![]() Because he has to talk to him about his mother” (243). As Jasper’s jaw clenches, Lionel asks him “to sit down with him, as he’s wanted to all these years. He has photographs of himself with Jasper as a young child as proof. ![]() Lionel reveals that he is Jasper’s grandfather, his father’s father. He’s just old and sad and poor and lonely” (241). He is convinced by now that Lionel didn’t kill anybody: “Mad Jack Lionel isn’t a criminal. Charlie feels the power shift in the room, and he begins to regret coming to Lionel’s home. Once he realizes that they are talking about Laura, he asks the boys what they know. This reveals a miscommunication-Lionel has not been speaking about Laura. Jasper responds that nobody told him anything, but that Charlie and Jasper had seen him do it. He asks if his father is the one who told him. When he speaks, he tells Jasper that he knows he is upset and tells Jasper that he thought he would have found out by now. ![]() He asks Lionel, “So you admit it? You admit that it was you? That you killed her?” (238). He tells Lionel that the only reason he is there is to talk about what the man has done. He attempts to make the boys a cup of tea, but Jasper refuses. Jasper tells him not to touch him, to which Lionel agrees. He invites the boys into his house and attempts to grab Jasper by the shoulder. Charlie is shocked by how old he is, and especially shocked when Lionel is happy to see Jasper. Jasper knocks on the door and suddenly Lionel is there. He is also shocked to learn that Jasper is as afraid as he is and that his confidence is a front he puts on for those he is afraid of. Charlie is shocked to learn that Jasper plans to enter from the front. He kisses her and promises to be back soon. He tells her that he can’t stay, which causes Eliza’s eyes to fill with tears. She is happy to see him and tells him she has something to tell him. To Charlie’s chagrin, he runs into Eliza on the way to meet Jasper. He reminds Charlie that he won’t let anything happen to him, and that he needs Charlie’s help. Charlie is reluctant, but Jasper calls him out for being scared. It’s the perfect night to do so because the whole town is on the way to the Miners’ Hall for the New Year’s show. He tells Charlie that that night they are going to finally confront Mad Jack Lionel and get him to confess to what he has done. ![]() After his father leaves but before he can read any of the manuscript, Jasper gets his attention at the window. Although he knows he should be grateful and excited, Charlie is annoyed by the presence of the manuscript. He tells Charlie that it is finally done, and asks Charlie to be the first person to read it. He imagines that he and Jasper will go on adventures together and that he will become an incredible writer along the way.Ĭharlie’s father comes to his room and tells him that Charlie was right, he has been writing a book in his study. This reaffirms his conviction to leave with Jasper before they discover them, or Charlie gives them away. He is caught between a “temptation to end the misery and mystery, to make amends, to try and explain it, to carve that word,” and a fear that telling the truth might send both him and Jasper to jail (226). He fears that if he sees Eliza, he will tell her the truth. Although the “fever around Laura’s disappearance dissolves,” Charlie is still convinced that he will one day face the consequences of his involvement in her disappearance (225). He realizes that he worries more about leaving Jeffery behind than about leaving his parents.Ĭharlie still feels dread about Laura’s death. As Charlie takes his leave, he wonders if he can leave Jeffery behind. They talk about the merits of mermaids and whether either of them would be going to the fireworks show in town that night. The boys finish up their game and retire to Jeffery’s backyard to eat pieces of watermelon and compete at spitting seeds. He hasn’t seen Jasper either, which worries Charlie, since the last time he saw the other boy he was “full of intensity and intent” (220). He hasn’t seen her since the cricket game, and although he wishes he could go visit her, he knows he shouldn’t. Charlie is distracted by his feelings for Eliza, which fills his stomach with butterflies. The chapter opens on Jeffery and Charlie playing cricket across their front lawns on New Year's Eve.
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