1146. Otis' fear was that it might be possible for the two of them to come across these migrants on the road in the early evening, especially as it was fall and it was getting dark very early. Otis did not think any harm would come to the Boy or to himself regardless of any encounter. Those migrants lived in perpetual fear of the wolves of the wilds. He had encountered them once before and he knew that all he had to do was show them his wonderful dental work and they would scatter.
1147. But what would the Boy think of wolf dental work if he got to see it in action? No, if he had to exhibit the violence he was capable of, violence that could be inflicted in a flash so sudden that there was no defense against it, his identity would be revealed. It was a violence like an unexpected flash of lightning in the night and after one is the witness to wolf violence things can never be the same again.
1148. Otis set to work to teach the Boy the basic rudiments of survival, but it was a hopeless task, the raw material just was not there. 'Consider the Boy's nose,' thought Otis to himself,' it seems that he is hardly aware of the most obvious odors, and I have never seen him sniff the air even once, even when dangerous things were happening only thirty feet away.
1149. 'Then consider the fact that he has no ears on the top of his head. He does have those dried apricots stuck to the sides of his cheeks but they can't be of use for anything. No wonder he never has any idea what is going on in the woods fifty feet away.' All these frustrating observations aggravated Otis but strange to say, the Boy's ineptitude and simplicity made Otis like him the more. For Otis he was like a small child whom you want to look after rather than scold.
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