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Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Summary

Sean's death hangs over the camp for a week. Jasper Fant talks without stopping to hold his fear at bay; Allen O'Brien rides in silence and cries by the fire; Deets falls into a rare gloom, feeling responsible. Rain, brush, mosquitoes and night work make everyone irritable, and the men argue about how far north water moccasins can live. Dish proves a treasure on point; the Rainey boys go homesick and listless. Call asks Augustus to stop talking about the death; Augustus answers that talk is how you kill a thing, since anything becomes boring if discussed enough. The San Antonio crossing, dreaded by all, passes without a snake — Jasper's only mishap is charging the water at a gallop. Augustus tells Newt frankly that half of them may be wiped out before they finish, and that he himself is no longer as quick to duck trouble as he was.

Analysis

Grief processing shown as camp talk. Augustus states the book's method aloud — talk is how you kill a thing, since anything becomes boring if discussed enough — and then admits to Newt that he is no longer quick enough to duck trouble. Both remarks are load-bearing.

Plates

The week after Sean's death — the cowboys sit at their grub after dark and talk of nothing but deaths they have witnessed.
00 The week after Sean's death — the cowboys sit at their grub after dark and talk of nothing but deaths they have witnessed.
Jasper Fant, so unnerved by what he saw in the Nueces that he has to be talking every waking minute to hold his fears in balance.
01 Jasper Fant, so unnerved by what he saw in the Nueces that he has to be talking every waking minute to hold his fears in balance.
Allen O'Brien, silent all day, sitting by the fire crying while the others talk of memorable deaths.
02 Allen O'Brien, silent all day, sitting by the fire crying while the others talk of memorable deaths.
Three days of rain, bad brush and terrible mosquitoes — the fresh cattle hard to hold and the men irritable as hens.
03 Three days of rain, bad brush and terrible mosquitoes — the fresh cattle hard to hold and the men irritable as hens.
Deets fallen into one of his rare glooms, riding far out on his own because he feels partly to blame for the boy's death.
04 Deets fallen into one of his rare glooms, riding far out on his own because he feels partly to blame for the boy's death.
Dish Boggett proving a treasure on point, holding it all day true as a rule, missing nothing the cattle do.
05 Dish Boggett proving a treasure on point, holding it all day true as a rule, missing nothing the cattle do.
A grey wet morning after breakfast — Deets comes back with word of a shallow crossing, Augustus asks about the snake population, and Pea Eye says he is more worried about Indians.
06 A grey wet morning after breakfast — Deets comes back with word of a shallow crossing, Augustus asks about the snake population, and Pea Eye says he is more worried about Indians.
Call and Augustus sitting on the bank of the San Antonio waiting for the herd — "I wish you'd stop talking about that boy's death" — as the cattle come in sight with the Texas bull walking beside Old Dog.
07 Call and Augustus sitting on the bank of the San Antonio waiting for the herd — "I wish you'd stop talking about that boy's death" — as the cattle come in sight with the Texas bull walking beside Old Dog.
Jasper Fant, blind with fear of snakes, charges the San Antonio at a gallop and nearly brings his horse down in the water while Soupy Jones laughs at him.
08 Jasper Fant, blind with fear of snakes, charges the San Antonio at a gallop and nearly brings his horse down in the water while Soupy Jones laughs at him.
The close — Augustus tells Newt that half of them may get wiped out and that he is no longer quick to duck trouble, while behind them the two blue pigs walk in and swim the San Antonio.
09 The close — Augustus tells Newt that half of them may get wiped out and that he is no longer quick to duck trouble, while behind them the two blue pigs walk in and swim the San Antonio.