Fairy Tale

The person holding the gun to Charlie’s head is Christopher Polley, the same man Mrs. Richland saw near the house before the robbery. Polley is short and speaks in an “extremely Rumpelstiltskin-ish” (218) manner punctuated by fake laughter. Polley marches Charlie inside and orders him to unlock the safe, but Charlie manages to overpower him and take his gun. He breaks both of Polley’s wrists and contemplates killing him, but ultimately lets him go with a warning never to come back.

As he recovers from the encounter, Charlie writes a letter to his father explaining that he is taking Radar to Chicago to see a veterinary specialist. This is a lie: in reality, he resolves to take her to the sundial in Empis and prolong her life.

Charlie packs up some food and Mr. Bowditch’s and Polley’s guns. He calls his neighborhood friend Andy Chen and asks him to lock the shed at 1 Sycamore, then enters the well of the worlds for a second time with Radar in tow.

Upon emerging in Empis, Radar runs to Dora and they have a joyful reunion. Dora feeds Charlie and Radar and then directs Charlie to go find the “googir.