Elephant Run

Hilltop sleeps for much of the day while Mya and Nick talk about Kya Lei, a notorious Burmese Robin Hood. When Nick and Mya finally sleep, Hilltop leaves them a note and departs to scope out the camps by himself. He reflects on the day's incident and the danger the children are in. The only thing saving them was the illusion of power: “And it was all about power. Big and little power. Who had it, how much, and how long it would last” (249). While Hilltop walks, Nick and Mya have a run in with Kya Lei, who thanks them for not ratting him out to the Japanese soldiers in the village. He tells them he will return the favor by allowing them to pass safely, without revealing their whereabouts. He also gives them information on the camps; his news isn't particularly uplifting, especially for Nick. Meanwhile, Hilltop finds the remains of the first camp, now abandoned, with many marked graves. He keeps walking and soon finds Indaw in the second camp. Indaw is alive and well and still vibrant despite the circumstances. Indaw lies to the guards that Miss Pretty pulled a muscle to spend some time with Hilltop alone while the other mahouts work.