Navigating Early

The next morning as the boys pack up and start out again, Jack sees cracked walnut shells on the ground. He thinks a squirrel did it but cannot shake off the feeling that someone is watching them. The boys know they have to head north toward the Appalachian Trail. Despite losing his compass, Early still seems to have his bearings.

Suddenly, they hear dogs in the distance, and realizing MacScott is on their trail, Jack suggests crossing the river to throw off the dogs. Early is apprehensive, as the river is moving dangerously fast, but Jack insists as the dogs get louder and it begins to rain, and Early finally acquiesces.

Early goes across first, nimbly crossing the logs laid across the river; Jack follows but freezes halfway, just as he did on Dinosaur Log. On Early’s urging, he starts again but slips, falls into the river, and is swept away. The next few minutes pass in a blur; Jack gets hit in the head by a passing log, and as he loses consciousness, he sees what he thinks are the “deep, somber eyes of a big white whale” (156).