The Weber Literary Journal time until they rode into the corrals at the Dale ranch. Such a beautiful place! The long valley nestling below the mesa was a picture worth remembering the orderly buildings and corrals, some of which were half filled with cattle, and then the house half hidden by a great grove of pines and balsams, and surrounded by the greenest of lawns. The remainder of the ranch was laden with great fields of hay and grain, and cattle roamed at will on the foothills. Mr. Dale met them, and a most delicious dinner was served to the hungry but interested engineer. That afternoon the new site was inspected and the following morning Steele was far into the sage when the sun topped the mountains. The site proved to be a good one and Steele was eager to get to work immediately. It was only a matter of a day or so before long wagon trains could be seen winding across the mesa towards Dell canyon, where the new dam that was to reclaim the desert, was to be built. The camp soon took the shape of a small town, and the work commenced. Steele took charge of the reservoir, while "Swear-in Pat," took charge of the canal and the big race was on. Only two years had been allotted in which to complete the work. The big cement machine that had been laboriously pulled across the sage was in readiness to pour forth the concrete as soon as the excavating work was completed. When this was done, the foundations for the great walls were laid. And now the job of placing in the steel skeleton was begun. Pat was slowly digging his way along and everything was running nicely. Steele found time to make a call now and then at the Dale ranch and many evenings found him "sprucing up" for the visit. Since he had come West he had become very interested, not in his work alone, for the Dale ranch held an attraction for him. With him it had been a case of love at first sight and cupid had treated her with nearly the same acid. But her love for him was too great to permit her to monopolize his time. She was the daughter of a man who did one thing before he started an other and though Steele was discouraged many times, she urged him on to success in his work. One evening he arrived at the ranch in a very thoughtful mood and a ride was proposed across the mesa. 16 The Weber Literary Journal They left the ranch in high spirits and a race immediately ensued. Steele was left somewhat to the rear by Miss Dale and her lean black saddler; but he came loping up radiant with smiles, for defeat is nothing when one is defeated by the fair sex. The two rode along for a time and turned off towards Twin Buttes to enjoy the scenery. They left their horses and ran to the saddle of the Buttes. As they approached, Aavis tripped and would have fallen had not Steele sprung forward and caught her. He raised her to her feet and kissed her before she could get her breath. She did not draw away from him, but yielded to his embrace. The black saddler winked at the bay and both fell asleep, for they seemed to sense that it was going to be a long evening. Nothing was said as they walked on to the saddle of the Buttes and for a long time, until Steele broke the silence. "Aavis", silence and from a close distance came the faint whine of a coyote. "Will you" silence, again the whine, "be my wife," he cried, and all the desert was silent. It was broken this time by Aavis. "Yes," she replied, "but not until you have proved yourself the success my father thinks you will be." He kissed her tenderly and they slowly walked to their horses and rode quietly home. The supplies still rolled into camp across the mesa and the work progressed slowly, but surely. The summer crept on and September came. Work must be pushed rapidly because the snow would soon come, and then little work could be done. The men pushed their teams as much as possible, and Pat rode and re-rode, urging everyone to a greater effort. But they could not work long, for the snow drove them from the dam and it was only a short time until work was suspended on the canal. Repair work was all that could be done that winter and March found the members of the camp eager for work. The dam took shape slowly, as did the big ditch, and work ran smoothly until June, when a telegram came stating that no more supplies would be sent until $10,000.00 was paid for past supplies. Telegrams to the company failed to settle matters, and since the need was urgent, Pat was left in charge 17