A Promise of Thunder

married. Her cabin was burned down by hired gunmen, but the well is still intact. I could rent part of the acreage to you and Clem, and as payment Clem could work for me part time and you could help out Storm, since she’s expecting our first child. The only drawback is the lack of living quarters.”
    Mabel’s brown eyes glowed with excitement as she mulled over Grady’s offer. “What do you think, son?” she asked as Clem came up to stand beside her. Clem was a big, strong lad of seventeen who had plenty of brawn but lacked direction. That was one of the reasons they’d had to sell their farm. The boy needed someone to tell him what to do.
    “It’s better than living in town, Ma,” Clem said. “I don’t think I’d make a good shopkeeper. I’m not even sure we could afford to start a business with the money we got for the homestead. But we do have enough money to build a cabin if we rent land from Grady,” Clem added, warming to the subject.
    “It would be wonderful having another woman close by,” Storm said, her eyes shining. Leave it to Grady to come up with a solution that served everyone concerned.
    “Then it’s settled,” Mabel said, offering her hand to Grady to seal the deal.
    “Take the wagon back to town,” Grady offered. “I’ll help build your cabin when youreturn with the material. Your help on the farm will be welcome, Clem. From the looks of the wheat, it will be ready for harvesting in a few days.”
    Storm couldn’t recall when she’d been so content. Grady and Clem had worked tirelessly to erect the large, one-room cabin that would shelter the Martins. When it was completed Clem drove the wagon to town to pick up their furnishings, which had been stored in an empty warehouse after they moved from their homestead. Storm helped Mabel sew curtains. Mabel was thrilled with the results and expressed her gratitude for being given the opportunity to live where she and Clem would be happy doing the kind of work they enjoyed.
    A couple of days later Grady went to town and returned the proud owner of a combine. Storm was dismayed, realizing that such a machine must be terribly expensive.
    “Grady, where did you get the money to purchase such a machine,” Storm asked, eyeing the contraption with a hint of misgiving. “Did you borrow the money from your father?”
    “I didn’t pay for it yet, sweetheart. I borrowed the money from the bank on the strength of our crop. It’s done all the time. I’ll pay for it when I sell our wheat.”
    “What if something happens to the crop?” Storm asked worriedly.
    “Nothing is going to happen, sweetheart,” Grady said, pulling her into his arms. “How is the baby today?” His hand rested on the bulgeof her stomach, then slid upward to graze her breast.
    “Grady Stryker, don’t change the subject!” Storm said, slapping his hand aside. “The baby is getting bigger every day, as you well know.”
    “Where is Tim?” Grady asked, looking around for his son.
    “He’s helping Clem today. Mabel promised to bake him some cookies.”
    “Are we alone? If we are, I have a wonderful suggestion on how to spend our afternoon.” His caress grew more insistent.
    Storm laughed. “Grady—” Suddenly she went still, cocking her ear toward a sound she couldn’t identify. “What is that?”
    Grady heard it too. The sound was distinctive, like a steady drone that grew louder and louder. Then the sun seemed to disappear as the sky darkened. The noise was deafening now, and an enormous cloud blotted out the sun. Only it wasn’t a cloud. It was—
    “My God! Locusts!”

Chapter Twenty
     
    Storm stared at the ominous sky with growing apprehension. She had heard of locusts, but she wasn’t aware that they appeared in great hordes of tens of thousands, winging across the sky like a harbinger of disaster. When the solid mass of destruction swooped down from the sky toward the ripe stalks of wheat, Storm realized why Grady had become so distraught. Abruptly the droning buzz of insects on the wing changed to a chomping sound produced by scores of insects feasting on their crops.
    “Grady, can’t we do something? They’re eating our wheat!”
    Racing to the shed, Grady snatched a wide shovel and ran toward the fields. “I don’t know if it will help, but I’m going to kill as many of the bastards as I can.”
    Feeling helpless, Storm grabbed a broom from the doorstep and followed. She recoiled in horror when she suddenly stood amid thousands