The Honest Truth

The shuttle driver regards Mark coldly, “Like having an extra kid on a bus was the worst thing that could happen to a person” (109). Noting a severe storm descending, the driver reluctantly agrees to drive him back to Elbe on the shuttle’s return trip. Mark doesn’t wait in the café bunkhouse, as the driver suggested, but instead resolves to continue on foot. Mark expresses gratitude to his faithful companion: “I held on to [Beau] like I was drowning. His mismatched eyes looked somehow brighter in the darkness. He was with me. He was always with me” (111). Mark and Beau approach a bridge and, soaked and shivering from the rain, decide to rest beneath it. The most convenient location under the bridge looks rocky and uncomfortable, but Mark notices a small sandy island in the middle of the river but still under the bridge’s protection. An ostensibly sturdy log connects the river shore to the sandy island, so Mark carefully treks across the slippery, somewhat flat surface. Beau reluctantly follows. Mark nearly crosses successfully, but he missteps and is engulfed in the river’s stormy currents.