Chapters 15 and 16 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 15, some of the first poetry L'Amour was composed while he walked along and hunted for rabbits. He didn't really "hunt" for them, but if he saw one he'd shoot at it. He became friendly with a neighbor farmer, Gillespie, who was an avid reader himself. They'd often get together to discuss books, history and writers. L'Amour borrowed many books from Gillespie over the next several months.

People in the area gossiped about L'Amour, saying he should have a proper job and not just stay in the house all the time. There was a group of ruffians who smirked at him when he was in town. Some boys in the town heard that L'Amour had been a boxer and asked if he wanted to have a bout with another local fighter. The other kid was nice and had...