The Four Winds

As they head west, Elsa fights a rising tide of panic. How will she find a job? Who will watch her children while she works? Loreda reminds her that they have no choice but to leave and that she and Anthony are by her side. Loreda acts as navigator—she and Tony plotted a route before they left. Passing through Dalhart, Elsa stops at her parents’ house for a last look. The house is boarded up, a foreclosure sign in the front yard.

Back on the road, they see a host of fellow travelers, all heading west—some in cars, some in horse-drawn carts, some walking. In New Mexico, they stop for gas. The station attendant gives Elsa some advice: Keep your money hidden and avoid the auto court motel, she instructs, noting, “There’s a bad element out here” (200). Down the road, they park in a small wooded area and set up camp. As Elsa makes dinner, she hears a banging sound and finds a stranger siphoning gas from their truck. He grabs her by the throat and demands money. Loreda appears, a loaded shotgun in her hands, and the man retreats into the woods. Having grown accustomed to the dangers of nature, they must now be vigilant to the dangers of other people.