Chapter 4 Summary

The same routine ensued throughout the next days. Charles' mother didn't know where Charles was going every morning but was usually satisfied with his answer that he was just going "around" or had been at the "boathouse" or "harbor." She was suspicious sometimes because he had books with him. She should be happy he's studying, he'd respond. At one point, her suspicions led to her ponder his possible drug abuse. She told him how worried she was that he'd get into drugs like so many other boys.

Meg was the only family member who knew what he was really doing. She was curious about McLeod who, her brother told her, was gruesome. Charles would either pass the entry exam or be nuts or dead by the end of the summer. His friends asked him where he was spending his time and he told...