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Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Summary

Lorena's first wash of the journey, in the Nueces. Jake has drunk whiskey all day against the pain of the thorn still buried in his thumb, now purple, and is too sick to finish when he pulls her down on the grass. Deets rides across the river — made scout, hunting a crossing for the herd — heats a needle and digs the thorn out, then warns them a storm will come at sundown and the river will be up by morning, so they must cross tonight. He packs their camp, and when Lorena's mare balks and turns back three times he takes her reins and swims her across while she grips the mane with her eyes shut. She is too frightened to thank him. Jake, watching from the far bank, treats it as nothing, and she is angry with him for that. Deets warns her about the lightning and rides back for the third time to fetch Call.

Analysis

Deets is shown doing precisely the thing he will die for: extending competence and kindness to strangers who haven't asked. Lorena's terror in the water, and the gratitude she cannot voice, establish the pattern of dependence that transfers intact from Jake to Gus.

Plates

Lorena and Jake ride out of the mesquite thickets toward the Nueces, Jake drunk in the saddle, the herd's dust standing behind them.
00 Lorena and Jake ride out of the mesquite thickets toward the Nueces, Jake drunk in the saddle, the herd's dust standing behind them.
Jake propped against the shade tree with his bottle while Lorena, having tied the horses and made the camp, stops to look at his purple thumb.
01 Jake propped against the shade tree with his bottle while Lorena, having tied the horses and made the camp, stops to look at his purple thumb.
Lorena's first good wash of the journey — standing chest-deep in the green Nueces, letting the water take off the dust and sweat.
02 Lorena's first good wash of the journey — standing chest-deep in the green Nueces, letting the water take off the dust and sweat.
The snapping turtle, big as a tub, sitting on the bank exactly where she went in.
03 The snapping turtle, big as a tub, sitting on the bank exactly where she went in.
Jake walks down to the water and empties his pistol at the turtle left-handed, every bullet plopping into the mud.
04 Jake walks down to the water and empties his pistol at the turtle left-handed, every bullet plopping into the mud.
On the grass with Jake, Lorena looks past him at the white sky and goes somewhere else — it is easier out here than it ever was in the Dry Bean.
05 On the grass with Jake, Lorena looks past him at the white sky and goes somewhere else — it is easier out here than it ever was in the Dry Bean.
Deets rides his horse into the Nueces from the far side and swims it across, unhurried, while Lorena looks up from the coffee pot.
06 Deets rides his horse into the Nueces from the far side and swims it across, unhurried, while Lorena looks up from the coffee pot.
Deets holds up the heated needle with the tiny yellow tip of the thorn on it — "Now you be cuttin' the cards agin."
07 Deets holds up the heated needle with the tiny yellow tip of the thorn on it — "Now you be cuttin' the cards agin."
After the mare turns back three times, Deets takes her reins and swims her across with Lorena gripping the mane, eyes shut, while Jake watches from the far bank.
08 After the mare turns back three times, Deets takes her reins and swims her across with Lorena gripping the mane, eyes shut, while Jake watches from the far bank.
Warning done and the thanks still unsaid, Deets rides into the Nueces for the third time, going back for the Captain as the sun drops and the storm builds in the south.
09 Warning done and the thanks still unsaid, Deets rides into the Nueces for the third time, going back for the Captain as the sun drops and the storm builds in the south.