“You do! How far over can we extend the water?”
“The land doesn’t begin to rise again until you get close to the fringe of bushes, over there—this side Natalie’s fence.”
“Splendid! Just what I hoped for!” cried Mrs. James, clasping her hands eagerly.
“And how far down past the house can we run it, Mr. Ames?” added Norma.
“Well, up hereabouts, where the roadway drops down to this hollow, it will be wider than down by the house, you know. In plain words, the head of the lake would be about where the fence divides the land from the main road. It will sort of round itself off before it gets to the clump of pine trees, and on t’other side it will round quite sharp instead of having any corner where the side fence joins the front fence of the property lines.
“Right across from the lawn to that side will be the widest part of the pond, and from there down to the end of the briar patch it will gradually narrow in until it reaches the place where you intend having the dam set,” Mr. Ames explained.
“How much work will it be to cut down the jungle and dig up the roots?” asked Mrs. James anxiously.
“If you mean for me to do it, I could start in with your man Sam to help me and clean off the weeds and the roots in about two days’ time.”
Norma could hardly believe it, but she said nothing, for Mrs. James was speaking again. “And then how long do you suppose it will take to scrape off the bog and muck and reach hard pan?”
“Umph! That’s not easy to figger on, ’cause some of the bog might be made by deep roots that hold on for dear life to the soil underneath. But Sam and I ought to be able to clean out the stuff in another two to four days—all depends.”