Summary

Chapter One

The protagonist, a young boy named Willy, lives on a potato farm in Wyoming with his grandfather and their dog, Searchlight. The two have a very positive relationship, with Willy’s grandfather playing harmless tricks on Willy to keep him amused. This morning, Willy’s grandfather doesn’t wake up. At first he thinks it’s just another trick, but it soon becomes apparent something is wrong. Willy runs down to get Doc Smith who agrees to take a look at his grandfather. The two return, and Doc Smith informs Willy that his grandfather is still alive and perfectly fine. Something has caused him to lose the will to wake up, but Willy has no idea of what it could be.

Chapter Two

Doc Smith tries to convince Willy to give up on his grandfather because he has not shown any...