Ellis appeared on Saturday with a piece of plywood and a level. "Your grandfather hated crooked shelves," he said, setting the tools down. "I figure if you're going to put his name back over the door, we'd better not have the inventory falling on customers." He helped Noah secure the new shelving and reminded him to account for the weight of the castings before deciding where anything belonged.
When they finished, Ellis walked the length of the shop and studied the tags. "You've got more writing in here than metal," he observed.
"Not quite," Noah said. "But I'm working on it."
"Good. Metal lies sometimes, too. Not on purpose. It just doesn't tell you the whole story until you ask the right question."
Noah asked how Ellis knew so much about the subject. The older man shrugged and said he had watched three generations of farmers waste money because a machine looked good from ten feet away. Then he told Noah about a generator he had purchased after hearing it start for thirty seconds, only to discover that it overheated during the first summer thunderstorm. The story sounded painfully familiar, and Ellis did not miss the expression on Noah's face.
"I heard about Curtis," he said.
Noah looked away. "Everybody did?"
"Enough people. You refunded him. That's the part some of them are telling now. Keep giving them a better part to tell."
The next Monday Noah visited the county library with a list of service publications the school did not have. He used a public computer to search archival catalogs and equipment forums maintained by people who had spent decades repairing older machinery. Some documents were out of print; others required waiting for a borrowed copy or contacting a retired dealer. He sent careful inquiries, asking for specifications and revisions rather than pretending he needed a complete answer to a problem he had not examined closely enough.
One letter went to a retired diesel technician named Arthur Benton, whose name appeared repeatedly in Earl's notebooks. Arthur had worked at a regional equipment dealer until retirement and still volunteered occasionally at a vocational training center. He returned Noah's call from a kitchen where an old wall clock ticked loudly enough to be heard through the telephone. When Noah explained who he was, Arthur became quiet.
"Earl Walker's grandson?" he asked. "Well, that makes me feel older than I wanted to feel today. Your granddad once fixed a governor issue on a tractor I'd already given up on. Stood there grinning while I tried to understand how he'd seen it."
Noah smiled into the receiver. "I've got his notebooks. I'm trying to identify some engines from a contractor auction."
"Trying to rebuild them?"
"Some, maybe. Mostly I'm trying to figure out what can be used safely and what can't."