“Some.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“Feed store weather board and Dad’s rain gauge.”
Harold glanced at Marcus.
“Kid’s making my job easier.”
Marcus smiled slightly.
“Don’t tell him.”
“I heard that,” Eli said.
The full survey confirmed something worse than even Eli had expected.
The original stone-lined shaft had partially collapsed.
Loose fill material had settled deep into it.
Sections of lining had shifted inward.
Water had collected above the weakened cavity.
The deepest portion of the pond sat almost directly over the original shaft.
Harold used sounding equipment and probing to estimate that stable material lay several feet below areas that looked solid at the surface.
“Could it collapse?”
Marcus asked.
Harold looked at the heifer’s hole.
“Already is.”
“I mean all at once.”
“Yes.”
“How big?”
“No honest contractor gives you a pretty number on something like this.”
Marcus did not like that answer.
Harold continued.
“Could stay like this another year. Could open larger next heavy rain. Could fail under tractor weight tomorrow.”
Marcus looked toward the pasture.