Lonesome Dove Part 54

It was amazing to Newt to see the plains, which had been mostly brown a few minutes before, turned mostly white.

The Irishman walked up leading his horse and kicking hailstones out of the way. He began to pick up the hailstones and throw them in the river. Soon several of the cowboys were doing it, seeing who could throw the farthest or make the hailstones skip across the water.

Then they saw a strange sight: Po Campo was gathering hailstones in a bucket, the two pigs following him like dogs.

"What do you reckon he expects to do with them?" Needle Nelson asked.

"I guess he'll stew 'em, probably," Pea said. "He's looking them over like he's picking peas."

"I wouldn't want to see this outfit naked tomorrow," Jasper said. "I guess we'll all be black and blue. One hit me on the elbow and I can't straighten my arm yet."

"You don't do much with it when you do straighten it," Bert remarked unsympathetically.

"Just 'cause he can't rope like you can don't mean he wouldn't like to use his arm," Pea Eye said. Everyone picked on Jasper, and once in a while Pea felt obliged to come to his defense. He swung onto his horse and froze before getting his other foot in the stirrup. He had happened to glance across the river and had spotted a horseman riding toward them. The crew on the north bank had their backs to the rider and hadn't seen him.

"Why, I swear, it's Gus," Pea Eye said. "He ain't dead at all."

They all looked, and saw the rider coming.

"How do you know it's him?" Bert wanted to know. "He's too far. It could be an Indian chief for all you know."

"I guess I know Gus," Pea said. "I wonder where he's been."

63.

CALL AND DISH were just getting into their dry pants when Augustus came riding up. It was not until they heard the sound of his horse crushing the hailstones that they turned around. Call saw at once that Gus was riding a different horse from the one on which he had ridden off, but he himself looked fit.

"'I G.o.d, I never thought you boys would start working naked," Augustus said. "I guess the minute I left camp things went right to h.e.l.l. You jaybirds look like you're scattered from here to Fort Worth."

"Well, the river was deep and we ain't overloaded with dry clothes," Call said. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing much," Augustus said. "I got here last week and decided there wasn't no sense in riding south. I'd just have to turn around and come back."

"Did you ever find Lorie?" Dish asked.

"Oh, sure," Augustus said. "I found her. She's probably sitting out in front of the tent right now watching you prance around naked."

At that Dish blushed and made haste to get the rest of his clothes on, though when Gus pointed out the tent to him he saw it was too far away for Lorie to have seen anything.

At that point several of the naked cowboys on the south bank plunged into the river and swam over, so excited by Gus's return that they forgot caution.

"I swear, Gus, we near give you up," Pea Eye said. "Did you catch the bandit?"

"No, but I hope I do someday," Augustus said. "I met plenty of his friends, but he slipped by me."

"Did you get to town or what?" Dish asked. "You didn't have no tent when you rode off."

"Mr. Wilbarger loaned me that tent," Augustus said. "Lorie's feeling shy and she needs a little privacy."

"We best get the wagon across," Call said. "We can listen to Gus's story later. You boys that ain't dressed go back and help."

The sun came out, and that plus Gus's arrival put the hands in a high mood. Even Jasper, normally so worried about rivers, forgot his fear and swam right back across the Canadian to help get the wagon. They all treated swimming the river like a frolic, though they had been anxious about it for a week. Before long they had the wagon across. They had put both pigs in it but the blue shoat jumped out and swam across.

"That's an independent pig," Augustus said. "I see you still got that old cook."

"Yes, his food's right tasty," Call said. "Is the girl all right?"

"She's had an ordeal but she's young," Augustus said. "She won't forget it, but she might outlive it."

"We're a long way from any place we could leave her," Call said.

"Oh, I have no intention of leaving her," Augustus said. "We've got Wilbarger's tent. We'll go along with you cowboys until we hit Nebraska."

"Then what?" Call asked.

"I don't know, we ain't there yet," Augustus said. "What's the word on Jake?"

"He was in Fort Worth when we pa.s.sed by," Call said. "I guess he's mainly card playing."

"I met that sheriff that's after him," Augustus said. "He's ahead of us somewhere. His wife run off and Blue Duck killed his deputy and two youngsters who were traveling with him. He's got other things on his mind besides Jake."

"He's welcome to Jake, if he wants him," Call said. "I won't defend a man who lets a woman get stolen and just goes back to his cards."

"It was wisdom," Augustus said. "Blue Duck would have scattered Jake over two counties if he had run into him."

"I call it cowardice," Call said. "Why didn't you kill Blue Duck?"

"He's quick," Augustus said. "I couldn't follow him on this piece of soap I'm riding. Anyway, I had Lorie to consider."

"I hate to let a man like that get away," Call said.

"Go get him, Woodrow," Augustus said. "He's west of here, probably in Colorado. You go get him and I'll nurse these cows along until you get back. Now what's that old cook doing?"

They saw all the cowboys gathered around the wagon, which still dripped from its pa.s.sage through the river.

"He likes to surprise the boys," Call said. "He's always coming up with something different."

They trotted over and saw that Po Campo had made the hailstones into a kind of candy, with the use of a little mola.s.ses. He dipped them in mola.s.ses and gave each of the hands one to lick.

"Well, senor senor," he said to Augustus, "I see you made it back in time for dessert."

"I made it back in time to see a bunch of naked waddies cross a river," Augustus said. "I thought you'd all turned Indian and was aiming to scalp Jasper. Where's young Bill Spettle? Has he gone into hiding?"

There was an awkward silence. Lippy, sitting on the wagon seat, stopped licking the hailstone he had been given.

"No, senor senor, he is buried," Po Campo said. "A victim of lightning."

"That's a pity," Augustus said. "He was young and had promise."

"It kilt thirteen head with one bolt," Pea Eye said. "You never seen such lightning, Gus."

"I seen it," Augustus said. "We had a little weather too."

Newt felt warm and happy, his clothes on and Mr. Gus back with the crew. The sky had cleared and the clouds that had caused the terrible hail were only a few wisps on the eastern horizon. In the bright sun, with the river crossed and the cattle grazing on the wet gra.s.s, and Lorena rescued, life seemed like a fine thing, though every once in a while he would remember Bill Spettle, buried in the mud a few miles back, or Sean O'Brien, way down on the Nueces-the warm sun and bright air had brought them no pleasure. Po Campo had given him a hailstone dipped in mola.s.ses and he sat licking it and feeling alternately happy and sad while the men got dressed and prepared to be cowboys again.

"Are there any more trees, or does this plain just go on to Canady?" Bert Borum asked.

"I wouldn't bet on trees for the next few months," Augustus said.

The men wondered about Lorena. Many still held her beauty in their minds. What had happened to her? What did she look like now? Hers was the most beauty many of them had seen, and now that she was near it shone fresh in memory and made them all the more anxious to see her.

Dish, especially, could not keep his eyes off the little tent. He longed for a glimpse of her and kept imagining that any minute she would step out of the tent and look his way. Surely she remembered him; perhaps she would even wave, and call him over.

Lorena knew the cowboys were near, but she didn't look out of the tent. Gus had a.s.sured her he would be back soon, and she trusted him-though sometimes when he was gone for an hour looking for game, she still got the shakes. Blue Duck wasn't dead. He might come back and get her again, if Gus didn't watch close. She remembered his face and the way he smiled when he kicked her. Gus was the only thing that kept the memories away, and sometimes they were so fresh and frightening that she wished she had died so her brain would stop working and just leave her in the quiet. But her brain wouldn't stop-only Gus could distract it with talk and card games. Only his presence relaxed her enough that she could sleep.

Now and then she peeped out and saw the wagon, with Gus standing by it. He was easy to spot because of his white hair. As long as she could spot him she didn't feel worried.

Call let the men camp-they had had a rough twenty-four hours. A big steer had crippled itself crossing the river. Bert roped it and Po Campo killed it efficiently with a sharp blow of an ax. He butchered it just as efficiently and soon had beefsteaks cooking. The smell reminded the men that they were famished-they went at the meat like wolves.

"A cow don't go far with this bunch," Augustus observed. "If you boys don't learn to curb your appet.i.tes you'll have eaten the whole dern herd before we strike the Powder River. It'll be a big joke on you, Call," he added.

"What will?" Call asked. His mind had been on Blue Duck.

"Think of it," Augustus said. "You start off to Montana with a bunch of cattle and some hungry hands. By the time you get there the hands will have et the cattle and you're back at nothing. Then the Cheyenne or the Sioux will wipe out the hands, and that'll leave you."

"What about yourself?" Call asked. "You're along."

"I'll have stopped and got married, probably," Augustus said. "It's time I started my family."

"Are you marrying Lorie, then, Gus?" Dish asked, in sudden panic. He was aware that Gus had saved Lorena from a bad fate and supposed she might be going to marry him in grat.i.tude.

"No, Dish, I've someone else in mind," Augustus said. "Don't run your hopes up no flagpole, though. Lorie's apt to be skittish of men for the next few years."

"h.e.l.l, she always was," Needle observed. "I offered her good money twice and she looked right through me like I was a gla.s.s window or something."

"Well, you are skinny," Augustus said. "Plus you're too tall to suit a woman. Women would rather have runts, on the whole."

The remark struck the company as odd-why would women rather have runts? And how did Gus know such a thing? But then, it was a comforting remark too, for it was like Gus to say something none of them expected to hear. Those that had night guard would be able to amuse themselves with the remark for hours, considering the pros and cons of it and debating among themselves whether it could be true.

"Dern, I missed listening to you, Gus," Pea Eye said as Augustus was mounting to leave.

Call rode a little way out of camp with Augustus. A flock of cranes came in and settled on the banks of the river.

"This trip is hard on boys," Augustus said. "We've lost two already, and the young sheriff lost a boy and a girl."

They stopped for a smoke. In the distance the night guard was just going out to the herd.

"We should have stayed lawmen and left these boys at home," Augustus said. "Half of 'em will get drowned or hit by lightning before we hit Montana. We should have just gone ourselves and found some rough old town and civilized it. That's the way to make a reputation these days."

"I don't want a reputation," Call said. "I've had enough outlaws shoot at me. I'd rather have a ranch."

"Well, I got to admit I still like a fight," Augustus said. "They sharpen the wits. The only other thing that does that is talking to women, which is usually more dangerous."

"Now you've ended up the caretaker of that girl," Call said. "She ain't the woman you're after."

"Nope, she ain't," Augustus said. He had been pondering that point himself. Of course, for all he knew Clara was still a happily married woman and all his thinking about her no more than idle daydreams. He had long wanted to marry her, and yet life was continually slipping other women between her and him. It had happened with his wives, earlier.

"I wish you'd been married," he said to Call.

"Why?" Call asked.

"I'd like your thoughts on the subject, that's why," Augustus said. "Only you ain't got no experience, so you can't be no help."

"Well, I never come close," Call said. "I don't know why."

"No interest," Augustus said. "Also, you ain't never figured yourself out, and you don't like to take chances."

"I could argue that," Call said. "I've taken my share of chances, I guess."

"In battle, not in love," Augustus said. "Unless you want to call what you done with Maggie taking a chance."

"Why do you always want to talk about that?" Call said.

"Because it was as close as you ever came to doing something normal," Augustus said. "It's all I've got to work with. Here you've brought these cattle all this way, with all this inconvenience to me and everybody else, and you don't have no reason in this world to be doing it."

Call didn't answer. He sat smoking. The Irishman had begun to sing to the herd.

"Since you know so much about me, have you got any suggestions?" he asked.

"Certainly have," Augustus said. "Take these cattle over to the nearest cow town and sell 'em. Pay off whatever boys is still alive."

"Then what?"

"I'll go deal with the ladies for a while," Augustus said. "You take Pea and Deets and ride up the Purgatory River until you find Blue Duck. Then either you'll kill him or he'll kill all of you."

"What about the boy?" Call asked.

"Newt can go with me and learn to be a ladies' man," Augustus said. "You won't claim him anyway, and the last boy that got near Blue Duck had his head smashed in with a rifle b.u.t.t."

"Nope," Call said. "I'm primed to see Montana. If we're the first ones there we can take our pick of the land."

"You take your pick," Augustus said. "I'm in the mood to travel. Once you boys get settled I may go to China, for all you know."