Summary

In Chapter 3, the train reaches Real Marvelous. Everyone runs toward the camp, knowing there may not be enough jobs for everyone. Sarah is first in line. Sarah and James are both hired. Sarah relishes the chance to shower, then follows the smell of food. She has seen “pictures in books of men all tied up together, wearing striped clothes and breaking rocks with sledgehammers” (35). Sarah knows they were called “chain gangs” and that there was always a guard nearby. She compares their foreman to the guard in that picture. The comparison includes the two large dogs and the mirrored sunglasses. The foreman tells Sarah and James that each will earn 30-38 cents a day. Mr. Gonzales, the landowner, arrives on horseback and pledges punishment for anyone who causes trouble.

That evening, Sarah meets some of the other workers. A couple, Ben...