The Fool Killer

After a harsh beating for knocking the butter churn into the road, George longs to escape his foster parents. He hides under a railroad car as the train arrives and clambers aboard, clutching a bag of his possessions. When the train stops to take on water, he realizes he cannot rejoin it in time and watches the bag left behind as it pulls away. He resolves to head west, starting his lonely journey.

George wanders west after losing his bag and meets Dirty Jim Jelliman, a solitary old man living off the land. They form a tentative friendship, with Jim testing George's boundaries and George eager for companionship. Jim warns him of dangers and shares a chilling tale about the Fool Killer. They spend several weeks together, giving George a sense of kinship he has been missing.

In town George falls ill and is taken in by a nearby family, offering him food and shelter. He then runs off and stumbles into the camp of a tall, rough man who tries to keep him silent and out of trouble. The man introduces himself as Milo Bogardus, though he admits he stole the name from a dying soldier.

Milo is revealed to be amnesiac from a traumatic war experience, which makes him wary of others and prone to silence. Despite that, he and George form a similar bond to the one George had with Jim, spending much time together and relying on each other. They attend a tent revival together, with Milo skeptical of the preacher but curious enough to go along.

During a tent revival, Reverend Spotts delivers a fiery sermon that plunges George into a religious frenzy and a desperate plea for salvation. He begs to be saved, driven by vivid emotions and a sense of purpose he did not have before. Milo watches the scene with mixed emotions, unsure of the preacher's tricks but unwilling to dissuade George.

The morning after the revival, the body of Reverend Spotts is found killed with an axe, leaving the town unsettled and George despondent. George discovers Milo has disappeared, leaving him to wander and question what to do next. The loss deepens George's sense that danger and mystery follow Milo.

George drifts into town and is taken in by the Dodds, a childless couple who run a general store and provide him with a stable home for a while. He adapts to their routines and starts to feel cared for again, contrasting with the wild life he left behind. The Dodds' kindness gives him a momentary respite from his restless journey.

One day George spots Milo in town and invites him to dinner at the Dodds' home, hoping for a reunion. Milo grows agitated as Mr. Dodd leads the dinner prayer and mentions Spotts's murder, triggering a fragile tension. George frames Milo as the Fool Killer, and Milo quietly thanks the Dodds before departing.

Armed with an axe, Milo climbs into Mrs. Dodd's bedroom window, and George misreads him as the Fool Killer. He tries to shield Mrs. Dodd as Mr. Dodd lowers his gun. Milo is shamed by George's presence, escapes onto the roof, and ultimately leaps to his death.

With Milo gone, George longs for freedom and the road once more, preferring the unpredictability of trains to settling down. He returns to the train yard and considers resuming travel across the West. In a quiet, decisive moment, he waves goodbye as a departing train disappears into the distance.