The Good Thief: A Novel

After the man leaves with William, Brother Joseph supervises the boys as they work making wine. Brother Joseph sits, sipping wine from his "sampling cup" (11), with his feet propped on a tin box of coals that serve as a heater. Occasionally, he falls asleep, his robe catches fire, and he uses the wine to douse the flames.

Brother Joseph doesn't excuse Ren from work because of his impairment. Rather, he offers "small words to encourage him" (12) and adapts Ren's tasks to his abilities. As he watches the boys work, Brother Joseph suggests that they pray for William. Ren can't imagine a "bad fate for William" (13) as he remembers how the man lifted William into his wagon. Ren wonders if William will, like other boys who were adopted, send them letters detailing his new life of "warm beds and clean clothes and special meals their mothers prepared for them" (13). Ren imagines William sitting down to supper with his new family, using "the good plates" (13). Ren thinks that the man's wife "would not have minded his hand[…]at all" (13).

As Ren continues working, his fingers stained with grape juice, he thinks about the few boys who had "grown old enough and been passed over enough" (14) to be conscripted into the army. One, Frederick, was "a stout child" (14) who had trouble breathing and suffered fainting spells. He was dragged away in the night by soldiers. The other, Sebastian, a "remarkably pale and thin" (14) boy, had left with the army for six months, then returned to Saint Anthony's "so changed that the children did not recognize him" (14). Sebastian had two black eyes, a split lip, and a broken leg. He tried to crawl through the swinging door in the wall, but Father John had turned him away. Sebastian stayed outside the wall for three days, crying, pleading, shouting, praying, and cursing until he "fell silent" (14) and was loaded onto a wagon by three soldiers and driven away. Ren heard a rumor that Father John accepted payment for the boys and also "signed a contract of some kind" (15) giving the army ownership of the boys. Ren thinks about this situation each day, and each day the scar on his left arm itches more.

To combat these thoughts, Ren begins to steal things. He starts with small food items, like slices of bread, then small objects he can hide: "socks and shoelaces, bombs and prayer cards, buttons, keys, and crucifixes" (15). He stashes them in a crack by the well, or, sometimes, throws them down the well. Like all the boys at Saint Anthony's, Ren also collects rocks. Mostly they find "feldspar and shale" (15) but occasionally they find "pieces of quartz, or mica, or arrowheads" (16). The boys trade them and, when they get adopted, divvy up the rocks left behind.

When Brother Joseph falls asleep, the boys spread William's collection of rocks on the barn floor and begin arguing over them. Among them is a wishing stone, "a soft gray rock with an unbroken circling band of white" (16). Ren has only seen one before William's. It belonged to Sebastian, one of the boys sold into the army.

While the boys begin dividing the rocks, Ren pretends someone shoves him into the center of the group and palms the wishing stone. He opens his palm and admires the stone, thinking of "all the things he was going to ask for" (17). Brom and Ichy notice Ren has taken something. They ask him about it and the other boys notice the commotion. Ren punches Brom, ducks Ichy, then runs out of the barn, "praying all the while" (17) no one will come after him. The boys soon catch Ren, though, and Brom and Ichy tackle Ren. They wrestle the wishing stone out of his hand and begin making wishes, for arrowheads, candy, boys, and "for Father John to break his neck" (17). Someone wishes to "get picked from the line" (18), and another for "a hundred wishes instead of one" (18).

Ren listens, hating each of the boys. He snatches the stone back and throws the stone down the well in spite. 

Father John brings Ren into his study on the monastery's second floor. From there, Father John issues his dictations and benedictions, "catalogs of sins" (19), and issues punishments. Ren has been "caned" (19) by Father John many times before—for stealing food, getting out of bed, going onto the roof, and cursing—but thinks Father John whips him "less harshly" (19), judging by the welts on the other boys.

After Ren threw the wishing stone into the well, Brom and Ichy had beaten Ren until he told them where he stashed his collection of stolen things. The boys then made off with all of it before Brother Joseph awakened from his wine-induced nap. Father John, though, had heard the fighting and discovered Ren alone, "bruised and bloody and weeping at what he had lost" (20). Now, in his study, Father Joseph reads to Ren from The Lives of the Saints. This time, it's a passage about Saint Anthony, and how Anthony had told a young man named Leonardo, who had kicked his mother, to "remove the part of himself that had committed the sin" (20). Leonardo cut off his foot, but Saint Anthony reattached it with a touch of his finger.

Father John explains that sin resides not only "in the flesh" (20) but is "an indelible part of your soul" (20). Only "holy confession and the sacred fire of God's judgment" (20) can remove sin. Father John tells Ren to think of the saints next time he's "tempted" (21). He then points to "the whipping stool" (21), a wooden stool now worn with age and use. Ren pulls down his trousers and bends over the stool. Father Joseph uses his switch to hit Ren's bottom and asks him who hit him. Ren refuses to answer.

That night, in the boys' "long, narrow attic" (21) room, Ren tries to sleep as the backs of his legs burn from the beating. The room smells, as it always does, of "boiled fish" (21). The boys get bathed twice a month by "a group of charitable grandmothers" (22). Brom and Ichy lie in the bed next to Ren as they have since they arrived at the orphanage. Ren remembers the night Brother Joseph brought the twins, "soaking wet" (22) to the room. Brother Joseph muttered to himself how their mother "drowned herself" (22) and the boys would be "nothing but bad luck" (22). Joseph said the boys needed to get warm and slipped them both into bed with Ren. Brom sobbed and Ichy stuffed part of Ren's nightshirt into his mouth. Ren imagined the twins' mother standing beside them, "dripping with water" (22). He got the feeling she "was waiting for him to do something" (22), so he started whistling. This silenced the twins, who fell asleep, and made their mother's apparition disappear.

Trying to sleep after his beating from Father Joseph, Ren hears weeping. This wakes a few of the boys, who begin to stir and mumble. They curse at the boy to stop crying. Ren hears "footsteps crossing the floor" (24) then a "loud, hard smack" (24). The crying stops after that. All the boys are awake now and Ren knows he won't be able to read for a while. He shuts his eyes and imagines the wishing stone in his closed hand. He sees "all his possible wishes spread out before him" (25) and feels that when he opens his hand, the stone will appear. It doesn't. Ren feels glad he threw the stone so no one will "ever be able to wish on it again" (25). 

The next morning, the boys sit in class with Brother Peter, a man who would usually "rest his forehead on the table[…]and ignore the children completely" (26). That morning, the boys use bits of slate to write and rewrite a psalm. Brother Peter rests his head on his desk when a boy begins to whisper and point to the window. Ren looks up to see "a stranger" (27) crossing the yard.

The stranger is a man with glasses and "straw-colored hair tied with a ribbon" (27). He wears boots and a long dark coat and, with his pale complexion and slight build, looks more like a student than a farmer. Ren notices that the stranger pauses in his gait and leans to one side, as though "his leg pained him" (27). Brother Joseph bursts into the classroom fifteen minutes later, in his wine-stained robes and out of breath. He tells the boys to get to the statue. They scramble out of the room and to the Saint Anthony statue.

Father John leads the man towards the boys. The man has a "rugged and handsome" (28) face, and "the bluest eyes that Ren had ever seen" (28). Father John introduces the man as Benjamin Nab. Benjamin stands on one foot, twirling his opposite ankle in the air. With a "broad, bright, beaming smile" (28), Benjamin explains it's an "old war wound" (28) and cold weather makes it hurt. Father John says that Benjamin is looking for his brother, who was sent to Saint Anthony's eleven years ago as an infant. Benjamin then begins careful inspection of each boy, feeling their necks, lifting "a patch of brown hair to his nose" (28), and examining tongues. When Benjamin reaches Ren he jabs the boy in his shoulder, as though rousing him from sleep. He tells Ren in a friendly tone that he "looks like a little man" (29). Benjamin reaches down to squeeze Ren's left arm and goes silent.

Benjamin closes his eyes, as if "trying to remember something" (29), then drops to his knees and throws his arms around Ren. Benjamin cries out that this is "the one" (29) and continues embracing Ren. Ren feels "a surge of joy" (30) followed by "overwhelming dizziness" (29), causing him to vomit. Benjamin pushes Ren away but offers him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. Not used to this treatment, Ren wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Father John invites Benjamin for tea and Ren worries that he'll try to talk "the stranger out of taking him" (30) but he follows the men to Father John's study.

In the study, Benjamin sits on the whipping stool, the only available chair. Ren stands in the corner, as he usually does, but Father John indicates that he should stand beside Benjamin. Benjamin, seeming "perfectly at ease" (31), sips his tea and tells the story of how Ren lost his hand. Benjamin explains that their father, who was "all dreams" (31), had taken their family west to Wagaponick. There, the family built a crude house complete with a rudimentary fireplace that filled the house with smoke. The smoke irritated Ren's lungs so badly that their mother took him "to the fort for a week" (32) to clear the baby's lungs. Ren imagines their mother can feel "spots of soot in the back of his throat" (32). Benjamin continues, saying that the summer Ren learned to walk, things had improved for the family. One day, Benjamin was out fetching water. His parents were at the house with Ren in the yard, tied to a post to keep him from wandering off.

When Benjamin returned from fetching water, he heard "this strange sound, sort of like bed moans" (33). He stayed in the trees and found a group of Native Americans at the house, all wearing "women's nightgowns" (33). Benjamin saw them standing over "something in the vegetable garden" (33) and hacking it with clubs. Benjamin realizes that it's their father. The moans, though, belonged to their mother, who was stretched on the ground, holding Ren's ankles. A Native had Ren by the hands, and dragged the two behind him in the dirt. As they passed the woodpile, their mother grabbed an axe and swung it. She missed the Native she aimed for and instead cut Ren's "arm in two" (33). She then "took down three men" (33) before the other men got to her. Benjamin snatched Ren and carried him away into the woods. Benjamin then jumped in the river and let the current carry them away. He credits the cold with keeping Ren alive.

Benjamin then gave Ren to a wagon of people returning east. He asked them to put Ren "in a good home[...]somewhere civilized" (34). On his own, Benjamin joined with "good" (34) Natives, learned to shoot, hunt, find water, and find "hiding places when there was no place to hide" (34). Ten years later, Benjamin says, he found the Natives who killed their parents. He also says he found their parents. Benjamin then produces two pieces of human scalp, one with "brownish fuzz" (34), the other "a jagged scrap of faded yellow curls" (34). Father John tells Benjamin to put them away. Benjamin obliges then tells Father John that Ren is his brother and "no one else's" (34). Father John agrees and gives Ren a final blessing. He tells the boy to gather his things.

Brother Joseph leads Ren up to the boys' room. Ren gathers the scrap of cloth bearing his name, a pair of socks, and The Lives of the Saints from under his pillow. Brother Joseph asks Ren where he got the book. Ren cannot "bring himself to lie" (35) and says he stole it. Brother Joseph says that's a "commandment broken" (35) and Ren shrugs. Brother Joseph asks why Ren took it. Ren doesn't know how to answer. Ren cares for reading the book "more than eating" (35) or sleeping. He tells Brother Joseph that he "wanted the miracles" (35). Brother Joseph says they should "make penance quick" (35) and performs the penance with Ren. Afterwards, Brother Joseph hands the book back to Ren. He tells the boy to take it because it's "not stolen anymore" (36).

On his way out of Saint Anthony's, Ren realizes it's the last time he'll touch the staircase's banister. He gets a splinter in his palm as he does. Outside, he begins to feel uneasy leaving the familiar place. At the well, Ren finds Brom and Ichy waiting for him. Ren senses they're "trying to be glad for him" (36). Ren recalls how they've done everything together for the past years. They stand in silence until Ichy pulls a stone from the ground and hands it to Ren. It's black with "bits of red garnet" (37) in it. Brom asks Ren where Benjamin's taking him and Ren replies that he doesn't know. Ren feels sudden regret and nostalgia "for everything he was about to lose" (37). He tells Brom and Ichy he'll "come back to visit" (37), like all the boys who left did, but knows that he won't. 

In the early autumn evening, Ren leaves Saint Anthony's with Benjamin. They walk past the blueberry bushes a half mile down the road—the furthest Ren's ever gone from the orphanage. Past that, they pass several fields and trees covered with "fall foliage in full color" (39). Benjamin stops to survey the land "as it all belonged to him" (39). He asks to have another look at Ren, crouches down and takes Ren's left arm in his hand. He examines Ren's wrist, where the skin's been sewn over the bone, without "the usual signs of discomfort or shock" (39). Raising his pale eyebrows, Benjamin tells Ren he has another hand and he'll "do just fine" (39).

As the sun sets behind them, Benjamin starts to walk faster. Ren notices that the old "war wound" (39) Benjamin complained about at Saint Anthony's seems to have disappeared. Up ahead, Ren sees a farmhouse and a barn well back from the road. Benjamin tells Ren to "keep quiet" (40), watch him, and learn. They approach the farmhouse, which seems fairly well-kept. Benjamin knocks at the front door and after a moment, a candle appears in the open window, followed by the nose of a shotgun. Benjamin addresses the shotgun "as though it were a person" (41). He says they're traveling to Wenham and have lost their way. They're hoping to sleep in the barn. From inside, a man's voice tells Benjamin to "be off" (41); he never lets strangers on his property "day or night" (41). Benjamin says he'll pay the man and that it's Ren he's worried about. Benjamin says Ren is "awful tired" (41) then kicks Ren behind his knees so that he drops to the ground in front of the window.

From inside, a woman's voice says, "Jim" (41). Ren sees her face appear in the candle-lit window, her brown hair in braids and a shawl over her nightgown. She whispers something to the man and he murmurs in reply. He lowers the shotgun and opens the door, inviting them inside. Benjamin picks Ren off the ground and leads him in by the elbow, thanking the couple. The woman tells Benjamin that "any Christian would do the same" (41). Making their way into the dark room, Ren stumbles into the dining table as the woman lights a lamp. In the brightened room, Ren and the farmer recognize each other. This is the man who came to adopt William from Saint Anthony's. The farmer lowers his shotgun and head, "as if he were ashamed" (42), and says it seems as though Ren has "found someone to take" (42) him after all. Ren doesn't know how to reply but feels relieved that he doesn't have to, per Benjamin's instructions. The farmer tells Ren that William is asleep but will be happy to see him in the morning. He then turns to Benjamin to explain that they "also got a boy from Saint Anthony's" (42). Benjamin seems not to understand but takes the farmer's hand and shakes it with enthusiasm.

Seated around the table, the farmer's wife makes coffee and serves some cold meat pie. It tastes just as Ren imagined it would. Benjamin and the farmer discuss the best roads to Wenham and the farmer's wife lets Ren have some black licorice. It tastes "strange but not entirely unappealing" (43). Benjamin tells the farmer that they're going to his uncle's farm, where he hasn't been in years. He says he's been serving as a cook on a merchant ship and has been to China and India once each. He tells the farmer that it's like "summer all year round" (43) there with "giant snakes that can swallow men whole" (43). The farmer asks his wife to find some extra blankets. She climbs a ladder to their attic space to fetch them.

The farmer asks if Benjamin has a wife and he says he doesn’t yet. Benjamin says Ren will go to their aunt and uncle, who have no children of their own. The farmer asks if Benjamin noticed that Ren is "damaged" (44). Benjamin says that's why he chose Ren. The farmer asks whether their uncle is a farmer and Benjamin says he is, but wants companionship, "not a laborer" (44). Benjamin says Ren "has other qualities" (44), too. The men turn to face Ren and Benjamin tells him to tell the farmer what he can do. Ren says he can whistle. The farmer asks Ren to give them a song and Ren begins to whistle one of "the chants the brothers sang in chapel" (44). When he's done, he notices the farmer's wife standing before him, holding the blankets. Ren wishes he could go on whistling and also that the woman looks how he imagined his own mother would.

The farmer takes the blankets from his wife and leads Benjamin and Ren to the barn. He tells them they have chickens, a cow, and some bats "in the rafters" (45). He says his wife will be in early to milk the cows and leaves them for the night, kissing his horse on its nose as he did at Saint Anthony's. Benjamin prepares a bed with the blankets and straw as though "he slept outside every day of his life" (45). Ren asks Benjamin if he's ever seen an elephant in India. Benjamin tells Ren not to "be a fool" (46), and that he’s never been to India. He tells Ren he's supposed to listen and learn from him. He said what the farmer wanted to hear so they'd give him what he wanted.

As Ren and Benjamin settle in, Ren says he'd like to see their parents again. Benjamin reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the scalps he'd shown Father John. He tosses them to Ren. Ren discovers that the brown piece is boar's hair and the blonde piece is flax-like strands "glued to […] leather" (46). Benjamin says they're not bad from far away and that they fooled Father John "at least" (47). Ren asks what really happened to their parents. Benjamin pauses for so long Ren thinks he won't answer. Finally, he says their parents were murdered "by a terrible man" (47). Ren asks why Benjamin lied to him. Benjamin, "looking irritated and angry" (47), says Ren wouldn't want to hear what really happened.

Benjamin rises and goes to the barn door. He opens it and stands with his shoulders "hunched against the cold night air" (47) as though he's going to leave. Then he closes the door and sits beside Ren. He tells Ren that their father was a soldier and their mother was "a woman of station and wealth" (47). They met in the woods when their mother was out picking mushrooms. Benjamin thinks their father liked to be "surrounded by trees, without worrying that someone was about to come from behind and try to kill him" (47). The two started a love affair but their mother's brother wouldn't "let anyone else love her" (48). Their parents kept their meetings secret and wrote letters. The letters were often "misdirected" (48) and slow to arrive, so their father didn't learn she was going to have their child until a year after his birth. Their father "deserted" (48), trying to return to their mother. But their uncle discovered the secret of the relationship and the child and cut off "every part of her" (48) that their father loved, "until there was nothing left of her" (48).

Benjamin takes Ren's left arm again, examining the place where his hand was removed. Benjamin touches the skin and Ren tries to withdraw his arm. He tells Benjamin he doesn't "want to know anymore" (48). Benjamin asks if that's what Ren wanted to hear and Ren says it wasn't. Benjamin, letting go of Ren's arm, says that's how he knows it's the truth. 

Ren awakens before dawn to the sound of chains rattling. He makes out Benjamin "scurrying back and forth" (49), attaching the horse to the farmer's wagon. Ren asks what he's doing but Benjamin shushes Ren and tells him to help. Ren rises from his damp straw bed and knows he's not dreaming. He feels "the same quickening of blood" (49) as when he would steal from Saint Anthony's. Ren moves to the horse and strokes her nose, as he'd seen the farmer do. Benjamin gathers their blankets and tosses them to Ren, who then throws them into the wagon.

Ren wonders if he can stay behind and convince the farmer and his wife he "had no part in this" (50). Ren imagines they would adopt them, too. However, when Benjamin climbs into the driver's seat and tells Ren to open the barn doors, Ren knows he has no chance. Benjamin drives the wagon down the hill towards the road as Ren clings to the wooden seat. Turning back, Ren sees a light in one of the windows. He thinks they're being followed and braces for the "shotgun blast" (50), but it never comes. Instead, the last thing Ren sees of the farm is the farmer's wife "silhouetted in the frame" (50) of the house's door with a pail in each hand.

Ren keeps a blanket around his shoulders as they drive on in the predawn cool. Benjamin is in a better mood, as though they're "on some sort of holiday" (51), instead of having stolen a horse and wagon. He tells Ren stories about the trees and other things. As he listens, Ren imagines the "proper penance" (51) for their thievery. He remembers having to do ten Our Fathers and fifteen Hail Marys at most, so Ren assumes he deserves to say "twice, if not three times" (51) as many. He begins praying.

Benjamin asks Ren what he's doing and Ren replies that he's praying for stealing. Benjamin says it isn't stealing, but "borrowing, with good intent" (51). Ren feels that God will "find a way to punish him" (51) for this. He imagines God as "a benignly neglectful gardener" (51), ready to bring his wrath down when necessary. Benjamin slows the horse and tells Ren that "praying never made any difference for anything" (51). He says he understands Ren was raised "with a different set of rules" (51) but needs to break them now if he wants to stay alive.

Benjamin asks how Ren ended up at Saint Anthony's and Ren says he doesn't remember anything, only that he was pushed through the door in the wall, "like everyone else" (52). Benjamin says Ren isn't like everyone else. This makes Ren blush. Benjamin explains that he can "look at a person and see their whole life" (52). They ride on in silence, listening to the birds begin chirping in the trees. Benjamin tells Ren that he's not his brother and Ren says he knows. Benjamin reveals a pistol stuffed into the band of his trousers and tells Ren he's not going to hurt him; the pistol is just to show him he's "dealing with a man who knows his business" (52). This convinces Ren that Benjamin will, in fact, hurt him.

Benjamin tells Ren that his hand is "going to open wallets faster than any gun" (53). He also says that even though Ren is "legally bound" (53) to do as he says, he'll leave Ren by himself if he wants. He then asks Ren what he wants most. Ren, having never been asked this before, replies that he wants a family. Benjamin tells Ren not to be "simpleminded" (53) and asks him again. Ren says he wants an orange. Benjamin tells Ren he can get that for him and holds out his hand. Ren notices Benjamin's hand is long and thin, without calluses, as though "he had never worked hard labor" (53). Ren notices a freckle in the center of Benjamin's palm which, as a sign of good luck, makes Ren take hold of Benjamin's hand. 

Benjamin and Ren arrive in Granston, a harbor town, in the late afternoon. They follow the road down to the docks and Ren sees the ocean for the first time. He also sees "vendors selling their goods right on the street" (54). Benjamin dismounts from the wagon and leads the horse through narrow cobblestone streets. They pass two women, "dressed in colorful layers, with low-cut bodices and painted cheeks" (56) talking to a soldier. Ren watches with curiosity as the women touch the man suggestively and the solider winks at Ren.

Benjamin stops in front of an abandoned building, with its "brick blackened" (56) and windows boarded. Benjamin leads Ren through a broken gate and into a small yard, where he hitches the horse. They stop at a rusty door and knock. A low voice asks who it is and Benjamin replies that it's only him. A heavyset man with a red beard dressed in slovenly clothes answers the door. Benjamin says he's looking well and the man asks if Ren is "another victim" (56). Benjamin replies that Ren is his son and the man, Tom, laughs. Tom lets them in and they follow him down a short flight of stairs to a small cellar room with a "hard-packed dirt" (57) floor and whitewashed stone walls. The room also has a "shoddy sunken bed" (57) and a small table with two chairs. Several tobacco pipes sit on the table and several bottles stand next to the bed. Benjamin asks if Tom's been entertaining and Tom says he hasn't lately.

Benjamin preps a pipe and tells Ren that Tom used to be a teacher. Ren says he already knows how to spell. Benjamin pours himself a drink and remarks to Tom how smart Ren is and how they could "use some help" (57). Tom says they can't be "dragging a child along" (57) but Benjamin says Ren isn't a child, he's "a gold mine" (57). He shows Tom Ren's left arm and scar. Benjamin explains that Ren's been his for twenty-four hours and he's already been given "a good meal, a smoke, a place to sleep, and come into possession of a horse and wagon" (57). Tom asks if he's going to use Ren for "bait" (57); Benjamin replies that they'll use Ren to "open doors" (57) for them. Tom says children are nothing but "little monsters" (58) then pours himself a drink. Benjamin sips his whiskey then says "it's decided" (58) that Ren will stay with them.

Benjamin excuses himself to unhitch the horse before someone else steals it. Tom empties Ren's pockets and thumbs through The Lives of the Saints. He asks Ren if he believes it. Ren says he doesn't, though he does. Tom says it could be "worth something" (58) but Ren says he doesn't want to sell it. Tom tells Ren it's not for him to decide. Looking around the room, Ren asks Tom if he really lives there. Tom says he has for the last month and moves "wherever the job takes us" (59). Ren asks what job and Tom says it's hard to say; it's "always changing" (59). But mostly he and Benjamin "sell things" (59).

Tom gestures to a wooden suitcase with leather straps and tells Ren to open it. He does and finds inside two-dozen small glass bottles, with handwritten labels that read: "Doctor Faust's Medical Salts for Pleasant Dreams" (59). Benjamin has returned to the room and asks Tom if that's all that's left. Tom says it's all he "could save" (59) and the rest is "the property of the state of New Hampshire" (59). Benjamin uncorks a bottle, sniffs it, and says he thinks they "used too much opium" (59). Tom says it's not even a question and nudges Ren, telling him Benjamin turned the mayor's wife "into a hop fiend" (59). Benjamin says he didn't do it on purpose. Tom says they shouldn't sell it but Benjamin says they'll dilute it and call it something else. Tom says he'd rather rob a bank.

From the men's conversation, Ren can tell that Benjamin and Tom have known each other for a long time. He can also tell that Benjamin runs the relationship. Benjamin says they'll wait until spring to start selling again and asks Tom if there's any money left. Tom begins to laugh then Benjamin smiles, "as if he had been expecting this" (60). Benjamin packs a pipe with tobacco then says they should go fishing before the ground freezes. Tom says they'll need another shovel because he sold theirs to buy whiskey. Ren asks why they need a shovel to go fishing and the men look "uncomfortable for a moment" (60). Benjamin says they'll "need a shovel to find the worms" (60).

Ren leans on the table, faint from the tobacco smoke. He hasn't eaten since the cold meat pie the night before and his stomach rumbles audibly. Tom says, "It's hungry" (61). Benjamin looks through the room for food. Tom, scowling at the empty whiskey bottle, says he knew Benjamin would "come back empty-handed" (61). Benjamin says he isn't empty-handed, as he has Ren. 

Ren accompanies Benjamin to Mr. Jefferson's New, Used and Rare Books. They find the bookstore dark enough for candles, despite it being daytime, and books piled to the ceiling, with no shelves in sight. A "stout black man" (62), Mr. Jefferson, asks Benjamin if he's buying or selling. Benjamin says they're selling and produces Ren's copy of The Lives of the Saints. Mr. Jefferson places the book on a table and arranges several candles around it then begins to examine the book "carefully and surely" (63).

Ren feels "cheated" (63) as he watches Mr. Jefferson appraise his book. In one of the piles beside him, Ren notices a small leather-bound copy of The Deerslayer, with an etching of a Native American man on the cover. Mr. Jefferson offers Benjamin five cents for Ren's book. Benjamin says it's "got to be worth more than that" (63) but Mr. Jefferson assures him it's a "fair price" (63). Benjamin says they'll take the book somewhere else but Mr. Jefferson assures him there's nowhere else in town to take it. Benjamin agrees to the sale with a sigh and picks up a dictionary from the table. As Jefferson crawls behind the table to count out the pennies, Ren fears that Benjamin will "smash the dictionary" (64) over Mr. Jefferson's head. Instead, Benjamin opens the dictionary and flips to a page then reads the definition for the word “parsimonious.”

Looking at The Lives of the Saints as Mr. Jefferson counts the money, Ren feels upset. He walks to Mr. Jefferson and pulls on his sleeve. He tells the man that the book is his and he wants to keep it. Benjamin tells Mr. Jefferson not to worry about Ren. He says Ren's mother dropped him as a baby and he's "never been right since" (64), always walking into things and thinking he's Catholic. Benjamin says if Mr. Jefferson doesn't take the book, he'll have to burn it. This thought is "distasteful" (64) to Mr. Jefferson, so he continues counting the money. Benjamin gives Ren "a savage look" (64) and points at the front door.

Ren realizes there's no way to get his book back but doesn't want to leave the store empty-handed. He decides to walk "deliberately into the nearest pile" (65) of books, knocking them over and making a huge mess on the floor. Jefferson surveys his store with a "grim look" (65) on his face. He hands Benjamin the money and tells them to leave. In the street, Ren tells Benjamin it was an accident but Benjamin doesn't believe him. After realizing Mr. Jefferson won't chase them, Benjamin laughs and says Mr. Jefferson deserved it for offering them only five cents. He slaps Ren on the back of the neck for not telling him before pulling his stunt. Ren almost loses his grip on The Deerslayer, which he has tucked under his coat.

After a while, Ren realizes they've been walking in a circle. Benjamin scans the streets. They stop at a butcher shop beside a church where the mass bells are beginning to ring. Ren realizes he's never missed a mass or a confession before. He watches the parishioners come down the church's stairs then feels "a familiar shove from behind" (66). Ren loses his footing and falls into "a mountain of horse manure" (66) right in front of the church. A crowd gathers around Ren and he hears a familiar voice asking if he's all right. It's Benjamin. He emerges from the crowd and lifts Ren from the ground.

Benjamin takes hold of Ren's left arm and pushes back the sleeve, asking out loud, "What's this?" (67). Ren thinks this is payback for what happened at Mr. Jefferson's and tries to pull away. Benjamin holds tight, though, telling Ren to take something to help his "poor, miserable life" (67). He hands Mr. Jefferson's five cents to Ren and says it's not much but should bring him some comfort. He uses his handkerchief to rub the manure from Ren's cheeks.

Women and children continue to watch the scene. An elderly woman comes forward and produces a large coin from "the inner folds of her bosom" (67). She tucks the coin into Ren's coat pocket. A little girl stamps her foot and says he wants to "give money to the cripple" (67). Her mother tries to pull her away but the girl insists and her mother finally hands her a penny to give to Ren. The girl approaches and instead of using his right arm, which holds his book inside his coat, Ren opens his mouth and the girl puts the penny onto his tongue, "like a communion wafer" (68). The crowd applauds lightly and more people come forward to stuff coins in Ren's pockets. Ren thanks them, the coin falls from his mouth, and Benjamin catches it. 

Benjamin and Tom leave Ren alone in the cellar room that night. Ren snacks on the food they bought with the five cents from Mr. Jefferson and begins to feel lonely. He has "hardly ever been by himself" (69), save for a few nights spent sleeping in the barn at Saint Anthony's during a measles outbreak that killed three boys. Ren sips a bit of the whiskey and spits it out after it scalds his throat. He remembers the only other time he's had alcohol, when he, Brom, and Ichy stole communion wine and drank "until they felt dizzy" (70).

Ren decides that he should write to Brom and Ichy, whom he misses. He finds a pen and bottle of ink, and uses a printed advertisement for Doctor Faust's Medical Salts for Pleasant Dreams as paper. Ren has never written a letter but thinks they should "carry good news" (70). Ren lies, writing to the twins that he's drunk. He says Benjamin bought a horse and cart, then brought them to "a town full of ships and sailors from faraway places" (70). Ren says Benjamin is going to take them to India. He closes by saying he has his own room and doesn't have to go to church. He hopes the twins get adopted soon and don't have to join the army.

Finishing the letter, Ren realizes it will need an envelope and stamp, which will cost money that he doesn't have. Ren hears something outside the cellar door but sees nothing when he looks through a crack in the wood. To entertain himself, Ren begins reading The Deerslayer and loses himself in the book’s fictional world. Ren feels as though he is "reading fragments of his own dreams" (72). He falls asleep reading.

Benjamin and Tom return just before dawn. Ren awakens to see them coming down the stairs, "their pants and shoes covered with muck" (72). Ren thinks they should smell like fish but he smells only "damp earth" (72). As Tom sets their lamp on the small table, Benjamin begins to pull jewelry from his pockets. Tom says it's been a good night and begins drinking whiskey, toasting himself by quoting Julius Caesar. Ren notices the jewelry is covered with "dust and dirt, bits of earth" (72), though the rings seem clean. Ren says it looks like they dug the jewelry out of the ground. Tom says they did and pulls out a handkerchief, which he opens to expose a pile of human teeth. Some still have "bits of pink" (73) gum clinging to their roots. Ren understands: Benjamin and Tom have been robbing graves. Ren imagines "what kind of punishment God would send down for this sin" (73) and recoils from their loot.

Benjamin says it’s "too much work" (73) taking the teeth out, but Tom says it's worth the work. He begins using whiskey and a small brush to clean "the soft parts" (73) off the teeth. Benjamin holds up a watch and a bracelet and asks Ren which he thinks is worth more. Benjamin then uses a knife to open the watch and tells Ren he should "look at every part of something before you choose" (74) which is worth more. Benjamin begins to polish the jewelry. Tom says the haul will support them until spring. Benjamin agrees, adding that they'll have to "sell them a few towns over" (74) so people don't recognize the jewelry.

Tom notices Ren's stolen copy of The Deerhunter. Benjamin says the book was "borrowed from Mister Jefferson" (75) and Tom says he can't believe he wanted to send Ren back to the orphanage. Benjamin smiles and says he can't believe he didn't notice Ren take the book. He asks Ren to show him how he took it. Ren pauses then opens his closed fist to reveal a ring he'd already secreted from the loot on the table. Benjamin laughs then does an impression of Mr. Jefferson and chases Ren around the table yelling, "Stop, thief!" (75). Tom and Ren laugh, too. Settling down, Benjamin stares at Ren as though he is "capable of taking the world" (75) and Tom remarks that Ren doesn't "need any training at all" (75). Benjamin agrees that he's "already one of us" (75). 

Early the next morning, Tom, Benjamin, and Ren set out to take the stolen teeth to the dentist. They walk along the shipyards, where Ren sees "the empty ribs" (76) of a boat being built and smells "wood shavings and polish" (76) in the air. They arrive at Mr. Bowers's dentist office, which is really a small room at the top of "steep spiral stairs" (77). Mr. Bowers, an aging man with "an ancient white wig of tight curls" (77) and a black eye greets them anxiously. Benjamin tells Mr. Bowers that their boy has a toothache.

Inside, Ren sees a basin of pink water and a box containing instruments Ren hopes "would not get anywhere near his mouth" (77). He also spots Mr. Bowers's breakfast: toast spread with jam and a mug of coffee. Mr. Bowers asks Ren if he likes jam then pulls his dentures out and, grinning, tells Ren this is "what happens to people who eat jam" (78). Mr. Bowers pushes the dentures back into his mouth and tells Ren to have a seat. He pokes around in Ren's mouth and Ren tells him that his teeth are loose. Tom tells Mr. Bowers that they've been "collecting them" (78) and sets the handkerchief of stolen teeth onto the dentist's table.

Mr. Bowers removes his hands from Ren's mouth, dips them in the pink water, dries them, then begins inspecting the teeth. He says they're fresh, from a young woman who probably died during childbirth. He also says the teeth are "decayed inside" (79). Tom accuses Mr. Bowers of trying to lower the price but Mr. Bowers says he has a diploma from "the American Society of Dental Surgeons" (79) and uses a small hammer to crack the tooth open with a tap. The tooth is black inside. Tom laments that their work was done "for nothing" (79) and throws the handkerchief off the table. Benjamin says he told him as much.

Mr. Bowers begins crawling on the floor to retrieve the teeth. Benjamin and Tom make to leave. Ren follows them but Mr. Bowers catches him by the sleeve and tries to hand him the handkerchief of teeth. He notices Ren's missing hand and asks him if he needs "a hook" (80). Ren sees anger on Benjamin's face but it turns into "a cool smile" (80). Benjamin tells the dentist he's a comedian; Tom asks if that's how he got "that shiner" (80). The dentist makes another joke about a misunderstanding "of a bicuspid and an incisor" (80) and the men try to laugh.

However, Mr. Bowers says, he's "quite serious" (80) about Ren getting an artificial hand. He says there's a place on the wharf that makes "wooden hands, quite lifelike" (81). Mr. Bowers then goes to a glass cabinet filled with dentures of various materials, including a set made from human teeth. Bowers says he has "an arrangement with a man at a teaching hospital near North Umbrage" (81) to procure the teeth. The words North Umbrage make Benjamin look as though "he had been kicked in the chest" (81). Mr. Bowers continues, ignoring Benjamin's mood, saying that the man sends him "what's left when they're through with the dissections" (81). He says these teeth are more expensive because the doctor has to "pay the resurrection men" (81), or people who remove bodies from cemeteries to sell to the teaching hospital. The resurrection men receive $100 per body. Mr. Bowers says it's risky work but they look like "the kind that wouldn't mind a little danger" (81).

Tom says they wouldn't mind, for the right price. Benjamin says it's "not worth the trouble" (82); Tom says it's a lot of money. He asks what Benjamin is afraid of but Benjamin just glances at Ren. Mr. Bowers says the doctor needs a reliable person who will "make good choices" (82) and "check the teeth first" (82). Tom pulls Benjamin aside and whispers to him "furiously" (82) but Benjamin doesn't pay attention to him. Ren sees "hidden emotion" (82) in Benjamin's face. Mr. Bowers hands the handkerchief to Ren and tells the men he can put them in touch with the doctor if they're interested. Benjamin says he'll think about it. Mr. Bowers resumes his breakfast and offers Ren a bite of his bread and jam. Ren shakes his head no. Mr. Bowers tears the toast in half then crams it into his mouth. 

That winter, a nor'easter storm sweeps through Granston. Ren spends his time in the cellar rereading The Deerslayer, while Benjamin, and Tom spend their time playing cards in the cellar or at the saloon. In mid-January, Tom catches chicken pox and spends a month in bed "itching and moaning" (84). Both Ren and Benjamin had the chicken pox as children, so they have an immunity to it. Ren gladly accompanies Benjamin to the saloon in Tom's place, enjoying ale, a comfortable supper, and Benjamin's stories. Benjamin tells Ren about the places he's supposedly traveled to and the marvelous animals, people, and places he's seen. The local fisherman lean in close, trying to hear, and share their own stories about "strange creatures" (85) in the ocean and men "cut in half by their own rigging" (85).

Some of the fisherman also have scars and missing body parts, like Ren. Benjamin likes to show Ren's missing hand to the crowd and tell fantastic versions of how he lost it. One of the fishermen even lets Ren try on his own wooden hand, though it's "three times too big" (85) for Ren's small frame. At the night's end, the fisherman toast Ren and cheer. Ren sees Benjamin smile with what he hopes is sincerity.

At the beginning of spring, the men have run out of money from the jewelry. After some time spent thinking about their future, Benjamin leaves for a few days and returns saying he's ready to take the job in North Umbrage. For the next few days, Benjamin goes out to do "research" (87) though when Ren follows him, he finds Benjamin emerging from a lawyer's office, biting his nails and laughing to himself.

After reaching this decision, the three set out in the horse-drawn carriage Benjamin stole from the farmer, following the river. They reach a valley with sheep-filled pastures, where farmers wash their herds to prepare them for shearing. The men find an inn and use the last of their money to rent a room. Settling into the room, Benjamin remarks that there will be a crowd tomorrow for the shearing. He takes out one of the brown bottles of Doctor Faust's Medical Salts. Tom says someone might recognize them but Benjamin says they're out of money and he has "an idea for using the boy" (88). Tom tells him to leave Ren out of it but Benjamin says Ren wants to do it. Ren agrees, considering the men's pattern of grifting. Tom worries that Ren will get them caught but Benjamin says Ren won't yet.

That afternoon, Benjamin goes to find supper while Ren and Tom change the labels on the bottles to read "Mother Jones's Elixir for Misbehaving Children" (89). Tom sips his whiskey while they work, wearing the new shirt he bought before they left Granston. Ren notices Tom's "distinguished" (89) handwriting and asks him why he stopped teaching. Tom frowns and asks Ren if he has "any fellows" (89). Ren says he used to and that he misses them. Tom says it's "a damned shame to lose your fellows" (90) then tells Ren the story of how he lost his best friend over a woman. Tom and his friend, a land owner with an inheritance, both loved the same woman. She chose to marry Tom's friend though she continued a secret affair with Tom, meeting him in the woods at night. One night, Tom had too much to drink and told his friend everything. Tom spared his friend no cruelty and his friend pointed his pistol at his own head and shot himself.

Tom tells Ren that this is why he's no longer a teacher. Ren expects Tom to curse or cry but Tom simply continues working. He mixes "maple syrup, diluted opium, castor oil, and a bit of soured milk" (91) then pours the brownish liquid into the bottles. He hands a glass of it to Ren and tells him to drink. Ren makes a face at the taste but Tom tells him he'll have to be more convincing.

The next morning, Tom and Ren arrive at the shearing where the townspeople have gathered to eat and watch the farmers work. Tom reminds Ren to run if anything goes wrong. Ren joins a group of children watching the shearing then, after a signal from Tom, punches one of them in the neck. The other children ask him why he did it and Ren says he "felt like it" (93). The children descend on Ren, beating him until Tom, posing as Ren's father, comes forward and tells the group that ever since Ren lost his hand in a thresher, he's "always starting fights" (94). Tom apologizes, saying that he can't make Ren behave.

From the crowd, Benjamin says all Ren needs is some tonic. He appears wielding the wooden case and pulls out one of the bottles Tom and Ren had filled. Tom says if the tonic will stop Ren from misbehaving, he'll pay $5 for it. Benjamin says it's only $1 a bottle. Tom hands him a wrinkled bill. Ren, with a split lip and aching ribs, says he won't drink it. Tom threatens him and he does. Ren drains the bottle then walks to the boy he punched, falls to his knees and asks forgiveness. Tom exclaims that it's a miracle but the farmers are not convinced. However, once Ren begins praying "with a face of genuine gratitude" (95), the farmer's wives begin approaching Benjamin. Little do they know Ren is only grateful that the opium quelled his pain. Benjamin claims it's "satisfaction guaranteed" (95) and begins selling the remaining bottles.

The wives administer the tonic to their children, who stop fighting and running. Instead, they all sit down and stare into space, completely silent. Benjamin says it's all-natural ingredients as the crowd surrounding the shearers moves towards him. Ren, drowsy from the opium, notices a man at the crowd's edge moving towards Benjamin. The man stubs out his cigar and asks Benjamin his name. Benjamin replies, "Johnson" (96), but the man says he's seen him before and knows him by a different name. Benjamin says it must have been someone else. Someone in the crowd asks the man where he saw Benjamin and the man replies that he saw his face on a poster in Galesburg, where Benjamin is "wanted for armed robbery" (96).

One of the mothers screams and the women all run to their children and begin trying to rouse them from their stupor by slapping and shaking them. Benjamin throws the wooden case down and begins running. Tom grabs Ren's hand and leads him away forcefully. Ren feels "better than he'd ever felt before" (97) and when they reach the horse and cart, Ren tries to kiss the horse's nose as he'd seen the farmer do. The horse resists and Tom takes the whip to Ren's legs, trying to get him up into the wagon. Benjamin, hidden under a fleece in the driver's seat, hisses to Ren to get into the cart. Tom pulls the wagon onto the road.

When they're in the clear, Benjamin emerges from the fleece. Tom says Ren is "high as a kite" (98). Benjamin reaches into his pocket and produces money, which he shakes under Tom's nose, and three oranges, one of which he passes to Ren. Ren, still reeling from the opium, tastes it and his jaw "aches with happiness" (98).