Summary

The travelers pull the canoe up onto the shore, and Maia goes off into the woods to relieve herself. Wynn takes out the fishing gear and sets off alone, wanting to get some distance from Jack. He follows the creek upstream, further into the green part of the untouched forest, and marvels to himself at how beautiful it still is. The narration goes into considerable detail about how he gets ready to fish, and the songs he sings quietly to himself as he does. He also reflects on Jack’s tendency to prefer lonesome cowboy songs, and wonders what part of him feels a connection to those songs. He also reflects on what he has recently seen of Jack’s ruthlessness, and whether a sense of that is perhaps part of what drew him to Jack at all. His contemplations are interrupted when...