“Why?”
“Collapsed.”
“Only partially.”
He walked toward the table.
“How do you know?”
“The contour lines.”
He stared at her.
“You read maps?”
“Yes.”
“Topographic maps?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My father taught me.”
Elias sat.
Miriam pointed.
“If we clear the old quarry, build a retaining wall, and divert part of the spring runoff into it, we can store enough water for the cattle.”
He looked at the map.
“And the ranch.”
“And the ranch.”
“What about the cost?”
“Timber from your north property.”
“Labor?”
“We have men.”
“Time?”
“Twenty days.”
He laughed.
“Twenty days?”
“Before the first snow.”
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
“That's impossible.”
Miriam folded the map.
“Then your land will be buried under snow before you know whether it was.”
She walked away.
Elias remained at the table.
For the first time in years, he felt something he had forgotten.
Hope.
They began work the next morning.
Elias told the ranch hands about Miriam's plan.
The reaction was mixed.
Amos, the oldest worker, listened carefully.
“You think it will work?”
Miriam nodded.
“If the quarry wall holds.”
Caleb grinned.
“And if it doesn't?”
“Then we all get wet.”
Caleb laughed.
Amos looked at Elias.
“You sure about this?”
Elias looked toward Miriam.
“Yes.”
The men began clearing the quarry.
Trees were cut.
Rocks moved.
Old equipment was dragged away.
The work was difficult.
Miriam worked alongside them.
At first the men treated her as a guest.
By the third day, they stopped.
She carried timber.
Measured slopes.
Recorded quantities.
Inspected tools.
She even discovered that one of the workers had been stealing supplies.
Elias confronted the man.
Miriam stopped him.
“Don't fire him.”
“Why?”
“He isn't stealing for himself.”
“What?”
“He's selling to Rourke.”
The man went pale.
Elias grabbed his collar.
“Is that true?”
The worker nodded.
“I'm sorry.”
“Why?”
“They threatened my family.”
Elias released him.
Miriam asked:
“What did Rourke want?”
The man looked terrified.
“The quarry.”
Everyone went silent.
Elias stared at Miriam.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why?”
“Because no one pays this much for worthless land.”
The worker continued.
“Rourke wants the water.”
Miriam nodded.
“Of course he does.”
Elias looked toward the western hills.
Now he understood.
Rourke was not simply trying to buy the ranch.
He was trying to control the valley.
The ranch sat above the water system.
Whoever controlled the ranch controlled the reservoir.
And whoever controlled the reservoir controlled everyone downstream.
That evening, Elias confronted Rourke.
They met outside the general store.
“You've been stealing from me.”
Rourke smiled.
“Careful.”
“You threatened my workers.”
“I offered them money.”
“You're diverting my water.”
“Prove it.”
Elias stepped closer.
“I will.”
Rourke's smile faded.
“You have until spring to pay the bank.”
“How do you know that?”
“Everybody knows.”
“You've been talking to the bank.”
“I talk to many people.”
Elias's fists tightened.
Rourke looked toward the ranch.
“You should sell.”
“No.”
“Winter is coming.”
“I know.”
“You could lose everything.”
Elias looked at him.
“Not everything.”
Rourke followed his gaze.
Miriam stood on the hill.
She was holding a clipboard.
Rourke laughed.
“That woman?”
Elias's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
“You brought a wife to save your ranch?”
“No.”
He looked at Miriam.
“She reminded me I could.”
Rourke's face darkened.
“You'll regret that.”
Then he rode away.