Pages 171 - 195 Summary

Arthur Ownby—the real name, as it turns out, of the man referred to so far as "Uncle Ather," "the orchard keeper," or simply "the old man"—is traveling outside in a severe downpour of rain. Despite his old age, he seems to manage the wet terrain dexterously at first, hopping from one firm spot to another, but eventually he slips and lands bodily into the wet mud. Meanwhile, a large cat—probably a panther or something like it—is roused from her sleep in Ownby's outhouse: the water is starting to seep in. She crawls out and begins to search for new refuge. She finally finds some in the Rattners' barn. Kenneth Rattner's widow, Mildred, opens the barn some time later and is confronted by the creature which lunges at her and runs away. She goes...