under the white-and-gold
porcelain marked the time as close upon eight. The father returned
to his armchair. But now he kept his eyes open and his lips pressed
tight, and his head a little to one side. Thus, he waited.
At half-past eight he got up and went to the front door. Rain was still
falling heavily, but the wind seemed to have abated a degree. He
listened. The river was speaking with a medley of curious voices:
There was the rise and fall of pleasant argumentation; wagon-wheels
ground over gravel; a child whimpered; oars pounded and squeaked
in their rowlocks; steam sang; a dog snarled. Presently he made out
the wide Rio Grande as pools of glistening black that moved upon a
dead blackness.
With the glimpse of that sweeping, inky flood, fear came over him.
He called: “Señor John! Come back! Señor! Señor!”
There was no answer. But as he watched—shivering a little—a tiny
speck of light suddenly showed in the distance, where stood the
Allen hacienda.
“Good!” he exclaimed. “He must be there.” And after watching and
listening for another while, he closed the door and went back to his
chair.
The wind was plainly lessening, so that now the bedroom blinds
banged only occasionally—and the rain was falling more gently. He
leaned back, propped his head on a hand, and dozed.
Suddenly, he found himself sitting bolt upright, clutching either arm of
the chair, holding his breath. What was that? What had awakened
him? He seemed to hear them yet—the dying tones of a bell!
His eyes sought the clock. Four! And the storm was over, for he
could hear the ticking. He rose. He lit the lantern. He tied the purple-
bordered square of silk over his white hair. Then he hastened down
the garden-walk, out of the gate, and toward the river, calling with all
his strength.
A voice answered him faintly, as if from the opposite shore. He
shouted again. It was a girl’s voice—the second answer made that
certain. Then he heard the snort of a horse, splashing, and a murmur
of encouraging words.
As he awaited her approach, he made circles with his lantern upon
the river, and whispered in an agony of self-reproach: “He is lost.
And I let him go! He is lost or she would not be seeking him!”
There were few clouds in the sky, and in the east was a pale
lightening, as if of the dawn. By holding the lantern behind him, he
made out horse and rider as they neared.
“Where is Señor John?” he called to the girl.
“Oh!”—it was a piercing cry. “Isn’t he with you?”
The spotted mustang was pushing through water that foamed about
his shoulders. Close to the bank, she reined him and bent over in her
saddle as if overcome.
“No! no!” Father José implored. She lifted her head then—he swung
his lantern forward—and saw the awful stiffness of her white face,
the wild terror of her eyes. All at once he understood what he had
not guessed before. “Oh, poor little woman!” he said
compassionately.
“When did he start home?”
“Eight.”
“Oh, he went down!” Now, she half-turned the mustang, and rode
against the current. All the while, she looked about her, first on one
hand then on the other, and uttered little, piteous, despairing calls.
“Be careful!” warned the father. “You are above the ford.”
She reined. “Where is the cross? He must have started in at the
cross. John! John!”
Father José hunted about. “I cannot find it,” he answered. “Perhaps it
has been swept away.” Then, hurrying forward, “No; here it is—but
how far up. This is not the ford!”
“Father! Someone has changed the cross!” Suddenly, the mustang
halted as if in fear. She strove to urge him on, striking at his flanks
with a quirt.
“Come a little farther,” called Father José.
“My horse is sinking!”
That moment, with a shudder, then a quick backward plunge that
struck up a shower of spray, the mustang threw himself toward the
bank and floundered out.
The girl was panting and crouching on her saddle again. “The
crossing’s bad!” she wept. “He rode right into it. Oh, Father José!”
The father did not answer. He had waded out a few steps. And now
as he stood in the water, the current was catching at the bottom of
his gown and whirling it. To and fro he swept the lantern.
All at once the girl sat up and faced riverward. “What’s that?” she
asked. “Didn’t you hear it? And, look! There—down there, away out!”
The light had grown. She pointed below them to the middle of the
flood. It had divided at one point and was running on either side of a
sand-bar which showed above the surface of the water. At the near
edge of the bar lay something black—something that moved a little.
Almost before the father knew where she pointed, the spotted
mustang was fighting the current once more, now making his way
through water that only washed above the stirrups, now falling
suddenly into deep channels that he swam. All the while she
encouraged him, or shouted ahead, or back to Father José.
The father had put down his lantern. Now he ran to the cross, pried it
out of the sand and started along the bank with it, stopped at a point
a little above where he judged she could come out, for the cross was
heavy and the current could help him to carry it.
Now, she had stopped in midstream and was heading the spotted
mustang about. Next, she had leaned down and reached a hand to
the exhausted man lying in water to his shoulders. Then, very slowly,
the spotted mustang, alternately swimming and walking as before,
she began the return.
She came on without a word, for all her breath and strength were
needed for her task. Her left arm was crooked around the horn of her
saddle, her right was outstretched, still holding its heavy weight.
When she had made half the distance Father José advanced into the
water to meet her, pulling the floating cross along at his side.
Together they brought Señor John to shore, he clinging to a stirrup at
the last, and she to his sleeve, for her hold had not borne the long
strain. He was clinging to the cross as well, Father José having
pressed the base of the upright under the water and under his arm.
As they laid him upon the ground, and the father wiped at his face,
he looked up at them with a wan smile.
“Roberta,” he whispered hoarsely, “I—was getting—tired.”
“I nearly died with fear,” she answered. “John, where’s your horse?”
“Went down.”
“Rest for a little,” bade the father.
They all rested, breathing hard—Señor John lying and they seated
beside him. But presently he struggled up to a sitting posture,
bracing himself on one dripping arm.
“Roberta,” he said, his voice firmer even with so short a respite, “I’m
cold.”
They helped him to stand, and half-carried him to the top of a low
ledge of sand near by. Then, while the father supported him for a
moment, she led the spotted mustang to the ground below the ledge,
and Señor John was enabled easily to mount.
“First, to the store,” said Father José, “for dry clothing. Then, hot
coffee.”
Señor John was too weak to sit up in the saddle, and leaned forward
—his back bowed, his chin on his breast, his hands clasped around
the saddle-horn. “You won’t have to hold me on,” he said, when they
reached up from either side. “No; I’m all right. Just worn out, that’s
all, keeping myself from being sucked under.” He turned a haggard
face to Father José. “Think!” he added, “—if it hadn’t been for that
rock!”
“A rock, señor?” demanded the father. “There are no rocks here in
the Rio Grande.”
Señor John lifted a feeble hand to point. “You can see it,” he
protested; “a big one, too, sticking out of the sand.”
Father José looked out to where the channel divided on either side
of the bar. There was a strange light in his eyes, and his cheeks
were pale as he faced the dawn. “Something is there,” he said,
speaking low, as if to himself.
The spotted mustang started now, slowly, with the girl walking
alongside to guide him. The father did not follow. He went down to
the water’s edge instead, and stood watching out toward the bar in
midstream. And so they left him.
As for Señor John, he was soon wearing a suit from off the shelves
at the store and was reviving after a smoking draught of the brew
which Paloma’s mother brought. Then a seat behind the stove was
fixed up for him and here he was showered with attention, no less by
the young storekeeper—haggard as himself—than by a cluster of
inquisitive, but kindly, Indians.
To one side loitered Paloma, quietly observant. But when Señor
John, despite his little audience, reached up to kiss the girl who had
braved the water and the sands to find him, Paloma approached the
two and drew from her finger the ring with the green stone.
“I return what I borrowed,” she said. Her face was a sullen black and
ivory, and when she walked away it was with an air somewhat forlorn
—like that of a girl who has neither ring nor lover. But when she
reached the door a tinge of colour rushed into cheek and lip.
Outside, two dark eyes were fixed upon her from under a wide hat,
for Anastacio was hovering near, wrapped in his serape—hovering
as if he wished to look on, yet was anxious to escape notice. All at
once, Paloma’s pretty head came high again and she tripped proudly
out.
It was at this juncture that shouting was heard from the direction of
the river. Instantly the crowd about Señor John dwindled and started
in loose order down the winding pueblo street. Paloma’s mother
went too, joining Paloma. And the storekeeper followed,
bareheaded. Then—the shouting had grown—Señor John got up
and trailed after the others, leaning on a willing shoulder.
The sun was up now and shining warmly. As they came out of the
village upon the path which led past the chapel, it glistened on the
wet grey roofs of the town and on the wide, yellow river.
All of Los Morales was in front of them, crying out excitedly, running,
cheering wildly. And now, as the noisy throng parted, here came a
procession, moving up the gentle slope that led from the Rio Grande
to the chapel of San Felipe. Father José led it, his thin face uplifted
and transformed, his dark eyes wide, serene and luminous, his
slender hands clasping the jet cross on his breast. Behind him
trooped the Pueblos, reaching out brown hands to touch something
that was in their midst. Their black eyes sparkled, their white teeth
showed with smiling. At the center of the throng walked six bright-
blanketed Indians abreast, a long, stout pole in their hands. And
swung on the pole through its iron loop, with its clapper wagging as
the six walked, and sounding a mellow, clear-throated, joyous
greeting to all the town, came the lost silver bell of Los Morales.
The very morning that the lilac bush in a corner of the father’s
garden showed a first cockade of purple bloom among its heart-
shaped leaves, the silver bell rang for a wedding—for Paloma
married Anastacio, and wore the white dress, and a ring with a pearl
to guard her new gold band. And the gift of the groom to his bride
was a fawn, which was to have a garden all its own. And the gift of
the bride’s mother was a freshly-built house of adobe, flat-roofed,
with doors that were bluer than any doors in the city of Albuquerque,
and with a trellis as blue as the doors. While, curiously enough, the
gift of the bride to the father was a yellow custard.
Señor John and the girl who rode the spotted mustang crossed the
river to attend the wedding. (Señor John came, because—in Los
Morales—it is well to let sleeping dogs lie.) And when the ceremony
was finished, the two visited a while with Father José.
“Well,” said the father to them cheerfully, “I have married the Spanish
peacock off. She will strut a little, no doubt, and delight in her own
beauty; perhaps accomplish nothing in her new life—after the
manner of peacocks. But when it comes to that, could not one say
almost as much against my roses? Yes.” As he talked he busied
himself with a salad. In the bottom of the white-and-gold dish he first
laid a slice of buttered bread; then, upon the bread, leaf against leaf,
so that the effect was that of a huge green rose, he placed the
lettuce, all glistening with its dressing of oil and vinegar; next, a-top
the lettuce——
But here Señor John left the wide-ledged window and came forward,
smiling, to whisper something slyly into his ear. At that the father left
his salad and seized a hand of each of them. “Señor and Señora
Gordon!” he cried. “Well, a double blessing! Ah!—how like ever
seeks out like!”
And so surprised was the good father at their news that for the first
time in all the years that he had possessed the white-and-gold
porcelain, he forgot to add—as a top to the big, green rose—the thin
circles of silvery onion.
THE REVENGE OF MANUELITA
MANUELITA shooed the chickens one way, pursing out lips as
scarlet as the ripe cacao; with a round, copper-tinted arm she
wielded a length of bamboo to prod the pigs the other. An exit made,
she pulled the door shut behind her to keep out the naked babies
cluttered before it among pigs and chickens, and took a proud,
leisurely look up and down the double row of paja-thatched huts.
It was Sunday afternoon, and fairly cool, for the almost vertical
Venezuelan sun was screened by the drab clouds of a gathering
storm. So the womankind of the San Jacinto hacienda were before
their low houses, some with men beside them, others alone but
gossiping volubly to whomever chanced near. Manuelita bent her
pretty head to survey the slipper-like alpargatas Ricardo had just
bought her, and the new skirt, bright-figured, and of a length that left
the leg bare from dimpled knee to foot. Then, smoothing her little
jacket, and putting her wide straw hat at its jauntiest angle, she set
off slowly down the narrow, dirty street.
At some distance from it was Antonia Toro, slouching, hands on hips,
in her own door. When she saw Manuelita advancing, she
straightened, and let her bony hands fall, clinched, against her
petticoat. Small eyes half closed in hate, frowzy head thrust forward,
she began to call out, addressing a neighbour, but aiming her words
at her successful rival.
“Bah!” she cried, with a laugh. “Look how our parrot’s new feathers
stick out!”
Manuelita heard, and walked more slowly. Her brown eyes sparkled
delightedly, her round chin went up, her red mouth parted in a smile
over even, white teeth.
“Bah!” snorted Antonia again, and put out her tongue. “Let her strut
now. But—ha! ha!—Ricardo is a man that likes change. Who
knows?”
There was a threat in the hoarse voice. It stung Manuelita. She
paused.
“When did a man choose a rotten instead of a ripe banana?” she
inquired sweetly, and raised her plump shoulders.
At that, a laugh ran from hut to hut. Antonia’s wrath grew.
“How long does the ripe stay ripe?” she cried. “Ricardo will go. Ha!
ha!”
Manuelita was proceeding gracefully. Now she stopped once more,
turning her full, girlish throat to look round.
“Yes,” she answered, “when Rio Tuy flows back to the mountains.”
Ricardo came by Antonia’s a little later, just as the last scattered
drops of a heavy downpour were falling. He was mud to the waist,
muddy of face, and dripping. One hand was busy with a cigarette;
from a finger of the other, by their heel straps, hung his alpargatas.
He had been out since noon, walking across the ditches of the
hacienda.
Again Antonia was slouching in her door.
“Loan me your fire, Ricardo?” she asked.
He glanced up the street uneasily, then halted and lit the long cigar
she was preparing.
“Ah, but you are tired,” she went on, with a great show of concern,
“and wet to the skin. Come, will you enter? Juan is gone, and for
good—á Dios gracias! I never liked him. He was stingy and ugly and
old. Come——”
“Where is he gone?” asked Ricardo, making no move toward
accepting her invitation.
“Where?” she repeated, between puffs. “To join the Revolutionists at
Rio Chico. He is anxious to fight, he said. He fight!”
Ricardo’s pale face widened in a grin.
“Maybe you taught him,” he suggested slyly. She understood. “Ah,
now, Ricardo, you are wrong. Yes, you are wrong. Once I was quick-
tempered, perhaps. But I am not brava now. No, no. I have learned
better. And Juan was happy with me.”
Ricardo was sober again. Suddenly, nostrils swelling, he threw up
his head.
“Sometimes I think of going to join La Gente, too,” he said.
“Do not be a fool,” Antonia returned. “Within the hour I start for
Carenero. But”—her voice was lowered engagingly—“I will stay here
if you wish it.”
But Ricardo, having tossed aside his cigarette, was pulling nervously
at a curly lock and edging away.
“Adiós,” he said, with more troubled glances toward home. “A
pleasant journey. Adiós.”
“Adiós,” echoed the other regretfully.
All this while, from her one window, Manuelita had been watching.
She had seen Ricardo stop before Antonia’s, seen him light her
tabaco, and their talking back and forth. And as he started for his hut
once more, she scolded to herself in a passionate undertone, she
stamped the floor with an angry foot. He had made of her an object
for further taunting. He had made her the laughingstock of the San
Jacinto.
“Madre de Dios!” she exclaimed over and over, her lips white with
rage and mortification. “But I shall punish him for this!”
Ricardo had scarce entered, her name on his tongue, when the full
volume of her ire burst upon him with tropical rigor and suddenness.
“So you have been to see that crooked face,” she cried furiously.
“You sneak, you! you that are full of lies!”
Not altogether surprised, he strove to meet her attack by replying, to
stem it through endearments. She would not hear. She would have
none of his caresses. And he could do nothing but seat himself on a
bull’s-hide chair, rest his chin somewhat sheepishly on his breast,
and listen.
“Oh, I will not stay with you another day,” she vowed, breath and wits
taxed at last for epithets. “I, a girl that all have desired, that could
have a better house, yes, one covered with pink stucco, and finer
clothes, and shoes, and even a ring or two, and no work, and all the
cigarettes I want—here I am with you, who are coiled like a culebra,
ready to sting, to kill. You coward!”
“I have always treated you well,” retorted Ricardo sulkily, “and I am
not a coward. I shall show you. I shall go to fight with the
Revolutionists.”
“Go, go, go,” she answered. “I shall not mourn. You cannot shame
me before them all. Go, and take her with you!”
She flung herself upon the bed, without a look at him, without a
thought for their supperless baby, curled up on a gunny sack by the
door. There, worn out with the violence of her quarrelling, she
sobbed herself to sleep.
Late in the night she awoke suddenly and sat up. She was cold; she
felt alone; she was startled, too, as if something direful had
happened. Forgetting her wrongs in her fear, she reached out her
arms and called softly. The cubierta was not spread over her. Only
the under blanket was left upon the rushes of the bed. And Ricardo
was not by her side! She sprang out upon the floor, feeling this way
and that.
“Ricardo! Where are you?” she demanded. “Answer. You will have
me wakening Niñito next.”
She touched the reed partition, the table, the chairs. Then she lit the
lámpara and held it above her, looking into every corner of the living
room and the kitchen. He was not in the hut!
On the instant she was like one gone mad.
“Madre de Dios!” she gasped. “They are together!”
She set the lamp on the table, snatched up a flat, spear-shaped
lanza, and raced off down the street. Arrived at Antonia’s, she
entered swiftly.
By the light of the single window, that, here, faced the moon, she
saw that the room was deserted.
In her own home, once more, she examined the mud walls closely.
Ah!—the new machete was gone from its nail! And, farther along, the
carved gourd flask that held aguardiente! They had left the hacienda!
She blew out the light and took her stand by the door. Her eyes
blazed with hatred and anger. She gave out little inarticulate cries.
She shook the keen-pointed lanza at the hut down the street.
For a long time, thus. Then she grew quieter, and leaned back
wearily against the wall. Then she slipped down to a sitting posture
on the ground, and her head drooped forward to her knees.
The day broke, the pigs came up, grunting and rooting. A chicken
flew to her shoulder and pecked at a bright flower in her waist. She
looked up, and the memory of her quarrel and her loss came back.
She groaned and covered her face.
From across the street her mother saw her and scented trouble. She
came waddling over, her shrivelled face all anxiety.
“What is it, Manuelita?” she asked. “Is the niño dead?” Then, spying
the baby, “Or, perhaps, a pig?”
Manuelita shook her head.
The old woman peered about her, searching for the cause of the
trouble.
“What, then, what?” she inquired.
“Ricardo is gone!”
The other stared.
“Gone!” she repeated in a tone of disgust; “gone! Do you say that
you are deserted? Nineteen, only, and deserted. Pst! You are a fool!
I kept your father beside me until I was more than twenty-five!”
“Oh, mamma!” It was a plaintive, heart-broken cry.
“But there is no use to snivel over it. What will you do? Do not make
a fuss outside here, for all the men to see. Be up, and act gay. Now,
there is Felipe, the younger one. He gets four reales a day in the
cacao court. He is worth something, I can tell you. And there is Juan.
As you know, Antonia Toro——”
Now, Manuelita looked up, and her whole body trembled with fury.
“Antonia!” she repeated hoarsely. “He has gone with her!”
“So?” The old woman looked incredulous. Then she hitched a
shoulder. “Ah, well, no matter. You have chickens and pigs, and you
are but nineteen. You have only one baby, too, and he is not much
trouble. Soon he will be old enough to look out for himself. Why”—in
a burst of generosity—“I will take him off your hands myself for a
while. Get up.”
In her eagerness, she put out a claw of a hand to pull at her
daughter’s sleeve.
“Ah! mamma! mamma!” Manuelita’s voice was deeper now, almost a
groan. “You forget, mamma,—Felipe is not Ricardo.”
“Bah! Ricardo! He is gone. Look you—look you, there is Felipe now!”
“No—no,” Manuelita protested, raising a tear-stained face.
Felipe was indeed coming up the street. He looked angry too, and
was rubbing his kinky hair at every step.
“Where is Ricardo?” he demanded as soon as he was within
hearing. “Where is he, I say? Why should I work if he does not?”
And now such a mingling of voices—Felipe repeating questions to
which he received no answer; the old woman boldly stating
Manuelita’s new domestic status; the girl crying out against her
mother’s hasty planning.
But after a time, when matters became clear to Felipe, he fell silent
to ponder, and the old woman quieted to await his reply. As for
Manuelita, she was sobbing a determination. “I shall follow, I shall
follow,” she declared. “And when I find them, I shall kill!”
“Felipe can go along,” suggested her mother, “and help you.”
Manuelita glanced at Felipe, and recoiled.
“Where have they gone?” he asked her. “Do you know?”
“He took our cubierta, the new machete, and a flask. Yesterday he
threatened to join the Revolutionists.”
“He will go either to Tacarigua or to Rio Chico, in that case,” Felipe
declared. He began to look dubious. Laying an index finger in the
palm of a hand, he did some calculating. It would take not less than
so many days, perhaps. At four reales each day—he counted on his
fingers. “Out so much for just a woman!” he concluded. “I will not do
it.”
But Manuelita did not hear. She was on her feet and getting ready to
leave. The baby, awake and hungry, seemed to know her purpose.
He began a lusty howling.
“Take, mamma.” She pushed him toward her mother.
The old woman caught the squalling child between her knees, hastily
lit a tabaco, put it between her toothless gums to make it burn, and
gave it to him. He grew still at once, seized the long cigar in both
little hands, and fell to smoking industriously.
“Foolish! foolish!” she scolded. “And you will have your trouble for
naught. Can you hold a man who does not want you? No woman
can do that. You had better stay.”
Manuelita ignored the advice. She was putting the last touches to
her preparations. In a bright cotton handkerchief she tied a comb,
several baked plantains, some round thick arepas made of mashed
corn, and her cigarettes; she swung her straw hat over one arm and
dropped the lanza into a sheath of inlaid leather at her belt. Then,
without a glance at mother, child, or neighbour, she went rapidly up
the street and entered the cacao under low-hanging branches.
But soon she paused to consider a moment. What if she were
travelling the wrong way! Suppose they had gone in an easterly
direction, toward Rio Chico. Yet, no, for Juan was there. Besides,
since the hacienda of San Jacinto, a portion of the northern half of
the plain of Barlovento, curves in to meet the Rio Tuy, the couple

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Construction Planning, Equipment, and

Methods – Ebook PDF Version

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Stabilizing Soils with Lime 133 CHAPTER 8

Articulated Rear-Dump Trucks 315 Drill Bits 363

Roll Crushers 442 Safety 508

CHAPTER 17 Concrete Piles 621

Summary 689 Combined Vertical and Horizontal Systems

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Chapter 1 Machines Make It Possible 3

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4 Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods

Steam Power Machines

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Internal Combustion Engines

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manually controlled contraptions to hydraulically operated and electronically

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