The chapter opens with news that another girl has vanished. Her name is Callie Montrose, and she disappeared after failing to return from school in a town about seventy miles from Monta Clare. The new case widens the fear beyond one town, and Norma responds by taking her Colt from the garage, checking that it is loaded, and keeping it in her nightstand overnight.

That same night, Saint prepares to act on her own. She fills a small rucksack with a flashlight, a slingshot, matches, and a rusted jackknife, then walks through the sleeping streets to the Macauley house. Inside, she finds Ivy passed out on the sofa beside an empty bottle, covers her with a blanket, and goes upstairs to Patch's room.

In Patch's empty bedroom, Saint retrieves a pistol hidden in a dented biscuit tin. Looking at the empty bed, she quietly promises Patch that she will bring him home. The moment shows how deeply Patch's absence has affected Saint and how determined she is to keep searching, even if that means arming herself.

The chapter then shifts into a memory from the early days of Saint and Patch's friendship. Saint shows Patch her birthday bicycle, while Patch proudly shows off a decorative waistcoat he found hidden in his mother's closet before his birthday. Their exchange is awkward, funny, and affectionate, revealing Saint's mixture of fascination, restraint, and growing loyalty as she learns Patch's habits, his bravado, and the neglected conditions of his home life.

The flashback continues through examples of their bond. Saint tolerates Patch's wild claims, his bad grammar, and his reckless schemes, while Patch's daring repeatedly causes trouble, including a disastrous attempt to steal a beehive for her. Wanting to give him something meaningful, Saint surprises him with a one-shot flintlock replica gun that she worked hard to afford, and Patch responds with an unexpected hug.

A week later, Patch gives Saint a butterfly brooch in return, but her delight is undercut when Miss Worth posts a plea on the church bulletin board asking for its safe return. The ending captures the strange, lopsided sweetness of their friendship: both children try to show care through gifts, but Patch's affection is tangled up with theft, risk, and the unstable world he comes from.