Section 7 Summary

The reader is back to the bike journey and Adam sees a ferocious dog and is terrified. The dog, a German Shepherd, is waiting to attack him at the bottom of a long hill. The dog places himself in the path of the bike and looks like a killer. Adam realizes the dog's intention is "to topple the bike, send it askew and have me crashing to the roadway, his victim." Adam swerves to keep out of the way of the dog and finds himself moving to the center of the roadway. An oncoming Volkswagen blows its horn distracting the dog's attention to chase after it instead of Adam. Adam pedals away, fatigue replaced by fear and panic. He is approaching the town of Fairfield but doesn't stop. He pedals through town and continues on his journey.

Section 7 Analysis

Adam's encounter with the...