Chapter 20 Summary

Charlie recognizes the three white men's clothes as the ones the women in the Indian village were washing on the Fox's visit. The men act calm, as if they are used to taking over villages. They ask Father how many residents of Jeronimo there are, and he replies that there are thousands, counting the termites. Father tries to convince the men the entire village is infested with the insects. All of the houses are falling down, according to Father.

Mother cooks breakfast for the men, and Father tries to hurry them on their way. When the men declare their intention to stay, Father says there is no place for them to sleep. The men indicate the Maywits' abandoned shack, and Father says it's infested with termites, telling Haddy to rip the floor and roof off the shack. Over Haddy's objections that he has...