The Midnight Fox

That evening, Tom does not eat, which Millie worries is a sign of heat stroke. Hazeline, wearing a lovely blue dress and pearls that Mikey gave her at graduation, sits outside on the porch after supper. Tom reassures her that Mikey will come, and Hazeline replies, “I don’t care if I never see him again” (109). Tom tells Hazeline that he is worried about the black fox and her cub. Hazeline listens and then explains that “all wild animals die in some violent way. It’s their life” (110). This does nothing to ease Tom’s fear and sadness. Tom looks at the fox cub, who is biting the wire of the cage. Fred warns Tom not to put his fingers in the cage and then invites the boy to sit with him and keep watch for the black fox. As they wait, Mikey pulls up in his car and calls to Hazeline, telling her that she looks “real good and cool” (112). He invites her to ride up to the lake with him, and after a brief standoff, Hazeline agrees to go.

Tom hears the baby fox crying and is unable to sit still, so he goes inside.