Chapter 10 Summary

Granddad wakes Lonnie up very early, so they can get started on the day's work. Granddad cooks breakfast for all the men, except Hud, who has not been seen since he attacked Halmea. They head out and drive the cattle into the pits, each man taking up a strategic position for the monumental task. Lonnie is in charge of keeping any cows from trying to escape a pit. The entire day is hellish, a storm of blood and noise and dust and heat, with cows and calves bawling their protests before they are gunned down in a pile. The work is over sooner than Lonnie expects, and he and Granddad go back to the barn. In the barnyard are Granddad's three prize longhorns, which he has raised himself. He has always kept them around as a reminder of the old days when cowboys...