Atdtda36: Just take a look, 1007

[Paul Nightingale]

Back to Stray and, here, the juxtaposition of 'strike' to the kind of work
that is being done: 'flooring got put in, latrines were dug ...' etc. One
might think of Ewball's speech about 'brothers-in-arms' on 1002. This
section, with its emphasis on collaborative action, contrasts to what has
gone before, the description of Vibe's death. Consider, on 1004: 'Frank
understood he would eventually be heading up to Ludlow to find Stray, but
right now the chance that Vibe might present a clear enough target seemed to
take precedence.'

Stray is mentioned when Frank and Ewball discuss her on 997-998 but her last
appearance was on 981, at the end of Ch65, in the company of Mayva. She has
moved on, drawn to Ludlow: '... she knew already it was where she had to be'
(1007). This is already information available to Frank on 1004. Ch65 begins
with Stray and Ewball having already 'agreed to part' (976); and the
narrative clearly states that 'somehow, a little at a time, she had found
herself surrendering to her old need to take care of people'. Moreover, 'she
had some trouble deciphering Ewball's own [interests] in wanting to head
down there [to the coal country]'. Ewball's inscrutability, or lack of
transparency, has, of course, been evident in recent pages in the current
chapter.

Here, the tent colony has attracted Stray ('Let me run up there with a wagon
...' etc, 1007) but also that of 'nearly a thousand troops'. In the first
paragraph, progress is gradual: 'Little by little ...' etc. As the section
ends, 'base camps, for the troops have appeared rather more quickly.