The big Thump

Stanley keeps thinking about Zero. Therefore, he tries to steal the water truck in order to rescue Zero. Yet, Stanley overlooks a hole, drives in it and has to continueon his feet. He continues to walk for hours and eventually finds an upside down boat with someting orange sticking out. It is Zero who has been living on rotten peaches which let him become sick. Stanley´s grandfather managed to survive after being robbed years ago because he found something he calles "Good´s thump". Both Stanley and Zero see something on the top of a distant mountain that looks like a thump and therefore, decide to try to reach this as Zero refuses to go back to the camp. It is a very hard walk in the sun and it is even harder for Zero who is sick because of the peaches. Evenetually, they reach the mountain and begin to climp it. Most of it they manage to climp since they work as a team, yet near to the "thump" Zero faints and Stanley carries him. On the top there is mud and Stanley starts to dig in it as where there is mud there is water. He drips some of the water in Zero´s mouth and even finds an onion. (It has to be one of the onions Sam sold 110 years ago when there was still the lake.) I especially like this part of the book since it shows what two boys who never reached something in their lives actually can do. Many people would give up and go back to the camp where they had to dig hole, but Zero and Stanley are determined to lead their own lives from now on since they know what the true goals of the Warden are. It also shows in a way that in a live or death situation simply abilities are worth more than complex things. In such situations, the homeless (like Zero) and the rich are all the same.