Book Review: The Dry Divide

Ralph's adventures continue in this next book from the autobiographical series that started with Little Britches, when he was 9. In this installment, he had just turned twenty. It picked up where Shaking the Nickel Bush left off. His buddy had skipped town, not knowing he had all of Ralph's money and Ralph was left with less than $3 to his name. He had been trying to make it back to Littleton, Colorado by the Fourth of July to meet up with all his old friends from his years as a kid, but his luck ran out in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was 1919 and the Armistice had just been signed.


Never one to stay down and out more than a couple of minutes, he spent his last nickel on a doughnut for a stranger who was hungry and the two of them took a job from a man who walked into the diner looking for harvest help. They had NO idea what they were getting themselves into. 


Mr. Hudson rounded up nine men who all piled in or on Hudson's old car, several of them standing on the running boards and they headed out of town. A long way out of town. Too far to go back. 


When they finally pulled into the Hudson place, realization began to dawn. The place was so run down, the only place for the crew to stay was on the ground behind the barn. Hudson was a monster. This man was so angry at the world, he was dangerous to be around. His own wife, children and all his horses were scared to death of him. Given the chance, they ran and hid. He drove the crew and horses so hard that first day that they would all have quit if Ralph hadn't convinced them to stay.


After Ralph saw the state of things, he determined that if there was any way to survive this situation, he would do it simply to save Hudson's poor family and horses. Hudson sized Ralph up immediately and knew he couldn't intimidate Ralph, even though Ralph only weighed about a hundred pounds and Hudson was a huge brute. Of course, that made Hudson furious, but instead of taking it out on Ralph, he took it out on the other men or horses. Ralph knew that his new employer was actually a coward, just a very cruel one.


Without Hudson's knowledge, Ralph went into town and made a deal with the banker to try and salvage the situation so that Mrs. Hudson and her children would have what they needed. Hudson was so deep in debt that his only way out was to make sure his wheat crop was harvested. But, the way Hudson was going about things, there was no way that crop would ever be harvested. He was on the verge of killing off his horses from mistreatment, his equipment was falling to pieces, and the crew of men would never last through the harvest. Ralph knew if Hudson found out about his deal, he would try to make sure there was a fatal "accident" for Ralph. Even Hudson's family warned Ralph that would happen.


As it turned out, it was Hudson who had the fatal accident. His string of barely tamed mustangs were dangerous for any but the most experienced horseman, and in a fit of fury he pushed his old mare too far. Hudson was an expert marksman with a bullsnake whip and everything on the place feared it. He drove the mare into a frenzy with that whip as he roared off down the trail and, to defend herself, the terrified mare flipped herself onto her back, crushing the demon in the saddle. The poor horse then had to drag the body back in to the yard because his foot had become caught in the stirrup. 


From that point on, everyone involved could breathe. As horrible as it was, even his wife was relieved to have been delivered from his abuse and cruelty. Ralph managed to salvage the situation and, because of his honest, manly leadership, all the remaining crew signed on to work for him and try to help Mrs. Hudson get out of debt. The old banker who had held the mortgage financed Ralph's new business enterprise: wheat hauling.


By pinching every dollar till it squealed, Ralph managed to help Mrs. Hudson pay off all her debts and buy a little house and furniture in town. Not only that, he bought 8 teams of horses, wagons, harness, food, clothes, tools, and paid his men well, and ended hauling season over $1000 in the bank, free and clear. He earned the reputation of being trustworthy, hardworking, and honorable. 


This is a great book to help kids understand the importance of having a good work ethic. It's the seventh out of the eight volume series, so we have one more to go. I know the kids are going to be sad when we finish our journey with Ralph.


#35 in the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. Only 17 more to go! 

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