Summary

In Chapter Four the narrative mode once more switches to the third person in order to detail the experiences of Orestes during his departure from the old woman’s farm. Told in past tense, this section begins when, alongside Leander, Orestes made his way back to the “place where they had been surrounded by dogs” (177) five-or-so years ago, only to notice that this house was now uninhabited, derelict, decaying and without life. Expecting to be attacked – by dogs or by the farmer, or both – the two boys were let down by finding nothing here, and so they moved on.

In the days that followed, Orestes noticed a shift in Leander’s demeanor, as if “their time in the house of the old woman . . . meant little” (178). Now Leander was focused on the journey, and on making it safe for them. He had no...