Shelterwood

The railroad employees treat Olive completely differently than they do the “elf children” because Olive is well-dressed and relatively well-groomed. They believe her claim that her pony was spooked and give her water and food. 

Before leading Nessa away from the railroad tracks, Olive leaves three biscuits on the grass for the other children. Despite Olive’s protestations, the children follow her and Nessa. They are filthy, dressed in rags, and underfed. They speak to Nessa in Choctaw. Olive is shocked at how quickly and eagerly Nessa chatters back; Nessa is usually very shy and quiet. When the children run off into the woods, Nessa follows. Reluctantly, Olive does as well. The children lead them to a tower of boulders next to a creek. 

From the higher vantage point atop the boulders, Olive sees a house nearby. With Nessa as her translator, she learns that the house is not where the children live, but that a “good woman” lives there. Olive soon realizes that these children lack a caregiver and live in the woods. They all eat together. The oldest girl, who is close to Olive’s age, introduces herself as Tula. Her younger siblings are Pinti and Koi. 

Tula, Pinti, and Koi gather berries and dandelion greens, which Tula leaves in a bundle on the porch of the house. The woman who lives in the house (later revealed to be Mrs. Grube) takes the bundle and leaves eggs and cheese in its place.

Valerie worries about Sydney and her brother Braden; she cannot imagine a good, safe reason why a high school student would park his car at a remote overlook and then disappear. Valerie has started learning more about the reputation of Mrs. Wambles’s foster home as well and does not believe that the children receive kind, attentive care while they are there. 

The next day, after leaving Charlie at daycare, Valerie stops by Mrs. Wambles’s house. Mrs. Wambles isn’t home, and the children are at the local church, attending a camp. Sydney and the other children at the church camp are fascinated by Valerie’s ranger uniform and greet her excitedly. Sydney proudly tells the other children that Valerie is her friend. Valerie asks the playground attendant, Joanie, for a private conversation. Joanie points out the other children who are Mrs. Wambles’s wards. Joanie also warns Valerie that Sydney “tells tales.” Joanie claims not to have any new information about Braden.

Valerie is confused by her conversation with Joanie. Much of what Joanie says either doesn’t make sense or doesn’t match up with what Valerie has heard from other sources. For example, Joanie tells Valerie that Budgie Blackwell (Sydney’s grandmother) died and that the government seized her property for the national park; Joanie also claims that Budgie was buried in Oklahoma City because she got a free burial plot for having been a state politician. This story makes no sense to Valerie. Joanie also mentions that Braden had been working for a family friend at Parker Construction Company. 

During the same visit, Sydney tells Valerie that Braden is “treasure hunting,” and that they are going to move away once he finds enough treasure. Mrs. Wambles arrives while Valerie is speaking to Sydney. Mrs. Wambles repeats the claim that Sydney exaggerates and cannot be trusted.

Tula, Pinti, and Koi show Nessa and Olive where they have been living in a dugout in the trunk of a large tree. Tula tells Olive their story. They are part of a Choctaw family, and they owned a parcel of land. Their mother and grandparents died one summer, and the court ruled that the children should be assigned new legal guardians other than their father. Their father traveled to the city to verify and contest the ruling, but he never returned. The children hid in the woods, and a stranger took over their property. Tula says that sometimes they see other children with similar fates who are also living in the woods.

Olive is reliant on Nessa to translate for her. Tula speaks some English, but not enough to have robust conversations. Olive decides that she and Nessa must continue their journey. She has to coax the reluctant Nessa to communicate her intent to Tula; Nessa wants to stay with their new friends.

The children decide to fish for one last meal together before parting ways. Near the river, they see recent evidence of people riding on horseback through the area. They determine that it isn’t safe to fish or to return to Tula’s tree dugout because both spots are too exposed. Tula convinces Olive to visit Mrs. Grube’s house and pretend to be a well-off girl whose pony spooked in the woods, just like she did with the railway workers. They hope to get some food and supplies with this ruse.

When Mrs. Grube answers the door, Olive introduces herself as Hazel Rusk, using her adopted sister’s name to hide her own identity. Mrs. Grube has a baby named Beau. Olive tells Mrs. Grube that she is traveling to Talihina to pick up medicine for her mother while her father is away working on the railroad. She claims that her pack pony threw her and bolted after being scared by a snake. Mrs. Grube seems to believe her story and calls to her husband in the next room. Olive is startled and frightened by the presence of the man because Tula has warned her that Mrs. Grube’s husband has been known to chase the children.

After a long, busy week, Valerie takes Charlie out to dinner again at Sardis Shores Cafe. She thinks back on the week, recalling her visit to Alton Parker at his construction company, Parker Construction. Braden had recently taken a job with Parker Construction, and Alton claimed to be an old friend of the family. Given that, Valerie was surprised by his lack of concern about Braden’s whereabouts. Alton was convinced that Braden is simply off in the woods and would return any day. On her visit, Valerie also searched the employee quarters where Braden had been living but found nothing of import.

Their server at Sardis Shores Cafe is Joanie, the friendly playground attendant whom Valerie met earlier in the week. Their conversation drifts back to Braden and Budgie Blackwell. Contradicting her story from earlier in the week, Joanie now states that Budgie is sick, not dead. When Valerie points out the contradiction, Joanie shrugs it off, saying that it is hard to keep all the gossip straight.

In the restaurant, another customer harshly tells Charlie that his mother is a “pine pig,” a derogatory term for a park ranger. Valerie is furious and wants to confront the man, but Joanie asks her not to, advising her that making a scene with the locals will only make Valerie’s life harder. Instead, Joanie reprimands the customer herself. Joanie and Valerie discuss the tensions between some of the locals and the park; the locals are angry about losing logging jobs and do not trust that the Park Service will do a good job managing the forest.

Before leaving the restaurant, Valerie asks Joanie if she knows how to get in touch with Curtis. Joanie points to a message board where Curtis has posted a flyer that advertises a litter of puppies available for adoption.

Mr. Grube informs Olive that he has been tracking her pony for a day. He reassures her that he can lead her to the pony in the morning. Olive spends the night with the Grubes, taking pleasure in helping to care for their baby.

After Olive has gone to bed, she overhears Mrs. Grube speaking to her husband about the Oklahoma Women’s Club. Mrs. Grube talks animatedly about female education, empowerment, and political involvement while Mr. Grube listens half-heartedly.

Mrs. Grube asks Mr. Grube’s permission to travel to Talihina for an upcoming meeting of the women’s club, where Kate Barnard—the Oklahoma state commissioner of charities and corrections, and an early elected female politician—will be giving a speech. Mr. Grube denies her request because he will be away from home for his job with the railway, and he refuses to allow Mrs. Grube to travel by herself. Frustrated, Mrs. Grube complains that her life is monotonous in their remote mountain home.

Olive awakens the next morning to the sound of the couple fighting about children (most likely Tula, Nessa, Pinti, and Koi), whom Mr. Grube accuses of stealing their eggs. Mrs. Grube argues that the children should not be left to fend for themselves and denies that the children stole anything. Mr. Grube and Olive find her pony. The pony is injured after days alone in the woods and will need time to heal before he can make the journey into the mountains.

When Mr. Grube leaves for his week-long shift with the railroad, Mrs. Grube proposes that Olive travels with her to Talihina in a day or two. Mrs. Grube plans to defy her husband and attend the women’s club meeting. Olive agrees to travel with Mrs. Grube, and plans to have Nessa, Tula, Pinti, and Koi follow secretly behind them.