In this chapter, the repetition of certain lines lends the reader the impression of drifting inside Ponyboy's head. At points, his narration borders on stream of consciousness. Ponyboy's role as narrator casts the proceedings and colors the language what emerges is a specific vernacular. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Hinton's prose is its effort to faithfully replicate a certain way of speaking and writing among 'tough' youths. Now Ponyboy and Johnny flop down on the floor of the church and fall asleep immediately. The whole gang showed up, and embarrassed Ponyboy by acting up and drawing attention to themselves. Ponyboy remembers how he used to go to church all the time, but one Sunday he talked Soda and Johnny into going with him. The boys climb up to the church, feeling beyond exhausted. He runs into a farmer driving a tractor, and politely asks where Jay Mountain is, lying and saying that they are playing army and he is supposed to 'report to headquarters there.' He scares himself because it's so easy for him to lie. He worries about being on the run forever, and maybe being sent to a reformatory. He can't believe it was only the night before that he met Cherry Valance at the drive-in. They want to ask someone, but Ponyboy realizes they look nothing like farm boys, and is afraid people will judge them, thinking 'They'll know we're hoods the minute they see us.' Johnny's legs are still asleep from Ponyboy leaning on them as he slept, so he tells Ponyboy to 'quit slouching like a thug' and go ask someone for directions.Īs Ponyboy walks off, he thinks about how Darry and Sodapop will react when he doesn't come home. They want to get to Jay Mountain, but don't know where to go.

He realizes they are in the country, and vaguely remembers his daydream about how wonderful the country is. The boys jump off the train at Windrixville, and Ponyboy is barely awake.

They are exhausted, and Ponyboy falls asleep. It hits Ponyboy for the first time that they are in real trouble, that Johnny has murdered someone and now they are running away. The boys sneak into an open boxcar on the train, avoiding being caught by one of the railroad workers. He gives them instructions to get on a freight train to Windrixville, then find an abandoned church on top of Jay Mountain. He also gives Ponyboy one of Buck's shirts and his own brown leather jacket. Dally has been in a fight with Tim Shepard, and has 'cracked some ribs.' He lets them inside when he sees that they are cold and wet, and gives them fifty dollars and a loaded gun. Dally appears in the doorway, pretty sober, and listens to what happened. Buck answers the door, clearly drunk, but goes to get Dally when the boys ask for him. They go to Buck Merril's house to find Dally, because they remember there is a party there that Dally said he was going to.

They decide to find Dally and ask him for help. Ponyboy starts to panic, screaming, 'What are we gonna do?' and Johnny tries to calm him down, deciding they'll need money, a gun, and a plan. Johnny tells him that the other Socs ran away when he stabbed Bob. Ponyboy sees that Johnny has killed him with the switchblade, and vomits. Johnny is sitting next to him, and next to them lies the body of Bob, in a pool of blood. Just as Ponyboy thinks he's about to die, he wakes up on the pavement next to the fountain, 'coughing water and gasping.' Bob tells Ponyboy, 'You could use a bath, greaser,' and tells David, another Soc, to 'give the kid a bath.' David grabs Ponyboy and holds his head under the water of the fountain. The Socs start taunting them, calling them 'White trash with long hair,' and Ponyboy responds by spitting at them.

Ponyboy and Johnny are both terrified, but they try to look tough. Johnny pulls out his switchblade as they are backed against the fountain. Five of them, including Bob and Randy, start approaching the two boys, and Ponyboy can tell they are drunk. It's two-thirty in the morning, and Ponyboy and Johnny are heading home from the vacant lot, complaining about how cold it is, when they see the blue Mustang that belongs to the Socs circling the park.

Five of a kind trade outsiders