Chapter II Summary

Billy buries the wolf, notes that the kits die in her womb, and leads his horse away. He makes a bow and arrow from a holly limb and cane, and he and Bird live on the sparse gleanings of the land - a few trout for Billy and grass or lichen for Bird. They arrive at El Tigre where a girl asks if he's sick then invites him in for a meal of tortillas and beans. Just as he prepares to leave, the girl wakes her sister, Clarita, who was sleeping in another room. Clarita touches Billy's face before disappearing back into her bedroom. He stays for awhile with an Indian tribe and an old man warns him of the dangers of being too much alone with no home, saying that this would ultimately make Billy a stranger to all, including...