Dry Bench farm had undergone a change. A neat frame house stood in front
of the log hut, which had been boarded and painted to match the newer
part. A barn filled with hay and containing horses and cows stood at a
proper distance back. A granary and a corn-crib were near. The new
county road now extended along the fronting of the Ames place, and a
neat fence separated the garden from the public highway. On the left was
the orchard, a beautiful sight. Standing in long, symmetrical rows were
peaches, apples, pears, and a dozen other varieties of fruit, now just
beginning to bear. At the rear, stretching nearly to the mountains, were
the grain and alfalfa fields. Neighboring farms also were greatly
improved by the advent of water, but none showed such labor and care as
the Ames farm. Rupert grew with the growth of his labors, until he was
now a tall, muscular fellow, browned and calloused. Nina was fast
outgrowing childish things and entering the young-lady period. A
beautiful girl she was, and a favorite among her schoolmates. She had
attended school in town for the past three winters, and her brother was
talking of sending her to the high school.

Practically, Rupert was the head of the family. Always respectful to his
mother, and generally consulting with her on any important matter, he
nevertheless could not help seeing that everything depended on him, and
that he was the master mind of Ames farm. And then the neighbors came to
him for advice, and older and presumably wiser men counseled with him,
and so it suggested itself to Rupert that he was the master mind of all
Dry Bench besides. Everybody called him a "rustler." When he had leisure
for school, he was beyond school age; so, nothing daunted, he set out to
study by himself. He procured the necessary books, and went to them with
an energy that made up for the lack of a teacher. Nina kept pace with
him for a time, but the ungraded village school curriculum was too slow
for Rupert; and when one spring the young reservoir projector appeared