Chapter 11 Summary

The four swimmers and Max take a school van on the 500-mile drive to the first of their two meets in Montana. Jeff and Nortie play gin rummy in the back almost non-stop, with Jeff beating him repeatedly. Lion psychs himself up for the meet by getting very quiet and drawing in a sketchbook. Walker sometimes takes turns with Max driving the van. After several hours they have crossed the mountains and are in a long flat part of Montana. Unexpectedly, Max turns the van off the highway and drives a few miles to a house at the end of a long driveway. Walker sees a woman and a young girl standing in the window, and the girl runs out into the snow, excited to see Max. They play in the snow for a while as Walker watches and the other boys sleep...