Father and Tim head back toward Redding on a clear day, but there is heavy snow on the ground. Tim handles the wagon and oxen while Father rides ahead on horseback to scout for cowboys and danger. In contrast to the first day of the trip when Tim showed off and thought of himself as an adult for managing the oxen, now he feels alone and scared. Suddenly he realizes that Father has not ridden back to check on him for a long time.

He thinks of all the reasons why Father might not have come back, but he is a realist and knows that something bad has happened. He finds the spot where it is clear that his father was accosted by men on horseback. He knows Father has been captured. Tim’s choices are to run away and hide, to try and rescue Father, or to get the wagon home. By thinking about what his father would do, he knows that he must get the wagon home so that the family and their business will survive the war. He wants Sam and Father to have something to return to.

On his way, a group of cowboys approach and try to steal the wagon.