The Wonderous Springs of Balmorhea : A Literary Chronicle of New Deal Days

The boys at Balmorhea pine for Darlene, but she is really Minnie, who assisted her husband, Dr. John Brinkley. Brinkley who promised greater male virility with goat testicle operations was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of men. Sam McCabe, company clerk to Commander Captain Bell, is privy to most of the intrigue at the camp. Captain Bell, a World War I veteran, an amputee with a disfigured face, cleverly sidesteps federal dictates about segregation to protect the African American cook, Devilfish, and his band, blues musicians from Deep Ellum. Sam’s sidekick, E.O., the pious bookkeeper is running a gambling ring to fund his wedding plans while Jack, Sam’s best friend from Sul Ross College, a Casanova, is having a torrid affair with Darlene. Meanwhile, Sam befriends Chueco, a Mexican American boy who has escaped a life of slavery at the mercury mine at Terlingua. Close to the big inauguration day for the pool, though, tragedy strikes.