Hatchet #10

Hatchet

Chapter 10

Thursday February 16, 2012

Brian takes such comfort from the fire that he feels reluctant to stray from it. Knowing he will need to keep the fire going, he spends the afternoon gathering wood for the night and the coming days, falling into a deep sleep when he completes his work. A noise awakens him in the middle of the night, but nothing enters his shelter and he dozes off again. In the morning he finds tracks to and from the lake. Following them in the sand, Brian comes to a pile where many eggs lie; a turtle had come up from the water to lay its eggs. Most importantly, it strikes Brian that the eggs provide him with a more substantial kind of food than he has yet eaten. Thinking of his Uncle Carter, who used to eat raw eggs in the morning, Brian decides that he will eat these eggs in his uncle’s honor. Overcoming the odd taste, Brian eats several eggs and saves the rest to eat once every day. Thinking of the searchers, Brian hopes they will soon rescue him.