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The nose of the plane rested on the ground. Some of
the panels on top of the fuselage had been removed for salvage; the huge
aircraft had filled with rainwater, and the frontal landing gear had
collapsed under the weight. Using a rock as a hammer, we drove a heavy
bolt through the underside of the fuselage, and the water rushed out so
forcibly as to gouge a reservoir for itself in the hardened ground.
While one of us built a perimeter wall to contain the overflow, the
other excavated the long channel to irrigate our dried and distant
property, for so long unproductive. To distribute the workload fairly we
periodically changed positions.
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