She could continue the cycle of dumping the water than waiting to see if it stayed for as long as she wanted but it wouldn’t make the water stay anymore than the initial effort to get it there. Regardless, the water would recede....for a while anyway.

The man had no plans for the evening that he couldn’t get done right here while he waited around with her. There was nothing to prompt him along in any hurry.

Finding nothing noteworthy, he turned to his previous preoccupation once more, hoping she’d notice that with each second the water from the little mill was receding. She’d better go collect it before it was all gone. Believe it or not, it did make some amount of difference and she was wasting the time she didn’t have.