Ruby Holler

Sairy and Dallas try to make their way back after they discover Dallas has forgotten the compass. Sairy asks Dallas to tell her about Mr. Dreep to pass the time and is shocked to learn of his treatment of Dallas and Florida (The Dreeps had locked them in the cellar).

Florida and Tiller eat lunch along the bank. Florida points out that Dallas differs from Tiller because Dallas is an optimist, but that she and Tiller are similar as they both complain frequently. Tiller thinks of Sairy and how he never wants to be apart from her again. He asks Florida to tell him of the other foster families she and Dallas lived with.

Sairy and Dallas continue to try to find their way back to Ruby Holler. Dallas asks Sairy about some of the photographs on display in their home, and Sairy explains the identity of each person in them. The conversation makes her miss her mother; she wonders if it is worse to miss one’s mother or to never have a mother, like Dallas and Florida.

Tiller and Florida float on the river; Tiller is angered by the stories of abuse the twins suffered from various foster parents. Florida explains that she was able to endure them because of the pleasant stories Dallas told her of their future.

Z surveys the Moreys’ property. He suspects Mr. Trepid’s reasons for wanting the map have nothing to do with oil. He finds several places where rocks are piled and marks them all on the map.

Dallas and Sairy eat a can of cold beans, then continue to try to find their way. Sairy tells Dallas about a time when she and Tiller both spotted the perfect piece of wood for whittling. They both wanted it, and finally Tiller agreed to let Sairy have it. Out of guilt, she gave it back to him. In the end, neither felt right about carving the piece of wood knowing the other wanted it, so they left it intact in their home.

Sairy and Dallas worry about being separated from Tiller and Florida.

Florida and Tiller finish portaging the boat and take refuge under a canopy of trees as a storm starts in the distance. Both find pieces of wood to whittle, Tiller giving Florida advice about how to find inspiration. She tells him of Joey dying of fever at Boxton Creek Home. Then Tiller asks her how she got her name. Florida explains that there were two travel pamphlets in the bottom of the box they were found in—one advertising Florida and one advertising Dallas. As she talks, her whittling improves.

Mrs. Trepid finds a fancy dress she likes in a department store. She is tempted to purchase it to wear on an island they will hopefully relocate to in the future but decides against it when she hears the salesperson using the same praise for another patron.

Mr. Trepid, meanwhile, visits a car showroom where he peruses Cadillacs. Though he tells the salesperson that he intends to buy one, the salesperson seems skeptical. Mr. Trepid leaves, telling him he will purchase one from a different showroom.

When Sairy tells Dallas that she sometimes makes up names for her carvings, Dallas tells her his name is also made up. He tells the story of when he and Florida were babies in the box. Sairy tells him about the discrepancy between the date Dallas knows to be his birthdate and the one on his passport. Dallas wonders if indeed his date of birth may be in March.

Florida thinks about how surprising the river is: Just as she thinks she’s determined the direction in which it is headed, the direction changes. She asks Tiller why he does not mind when she does something wrong or makes a mistake and whether or not he likes having her and Dallas at Ruby Holler. Tiller admits that it has been “interesting,” but a “good interesting” (222). Then he confesses that they may have gotten a bit lost.

Z meets with Mr. Trepid to inform him he has marked 25 stone piles on the map. Mr. Trepid is shocked. Z is not yet finished surveying, so Mr. Trepid pays him some more money and they plan to meet again the next day.

Florida and Tiller float swiftly along the river in the rain. Suddenly, the boat hits a rock and capsizes. Both are thrown from the boat, and though Florida can see Tiller upstream, she cannot swim and does not know how to return to the boat.

On the Morey property, Z makes stone piles and marks them on his map. He wanders away from the house until he finds a stone pile; underneath it, Sairy’s box is buried. Z takes the box.

From the summit, Dallas and Sairy can see a creek. Excited by the water, Dallas runs downward to it. A small, furry animal resembling a rat crosses his path, and Dallas interprets this as an omen that something is wrong with Florida.

Mrs. Trepid enters a jewelry store where she tries on an $18,000 necklace of rubies and opals. She tells the salesclerk she is going on a cruise but is unsure if the necklace will match her gown. He offers to hold it for her, and Mrs. Trepid agrees. As she leaves, she wonders who would spend such money on a necklace.

A day later, Mr. Trepid enters the same store. He removes his old watch before entering, then tries on a $9,000 watch. He tells the salesclerk that he would like to look at additional watches but is short on time and must come back later.