Tuck Everlasting

Since it’s too dark to search for the horse, the Tucks go to bed, resolving to look for the animal in the morning. Mae makes up a bed for Winnie on the couch, but Winnie has trouble sleeping. Her thoughts whirl as she wonders about the Tucks, their story, and the spring. She doesn’t want to believe them, but she can’t bring herself to call them liars. Mae and Tuck come to check on her. Both are concerned and sorry for dragging her into their secret, but they are also so glad for her presence, even if it is only temporary. Touched by their sentiments, Winnie doesn’t know what to feel.

Later, Jesse visits. He agrees that keeping the spring’s secret is important, but he also thinks eternal life can be wonderful if lived right. He proposes Winnie drink from the spring when she’s 17. He’ll come back for her, and they can have “a good time that never, never stopped” (74). Jesse tells her to think about it and goes back to bed, but Winnie doesn’t know what to think. She lays awake for a while more before finally falling asleep.

Back at the Foster house, the man in the yellow suit tells Winnie’s family the Tucks are rough and potentially violent people, adding that it’s a good thing he saw them take Winnie because otherwise they may have never found the girl. Seeing as he’s the only person who knows where she is, the man offers a deal. In exchange for bringing Winnie back, he wants the wood where the spring is. The exchange is “A simple, clear-cut trade” (77), and they just need to write it out and sign it. He talks over the Fosters’ questions and objections, proclaiming it’s such a good thing he was there to fix their issue.

That same night, the Fosters rouse the constable to rescue Winnie. As the two men ride, the man in the yellow suit explains that the Fosters are “friends” of his and the deal they made. The constable is surprised because the Fosters seem too proud to sell any of their land, but he doesn’t question the story. For several minutes, the constable tries to strike up a conversation, but the man says nothing. Finally, the annoyed man offers to ride ahead and keep watch. The constable agrees and ponders the man’s yellow suit, the “gap between him and the man ahead lengthening with every mile” (82).

The next morning, Winnie and Miles go out on the pond to catch fish for breakfast. Miles teaches Winnie how to fish and tells her about his family and the daughter he taught to fish decades ago. Winnie comments there are a lot of frogs around the pond, and Miles explains they’ll stick around if the turtles, their natural predator, stay away. Winnie observes it would be nice if nothing ever had to die. Miles disagrees, saying if nothing ever died, then “we'd all be squeezed in right up next to each other before long” (87).

Winnie asks Miles what he will do with all his time. He wants to do something important, believing that “People got to do something useful if they're going to take up space in the world” (88-89). Winnie ponders on that for a while, until Miles catches a fish. He reels in the catch, and the sight of the creature struggling for its life unnerves Winnie. She begs Miles to put it back, so he does.