It needed but a glance to show them Kentuck lying there, cruelly crushed and bruised, but still holding The Luck of Roaring Camp in his arms. As they bent over the strangely assorted pair, they saw that the child was cold and pulseless. "He is dead," said one. Kentuck opened his eyes. "Dead?" he repeated feebly. "Yes, my man, and you are dying too." A smile lit the eyes of the expiring Kentuck. "Dying!" he repeated; "he's a-taking me with him. Tell the boys I've got The Luck with me now;" and the strong man, clinging to the frail babe as a drowning man is said to cling to a straw, drifted away into the shadowy river that flows forever to the unknown sea.
COMMENTS:
The town's people worship a baby because they think this new christianed baby will bring them a change of luck. Which it does but the town grows greedier and wants to keep this luck to themselves. The flood may have been Nature trying to kill the luck that made the men greedy and symbolized the flood in Noah's Ark.
With a bunch of tough, dirty guys and one frail, fragile baby, there's going to be a problem with how to raise it. However, another conflict presents itself as the story continues. With the prosperity of the town increasing, so does the greed of its inhabitants.