"The Color of Despair" Summary

Inman is miserable after a rainy night on the road. He hates the flatlands filled with mean towns, red dirt, and cicadas that make his neck throb. He is too weak to make much progress every day, bone-tired, and lost in an area devoid of signposts. Downpours are terrible, and the farms are guarded by packs of vicious dogs, which he clubs. Last night was the worst, marked by meteors aimed at him, and other visions that fray his nerves. He hides from the Guard in a tree and daubs a mud bull's-eye on his jacket to mark himself a fugitive. Inman reaches a crossroads settlement that appears safe for provisioning. Two men on the porch pay no attention as he enters, but they are gone when he leaves. Inman notices a rare Whitworth .45 caliber...