During these chapters, Hooper starts to pretend that he is a hunter, and Kingshaw is furious that he is once again taking over. He is angry with himself for acknowledging Hooper at all.
Later on in the chapter, the boys begin to feel that they are lost, and even a note of fear creeps into Hooper's harsh voice.
“They’ll never find us!”
Even though this was the case for a vast majority of the chapter, for a moment, Kingshaw has the upper hand, because he, in a way, feels more confident in the wood than he did in the house, under the watching of Mr. Hooper and Helena Kingshaw.
Hooper's fear increases when he hears thunder. Hooper is even drawn to be sick with fear.
“I’m always sick…I’m not being by myself in thunder”
Kingshaw's reaction is one of sympathy and embarrassed concern. The reader may feel a shift of sympathy towards Hooper, and a sense that things may turn out well, but Kingshaw's humane reaction will prove to be his undoing.
After the storm has passed, Hooper once again assumes the role of leader, and Kingshaw inexplicably allows him to do so. Hooper trades on Kingshaw's fear of death when he picks up the dead rabbit.
Kingshaw seems sad, or even troubled about this fear of death. They then begin to talk about dead people, ghosts and spirits. This convocation leads Hooper into using this new found non-understanding of Kingshaw’s fears. He seems to use it to scare Kingshaw in places. Hooper automatically takes charge and uses Kingshaw’s revulsion at the sight of the dead, maggot-eaten rabbit, to wipe clean the stigma of his own weakness.
Both children have suffered the death of a parent and both have been subjected to lengthy absences from home when they are away at boarding school.
After Hooper falls down a steep bank ‘unhurt’, they find a stream, and Kingshaw wonders whether the presence of water may change things. But, even after this, Hooper easily takes hold of his uncontrollable power once more.
“There’s a stream or something, I can hear it down there. I’m going to try and find it”
He knows that Hooper is afraid to continue through the forest alone, whereas he, Kingshaw, feels quite capable of doing so.
“Right, I can hear it, it’s over there. I’ll go first because I’m leader”
They follow the stream, but it seems to lead deeper and deeper into the forest. Hooper suggests having a swim in a pool, and discovers Kingshaw's fear of water.
“Are you scared Kingshaw?”
For a brief, hopeful moment, the boys play together in the pool. Kingshaw has discovered that he is not afraid after all, and feels strong and confident. He seems to have found his element in the water.
Kingshaw shows his practical leadership, but Hooper is too clever for him and reasserts his old superior manner. It is at this point that Kingshaw realises that he is, and always will be, the loser. Hooper is able to make Kingshaw fear him in a way that is far worse than Hooper's own fear of the storm. Hooper fears an external force; Kingshaw fears the evil and malevolence of another human being.
Hooper has another panic attack when he fears they may never be found. Kingshaw leaves him to try to find a way out of the wood, and is tempted to abandon Hooper. A sense of responsibility takes him back, where he finds Hooper injured and unconscious. He had hit his head on a rock while attempting to catch a fish.
Kingshaw took him out of the water and after some time Hooper opened his eyes. Kingshaw even took the wet clothes off of Hooper; Kingshaw was certain Hooper would die. After this, Kingshaw cried. This shows a deeper emotion, or feeling towards Hooper.
Kingshaw rescues and helps Hooper, but instead of being grateful, Hooper taunts him about his mother's position. He denies altogether the fact that he most probably feels the loss of his own mother.
Kingshaw gains some advantage when his temper flares and he attacks Hooper in a blind rage.
However, his sense of decency and responsibility returns, and he lets his advantage leak away.
Before Kingshaw and Hooper are found and taken back to the house, there is a brief moment of peace in the forest. At this point Kingshaw feels strong and powerful. He feels that Hooper does not have the power to hurt him in this environment. The description of the forest is almost like a description of an unspoilt paradise. The light in the forest is gentle and the forest is full of the sounds of birds. Kingshaw feels at one with this peaceful environment. He goes to sit in the stream, allowing the water to flow gently over his body.
This is an important moment in the novel, and foreshadows the final outcome.
This is where he feels safe, where things seem to be all right. The water on Kingshaw's body may even symbolise a deeper healing.
Unlike other characters in the novel, Kingshaw feels no sense of danger or evil in the wood. The only evil and malevolence he experiences are found in his fellow human beings. This emphasises the suggestion that the wood is a kind of paradise or Eden. It is humans who disturb this peace with their cruelty or indifference. This is dramatically illustrated at this point in the novel by the crashing sounds of the adults coming to find them and return them to 'society'.
Although this section of the novel is focusing on the feelings of these two young boys, the adults' complete inability to see the truth about Hooper, and their willingness to take Hooper's side against Kingshaw, even to the extent of believing his version of events without giving any credence to Kingshaw's version at all.
Why is there no higher authority that he can call upon? Why do the parents in this novel offer no help to the victim? Why is Hooper always believed, while Kingshaw is dismissed, even by his own mother?
Kingshaw is alone, trapped and helpless. He is the victim of Hooper's superior ability to manipulate others. Equally importantly, however, Kingshaw is the victim of his own spontaneous emotional reactions, which, after all, are those of an 11-year-old boy. He lacks Hooper's cold, calculating cunning. Hooper is able to evoke a blind rage in Kingshaw which he then uses to trap him and discredit him in the adults' eyes.