The Georgian boy tells Ada and Ruby what happened on Cold Mountain, having found his way back to the farm based on snippets of information told to him by Stobrod. He wants to warn the women about Teague. Ada and Ruby ask the boy to take them to the place in question but the boy refuses. Previously, he said, he saw his brother die on Cold Mountain. These latest shootings have rekindled that trauma. He just wants to go home and he would “rather be shot” (358) than return there.

Ruby does not grieve her father. Instead, she plans to bury Stobrod and Pangle on Cold Mountain. She tells the boy how to get back to Georgia via a route that will allow him to go around the mountain. Ruby expects that the weather outside will be cold and, to bury the dead, she will likely be away for at least a night. Since Ada plans to accompany her, they must prepare warm clothes. They find “men’s trousers” (362) that belonged to Ada’s father, Monroe, and other warm items of clothing. With a camping kit, supplies, and their cold weather attire, with all the animals prepared to spend days without them, the two women set off.