Martin advised her not to excavate or manipulate the buried equipment without a proper assessment.
A pressurized line or unstable structure could create serious hazards.
Then he recommended an agricultural water engineer who had worked with historic irrigation systems.
Her name was Dr. Lena Price.
Lena was thirty-nine, practical, and known for being willing to investigate problems other consultants considered too small to bother with.
Professor Hale gave Eliza her office number.
Then added something that made the young farmer smile.
"Your father was a stubborn man."
Eliza laughed.
"Everybody says that."
Martin chuckled.
"I remember him bringing me drawings of that ditch years ago."
Her smile disappeared.
"You remember?"
"Of course."
Eliza sat straighter.
"What did he show you?"
Martin paused.
"An old map with two different routes drawn for the same supply line."
Eliza felt her pulse quicken.
"Two routes?"
"One appeared on the original cooperative plan. The other was shown in a later revision."
She stared toward the fields.
"Did you keep a copy?"
The professor hesitated.
"I might have. I'll check my files."
Eliza took a slow breath.
"Thank you."
He answered gently.
"Your father never thought the water disappeared naturally, Eliza."
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then Martin added.
"He just never found the records he needed to establish what changed."
Lena Price arrived three days later.
She drove a white utility vehicle and carried a compact field kit, several maps, and a notebook already full of questions.
Eliza met her beside the farmhouse.
Lena looked toward the cotton.
Then toward the old ditch.
"Professor Hale tells me you found moving water in an abandoned lateral."
Eliza smiled.
"Possibly."
The engineer nodded approvingly.
"Good answer."
They walked toward the field.
Eliza explained the measurements she'd made.
The recent storm runoff.
The fish movement.
And the rusted object beneath the surface.
Lena listened carefully.
Then established a safe location from which to inspect the area.
She didn't assume the fish had found a spring.
She examined the water movement, temperature differences, terrain, and historic drawings.
The first observations confirmed that water was entering the ditch from below or through a concealed lateral opening.
Its flow was small.
But measurable.
The source remained uncertain.
Lena took samples and compared temperatures at several points.
Then she studied the rusted metal edge.
For a moment, she looked thoughtful.
"That isn't a natural rock."
Eliza felt her stomach tighten.
"What is it?"
"Part of a manufactured fitting, from what I can see."
She paused.
"It may be connected to the old distribution network."
Eliza looked toward Calvin, who had come to watch.
The older farmer stood with his cap in both hands.
Lena asked whether they possessed the original construction drawings.
Eliza nodded.
"Some."
"Then I'd like to compare those with the recorded easement information before we draw conclusions."
She looked toward the ditch again.
"And I recommend keeping equipment away from this section until we know what lies beneath it."
Eliza agreed.