chaparral

Woodrow Call

Call had him buffaloed,

Give Call a grievance, however silly, and he would save it like money.

The sound drowned out the quiet of sunset, which annoyed Augustus so much that at times he was tempted to go up and shoot the old man, just to teach him a lesson.

Augustus snorted. “You’re in over your head, Pea,” he said. “Who Abe Lincoln freed was a bunch of Africans, no more American than Call here.”

one free Comanche with a horse and a gun it would be foolish to take them lightly.

though his day-to-day responsibilities had constantly shrunk over the last ten years, life did not seem easier. It just seemed smaller and a good deal more dull.

the moment his hip joints hurt, as well as several other joints, all the result of letting a horse fall on him five years before.

the thought of the complications that might arise from an insult to Lorena had left Newt closely acquainted with the mental perils of love long before he had had an opportunity to sample any of its pleasures except the infinite pleasure of contemplation

would blab right up until he shoved his old carrot in, and then would be blabbing again, before it was even dry

seemed to her he had got rid of something other men hadn’t got rid of—some meanness or some need

Silent happened to be how she felt when men were with her.

Tennessee, as he remembered, nights tended to get mushy, with a cottony mist drifting into the hollows

Once as a boy he had carried slops in a restaurant in New Orleans that actually used tablecloths, a standard of excellence which haunted him still.

Lippy could not have read a word as big as Philadelphia, and he had only the vaguest notion of where the city was. All he knew was that it must be a safe and civilized place if they had time to make hats instead of fighting Comanches.

’s intelligent creatures you got to watch out for. I don’t care if they’re horses or women or Indians or what

game of root-the-peg

“That damn sign’s ruint this outfit,”

However, it was his view that Latin was mostly for looks anyway,

Throughout the rough years the Greek alphabet had leaked out of his mind a letter at a time—in fact, the candle of knowledge he had set out with had burned down to a sorry stub.

Pea Eye, who liked to take life one simple step at a time, had not appreciated the subtleties of the situation. “Where’d you get a sister, Dish?”

the pit of his stomach, like the sound of the creaking bed when he first heard it. He had never seen his ma and pa drink from the same glass, and they had been married people

’m McCrae,” Augustus said. “Call wouldn’t put up with this much jabbering.”

never expected to meet Latin in this part of Texas but I guess education has spread

and grimaced unhappily as the banging continued. “Who asked that old man to make such a racket?” he asked. “Why don’t somebody shoot him?” “If we shoot him we’ll have Gus for a cook,” Call said. “In that case we’ll have to eat talk, or else starve to death listening.”

the day died and the afterglow stretched upward in the soft, empty sky, the Hat Creek outfit, seven strong, crossed the river and rode southeast, toward the Hacienda Flores.

had a kind of low, scratchy voice, unusual in a woman; once or twice, listening to it made Pea feel funny, as if someone was tickling the little hairs at the back of his neck

riding mules.” “Son, we’re fresh out,” Augustus said. “Can either of you boys shoot?” “No, but we can dig potatoes,” Allen said—he didn’t want the man to think they were totally incompetent.

He loved clear nights and hated clouds—when it was cloudy he felt deprived of half the world

He had known several men who blew their heads off, and he had pondered it much. It seemed to him it was probably because they could not take enough happiness just from the sky and the moon to carry them over the low feelings that came to all men.