Book 2, Tom Outland's Story, Chapter 7 Summary

Tom tries to find out where Rodney went and tells Father Duchene what happened. Father Duchene recommends that Tom wait back at the mesa for Rodney to return, and to keep up with his studies. Father Duchene agrees to look for Rodney by putting out notices. Tom then goes back to the mesa alone.

Tom enjoys his time alone on the mesa, and thinks that he is fully there. He keeps up on reading Latin and studying, and thinks that it's the first time he's truly studied. He also cleans up the ruins because the German left a mess when he took all of the artifacts. He thinks that this is the best summer he will ever have. He memorizes parts of Virgil's Aeneid.

That winter, he works on the railroad in Pardee and continues...