Summary of part two and three

Part 2: The Last Hole

Chapter: 29

Part 2, 0%-1%

Setting: Camp Green Lake, in the desert near the holes.

Time: About seven weeks after Stanley's arrival at Camp Green Lake (July 7)

Characters: Stanley, Armpit, X-Ray, Zigzag

The summer weather and high humidity at Camp Green Lake have made conditions even worse for the young people who are forced to dig every day. As they dig at their holes, thunderstorms take place in the mountains on the edge of the dried-up lake. But with rain showers over the desert, the youngsters are never cooled down.

One day, several streaks of lightning suddenly flash across the sky and Stanley can spot a strange rock formation in the distance: one of the peaks looks like a giant fist with its thumb sticking up vertically. Stanley immediately thinks of the words of his great-grandfather, robbed by Kissin' Kate Barlow, who claimed to have survived in the desert only because he found refuge on the thumb of God.

Chapter: 30

Part 2, 2%-12%

Setting: Camp Green Lake

Time: A day after Stanley sees "God's Thumb." Zigzag claims it’s his birthday, which would make it July 8, but hardly anyone believes him and Stanley has long lost all sense of time

Characters: Stanley, Zigzag, Squid, Magnet, Zero, Mr. Sir, X-Ray, Armpit, Mr. Pendanski, the Warden

There is growing resentment in Group D that Zero keeps digging at Stanley's hole for an hour every day. No one thinks the deal that Stanley teaches Zero to read in return is fair. Zigzag finally loses his temper and gets Stanley into a fight. To protect his friend from Zigzag, Zero yanks him away from Stanley. In the commotion, Mr. Pendanski fires a warning shot in the air, summoning the other caregivers and the Warden.

The boys from Group D repeat their displeasure about the deal made by Stanley and Zero to the Warden. Since no one thinks it is possible for Zero to learn to read and write, the Warden forbids the deal: Zero should only dig his own hole, and Stanley should stop his reading lessons immediately.

Zero reacts to the contempt shown to him by knocking Mr. Pendanski unconscious with a metal shovel. He flees into the desert. Since the Warden does not want to attract police investigators to the camp, she refrains from putting him out of action by shooting him. Stanley thinks he knows why: the teens aren't digging the holes to improve their character, but to find Kissin' Kate Barlow's treasure for the Warden.

The Warden expects Zero to return to the camp soon anyway because it is the only place in the area where there is water. She wants to repaint her fingernails with rattlesnake venom nail polish so that she can receive Zero when he returns.

Chapter: 31

Part 2, 12%-15%

Setting: Camp Green Lake, holes in the desert

Time: Right after Zero's escape and the next day

Characters: Stanley, the Warden, Mr. Pendanski, Mr. Sir

Stanley blames himself for letting Zero dig for him. He wishes he had taught him to read without asking for anything in return. Although Stanley has been thinking about following Zero and seeking refuge with him in the mountains, he returns to camp that evening. He can't think of any way he and Zero c...