Part 1 Chapter 3 Summary

Six months after their father's death, Alexandra and her brothers are visiting "Crazy Ivar." First they stop at the Linstrum property, where they ask Carl if he wants to join them. Carl wants to go because he has never seen Ivar's pond. Emil admits that he is afraid of Ivar because he howls at night. Carl says that Ivar is good because he knows how to cure animals although he does not speak English. Alexandra notes that Ivar has clear days when you can learn a great deal from him. Once he cured one of their cows by sawing off her horn and daubing the spot with tar.

The road to Ivar's homestead is very rough; there are very few other homesteads nearby. Ivar likes it that way; he does not want to have a lot of neighbors. Still the ride...