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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Jack runs until he finds a boy, Luke, searching for something on the train tracks as the train bears down on him. Jack shoves Luke out of the way at the last moment, and the two become fast friends. Luke offers the dog the name “Jack.” Jack finds that the name suits him, and he gives Luke “a woof of approval” (93). Luke is an orphan at the Good Shepherd Home for Boys. Jack thinks that Luke lives on a farm with sheep and is disappointed to learn otherwise, but he stays because Luke seems to need him.
After exploring the area, Jack returns to the orphanage, where Luke sneaks him inside for the night. In the morning, the woman in charge finds Jack and throws him out. As he leaves, Jack reflects that the orphanage is the kind of place that kills a person’s sense of worth and thinks, “Luke had to get away from that place” (101).
Jack spends a restless night on the streets. The next day, he returns to the orphanage, where