100 History of Gutta-Percha Willie,

 

could, when he pleased, turn a part of the water
into it, and let it again join the principal channel a
little lower down. This was, in fact, his mill-race.
Just before it joined the older part again, right
opposite his window, he made it run for a little way
in a direct line towards the house, and in this part
of the new channel he made preparations for his
water-wheel. Into the channel he laid a piece of
iron pipe, which had been lying about useless for
years ; and just where the water would issue ina
concentrated rush from the lower end of it, he con-
structed a foundation for his wheel, similar to that
Sandy and he had built for it before. The water,
as it issued from the pipe, should strike straight
upon its floats, and send it whirling round. It took
him some time to build it, for he wanted this to -be
a good and permanent job. He had stones at
command: he had a well, he said, that yielded both
stones and water, which was more than everybody
could say; and in order to make it a sound bit of
work, he fetched a lump of quick-lime from the
kiln, where they burned quantities of it to scatter
over the clay-soil, and first wetting it with water
till it fell into powder, and then mixing it with
sand which he riddled from the gravel he dug from
the garden, he made it into good strong mortar,
When its bed was at length made for it, he took
the wheel and put in a longer axis, to project on
one side beyond the gudgeon-block, or hollow in