The first sled came up slowly enough for the quarry owner to finish her tea before it reached her.
She set the cup down and went to inspect the stone.
Iven waited beside the capstan with his hands in his pockets.
The four people at the bars stopped on the keeper’s signal. The brake took the line. Below them, the second team began bringing the empty return into position, and the first hauling team stepped clear to drink and rest.
Nobody looked to Iven for another pull.
That was the important part of the morning, though he was beginning to find it difficult to stand still through it.
They had brought the capstan yesterday. Its frame had traveled on a hired bed wagon with the gear train protected and the long bars tied beside it. The quarry crew had helped unload, set the accepted base and checked the two return lines before the new arrangement was left overnight under its cover.
Today, the four hundred and eighth day, they would prove a whole working sequence.
