Roger chuckled. "Her whole insides have been made over really, by just a few changes. When Dean Erskine gets the new parts made and down here, I'll be O. K. I sent the design up to him when Ernest went in and some new parts ought to be here in a couple of weeks, now. I told Ern to have Hackett deliver them on arrival. It's too complicated to explain to you but I had another corking good idea the day that Dick went. I'm glad Arlington won't get here for six months." Charley's eyes filled with sudden tears. "You're a lamb, Roger," she murmured. "Where's Gustav?" asked Roger, quickly. "He's puttering with the Lemon. If you need him, I'll go up for him." "No, you won't. It seems to me that you need water on the alfalfa badly. The second field is getting pretty yellow." Charley sighed. "I know it! Roger, that well just isn't adequate. I've told Dick so fifty times. He should have begun work on a driven well, long ago, but he's simply hipped on the powers of this present well. I think that the old thing is going dry." "You do?" Roger's tone was startled. "Here, there's no hurry on this job. I'm just waiting really for the new parts. Let's go up and have a look at your whole water outfit." They set off forthwith, the Lemon starting on its uneasy way, just as they reached the pumping shed. "Something's wrong, certainly," exclaimed Roger, watching the stream of water that came from the pump. "There isn't half the usual stream there. Do you think the pump is all right, Gustav?" "The pump is new and goot. The vater is low. Sometime, no vater it come at all. Then I vait for it to fill again." "I don't understand it at all," said Charley. "There is plenty of water in this range. You see that old silver mine, up there?" pointing to an ancient dump on the mountainside back of the house. "Well, the lower level of that has a foot of water in it." "How does it seem, stagnant?" asked Roger. "I've never seen it," replied Charley. "Dick told me." Roger lighted his pipe and took a few meditative puffs. "Charley, are you and Dick entirely broke?" he asked. "We've got enough left of the turquoise money to grub stake us to the end of the year. Why, Roger?" "Well, I think you've got to have a decent gasoline engine here, at once, if you're going to save that first crop." "But I thought your plant--" Charley spoke carefully as if fearful of hurting Roger. "So did I," he returned, a little bitterly. "But I've thought a good many things in my life that haven't come true." "I'm very certain that this new engine of yours will do everything you expect of it." She smiled a little. "You remember poor old Mrs. von Minden said you were to found an empire." Roger grinned. "She didn't know engineers!" Charley's smile faded as she stood staring at the Lemon. "No, a new engine is out of the question. We--we have some bad debts that keep Hackett from giving us credit. We're counting on this first crop to clear part of that up."