The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Given the remoteness of the farm and the fact that the farm has only the one truck, Claude decides that Edgar needs to learn to drive. When Trudy is in town on errands, Claude attempts to give Edgar a driving lesson with his Impala. Edgar is tentative in his application of the gas and clumsy with the brake. Claude tries to help Edgar, inadvertently calling him “son,” which Edgar immediately objects to; the boy exits the car to starts to walk back to the farm. Sensing Edgar’s hostility, Claude retrieves him and explains that they are family and have his mother in common.

Taking advantage of the long drive to town, Trudy with much on her mind considers the implications of Claude’s marriage proposal, which she still has not accepted. She admits her son is a mystery to her, at once inquisitive and bright and yet brooding and distant. Since childhood, he seems to “carry things around inside” (297). Trudy did not plan her emerging relationship with her brother-in-law. But he has become indispensable since Gar’s death. She recalls that Gar once made her promise to remarry should anything happen to him. If only she could figure out her son, her decision would be much clearer. 

The day after his driving lesson, Edgar, determined not to be around his uncle if he can help it, bikes to the tiny nearby town of Popcorn Corners. He has a friendly conversation with Ida Payne, a family friend who runs the small grocery store. Ida understands Edgar’s dilemma. She assures him she understands how much he misses his father. Pedaling home, Edgar wants to remember his father and struggles to recall memories. When he arrives back at the farm, he is taken aback momentarily when he sees his uncle toiling over a work bench in the doorway of the barn. The moment seems incalculably beautiful. Claude seems at home in the barn. Edgar vows not to be complacent about the simple wonders and joys of his life on the farm—what he terms his “hope of redemption” (309).

Dr. Papineau arrives at the farm with a wealthy man from Texas named Benson, who has arranged to pick up two dogs for breeding. Edgar, who slept little the night before, barely follows the transaction between his uncle and the Texan. Benson suggests to Claude and Dr. Papineau that he might be interested in setting up a franchise kennel near San Antonio using the Sawtelle protocols. But first he wants to see evidence of the training of the dogs. Groggy, Edgar understands this might be his best chance to catch Claude’s conscience. He brings out his trained dogs, and on his cue the dogs present a pantomime performance in which they retrieve a large plastic toy syringe and place it at Claude’s feet. Edgar signs to the Texan that retrieving medicine is one of the important practices the dogs carry out. Edgar watches as Claude reacts in horror to the appearance of the syringe. Edgar is certain now that his uncle poisoned his father.

Later, Trudy confronts Edgar about his little dog show. The two argue until Edgar notices a chiaroscuro figure lurking behind a curtain in the hallway. Certain it is an eavesdropping Claude, Edgar, determined now to end the problem with his uncle, grabs a hay hook and swings at the figure, sending him down a flight of stairs. To his horror, Edgar discovers it is Dr. Papineau. The old man is dead. At his mother’s urging, Edgar flees. He runs out of the barn and into the woods, accompanied by three of the young dogs from his litter. With his gang of pups, Edgar turns “away from everything he knew” (328). At 14, he is a murderer on the run, unhoused and alone.

Hours later, uncertain where he is, Edgar walks along a road in the moonlight with his three dogs. Exhausted, he settles down in a culvert for a fitful sleep. The crew resumes its journey at first light. Edgar sees a familiar sedan approaching; it belongs to the sheriff. While Glen Papineau slowly drives past, Edgar and his dogs hide in a tangle of bushes. Edgar understands that Glen is both the sheriff and the son of the man he killed.

Over two difficult days, Edgar and his dogs keep moving through the Chequamegon forest. They survive by eating snapping turtle eggs and sleeping in thickets of tall grass. Approaching a small gathering of cabins along a lakeshore, Edgar, hungry and tired of running, thinks how easily he could break into the cabins. Security in this remote area is lax. The first cabin he comes to is not even locked. Inside, he scavenges for food for both he and his dogs. As he gorges on SpaghettiOs and hot dogs, he finds a newspaper article describing him as a runaway. But no mention is made of Dr. Papineau’s death. Gathering what food he can carry, Edgar departs the cabin.

Edgar has been on the run now for 10 days. He thinks vaguely he may be heading north to Canada and to freedom. He breaks into any cabin he comes across just to feed himself and his dogs. Their progress is halted near Lake Scotia. It is the Fourth of July weekend, and the beach cabins are crowded with vacationers. Edgar fears he might be spotted. He and the dogs hide in the woods. For four long days he waits for the holiday crowds to depart. He sleeps fitfully, dreaming of Almondine. He barely escapes being noticed by two young girls in bathing suits. When he is certain it is safe, Edgar calls the dogs, and they resume their journey—although he is still unsure where they are heading. Desperate for food after going without provisions for four days, the dogs trap and eat a garter snake that they flush out of a thicket of sunflowers along the road, much to Edgar’s disgust.

Edgar and the dogs come to a small, simple house. By now efficient at getting into a house and ransacking it for food, Edgar quickly confiscates Coke, bread, and bags of potato chips. The three eat “like starving kings” (369) then leave the house. As the four walk along train tracks, one of the dogs, Tinder, steps on a sharp sliver of broken glass which pierces his paw. Edgar tries to help Tinder, but with every attempt to pull the serrated shard out, the dog snarls and even bites the boy. Finally, Edgar succeeds in getting the glass out, but Tinder’s paw is bleeding. Edgar knows he must return to the house they just raided and see whether he can get help for Tinder. When he knocks at the door and a man answers, Edgar writes a note: “My dog is hurt. We need help.” The man is unaware that this the same person who ransacked his house. The man helps calm the yelping Tinder and, securing antiseptic and bandages from his bathroom, the two minister to the dog. Then, the man gives Edgar Tylenol and the three dogs meat cuts from his freezer.

The man introduces himself as Henry Lamb and invites Edgar and the dogs to stay the night. They sleep in the living room. Edgar is grateful for the shelter and the warm fire. The following morning, Henry goes to work and promises not to call the police, even though he suspects Edgar might be a runaway. Edgar examines Tinder’s wounds and understands it might be several weeks before the dog can travel, delaying Edgar’s plan to head to Canada. Meanwhile, Edgar helps himself to breakfast and takes a shower.

Henry returns from work with bags of groceries and makes a hearty dinner of bratwurst, pickles, and root beer. Edgar eats ravenously. After dinner, as Henry works on a crossword puzzle, he asks Edgar his name. Edgar writes “Nat.” As he heads off to bed, Henry tells Edgar to “make yourself comfortable” (396).

Over the next two days as Tinder recovers, Edgar makes himself useful. Henry, a recent widower, was engaged to be married, but the woman broke off the engagement, telling Henry he was too ordinary looking and his life too predictable.

Reeling from both of those heartaches, Henry is determined to clean out the junk in his house, starting with his shed. When Henry goes off to work, Edgar works through the accumulation of junk, timber, paint cans, rolls of wire, shingles, and door frames. Hoarding, Henry tells the boy, was a habit his wife of 37 years had, and it was time to clear it all out. Each night, the two share a modest dinner. They often listen to music, particularly Bach’s The Goldberg Variations. As Henry works his puzzles, the two chat about Edgar’s mutism and his dog training, but never about how he came to be on the run. Edgar cautions himself not to get accustomed to this comfort as he settles down to sleep on the sofa.