After dinner, Zeb invited the whole family out to see his new water-works. They all looked on with interest and pleasure. Mr. March had often looked at the old mill and wished he had money enough to put it in order. "Well done, Zeb!" he said. "You've turned the old thing to some account, haven't you? That's a capital idea; we'll grind knives and axes now for anybody who comes along." "Zeb," said Mrs. March, "can't you make it churn the butter for you?" Zeb was struck by the idea. "Lor, ma'am," he said; "I never heard o' such a thing! but I don't know why not. I'll try it, sure's my name's--" he stopped short, and gasped out "Zebulon Craig." No one observed his agitation. They were all too busy watching the grindstone and water-wheel. The next day and the next, Zeb was seen steadily at work in the saw-mill. He would not let the children stay with him. "Run away! run away!" he said. "I've got a job o' thinkin' to do: can't think with you youngsters a lookin' on." Rob and Nelly were almost beside themselves with curiosity. "Zeb's making a churn to go by water like the grindstone: I know he is," said Rob. "It's real mean for him not to let us see." "But, Rob," said the wise Nelly, "he says he can't think if we're round. He'll show it to us's soon's it's done." "I don't care," said Rob; "I want to see how he does it;" and Rob hovered round the mill perpetually, much to Zeb's vexation. Late in the second afternoon, Zeb called out:-- "Rob, go fetch me the churn, will you?" Rob was only too happy to be admitted into the partnership on any terms. The churn was quite heavy, but he rolled it and tugged it to the shed-door. Zeb lifted it over the threshold: and then Rob saw that there was a long slender beam fastened to the water-wheel, and reaching half way across the wall of the shed; an upright beam was fastened to this, a hole was cut in the shed wall, and another beam run through this hole, and fastened to the upright beam on the other side. When the water-wheel turned round and round, it made this upright beam go up and down. Zeb took the dasher of the churn and fastened it to this beam: up and down, up and down it went, faster than anybody could churn. "Tain't quite long enough," said Zeb. "We'll have to stand the churn on something." Then he ran back to the house and asked Mrs. Plummer for some cream. She gave him about three gallons; he put it into the churn, raised the churn a little higher, and set the machinery in motion. In about ten minutes he looked in. "It's comin'! it's comin'!" he cried. "Run, call all the folks, Rob." Rob ran, and in a few minutes the whole family were looking on at this new mode of churning. It worked beautifully; in fifteen minutes more the butter was made. "There!" said Zeb, as he drew up the dasher with great solid lumps of butter sticking to it. "If that ain't the easiest churned three gallons o' cream ever I see!"