Book II, Chapters 11-13 Summary

In chapter eleven, Lydia receives a letter from Tom stating that many of the locations they have chosen for the whale hunts are killed out and there are no whales to be found. As a result, Tom and his crew will go to the Sea of Japan to find more whales. Instead of coming home in a few weeks, Tom expects to be gone for another year. Dencey thinks that her father's homecoming is almost a mythical thing by now; it seems as if she has lost faith in Tom's return even though Lydia assures the girl that he will come back to Nantucket.

Lydia becomes edgy and loses focus on her daily tasks.

Two months after receiving the letter, Dencey hears someone throwing pebbles against her mother's window. It is Tom. The whole family is stunned...