Tue 18 Dec 2018
Western Pulp Stories I’m Reading: ERLE STANLEY GARDNER “Carved in Sand.”
Posted by Steve under Pulp Fiction , Stories I'm Reading , Western Fiction[3] Comments
ERLE STANLEY GARDNER “Carved in Sand.” Whispering Sands #15. Novelette. Argosy Weekly, June 17, 1933. First collected in Whispering Sands: Stories of Gold Fever and the Western Desert (William Morrow, hardcover, 1981).
The online FictionMags Index lists 17 “Whispering Sands” stories that Gardner did for the pulp magazine Argosy from 1930 to 1934, of which “Carved in Sand” is the 15th. I do not know whether or not Bob Zane is in all of them, but I believe he is in most. (Corrections welcome!)
It is not clear from reading just this one story what it is that Bob Zane does for a living. He is an older man, not yet grizzled, but perhaps a prospector with an inherent love for the desert, with an inquisitive mind and an aptitude for solving mysteries. The setting is not stated in any precise fashion, but it is probably the Southwest US, circa the early 1930s, about the time the story itself was written. (Both automobiles and airplanes are used as modes of transportation.)
In this tale Zane and young Pete Ayers, his companion at the time, come to the rescue of a young girl whose father has been accused of killing another prospector. She has helped him escape, if only temporarily. He’s back in jail now, even though the evidence against him is only circumstantial and sketchy at that.
Zane disrupts the man’s trial with Gardner’s usual zeal in such matters with some evidence based on a single fact that (disappointingly) only longtime denizens of the desert would be aware of, otherwise this is a solid, enjoyable piece of work.
I’m only guessing, but Gardner seems to have two great passions in life: the law and how it can be manipulated to one’s advantage, and the desert and its ever “whispering sands.” The latter has two aspects to it, according to Gardner: first its inherent cruelty, but secondly, and more importantly, its kinder side, the one that can not only lull even the rawest tenderfoot to sleep, but can also hold the evidence of everything that happens there, waiting only for someone who knows where to look.
These stories were among Gardner’ more poetic creations. In attitude and presentation, there’s quite a bit of difference between these and the straight-forward detective mysteries he’s much more well known for.
December 18th, 2018 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for a good review!
I loved “Carved in Sand” too. Think it’s the best tale in the collection. Also liked “Law of the Rope” and especially “Written in Sand”.
Some of Gardner’s novels get him back in the desert:
The Case of the Drowning Duck (1942)
The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943)
Up for Grabs (1964)
December 18th, 2018 at 6:54 pm
Gardner’s enthusiasm for the desert is legendary and he wrote a number of nonfiction travel books on the subject. This interest was extended to include the wilder areas of Baja California, also the subject of many of his NF books. They make interesting reading and give a glimpse into Gardner the man.
December 18th, 2018 at 8:05 pm
Zane is identified as a prospector, but pokes his nose into almost any situation that makes a good plot. These were some of the first Gardner pulp work I read and quite different than what I expected. Quite good too.