Devil’s Highway

Devil’s Highway is a natural rock bridge above Brimstone, a desolate mining settlement on the northeastern edge of The Territory. Its far end is anchored just outside The Set, two hundred yards and 150 years away. The formation is both a physical route out of the Western world and a boundary between worlds; in Washburn’s final approach, it becomes a threshold he reaches but does not cross.

Formation and Setting

The bridge rises above Brimstone as a broad, gently sloping span of rock. Its far end cannot be seen from the settlement, and its anchorage lies beyond The Set. The stated distance combines geography with time: the other side is not simply a place nearby, but a point two hundred yards and 150 years away. That unusual measure makes the landscape itself a seam between distinct realities.

A Promised Way Out

Washburn sits on his horse and looks toward the bridge, imagining that a five-minute ride to the other side will end his life in the West. He anticipates leaving its mixture of good and bad experiences behind and being with Consuela, reading newspapers, and watching television. Before setting out, he plans one last drink of redeye. At the saloon, he makes his intention explicit to Little Joe Potter: he will finish his drink, leave through the door, mount his horse, and ride over Devil’s Highway. The route thus becomes the concrete form of his stated desire to leave the life he has known.

The Turn at the Center

Under the crowd’s watch, Washburn unties his horse and rides toward the bridge. The animal hesitates when he spurs it onto the sloping, pebble-covered surface, and Washburn must keep urging it forward. At the highest point, he stops—or lets the horse stop—astride the joint between two worlds, looking toward neither. He reaches for the brim of his hat, discovers he is bareheaded, and lazily scratches his forehead. Then he turns the horse around and rides back down toward Brimstone.

The Threshold and the Confrontation

Washburn’s return reverses the promise attached to the bridge: the apparent passage out becomes the setting for his return to town. The crowd, which has watched him approach, recognizes that something is about to happen and scatters behind wagons, water troughs, and grain sacks. Little Joe Potter alone remains in the street. Washburn dismounts, sends his horse out of the line of fire, and walks toward him. Devil’s Highway therefore marks not a completed escape but a suspended crossing; its midpoint holds Washburn between worlds, while his decision to turn back brings the story’s attention back to the confrontation in Brimstone.