"What can we do? The roses poison cattle and dogs run away from the smell. And we're humans. We're stronger, we're supposed to take it."
"I've been thinking," said Henry quietly. "I could take a long pipe and run it at an angle to the roots. I could force concrete through the pipe and seal it off below ground. When it collapsed, the rose wouldn't grow back."
The woman asked doubtfully, "Could you?"
"I think so. Of course I'd have to experiment to get the right kind of concrete."
"But what would we do with the hole it left?" There was a faint tremor of hope.
"We could haul away the slime," he said. "It would stop smelling after a while. We might even be able to use it for fertilizer."
"But there's still the hole."
"It would fill with water after the next rain. We could raise ducks in it."
"White ducks?"
"If you like."