This Tender Land: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

When the children return to the farmhouse, the Brickmans’ car is outside. Mrs. Brickman snidely remarks that canoeing is much more enjoyable than working in the hayfield. She disregards Mrs. Frost’s assurance of the boys’ hard work and herds them into her car. Odie, Albert, and Moses (whose friends call him “Mose”) sign to one another about the trouble they’re in. When they arrive back at Lincoln School, Mrs. Brickman declares they will all go without dinner. Albert apologizes for not checking with her about the assignment switch, and she rescinds his punishment. Furious, Odie signs insults at Mrs. Brickman. Though she does not understand, she sends him and Mose to the quiet room. Odie signs to Albert that he will pee on his face when he is asleep.

In the quiet room, Odie plays his harmonica for Mose. At four years old, Mose was found with his tongue cut out beside his mother’s corpse. With no way of finding his family, Mose was placed in the care of Lincoln School. When Albert and Odie arrived, they taught Mose to communicate with American Sign Language. Their own mother had been born deaf. The Frosts learned to sign too. Now, Odie tells Mose a story about a bully who is eaten by a Windigo, a monstrous beast who calls your name before dropping from the sky. Mose says there is truth to Odie’s story: there are really monsters who eat the hearts of children. Odie hears Faria, but he has no crumbs to share with the rat.

Odie wakes to someone opening the quiet room door. He worries it is DiMarco, who is known to abuse children in the night. But it is Volz, who leads Odie and Mose to a shed near the abandoned quarry. There, Albert is cooking sausage and eggs over an open fire. Odie feels bad for hating his brother earlier. Albert spent the evening cleaning Mrs. Brickman’s car. Now, Volz expresses disdain for Mrs. Brickman’s luxurious taste, saying her first husband—former superintendent Mr. Sparks—would not have approved. Odie expresses his hate for “that witch,” but Albert defends her. He claims Mrs. Brickman’s family sold her to an abusive man. Odie thinks that if this is true, Mrs. Brickman should not condone DiMarco’s abuse.

Albert also claims Mrs. Brickman speaks with an Ozark accent when she’s been drinking. Odie doubts this, but Albert insists that “nobody’s born mean.” Volz retrieves a bottle of moonshine from the shed. He brews it himself using a secret still. Albert and Odie’s father had been a moonshiner, and Albert helped Volz build the still. None of the boys would ever betray Volz’s trust. Odie turns down Mose’s request to retell his story and plays the harmonica instead. They return to the quiet room. Odie apologizes to Albert and thinks of how much he loves his brother, though he does not say so aloud. He shares some leftover bread with Faria. Mose signs again that they are lucky.