A Promise of Thunder

of insects relentlessly advancing from stalk to stalk, methodically devouring every grain of wheat in their path. When Grady started wielding the shovel, Storm followed suit. Soon Clem, Mabel, and Tim joined them, using whatever was handy to swat at the voracious insects. But the more they swatted and stomped, the faster they came, until Storm’s arms felt like lead, her legs wooden.
    She cried out in horror when she felt the grayish-green insects crawling up her dress and clinging to her limbs. They gathered in her hair, skin, and clothing until Storm felt a suffocating blackness steal over her. The breath squeezed from her lungs and she swayed drunkenly. From the corner of his eye Grady saw Storm stagger, and he let out a cry as he flung down the shovel and leaped to her aid. Brushing the insects from her face and clothing, he scooped her up in his arms and raced toward the house.
    “Mabel!” he called over his shoulders. “Take Tim inside!” Tim’s small body was covered with so many locusts he was barely recognizable.
    “Stay inside,” Grady said gruffly as he deposited Storm just inside the door. “There’s nothing more we can do. When they’ve destroyed the crops they’ll move on to neighboring fields.”
    “Oh, Grady, I can’t bear it!” Storm wailed. “All our crops, everything we’ve worked so hard for. What will we do?”
    “Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’ll survive somehow,” Grady said grimly. Then Mabel arrived with Tim, and Grady left to continue his losing battle with the locusts.
    Storm watched from the window, wringing her hands and fretting. How were they to survive with their crop destroyed? It didn’t even help to know that all the homesteaders in the area were suffering the same fate. Before the scourge was over not a field for miles around would be left unscathed. No wonder so many homesteaders gave up, selling their land to speculators or losing it outright when taxes came due and no money was available to pay them.
    By nightfall the destruction was complete. Around dusk Grady and Clem returned to the house. All they had managed to save was the vegetable garden. Grady’s face was grim, his eyes bleak. They sat down to a silent, dismal meal. After the dishes were done the Martins returned home. Storm put Tim to bed while Grady stood in the open doorway, his eyes sweeping across the golden stubble that had once been abundant fields of grain. After she tucked Tim in, Storm joined him.
    “How will we survive?” She was thinking of their new baby and the burden another mouth to feed would place on Grady.
    “We could sell your land,” Grady suggested. “Speculators are buying up large tracts. There is talk that rich deposits of oil lie beneath thesurface. Drillers are already predicting success in Texas.”
    “You can’t sell the land—you’ve just rented part of it to the Martins. They’ll be devastated if they have to leave. They’ve spent the last of their money building their cabin.”
    “With no crop to harvest, there will be little work for Clem. Thank God for the cattle. I’ve already been out to check on them and they’re prospering. Tomorrow Clem and I will round them up and count the calves. Fortunately, there have been many new births this year. We can sell the older cows to the army and keep the calves and bull. We’ll get by, sweetheart, and if we’re careful there will be enough left over for seed next year.” He turned to smile at her. “If you hadn’t insisted on those cattle we’d be in a hell of a mess right now.”
    “What about the Martins?”
    “I’ll start paying Clem a small salary in addition to the free rent. I was going to offer him a share of the profits from the wheat, but now he’ll have to make do with a salary. There’s always the vegetable garden for our immediate needs.”
    “You could ask your father for help,” Storm said. “I know he’d be glad to lend you enough money to get by on until another crop can be planted.”
    “This is something I have to do myself,” Grady said stiffly. “I’d feel less of a man if I couldn’t support my family through my own efforts. I’ll turn to Dad for help only as a lastresort. I’d never let my family starve. Come to bed, sweetheart. I need you tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever needed you more.”
    Turning into his embrace, they kissed with a need born of desperation. With their mouths still joined, Grady picked her up and carried her into their bedroom. He undressed her