Saving Shiloh

Worried about Shiloh, Marty struggles to sleep, and he wakes up again at two o’clock in the morning to see if Shiloh has returned. He imagines that a hunter may have taken Shiloh and may be mistreating him as Judd used to. Despondent, Marty falls asleep.

The next morning, Marty does not have school, and he sleeps in late. When he wakes up, he hears dogs barking in the backyard, and Ma tells him that Shiloh has returned, accompanied by a familiar black Labrador. Marty runs out to Shiloh and sees the two dogs playing with a piece of orange fabric. Marty puts the fabric in his pocket and hugs Shiloh, who licks Marty’s face in return. Back inside, Marty calls David, and the two plan to investigate the creek bank the next day.

When Dad gets home, Marty reads the newspaper that he has brought with him and does not see any additional information about the missing Bens Run man. There are a few other local interest stories, including one about an escape from the county jail. David arrives the next morning, and the boys head out for Middle Creek Island, the site of Judd’s crash, after lunch.

When they arrive, everything is covered in snow, and Marty exclaims that there is nothing to find. Undeterred, David continues searching, instructing Shiloh to “[s]niff” (46). Marty tells David that Shiloh does not understand that command, and the boys begin laughing as David rolls around, trying to teach Shiloh how to sniff. Marty joins in, and the two wrestle until Marty’s knee comes in contact with a man’s frozen boot, covered in snow.

David exclaims that this evidence will put Judd “behind bars for life” (47). David’s disdain for Judd mirrors that of the larger community: When people see Judd, all they can think of are the negative things he has done. Marty wonders how someone with such a reputation could ever win the trust of those around him. Marty tries to encourage David not to jump to conclusions, reminding him that even if the boot belongs to the missing man, it does not mean that Judd killed him. The boys walk a bit further, carrying the boot with them, until they become cold and return home. Marty throws the shoe under the porch.

On Sunday, Marty visits Judd, bringing the boot with him. As Marty approaches Judd’s, he realizes that he is fearful, carrying potential evidence of Judd’s supposed crime. Marty plans to show Judd the boot, thinking that he will gauge Judd’s guilt by his reaction to seeing the shoe. Judd beats him to it, asking Marty what he is holding. Marty holds it up and asks if Judd recognizes it, and Judd asks Marty where he found it, exclaiming that the shoe belongs to him. He tells Marty that he lost the shoe in his accident after the paramedics cut off his clothes. Marty feels foolish, and Judd changes the topic, asking Marty about his job at the veterinary clinic.

Marty uses this as an opportunity to inform Judd about the ramifications of keeping dogs chained up and “trapped” (51). Judd says that he knows all about feeling cornered, and Marty thinks about how he recalls learning about Judd’s childhood with a father who physically abused him. Judd is quiet for a moment and then tells Marty that he is going to take a nap, bringing the visit to an abrupt end.

As Marty heads home, he wonders why he believes in Judd’s innocence, but he also berates himself for leaving the boot behind without trying to test the veracity of Judd’s story. Marty has the idea to look in the bed of Judd’s truck to see if he can find any additional clues, but there is a tarp covering the bed. He lifts a corner of the tarp and finds various objects and tools, including a heavy metal pipe, but he then spies Judd staring out his window, looking directly at him. Marty waves and then hurries home. A few days later, Marty feels even worse when he receives a call from David, who tells him that a highway maintenance crew found the body of the missing man from Bens Run, killed by a blow to the head.

After New Year’s, Marty returns to school, and all anyone can talk about is the man from Bens Run. According to newspaper reports, the murder weapon is missing, and Marty cannot help but think about the iron pipe he saw in the back of Judd’s truck. Marty’s classmates begin sharing the accusations circulating in town that Judd Travers killed the man, especially because the sheriff included Judd in his list of people to question. Marty reminds everyone that this does not mean Judd is guilty and that Judd may be starting to change for the better. David insists that they turn over the boot to the police, and Marty admits that he gave it to Judd.

Marty struggles with what to think about Judd’s guilt, worrying that the public’s opinion of him might further isolate Judd and discourage him from turning his life around. Marty especially worries about Judd’s dogs, thinking that if Judd is angry at everyone, he will take it out on the dogs. Marty begins brainstorming ways to help the situation and formulates a plan to get Judd a fence so that his dogs can run around unchained.

Marty continues to think about the fence, realizing that he needs to find someone with a fence they want removed. Marty visits the local doctor, Doc Murphy, for whom Marty sometimes does yard work. Doc Murphy has a fence around a garden that he no longer utilizes after his wife’s passing. When Marty arrives at the doctor’s house, he sees a crew of men already there doing work on Doc’s house. Marty offers to take Doc’s fence for Judd’s dogs. Doc considers this for a moment before telling Marty that he will agree to give Marty the fence, and even have his crew of workers remove the fence, if Marty and his father pick it up the next day.

Marty makes his way over to Judd’s house to pitch the idea of the fence to him, and a lingering worry that Judd might be a dangerous murderer sticks in Marty’s mind as he approaches. When Marty arrives, Judd is just sitting down to lunch, but he invites Marty to come inside while he eats. Judd asks Marty what he wants and why he is there considering that everyone else in town thinks he is a murderer.

Marty changes the subject and asks Judd when he is getting his dogs back. Judd tells him that he will get his dogs as soon as his cast is removed, which should happen next week. Marty tries, once again, to share some insight about dog rearing with Judd, telling him that “the happiest dogs make the best hunters” (60). Judd disagrees, stating that his father always kept their dogs “lean and mean” (60), and Marty implies that Judd’s father may not always have been right. Marty proposes his plan for Judd’s fence, insisting that Marty and his father will even put the fence up for him. Judd declines, thinking that Marty has an ulterior motive and accusing him of having his eye on taking Judd’s other dogs, like he did Shiloh. Defeated, Marty returns home.

Frustrated, Marty walks home, berating himself for thinking that Judd could ever change for the better and care for his dogs. Marty feels a “rage buildin’ up in [his] chest” as he thinks about all he is trying to do to make Judd’s life a little easier (62). Marty convinces himself that Judd probably did kill the man from Bens Run, thinking that he has enough “meanness in him to do most anything” (62). As he walks past Doc Murphy’s house, he sees the men already at work taking down the fence and realizes that he is going to have to broach the subject of picking up the fence to his father, who has no idea about Marty’s plans.

As Marty reaches home, he is still too angry to go inside. He even walks past Shiloh and lashes out at him, telling him, “It’s all because of you” (62), knowing that rescuing Shiloh from Judd has involved Marty in Judd’s ongoing problems. Marty exclaims that he does not want to have anything to do with Judd ever again. That evening, the phone rings, and it is Judd, agreeing to take the fence. They agree to meet at nine o’clock the next morning.

The next morning, Marty and his father arrive at Judd’s, and Judd comes out to help them erect the fence. Marty returns to Judd’s a few days later to find Judd’s neighbors bringing back his dogs, with statements layered in implications about how they have improved the dogs’ temperaments. Marty agrees with these statements but wishes that the neighbors would leave or keep their advice to themselves. Marty stays with Judd, watching the dogs run around the fenced-in yard, and cannot help but look at Judd’s hands, wondering if they could possibly be the hands of a killer.

That night, Marty lets in Shiloh for the evening, and as he closes the door, he sees a small beam of light off in the distance, moving in the direction of Middle Island Creek. He thinks that it looks like someone holding a flashlight, and after he watches for a few seconds, the light goes out.