A young boy stands in his yard in the early morning. It rained the night before, so he makes imprints in the mud with his feet. He looks out on the prairie and the mountains, and he imagines the festivities that will be occurring soon in the town under the mountains for the fourth of July, including a parade and a ball game. He plays with the ears of his puppy until his father comes outside. His father jokes that it might be too hot to drive, and the boy sees that he is joking and states that they will be going to town. His father laughs, and he runs off to feed the hens and complete other chores as quickly as possible. The boy completes his chores quickly, and he dresses in his nicest clothes. His parents laugh at his energy, and his father jokes that he is like a race horse. At 8 o'clock, his father goes out to check their old Ford. It is full of gas, so they all get in the car. The father instructs the boy to switch the car to magneto and pull the spark down when the car kicks over. The father winds the crank, but the engine just hisses. He says that they must of flooded it and they will have to wait a few minutes. They try to start the car again, but the motor does not even cough. The mother and boy voice their concerns that there is something wrong with the car, and the father checks the engine. He takes out the spark plugs and scrapes them. The mother reassures the boy that they will not miss much of the festivities. The father tries to start the car again, and it still does not start. The mother asks if there is anything else he car try, and he does not want to try but he sees the boys face and decides to. The father tries many different things, but nothing works. He starts to get very angry, and swears and yells. The boy is very scared they will not make it to town. The father is about to give up, but the mother has the idea to hitch the horses to the car and see if it will start once it is moving. The father sees that the boy is about to cry and agrees to try. The boy runs through cacti and gets the horses as quickly as he can. They hitch the horses to the car, with the father in the car and the boy riding one of the horses. The boy kicks his horse again, and his father yells at the car. The horse rears, and the boy holds on desperately. The car still has not started, and the father yells for the boy to gallop the horses. The boy gallops the horses while the car sputters behind him and his father swears at it. Finally, they stop, and the car still has not started. The boy is about to cry, and the father looks like he wants to rip apart the car with his bare hands. The boy chokes on a sob while he looks at his father's face. His father yells at him to not blubber, and the boy says that he cannot help it. The father slaps his face, and the boy starts bawling and runs to his mother. His mother says that there is no use for the father to try to apologize now, and that he should leave until the boy has gotten over it. The father stomps away while the boy cries into his mother's dress. The mother reassures the boy that they will go to town as soon as they can and have a picnic under a waterfall and watch a ball game. The boy wants to believe her, but does not. He finally stops crying. He puts his overalls back on and goes to stand in the yard again. He looks out at the mountains, imagining all of the festivities. He sees heat waves rising off of the prairie. He looks down and sees the footprint that he made that morning. He pushes his foot into the mud again and makes a perfect circle of imprints.