Daniel's pickup arrived just after nine the following morning. Thomas Reddick was with him, a lean mechanic in his forties who wore work boots polished by constant use rather than by any desire to impress customers. The two men stepped inside and surveyed the rusty engines, the fresh labels, and the clean comparison bench. Daniel's expression suggested that he had expected a much less organized place.
"You really are the kid who bought sixteen broken engines," he said.
"Yes, sir," Noah replied.
"Everybody said you were throwing your money away."
"I didn't know what they were worth then," Noah said. "That's why I've been checking every part."
Daniel gave a small smile. "Let's see what you found."
Noah brought the candidate assembly to the bench after arranging safe handling for its weight. He laid out photographs, identification records, and a chart showing the critical dimensions taken from the applicable manual. Thomas examined the evidence without speaking for several minutes. Then he began asking the kind of precise questions that revealed whether Noah understood what he was measuring or had merely copied figures from a page.
They compared the damaged component from the farm with the candidate from engine eleven. Several surfaces matched the documented configuration; other areas needed cleaning before their condition could be judged. Thomas inspected for cracking, excessive wear, distortion, and evidence of prior repair, while Noah recorded every measurement and its source. When an initial reading seemed inconsistent, they did not argue over whose hands were steadier; they checked the measuring tool and repeated the observation.
At one point Thomas held up the part and pointed to a faint mark along an edge. "What do you make of this?" he asked.
Noah studied it under the lamp. He could not tell whether it came from ordinary handling or contact during operation. "I don't know," he said. "I'd rather check it than guess."
Thomas smiled for the first time. "That's a useful answer. Too many mechanics treat it like a personal insult."
The inspection took most of the morning. Arthur Benton joined by telephone to help identify a manufacturer revision and direct them toward the right documentation. By the end, Thomas was satisfied that the component's identity and critical dimensions matched the generator's specified configuration. His condition checks found no obvious defect that disqualified it, though he made clear that the assembly still had to be installed correctly and tested under the appropriate operating conditions.
Daniel looked from the part to Noah. "What's the verdict?"
"It appears to be the right component," Noah said. "Thomas has confirmed the identification and the checks we've done here. But it's not a working generator until it's installed, tested, and accepted in service."
"How much do you want for it?"
Noah had written a price on a note card and left it facedown on the bench. He turned it over, explaining the work already performed and the distinction between payment for the component and the technician's separate installation services. Daniel glanced at the figure and nodded. It was a fair amount for a difficult-to-find part with documented identification, and far less than replacing a much larger assembly without first investigating the fault.