Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Bando's arrival

• The narrator served the man (Bando) a meal in their nicest turtle shell, having whittled him a fork from a twig since Jessie Coon James took the others.
• After the meal, the man asked if he could call the narrator Thoreau.
• The narrator agreed and said they would call him Bando.
• Bando reacted with surprise and amusement.
• The narrator offered to teach Bando how to live off the land so that no one would find him.

Concerns

• Bando's eyebrows gathered together, which the narrator notes is characteristic of him when concerned.
• The narrator felt they had offended him by mentioning his past, as they still felt unsure of themselves around adults.
• The narrator changed the subject and suggested they get some sleep.
• As Bando hadn't noticed the entrance to narrator's tree, the narrator showed him his secret entrance.
• Bando exclaimed that Thoreau was wonderful.

Sleeping Arrangements

• Bando tried the bed but shook his head, seemingly uncomfortable with it.
• The narrator let Bando sleep on their bed, with Bando's feet hanging off.
• The narrator stretched out by the fire on the dry ground, comfortable sleeping on anything.

The Next Day

• The narrator woke up early and had crayfish for breakfast ready for Bando.
• Bando genuinely seemed to like the crayfish, surprising the narrator since it usually takes time to acquire a taste for wild foods.
• They spent the day collecting food on the other side of the mountain, including tubers of the Solomon's-seal.
• They fished, swam a little, and the narrator mentioned wanting to make a raft to catch bigger fish in deeper water.
• Bando immediately started cutting young trees to make the raft.
• The narrator was surprised and asked if he had lived on a farm.

Identity Questioned

• The wood peewee sang as Bando was cutting trees.
• Bando identified the bird, which astonished the narrator.
• Narrator asked how he knew about a wood peewee in his "business".
• The narrator pressed him, and Bando asked what the narrator thought his business was said to narrator.
• The narrator ruled out professions like minister, doctor, lawyer, businessman, sailor, and ditch digger.
• The narrator guessed that Bando was a murderer, thief, or racketeer in hiding.
• Bando stopped and stared at the narrator, but then started laughing deeply, which made the narrator laugh too.

The Truth Revealed

• Bando revealed he is a college English teacher lost in the Catskills.
• He had been hiking, got lost, found the narrator's fire, and fell asleep beside it, hoping to be found by a scoutmaster and his troop who he thought would be back for supper.
• The narrator explains they heard squad cars and assumed Bando was a bandit hiding out.
• They laughed and went back to raft-making.
• The narrator realized that if Bando wasn't a bandit, he would have to go home soon, making it pointless to teach him how to live off the land.
• Bando said he could stay a little while since it was summer vacation, though he hadn't planned to eat bark and plants.

The narrator, living in solitude, shares a meal with Bando and offers to teach him how to live off the land. Bando's reaction suggests discomfort with his past, leading the narrator to change the subject and offer him a place to sleep in their tree.