Chapter 4 Summary

On a Saturday afternoon in March, Billy Buck is raking together the last of the old hay. Jody comes out of the house eating a piece of buttered bread. He joins Billy at the remains of the haystack. They talk about the mice that have been living undisturbed in the bottom of the haystack for eight months. Jody says he will have a mouse hunt with the dogs. Billy reminds him to ask his father, who insists on granting permission for anything—no matter how trivial—done on the property. Jody and Billy talk about the possibility of rain.

Jody turns away from Billy to look at the hill where the road comes into their ranch. He watches one of the dogs digging into a squirrel hole. Suddenly he spots his father riding on horseback into the ranch. Jody sees something white in...