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Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Summary

A week passes and Augustus does not return. The herd crosses the Brazos and the Trinity, the crew carouses in Fort Worth — where they find Jake Spoon gambling with a whore on his arm, too haughty to know any of them — and Dish stays sober in camp, still hoping. Po Campo, whittling small wooden women he gives away to the men, reveals that Blue Duck killed his three sons on the llano, and predicts flatly that Gus will not catch him: Blue Duck always has the best horse in the country. The thought that Gus may be dead begins to weigh on Call in a way that surprises him. He finds himself wishing they had rounded things off, and half wanting to turn the herd loose and go looking. Pea Eye puts it more simply — his ears get empty without Gus talking in them.

Analysis

Absence used as characterisation. With Gus offstage, Call discovers he cannot argue with anyone, and the book lets him rehearse a grief it will make real two hundred pages later. Po Campo's link to Blue Duck arrives quietly, deepening a villain who never gets interiority.

Plates

The third day passes without Gus returning and Call, alone at the horse herd before sunrise, begins to be uneasy.
00 The third day passes without Gus returning and Call, alone at the horse herd before sunrise, begins to be uneasy.
The herd crosses the Brazos without incident, and there is still no Gus.
01 The herd crosses the Brazos without incident, and there is still no Gus.
Bert Borum brags on his rope at the camp fire and Needle Nelson tells him to go rope the Texas bull, which is standing off pawing the earth.
02 Bert Borum brags on his rope at the camp fire and Needle Nelson tells him to go rope the Texas bull, which is standing off pawing the earth.
Jasper asks why Dish did not go after Lorena himself and leave Gus behind; Dish jumps him and Call breaks it up.
03 Jasper asks why Dish did not go after Lorena himself and leave Gus behind; Dish jumps him and Call breaks it up.
Ben Rainey badgers Newt to ask the Captain for leave to go to town, and Newt declines.
04 Ben Rainey badgers Newt to ask the Captain for leave to go to town, and Newt declines.
Camped west of Fort Worth, Call lets the men go carouse in the last town before Ogallala; Dish Boggett stays behind.
05 Camped west of Fort Worth, Call lets the men go carouse in the last town before Ogallala; Dish Boggett stays behind.
Whittling by the wagon wheel, Po Campo tells Call that Blue Duck killed his three sons on the llano, and that Gus will never catch him.
06 Whittling by the wagon wheel, Po Campo tells Call that Blue Duck killed his three sons on the llano, and that Gus will never catch him.
Riding ahead of the herd, Call looks to the north-west for a man who does not come, and begins to believe Gus is dead.
07 Riding ahead of the herd, Call looks to the north-west for a man who does not come, and begins to believe Gus is dead.
The crew comes back from Fort Worth hung over and subdued to find Po Campo's dewberry cobbler waiting at the tailgate.
08 The crew comes back from Fort Worth hung over and subdued to find Po Campo's dewberry cobbler waiting at the tailgate.
Po Campo doses Jasper with molasses while the rest get the herd moving, and Dish Boggett takes the point for the Red River.
09 Po Campo doses Jasper with molasses while the rest get the herd moving, and Dish Boggett takes the point for the Red River.