Robert spends the morning fielding requests from boys across the Reformatory who now see him as a haint catcher, even including two white boys who sneak over to ask about haunted places and objects. The excitement ends when Boone appears with his leather satchel and says Warden Haddock wants Robert taken back to the old fire site. Panicked, Robert improvises an excuse that he needs a day to recover between hunts, and Boone reluctantly allows it while warning that disappointing Haddock could bring brutal consequences.

During band chores, Robert and Redbone finally speak honestly again. Redbone says Blue told him not to reveal himself and admits Blue had already tried to persuade Redbone to get into Haddock's desk, which means Robert has been pushed toward the same dangerous trap. Robert feels betrayed, but Redbone explains that he feared Robert would expose Blue, and both boys agree that obeying Blue could get Robert killed by Haddock while disobeying Blue may also bring punishment. Redbone apologizes for helping Blue fool Robert and promises that they will figure out what to do together, giving Robert a rare sense that he is not alone.

The chapter then shifts to Haddock at Boot Hill, where he walks among unmarked graves and broods over the dead boys and over Lucy, the baby sister he killed as a child. Haddock's thoughts reveal that he deliberately set the 1920 fire after locking boys in the shed, that he still justifies the act as useful discipline, and that he keeps photographs of the dead boys in his desk because he cannot give up the thrill of looking at them. Haddock believes the ghost pursuing him is Kendall Sweeting, one of the boys from the fire, and a falling branch that nearly spears him confirms for Haddock that the dead are actively attacking him.

Boone arrives with real haint dust from Robert's captured ghost, and Haddock is thrilled that Robert's power is genuine. Even so, Haddock is angered that Boone gave Robert a day of rest, then decides the delay may mean spirits are already pushing back against the new haint catcher. To keep control, Haddock orders Boone to watch Robert closely and to use Redbone as leverage if Robert resists or deceives them. The result is a sharper trap around Robert: his gift has been proven, Haddock's crimes are now clearer, and Redbone's safety becomes a weapon against him.