The Saints of Swallow Hill

Despite working hard, Rae Lynn struggles to make the daily quota. The patient Ballard pressures her to quicken her pace and argues with Crow about her, with Ballard defending her. When Sunday comes, she cleans her shack, washes her shirts, and naps, missing Warren.

On Monday morning, she tries to fulfill her quota. She worries they will find out who she is and notes that she is uncomfortable around the men because of their behaviors. However, Rae Lynn likes that Del does not engage in dirty talk about women like the other men. She also worries that they will learn that she is from North Carolina due to her call name, Tar Heel, especially because Del questioned her about it.

She quickens her pace but gets a piece of bark stuck in her eye, causing it to water. Crow accuses her of crying, and Ballard helps her run water over her eye. She works hard but still cannot make her quota. Ballard and Crow continue to argue, even bringing Peewee into it. Peewee concludes that Ray Cobb is not a man, which panics Rae Lynn. To her relief, however, Peewee tells them he thinks Ray must be a teenage boy. Rae Lynn tells him she is 16 but assures them she will pick up her pace in the future. Ballard tells her not to let him down again, and she reassures him. Rae Lynn notices Ballard is holding his stomach similarly to how Warren held his before he died. As she returns to her shack, Cornelia gifts her a water pie to repay her for the dress materials. She also tells Rae Lynn to use tea leaves for her eye. As she enters the house, she hears Del playing his harmonica and lamenting Cornelia’s marriage to the abusive Otis, but Rae Lynn doesn’t respond.

Del suspects there is something strange about Ray Cobb. He notices Cobb is uncomfortable with the men’s behavior and that many of his mannerisms are feminine. He also compares the supposedly teenage Cobb with himself when he was a teenager. Del wonders if he might be from a strict household or if he is effeminate. The morning after Ballard and Crow’s argument, Del takes the wagon to the worksite with the other men. He does not talk to them, respecting Nolan’s wishes to protect the other men from Crow’s cruelty. He worries about Cobb, knowing that he has been struggling at Swallow Hill and that Crow might punish the others for Cobb’s slowness. Del then notices that Ballard is coughing more and does not look good. Del starts his work and ignores Crow’s insults.

He hears woods rider Woodall’s dogs barking and some yelling. When he looks, he sees Ballard collapse. Crow inspects him and finds that Ballard is dead. This upsets Ballard’s crew, including Cobb. Peewee contemplates where Ballard’s men will go. Crow offers to take them, saying he will make them work better. Peewee says Crow cannot handle two crews and considers assigning them to Woodall. He offers Del a promotion to woods rider and supervisor over Ballard’s old crew, telling him he will increase his pay. Even though he knows Crow will try to get back at him, Del accepts the position.

They go to Ballard’s house and give his family the news. The family is devastated, and Peewee allows them to grieve. After some hesitation, Ballard’s wife and his son Jimmy allow them to buy his horse. Del chooses to stay in his shack so Ballard’s wife has time to find a new place to live. He also does not want to live next to Crow. As Del and Peewee leave, they see Crow smile maliciously and know he is up to something.

After Del and Peewee leave with Ballard’s body, Crow gathers Ballard’s crew. He questions Rae Lynn about not meeting her quota and tells her it is not fair that she gets to work less than the other men. He steadily weaponizes the other men’s fear to make them speak against her. Crow lightly whips her shoulder with his whip. She says that she would prefer the box, and he walks her to the sweatbox. She tells him Del will not like that he put her in the sweatbox, but Crow says he will not know about it and that Del will think she ran away. She fears what will happen and considers running herself, though she knows it is pointless.

After she enters the box and he locks her in, she thinks back to her moments with Warren and her time at the house in North Carolina. She wonders if coming to Swallow Hill was a good idea but knows that she could not stay after Butch blackmailed her. She also thinks Eugene might have had her arrested. Rae Lynn feels severe abdominal pain and liquid between her legs—the start of her menstrual cycle. She becomes frustrated that this happened now. As night comes, she stares at a star through the crack in the lid and falls asleep.

The following morning, Del does not hear Cobb get ready. He prepares the wagon and sees all of Ballard’s crew except Cobb and wonders if Cobb is sick or if he had run away. He takes Ballard’s horse Ruby to the worksite. The crew makes substantial progress but do not converse with each other like they normally do. He still does not see Cobb, nor Crow. He has a young Black boy named Georgie go to Cobb’s shack and ask for him. When Georgie returns, he says that Cornelia asked him what he was doing, and when he told her, she knocked and opened the door. She, however, did not see Cobb in his shack. Del gives Georgie a peppermint, which he had never had before. He also asks him to bring the men water. Del has the men rest briefly. They do not talk to each other or share stories like they usually do. Del goes to Cobb’s shack, where he notices the embroidery and believes his mother must have made them and that Cobb came from an economically privileged background. He again suspects that Cobb ran away.

The following morning, Cobb and Crow are still missing. He again gives Georgie peppermints and has the men get water regularly. The men still do not talk to each other, except about the weather. Del hears screaming and he and Preacher, one of the other men, find another man, Birdie, screaming about seeing a red snake. Preacher sees that it is a coral snake, which bites Birdie on the foot. Del hits the snake and after it lets Birdie go, Del shoots it. They return to work, and Birdie insists on working despite Del’s assurance that he should rest. Soon, however, Birdie starts slurring and convulsing. Del has the men take him back to camp, where Cornelia, who knows about snake bites, tells them that coral snake bites take longer to cause symptoms. Nearby, Del sees Crow with a woman who he suspects is his mother.

The day after her entrapment in the sweatbox, Rae Lynn’s thirst, hunger, need to relieve herself, and discomfort start taking a toll. Despite this, she falls in and out of sleep. She tries to think about what she can do once she gets out—if she does. She fears Peewee will not give her a chance to do something else there. Eventually, Crow opens the lid and stares at her.

Cornelia tries to treat Birdie as Preacher gives her information about him. Del asks Cornelia and Preacher to keep him informed about Birdie’s condition, realizing he lacks knowledge about his crew. Cornelia privately tells him that even though she tried to treat him, Birdie will not survive. Del expresses his sympathy before Cornelia leaves.

Peewee comes near and asks him about his day. Del tells him about Birdie and Cobb, which disappoints Peewee. Del also mentions the woman with Crow, and Peewee says that his mood worsens when she visits. Peewee discusses the legal consequences Cobb will have to face if he ran away, so Del goes to see Otis and check Cobb’s account. Otis says that Cobb has no debt, which comforts Del, but confuses him. He wonders why Cobb was working there if he had money. He notes that the other men are always in debt because of the camp’s low pay. Peewee tells Del that Ballard’s wife and children left to live with her sister and that the house is now his. He also expresses his respect for Ballard and reveals that Ballard was an alcoholic preacher who came to Swallow Hill after one of his children died, which increases Del’s respect for Ballard.

As Del moves in, he sees Crow and tells him that Cobb is missing, to which he does not seem to react. Del settles into the new house, which he finds larger, cleaner, and more comfortable than his old shack. He hears a sound and sees Crow and his mother, which disturbs him.

On the second full day in the sweatbox, Rae Lynn retreats into her mind, not wanting to think about the discomfort of the box. She briefly felt a drop of water through the crack and tasted it, but no more came. She thought about Warren and imagined a version of him on the other side that was cold with overly long fingers and a hissing voice. Rae Lynn realizes the hissing voice was her struggling to breathe. Rae Lynn goes deeper into her mind where she can find peace, but her heart rate continues to increase and become abnormal. She is convinced that she is dying.

Del meets the men in the morning. Preacher says Cornelia told him Birdie died earlier that morning. He also tells Del that he had a mother and a girl he wanted to marry. Del says that with Birdie and Cobb gone, he needs to talk to Peewee about getting more men. The crew has another successful day, though without lively conversation. They end early, and Georgie arrives with water, which Del has him give to Ruby. Georgie fearfully tells him that Cobb is in trouble and, realizing that the men know something, Del promises them he has no intention of ever hurting them. Preacher reveals Crow gathered them after Del left with Peewee and questioned Cobb about not reaching his quotas. He then put Cobb in the box.

Del rides to the campsite, where he angrily confronts Crow and forces Crow to unlock it. The men pray as Crow prepares to unlock the box. When he does, he backs away and the men become frightened. Del looks down and learns that Cobb is a woman, seeing the bloodstain on the crotch of her overalls. He is shocked but finds that the feminine traits he saw now make sense. Del threatens to report Crow. They initially think she is dead, but she takes a breath, scaring the men again. Crow chases after them. Seeing that Rae Lynn is barely breathing, Del takes her to the commissary, where he has Cornelia treat her despite Otis’s protests.

Rae Lynn finds herself in Heaven and wishes to stay in that peaceful state. However, she feels herself moving out of that peaceful state in her mind and imagines herself falling as she regains consciousness.