It emerged slowly from beneath a band of gravelly soil, collecting in a narrow layer above firmer clay before moving downhill.
Daniel suspected a small natural seep.
Hank wasn't particularly interested.
He wanted the field dry enough to use.
But Daniel kept measuring it.
Through spring.
Then summer.
And into a dry autumn.
The flow weakened with the seasons but didn't disappear entirely.
Daniel began experimenting with a carefully arranged collection channel and a small covered storage chamber that predated some of the later work on the property. He wanted to understand whether the seep could support a limited garden during dry weather without exhausting the source.
Hank helped move stones and repair part of the old channel.
For a while, the project became something the two men discussed over coffee.
Then they argued.
Daniel wanted to preserve the seep and study its sustainable yield.
Hank believed the water would be more valuable if captured for commercial use.
He suggested expanding the collection system and selling water to nearby operations.
Daniel refused.
The source was too small.
Its seasonal recharge was uncertain.
And he worried that aggressive extraction could dry out the wetland patch farther downhill.
Hank accused him of wasting an opportunity.
Daniel told him that water wasn't the same thing as money in a bank account.
You couldn't withdraw it indefinitely and assume more would appear.
The disagreement lasted years.
As Hank's farm grew and Daniel's finances remained modest, Hank became increasingly convinced that his old friend had wasted an asset.
Then a regional land-development company approached him.
Its name was Prairie Gate Resources.
The company was interested in acquiring parcels along a proposed utility and infrastructure corridor. Some land would be useful for storage facilities, some for access roads, and some for possible water-related development subject to permits and feasibility studies.
The representative who contacted Hank was Victor Dane.
Victor was forty-seven, with a carefully trimmed beard, expensive boots, and a talent for making uncertain opportunities sound almost guaranteed.
He explained that Prairie Gate hoped to assemble several adjacent parcels before announcing its full development plan.