Together, the damage covered approximately thirty feet of the conduit.
Glenn and Keith lifted the broken timber from the trench.
The chestnut was dark and heavy.
Despite its age, much of the wood remained sound.
But the cracks and damaged fittings made replacement necessary.
Glenn purchased forty feet of one-and-a-half-inch polyethylene pipe from a supply house in Boone.
The modern material would bridge the damaged section while allowing the remainder of the original conduit to stay in service.
They laid the new pipe in the cleared trench and connected it to the nearest intact sleeve joints on either side.
The repair combined modern material with nineteenth-century engineering.
Most of the original system remained buried where Ezra Trivet had placed it.
The damaged portion was replaced.
And the essential principle remained unchanged.
Water would flow downhill from the spring.
Gravity would provide the pressure.
No electric motor would be required.
The work continued through the fourth day.
Glenn and Keith checked the connections, inspected the cleared sections, and prepared the line for another test.
By evening, they were exhausted.
Their hands were sore.
Their backs ached.
The trench had been refilled.
The access caps were in place.
And the system was ready.
But neither man knew whether it would work.
The first test had produced only four pounds of pressure.
The automatic waterers needed fifteen.
They had cleaned the conduit and replaced the damaged sections, but there could still be hidden restrictions, leaks, or weaknesses in the old fittings.
Glenn tried not to think about the possibility of failure.
He had already invested days of labor.
He had uncovered an important part of the farm's history.
And he had become determined to see whether the old system could serve its original purpose again.
On the morning of the fifth day, Glenn woke before Keith.
The air was cold.
Mist lingered near the upper pasture.
He dressed quietly and walked toward the springhouse.
The stone enclosure stood against the hillside, just as it had for generations.
Water continued emerging from the mountain.
Glenn checked the inlet connection.
Then he opened the valve.
Cold water entered the restored wooden conduit.
He waited briefly.
There was no engine sound.
No mechanical vibration.
No pump starting.
Only the quiet movement of water through the connection.