ad out each side of it, sort of open armed, as it were,
welcoming people in."

"It couldn't be seen, though," objected Sam. "The dam down there would
necessarily be about thirty feet high at the center, and people driving
along the roadway would not be able to see the water at all. They
would only see the blank wall of the dam. Of course we could soften
that by building the dam back a few feet from the roadway, making an
embankment and covering that with turf, or possibly shrubbery or
flowers, but still the water would not be visible, nor the hotel!"

"I see," she said slowly.

They both studied that objection in silence for quite a little while.
Then she suddenly and excitedly ejaculated:

"_Sam_!"

He jumped, and he thrilled all through. She had called him Sam
entirely unconsciously, which showed that she had been thinking of him
by that familiar name. With the exclamation had come sparkling eyes
and heightened color, not due to having used the word, but due to a
bright thought, and he almost lost his sense of logic in considering
the delightful combination. It occurred to him, however, that it would
be very unwise for him to call attention to her slip of the tongue, or
even to give her time to think and recognize it herself.

"Another idea?" he asked.

"Indeed yes," she asserted, "and this time I know it's feasible. I
don't know much about measurements in feet and inches, but there are
three feet in a yard."

"Yes."

"Well, doesn't the road down there, from hill to hill, dip about ten
yards?"

"Yes."

"Well then, that's thirty feet, just as high as you say the dam will
have to be. Why not raise the road itself thirty feet, letting it be
level and just as high as your dam?"

Sam rose and solemnly shook hands with her.

"You must come into the firm," he declared. "That solves the entire
problem. We'll run a culvert underneath there to the fields. The road
will reinforce the dam and the edge of the dam will be entirely
concealed. It will be merely a retaining wall with a nice stone
coping, which will be repeated on the field side. There will be no
objection from the county commissioners, because we shall improve the
road by taking two steep hills out of it. Your plan is much better
than mine. I can see myself, for instance, driving along that road on
my way to Hollis Creek from Restview, looking over that beautiful
little lake to the hotel beyond, and saying to myself: 'Well, next
summe