Del’s Mother and the Lost Home

The Outlaws

This flow traces the distance between Del and the home he leaves behind, and how the possibility of returning emerges only after the false charge is lifted.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Life at Wineglass A Life at Wineglass from "The Outlaws". A Life at Wineglass Familiar Work Del has spent ten years riding for Wineglass and remains close to his mother, who teaches school in Prairie City and cooks…

A Life at Wineglass from "The Outlaws". A Life at Wineglass Familiar Work Del has spent ten years riding for Wineglass and remains close to his mother, who teaches school in Prairie City and cooks…

A Life at Wineglass Familiar Work Del has spent ten years riding for Wineglass and remains close to his mother, who teaches school in Prairie City and cooks for the ranch in summer. He has savings and hopes of starting a small spread. A Future Near Home His plans are modest but rooted: continued work, a herd, and a place beside the outfit. The accusation will break this ordinary continuity before Del has chosen to leave it.

Taking His Mother’s Savings Taking His Mother’s Savings from "The Outlaws". Taking His Mother’s Savings A Necessary Theft Del takes the money his mother has saved for a new heating stove, promising in a note that he will repay her.

Taking His Mother’s Savings from "The Outlaws". Taking His Mother’s Savings A Necessary Theft Del takes the money his mother has saved for a new heating stove, promising in a note that he will repay her.

Taking His Mother’s Savings A Necessary Theft Del takes the money his mother has saved for a new heating stove, promising in a note that he will repay her. He needs cash to disappear quickly and does not stop to consider his bank deposit. Guilt in Flight The act makes his escape intimate and painful: survival requires taking from the person he most wants to protect. The note becomes a small promise that he hopes a future self can keep.

Memory on the Road Memory on the Road from "The Outlaws". Memory on the Road Home as Measure As Del rides south, he wonders whether he will ever see his mother again.

Memory on the Road from "The Outlaws". Memory on the Road Home as Measure As Del rides south, he wonders whether he will ever see his mother again.

Memory on the Road Home as Measure As Del rides south, he wonders whether he will ever see his mother again. He measures freedom against the loss of familiar people and the chance to return to Montana. An Unsettled Exile At first he imagines the law might forget him. Yet each new job and departure makes home seem farther away, turning travel into a life rather than a temporary detour.

A Home He Cannot Claim A Home He Cannot Claim from "The Outlaws". A Home He Cannot Claim Temporary Belonging Del finds work with a Mormon family in Star Valley but remains an outsider to their community and faith.

A Home He Cannot Claim from "The Outlaws". A Home He Cannot Claim Temporary Belonging Del finds work with a Mormon family in Star Valley but remains an outsider to their community and faith.

A Home He Cannot Claim Temporary Belonging Del finds work with a Mormon family in Star Valley but remains an outsider to their community and faith. The job offers routine without restoring the feeling of belonging he had at Wineglass. Resentment Takes Root He begins to see respectable labor as a dead end because he believes the law has already made him an outlaw. His longing for home curdles into a justification for further flight.

Return Becomes Possible Return Becomes Possible from "The Outlaws". Return Becomes Possible A Changed Legal Reality Once Windy Holt receives word that the accusation has been dropped, Del is no longer wanted on that charge.

Return Becomes Possible from "The Outlaws". Return Becomes Possible A Changed Legal Reality Once Windy Holt receives word that the accusation has been dropped, Del is no longer wanted on that charge.

Return Becomes Possible A Changed Legal Reality Once Windy Holt receives word that the accusation has been dropped, Del is no longer wanted on that charge. The fact does not erase the distance he has traveled or the criminal choices he considered. A Future Reopened Del’s attachment to Kate and his new responsibilities complicate a simple return home. Still, the news restores the possibility that his mother and Montana need not remain forever beyond reach.

Before the Prairie City dance

Immediately before Del flees Prairie City

During Del’s early weeks as a fugitive

While Del works in Star Valley

After the charge is dropped in Roily