Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove

He crouched under the horse until the hailstorm subsided, which was not more than ten minutes after it began. The muddy banks of the Canadian were covered with hailstones, and so were the plains around them. The cattle and horses crunched through the hail as they walked. Isolated stones continued to plop down now and then, bouncing off the ones already there.

Newt saw that the cattle had crossed the wild Canadian, the river that had scared everybody, without much help from the cowboys, who were scattered here and there, naked, crouched under their saddles or, in some cases, their horses. It was a funny sight; Newt was so glad to be alive that suddenly he felt like laughing. Funniest of all was Pea Eye, who stood not thirty yards away, up to his neck in the river, with his hat on. He was just standing there calmly, waiting for the hail to stop.

"How come you got in the water?" Newt asked, when Pea waded out.

"It's fine protection," Pea said. "It can't hail through water."

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."

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 god, I never thought you boys would start working naked," Augustus said. "I guess the minute I left camp things went right to hell. 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 passed 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 passage 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 molasses. He dipped them in molasses and gave each of the hands one to lick.

"Well, señor ," 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, señor , 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 grass, 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 molasses and he sat licking it and feeling alternately happy and sad while the men got dressed and prepared to be cowboys again.