f. Blake chose a route that brought them down into the valley above
the waterhole shortly before five o'clock. They cantered the remaining
distance along the wide, gravelly wash of the creek bed to the dike.

Looking down from the dike, they saw that Knowles and Gowan had come
up the creek and were waiting for them in company with the ladies.
Ashton set spurs to his horse and dashed across above the pool, to
descend the slope to the party. Blake descended on the other side, to
water his horse and slake his own thirst.

To Ashton's chagrin, Isobel joined Genevieve in hastening to meet the
engineer. He rode down beside the two men and jumped off to follow the
ladies. But Gowan sprang before him.

"Hold on," he said. "Mr. Knowles wants your report."

"If you'll oblige us, Lafe," added the cowman. "I'm pretty much worked
up."

"You have cause to be!" replied Ashton. "He says the only question
left is whether the water in the canyon is not at too low a level. We
measured across from the creek gulch to the canyon. A tunnel is
practicable, he says."

"Through all that mountain?" scoffed Gowan. "It's solid rock, clean
through. It would take him a hundred years to burrow a hole like
that."

"You know nothing of engineering and its tools. We now have electric
drills that will eat into granite like cheese," condescendingly
explained Ashton.

"Think I don't know that? But just you try to figure out how he's
going to get his electricity for his drills," retorted Gowan.

Without stopping for his disconcerted rival to reply, he turned his
back on him and started towards Isobel. The girl was running up from
the pool, her face almost pitiful with disappointment.

"Oh, Daddy!" she called, "Mr. Blake says that if the water in the
canyon--"

"Needn't tell me, honey. I know already," broke in her father,
hastening to meet her.

She flung her arms about his neck, and sobbed brokenly: "I'm--I'm so
sorry for you, D-Daddy!"

"There, there now!" he soothed, awkwardly patting her back. "'Tisn't
like you to cry before you're hurt."

"No, no--you! not me. It doesn't matter about me!"

"Doesn't it, though! But I'm not hurt either, as yet. It's a long ways
from being a sure thing."

"All the way down to the bottom of Deep Canyon!" put in Ashton.

"And then some!" added Gowan. "I've hit on another 'if,' Miss
Chuckie."

"You have? Oh, Kid, tell us!"

"It's this: How's he going to get electricity to dig his tunnel?"

Blake wa