“His father had really gone. He was alone, with miles of wilderness stretching on every side.”

For the first time, protagonist Matt Hallowell is left alone in the world without his family. They are to arrive soon, but meanwhile, he must fend for himself in a land filled with promise and danger.

“[…] the long, quavering cry of the loon from the distant pond. The first time he had heard that loon call he had thought it was a wolf. Now he liked to hear it. Mournful as it was, it was the cry of another living creature. Matt would worm his shoulder into a comfortable spot in the hemlock boughs that made his mattress, pull the blanket over his head to shut out the mosquitoes, and fall asleep well satisfied with his world.”

Life alone in the wilderness keeps Matt busy, but he’s rewarded with the food he catches and the sounds of nature. Having the natural world for company provides him with a sense of belonging. Elizabeth George Speare’s use of sensory imagery provides sights and sounds for the reader.

“Ben was gone, and so was the rifle. He should have kept it in his hands, as his hunch had warned him. He could see now that the man had had his mind set on that gun from the moment he laid eyes on it. But even if Matt had had it in his hands, could he have held out against those burly arms? And to keep his gun, could he actually have shot a man—even a criminal?”

Matt faces the first crisis of his solitary duty. A burly vagrant, Ben, has made off with his only protection and means of hunting for food. The crisis is also a moral one: Should he have been so generous a host, or would refusing a guest have been condemned by his father? It’s a difficult dilemma, and Matt pays for it with the loss of his only weapon.