Scat

At the entrance to one of the tents at the secret camp, Nick and Marta see Mrs. Starch, without her usual garish makeup and professional costume. She is unwelcoming at first, but she eventually leads them inside the tent, where—if they promise to keep it secret—she will show them “something extraordinary” (250). 

Reports of Duane Jr.’s escape from authorities, who are pursuing him on an arson charge, have reached the media, and Dr. Dressler attempts to calm the agitated parents and trustees of the Truman School. He visits Duane Sr., hoping the old man can convince his son to turn himself in and minimize the bad press for the school. But when Duane Jr. unexpectedly appears, Dr. Dressler is tested: deep down, he knows Duane Jr. isn’t guilty of arson, and he lets the boy escape into the woods again. 

Inside the tent, Mrs. Starch reveals the extraordinary thing to Nick and Marta: a Florida panther cub, only a few weeks old. Its mother was scared away by the gunfire on the day of the field trip, and Mrs. Starch has stayed to nurse the cub until it can be reunited with the mother panther. The panther cub (nicknamed “Squirt”) is almost a magical creature, casting a spell over the observers; its presence even transforms Mrs. Starch into a loving, maternal figure. Nick and Marta watch in awe as “Mrs. Starch gently lifted the bottle to the kitten’s mouth and began humming a lullaby. The tune was surprisingly soothing and pretty” (260).

Tracking the mother panther—primarily by following her “scat,” or feces—Twilly Spree stumbles upon a mass of tanks, drills, and machinery. He has found Red Diamond’s illegal drilling operation. He sits down to consider what to do next. 

At the tent, Mrs. Starch has a long conversation with Nick and Marta. She explains her teaching philosophy—“‘I have to be tough in order to keep my students focused’” (264)—and her relationship with Duane Jr., who has been helping take care of the cub and track the mother panther. Although they appear to be natural enemies at the beginning of the book, Mrs. Starch and Duane Jr. have a lot in common: they both love the wilderness, and as Mrs. Starch says, “we both know what it’s like to be abandoned. ‘Dumped,’ in the current jargon” (269). She even explains the source of her anvil-shaped scar: she got it after saving an osprey chick that had fallen from the nest. When she fell climbing down from the nest platform, she landed on a glass soda bottle someone had left by the road:“[I]t’s not the mark of the devil. It’s the mark of the Pepsi-Cola company” (271). Mrs. Starch asks Nick if he will join the effort to save the baby panther cub, and he agrees; he unwraps his right arm so he can give one hundred percent to the cause.