I worked in the screened-in back porch fo the rest of the day, and since the little room adjoined the kitchen, I could not help but overhear  Brian conversations as he called all the rental car companies listed in the phone book. I heard him cajole and even bribe anyone who would speak to him. But to no avail. There were no four-wheel-drive vehicles available at the present -not a single one for rent in the entire state of Texas, it seemed. He even phoned a car dealership and tried to buy one over the phone and have it delivered to my home. But even that desperate scheme did not...