
\[Transcriber's Note: The author is not named and has not been located elsewhere. Dialect spelling is copied faithfully.\]
Willowton, a bustling village of seventeen thousand, has always relied on the gentle stream that winds beneath its central bridge. As May stretches on without rain, the water level drops to an alarming low, and the townspeople begin to feel the strain of a drying countryside. In the shade of the Wild Swan hotel, a young, strong‑legged man and his two companions linger, watching a lone trout while the community worries about the looming shortage.
When the desperation grows, the Chapman family and a local dowser step forward, promising a bold search for a new source of water. Their efforts spark lively debate, draw the attention of a newly arrived nurse, and stir the village into action, from the market stalls to the quiet gardens. As tensions rise and rumors swirl, Willowton’s residents discover how cooperation, stubborn hope, and a few unexpected heroes can change the fate of a town thirsty for relief.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (162K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Jeff Hunt
Release date
Sep 8, 2017
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Little is firmly known about this elusive Victorian novelist, which gives her surviving work an added air of mystery. She is remembered today for rare late-19th-century fiction, including The Water-Finders and Val: A Story of the Tivyside.
View all books
by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Abraham Cahan

by Eliza Fowler Haywood

by Lady (Sydney) Morgan

by Laure Conan

by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth