WATER WORRIES. 117 



they were compelled to use their own coke to heat 

 their own retorts as fast as they made it. The coal 

 dealers declared that they had only six or seven tons 

 of coal in hand, and that all except two tons was sold 

 already. 



" Can I have those two tons? " I asked. 



** Sure. But you had better get them away at 

 once. We may not be able to hold them for you." 



I got them away at once. Then I wanted more. 

 Fuel of some sort I must have. Fortunately, through 

 the kind instrumentality of a friend, I got hold of 

 a carload of coke, and, what is more, I got it brought 

 within a mile of the house, and we began to haul it 

 on the Saturday, the fifth day of the " blast." Mean- 

 while, Lawrie was knocked up with stoking. He had 

 been forced to sit up all night for three nights, and 

 stoke almost every hour. 



When Lawrie knocked up, Calaby went on to 

 night duty. But how were we to get our coke hauled ? 

 After forty-eight hours railway demurrage would 

 begin to count against us. Fortunately, a neighbour 

 came to our relief, and by working all day on Sunday 

 we kept our furnaces going and held winter at bay 

 outside of our greenhouses. But it was a desperate 

 struggle ! 



Meanwhile the pump froze, the tank froze, the 

 stream froze. We could get not one drop of water, 

 either in the house or in the greenhouses. There 

 was only one resource to fall back upon — the lake. 

 On the Wednesday afternoon Mr. Braine and I, 

 taking an axe and a couple of buckets each, went 

 down to the water's edge, hoping to get water with 

 which to fill up the barrels and reservoirs inside the 



