Chapters 16 and 17 Summary

Chapter 16 is called "The Starving Roamer." Lina, Caspar and Maddy set out the next morning, Lina riding in the bed of the wagon. After Caspar had fallen asleep one evening, she began talking with Maddy, who told her she had come from a small village that was struggling. She had agreed to go with Caspar, who she thought was a fool, just to escape her village. She would have stayed in Sparks, she told Lina, but she had agreed to help Caspar on his "quest."

After several days the group sees another wagon approaching driven by a strange looking man. When they are near one another, the strange man runs his wagon across the road and asks for some food. He has not eaten for days, he tells them. Caspar is angry at him and refuses to give him anything, even...