Book 1: Chapters 4-6 Summary

It is too hot for Bonham to breathe. He gasps, looking at the faraway mountains dancing over the Utah desert where he and Howie are laying track because things at home get out of control. They are part of a section gang, so they cannot stop work until the foreman allows. Bonham and Howie struggle to keep up with the Mexicans. It is 125° in the shade and there is no shade. Bonham feels like he is smothering under a blanket, with his heart beating and his breath shallow. When they stop for lunch, the Mexicans offer to share their spicy egg sandwiches, but the boys pass. They follow them two miles for a swim in a muddy canal surrounded by tumbleweeds. They dislike the hot, alkali water, and then have to run two miles back and resume work. Bonham...