The Dog Stars

As Hig makes his way towards the stone house, observing the natural beauty—“wild strawberry, penstemon. Huge ponderosas, the smell of old wet stone and vanilla” (181)—and making references to Eden, from nowhere the old man knocks Hig over, then binds Hig with rope. After tense moments, the old man and Cima, his daughter, prove kind, and share their beef, vegetables, and more about who they are. Hig shares some of his own history, and that night has dreams about his wife and their old home. Cima, whose throat is bruised from complications from the flu, shares her story of losing her husband, and her life as a doctor in New York City. The chapter ends with Hig and the old man planning together, as global warming promises to create drought, complicating the ability to survive. The old man and Cima need Hig to fly the three of them somewhere else. Hig plans to fly with Cima to Grand Junction, then come back to pick up the old man (who is known as Pops), since there is not enough room for all three of them in the Beast at once. Hig proves all this using the calculations for takeoff distances at various altitudes documented in the Beast’s Pilot Operating Handbook. 

Pops proves to be similar to Bangley in his survivalist nature and attitude. “I saw you studying the creek” Pops says. “You stood right where I would’ve stood so as not to spook the fish” (199). Hig becomes more impressed as he learns more about Pops, and even more so when Pops realizes that he must remain behind when Hig and the daughter fly to Junction and shows no complaints.