He grinned, and shot them a thumbs up. "Perfect size, gentlemen."
The two of them nodded, apparently dumbfounded.
Another man was quick with a comment. "Wouldn't say it's perfect if he can't lift it up and down, though," he said to the man next to him, who grunted in agreement.
A good number of eyes were settled on Oliver's back, and he grasped the rope for the first pull. He didn't realize the tension that he'd built up for them, in taking it slow. He'd simply taken his time to make sure that his positioning was right, and that he wouldn't be wasting any undue exertion, but they took it to mean an excessive respect for the weight that he was about to shift.
The first pull put those doubts to rest, and then the second shattered them. Full to the top, covering as much distance as before, Oliver dragged it all the way to the top, and then left it sitting there on the lip of the stone well, as men came rushing to fill their buckets.
