n, I tentatively bespoke the services of his
wife and son. Mrs. Thompson was to come for $15 a month and a
half-dollar raise for each six months, the son on the same terms as the
father.

The other man whom I engaged that day was William Johnson, a tall, blond
Swede about twenty-six years old. Johnson had learned gardening in the
old country, and had followed it two years in the new. He was then
employed in a market gardener's greenhouse; but he wanted to change from
under glass to out of doors, and to have charge of a lawn, shrubs,
flowers, and a kitchen garden. He spoke brokenly, but intelligently, had
an honest eye, and looked to me like a real "find." Polly, who was to be
his immediate boss, was pleased with him, and we took him with the
understanding that he was to make himself generally useful until the
time came for his special line of work. We now had two men engaged (with
a possible third) and one woman, and my _venire_ was exhausted.

Two days later I again advertised, and out of a number of applicants
secured one man. Sam Jones was a sturdy-looking fellow of middle age,
with a suspiciously red nose. He had been bred on a farm, had learned
the carpenter's trade, and was especially good at taking care of
chickens. His ambition was to own and run a chicken plant. I hired him
on the same terms as the others, but with misgivings on account of the
florid nose. This was on the 19th or 20th of July, and there were still
ten days before I could enter into possession. The men were told to
report for duty the last day of the month.

CHAPTER V

BORING FOR WATER

The water supply was the next problem. I determined to have an abundant
and convenient supply of running water in the house, the barns, and the
feeding grounds, and also on the lawn and gardens. I would have no
carrying or hauling of water, and no lack of it. There were four wells
on the place, two of them near the houses and two stock wells in the
lower grounds. Near the well at the large house was a windmill that
pumped water into a small tank, from which it was piped to the barn-yard
and the lower story of the house. The supply was inadequate and not at
all to my liking.

My plan involved not only finding, raising, and distributing water, but
also the care of waste water and sewage. Inquiring among those who had
deep wells in the village, I found that good water was usually reached
at from 180 to 210 feet. As my well-site was high, I expected to