Summary

Jim feels refreshed after the spa and decides to paint. He doesn't want to go to his usual studio, so he goes to a mysterious place he calls "Hobbitville" to paint. He paints "In Hostile Country," a depiction of two brothers struggling along a trail. He paints in a sort of serious frenzy, and is clear that the brothers are Dellwood and Grant Siminoe. The painting is very grim, and the brothers are hunched against a compassionless world. He has an insight that losing one's younger brother might be similar to losing one's daughter. At the thought that he's killed someone's little brother, he is so stunned he has to take a break from painting and just sit, thinking and taking in his surroundings. He tries to focus on the horse abuse and Dell's cruelty, but he understands that Grant feels...