Chapter 4 Summary

In chapter four, the day after the trip to the fair, a man named Bounce Reyburn appears at the door of the shack and demands that the Larkins pay five dollars a month rent, dating from the day of their arrival. Dad agrees to pay but insists upon a receipt. Bounce says that "everybody" knows him but Dad insists. Finally, Bounce allows Dad to write out a receipt on a piece of paper and he signs it. Dad asks if Bounce owns the house and he says that he has "a stake in it." He says that he's the foreman for Mr. Anderson, who owns the ranch and the shack. He then says that he has the authority to set the rent and warns Mr. Larkin not to complain to Mr. Anderson. While the cost of the rent is worrisome, Janey is relieved...