59 pages 1 hour read

Stephen King, Peter Straub

The Talisman

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1984

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Part 3, Chapters 20-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “A Collision of Worlds”

Part 3, Chapter 20 Summary: “Taken by the Law”

They travel 100 miles west that afternoon. As Jack eats in a Burger King, he sees kids giggling at Wolf outside. Wolf yells at them not to make him feel funny and they leave before things can get worse. A man offers to give them a ride in his truck, and Wolf rides in the bed of the truck and loves the experience. After the man drops them off near the sign for the town of Cayuga, a cop car approaches. Wolf immediately bares his teeth in terror. After questioning them, the cop knocks Wolf unconscious with a blackjack, puts them in his car, and takes them to the municipal building for further questioning. They meet with Judge Fairchild, who says he is sending them to the Sunlight Gardener Scripture Home for Wayward Boys. He says he’ll call Jack’s aunt—Helen Vaughan, the name Jack uses in his cover story—in Springfield. When they arrive at the Sunlight Home, Jack sees that it is protected with barbed wire, surrounding 60 acres, all reinforced and monitored by the boys at the facility. The cop laughs and says they just earned 20 dollars for him.