Lonesome Dove

July believes that Elmira is dead: soldiers said they passed a woman and two buffalo hunters who were killed heading east. Clara, however, no longer indulges his grief. She is impatient with him for doting on a woman who never wanted him. The girls want July to stay. Clara tells them Bob may die. As they come to terms with it, suddenly she hears Gus’s voice outside. She looks out the window and sees him with Call, a teenage boy, and a beautiful young woman. Gus is talking to her girls, who are charmed by him already.

She runs outside and kisses him, which shocks her girls. Gus introduces Newt and Lorena. She can tell that Lorena is afraid of her, and July glumly watches her affection for Gus. Clara is amused; Gus always stirs everyone up. It had always confused her parents that she had no intention of letting Gus go, even after she married Bob. She hands Martin to Gus so he can hold the baby while she cooks. Lorena instantly approves of Clara’s defiance of everyone.

Clara tells them about July’s wife as she shows Lorena how to feed Martin. Outside, she gives Call a high price when he asks to buy horses from her. Newt can’t believe that she refuses to negotiate and is even more surprised when she walks away, leaving Call to decide on her offer. When they’re alone, she tells Gus that she despises Call and resents Gus for giving him more of his time than he gave to her. She needed a friend during her hardships, and he wasn’t there.

They have a picnic, and Gus is surprised at how easily Lorena bonds with Clara’s girls. Clara wants Gus to leave her at their house. Clara then asks about Newt’s father and asks why Call won’t acknowledge him. She wants Gus to tell him that Call is his father. She tells Newt that she wants him to come back if he doesn’t like Montana. Then she gives Newt a horse.

Clara and Gus talk in Bob’s room. He says he would stay if she asked, no matter whose feelings were hurt. She laughs and backs away when he tries to kiss her. She says she has too little respect for men to marry another one. Clara goes to the kitchen and invites Lorena to stay, and the girls beg her to agree. Gus sees that she wants to stay and agrees that he would always come back. He decides to leave quickly before he can change his mind. Clara tries to convince him to buy land and settle nearby. She can’t stand that he is choosing Call again. Gus leaves and Lorena comforts her.

Dish is agitated when Gus returns without Lorena. Newt loves his new horse, Candy. Gus is sulky for days as the land grows wilder and the men are nervous. There is less water, and Deets can’t find any when he scouts. On a longer scouting trip, Call finds water eighty miles away. Deets is increasingly anxious and tells Pea Eye that they are not in their country anymore.

Many of the cattle stray during another sandstorm. Call lets them rest after a night and day of full riding. The next day, many of the cattle try to turn around and return to the water they had left far behind. Allen is going mad with thirst. Call grows delirious and keeps falling asleep. The cattle smell water and begin trotting. Finally, they reach the river. They see the distant outline of mountains; they are three weeks away from the Yellowstone.

They rest for two days. One morning, they notice that twelve horses have been stolen, most likely by warriors. Deets says the thieves came on foot. He, Gus, and Deets follow their tracks. Deets scouts the camp and says it is mostly starving women and children; they’re eating one of the horses. The tribe runs when Call fires into the air, but a blind boy stays behind. Deets picks him up. A young man rushes him with a lance, and Deets holds the boy out to him. The lance goes through Deets just as Call and Gus shoot the young man. Deets dies quickly. His final thoughts are wishes that he could go home.

They load Deet’s body for the ride back. They leave three horses and the baby with the tribe. Call is sick with guilt, and Gus thinks Deets knew it was coming. Newt cries when they get back. After they bury Deets, Call takes a board from the wagon and puts it on his grave. Gus tells Newt that he has never seen his father so upset, a remark that confuses Newt. Call writes Deet’s name and an epigraph on the board, ending with “splendid behavior” (808). Gus leaves a service medal on the grave. Lippy cries and says he wishes they’d never left Lonesome Dove.