Miig explains to Frenchie that the whites are building another school, “[b]ut not everyone needs to know that right now” (108). Miig tries to get Frenchie to understand that in some situations, withholding the truth may be the only way to keep the group moving. Frenchie wryly observes that he’s “[m]issing the innocence of an hour ago when my only concern was touching the hand of a girl I thought I might love” (109). Frenchie longs to hear the rest of Miig’s backstory “because I thought just by knowing about it, somehow, it would make our escape seem all the more plausible” (110).

Frenchie’s group continues traveling north in the snow. RiRi finds a bucket with a wrapped piece of bread, indicating that others are nearby. Miig asks Frenchie to climb a tree and scout; while in the tree, Frenchie sees “two figures, huddled around an open fire in a small clearing about a three-hour march to the west” (113). Once Frenchie returns to the group and describes the men he saw, Wab confirms they are the same men she saw previously. Rose talks to Frenchie, who waxes philosophical about the strange nature of life and how small decisions can have a major impact on events.