Augustus and Lorie head for Adobe Walls when the rains come. The old fort
where Gus had once seen some nasty men and soldiers is now completely
deserted and most of the buildings in ruins because of not enough buffalo.
He finds them shelter in a building with a relatively good roof remaining,
and they hole up there until the weather changes. While exploring, Gus
finds a box of buttons some woman left behind and uses them as money to
get Lorie to play cards. It helps her begin to react to life again and
even gets her to smile. They only stay there two days, because Gus fears
other renegades might show up for shelter there, too, and he doesn't want
to face that prospect. Soon, they see four great herds of cattle along
the Canadian River and are surprised to discover that they're Wilbarger's
herds. He and Gus have much in common and during their conversation, he
discovers that Wilbarger had met July Johnson, and that Gus has unfinished
business in Ogallala, Nebraska, a reference to Clara Allen. He provides
them with food and a tent and then moves on. Meanwhile, Gus convinces
Lorie to bathe in the river with him, and when she washes the dirt which
had been so long on her body, the sight of it clean again causes her to
sob uncontrollably. Gus recognizes that it's the best thing for her and
holds her tight while she cries and says, They shouldn't have took me.
The ironies continue to abound as Gus and Lorie play cards as a way to bring something pleasant into her life and then, run across Wilbarger just when they need food and shelter.
These experiences along with the bath in the river make Lorie begin the healing
process through her tears.
Once they have crossed the Red River, the Hat Creek Company is in the Oklahoma Territory, and Newt becomes worried about Indians. The Spettle Boys have become more talkative and confide in Newt that they would run away right then if they weren't afraid of getting lost. Newt reminds them that they have to drive, because the Captain had hired them to do so. But Bill Spettle says he didn't know they were coming where Indians were.
Eventually they find themselves into another storm with terrible lightning.
One bolt strikes not a hundred feet from Captain Call, and a number of
the cattle instantly fall over dead. It sets the rest of the cattle running,
and Newt finds himself six or seven miles east of the main herd trying
to help the others round them up. Dish finally catches up to them and
tells them that thirteen cows were killed and the lightning also killed
Bill Spettle. Newt is astounded that once again one of the young hands
to whom he had just been talking had died. Call is worried also, because
they have to cross the Canadian River, and he's just lost one of the young
hands. He makes the men ride naked across the river to protect their clothes,
and then the storm gets worse: huge hailstones begin to fall so that the
ground looks covered with snow. Newt is forced to crouch under Mouse and
let the horse take the worst of the stones. Others jump back into the
river and let the water protect them. Once it stops, however, everyone
and all the cattle have made it across and the Captain's worries can be
put to rest. Po Camp gathers hailstones in a bucket and covers each one
with molasses as a treat for the men. Then Pea Eye looks up and sees a
figure in the distance and announces that finally it's Gus.
Another death comes to strike the men of the Hat Creek Cattle Company. Bill
Spettle is one of the younger hands, and his death weighs heavy on Call's
mind just like Sean O'Brien. However, it is another echo of the idea that
within life is death and life goes on. They quickly bury the young boy
and the herd moves on.
Gus arrives back in camp with the rest of the Hat Creek Company and relates all that had happened to him when he rescued Lorie. He also tells them that he intends to camp with Lorie away from the other men just like Jake did before him, only this time the intention is to give her a chance to heal. Call, when he hears that Gus met up with July Johnson, insists that the sheriff is welcome to Jake, because he can't defend a man who allows his woman to get stolen and just goes back to his cards. Newt is so happy to have Gus back and for the storm to be over that he feels like life is a fine thing. Only when he thinks of Bill Spettle and Sean O'Brien does he feel a small sorrow.
Dish Boggett asks Gus if he intends to marry Lorie now, and Gus replies that
he has someone else in mind. However, he warns Dish not to run his hopes
up a flagpole, because Lorie is apt to be shy of men for the next few
years. Gus then rides a little way away from the camp with Call. They
observe that the ride has been hard on the hands, and Gus declares that
they should have stayed lawmen and left the boys at home. However, Call
says he's done with shooting at outlaws, and he'd rather have a ranch.
But Gus says that's wrong, because he's brought them all this way for
no reason at all. Call will never be happy without an adventure, Gus figures,
and so ranching will never satisfy him. Call spends the last of the evening
smoking and thinking about how Jake proved a coward, and the rest of the
crew and their Ranger days together are really just a memory.
Gus is still astute about the realities of life. He knows that Call is still searching for the adventure which will give meaning to his life. It's interesting to note that he subtly seems to place the blame for the losses they've suffered on Call who just had to follow another adventure instead of staying in one place where they'd made a life. This is reinforced by Call's own thoughts of nostalgia that the old life and the old gang with the Rangers are gone.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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