The Old Man Summary

When the two boys awake, the sea is tranquil, and Jessie smells the land. Jessie is shocked to smell what he believes to be chickens, and the African boy believes he smells the same thing. Jessie sees a chicken come bobbing out of the nearby trees, and he knows that means people are nearby which makes him nervous. The boy acts as if to try and throw a stone at the chicken, but Jessie dissuades him. The two start off down the beach but are stopped when they hear a man's voice shout at them to stop. The boys keep going until they find that the beach ends in steep faced rocks. When the two turn around, they see an elderly black man with his hen beside him. The African boy's face lights up until he sees that the...