An icy wind develops in the northern tundra of the lower Arctic and heads south to cross the border. Though tempered by travel, the north wind remains cold and dry, like a bubble that grows larger and larger, engulfing entire states as it advances. In the south, moist air from the Gulf moves northward, staying low and bringing nice but stifling weather. Both, by design or chance, meet in the midst of the great expanse of the Plains. II Distant storm clouds moved across the horizon, traveling along the thin border where the sky merged with the earth. Swaying with the picking up wind, the ears of corn were large and in the process of harvesting, like many Kansas fields in late June. A dark red combine shaped like a guinea fowl provided the only interruption to a golden floor. The sloping back and abrupt front slid between the stems with a certain grace and ease. A cloud of cloudy, brown dust rolled behind the combine, infusing the circulating air with the smell of dry grass and dirt, a smell like the first days of autumn when the leaves fall and begin to rot. The thon engine...