Chapter 5

The Little Girl Meets A Big Man

It was a month or so later that the next changes in Cassie's life occurred. By this time she was the Stable Master. She fed, watered, groomed the horses and mucked out the stables every day. It was hard work at first. She was still underweight and weak but she was catching up fast. She thought back and came to the conclusion that she was even happier than before she went blind. She was now a growing person, almost an adult.

Her sight, at first, had been really erratic going from 300 yards range and acute sensitivity when she woke to 30-40 yards by the time she went to bed. It had slowly strengthened and stabilized until Cassie could now "see" within a circle with a diameter of 200-250 yards throughout the day. But if she focused she could narrow her vision down to a 10 degree angle in any direction out to about 2 miles. However, if she held it too long she would begin to weaken, losing range and sensitivity quickly.

Cassie was through with her chores for the day when she heard loud noises from the drive up to the ranch. She wandered out to see what was going on and "saw" a string of trucks coming up the road near the drive to the ranch house.

This was the drilling crew with their rig's to drill for water.

Cassie's father had headed to Odessa for the day so he was not home but Cassie had been spying on him and knew where he had left instruction for the riggers.

She went into his office and opened the drill map where he had marked the places to drill in the order he wanted. She took out his map marking pen and turned to where the hidden underground river flowed. She quickly marked the map with an x inside a circle. Then on the side she wrote "go to 1200 ft." "Do this one first."

Putting the map and paper back into the folder she carried them out to the driveway. In the distance the rigs were all stopped along the road edge. A single super-cab was headed up the drive to the house.

Cassie tap, tap, tapped, her way to the edge of the drive way and waited for the truck to pull up. The truck stopped next to where she stood. She watched the driver as he looked first at the mass of trucks parked along the road then looked at her. Seeing her cane, his eyes squinted as he slowly got out of the truck.

"God" she thought "It's a good thing I don't have to focus my eyes on him to see. He is a giant, at least a good eight inches taller than Dad. He was all muscles ... not an ounce of fat anywhere!"

"You're George's daughter?" His voice felt like sandpaper on her skin. Cold chills went up and down her spine.

"Yes sir, I am."

"Where is he?"

"He had to go to Odessa for the day. He should be back by tomorrow night."

"What? Time is money! I got a couple dozen men and four rigs they all cost money. What's wrong with him? He knows that." He growled.

Cassie shivered, Dad had told Marie that if Blocker showed up to tell him where the work orders were and to get to work. Cassie had listened from the next room.

"Are you Blocker?" She asked boldly.

"Yeah, I'm Tiny Blocker. Why?"

Tiny, this man was known as Tiny, Tiny Blocker? Who was the person big enough to call this man Tiny?

"Eh, Tiny" Her voice squeak as she started to talked to him."Tiny, Dad gave me your work orders. Here they are." she stuck the folder out at him. He stood there looking at her.

"Are you blind girl?"

"Yes sir."

"You need a dog. That stick is no good in a work area. Get a dog." He took the folder, pulled the map out and opened it across the hood. She waited hoping that her Dad had not talked to him about where to drill.

"Which way is the quickest access to this land?"

"Go back down the road about three miles toward town. You will have to cut the fence. Put up a temporary gate behind you and go about a half mile straight south. There is a dip in the land and it's almost dead center of that dip."

"Hum, if you're blind how do you know this?" He was staring straight at her now.

"I've only been blind for two years."

"Good point! Too bad, you can't take us straight to it. Save me some money."

"How would I get back here?"

He stopped and she could see a grin appear briefly.

"I'd bring you back myself after I got the riggers working."

"Okay, let go." She taps, taps, and taps her way around his truck to the passenger door. She opened it and immediately pulled herself inside, slamming the door behind her.

"Time is money" she said through the driver's open window." He stood frozen outside at the hood. Then he quickly put his papers into the folder and climbed into the truck. She saw and felt the truck settle on his side.

With a roar of the engine, they rushed back down the drive to his rigs. Barely slowing, he reached out the window and whirled his hand in a circle. Those rigs, one at a time, used the turn into the driveway to make a 3-point turn and followed at top speed back toward town. Cassie leaned back and reached out with her sight. Back behind them the rigs were slowly catching up.