Nick was sitting in the barn, oiling a piece of harness when Dan approached him. Ethan had been at Plumfield now for three days and was just beginning to get up and about. He had avoided Nick and most of the boys, although he was forming a friendship with Tommy, who seemed to amuse him. He was generally quiet, and unwilling to reveal any information about himself. Dan had been quietly observing him and now he came to Nick with a question.

"Does, does Ethan seem familiar to you?" He asked Nick, sitting down beside him.

Nick shook his head. "Nope. Does he to you?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah, but I can't place it. I feel like I saw him a long time ago, but I can't remember when or where."

"Well, it'll come to you eventually." Nick said, concentrating on the harness. "He's an interesting kid, isn't he?"

"Yeah, interesting." Dan said, rising and wandering off in the direction of the house. Deep in thought, he didn't notice Ethan until he almost bumped into him as they met at the bottom of the porch stairs.

"Oh, sorry." He said. Ethan just gave him a dirty look and passed by. Dan called after him, "What? I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, whatever." Ethan replied, turning to face him.

Dan, frustrated now, gave an angry retort. "'Yeah, whatever.'" He mimicked. "What's your problem? I mean, you avoid me and most of the guys and just seem to like being rotten. We didn't do anything to you."

Ethan stared at Dan for several seconds. Then, rolling his eyes, he turned to walk away. Dan's temper, which he had managed to keep in check for several months now, flared up and he grabbed Ethan's shoulder, spinning him around. Immediately, Ethan's left fist flew out and caught Dan on the cheekbone. The two started grappling with each other. Since Dan was larger, and stronger, and since Ethan was still bruised, with a broken arm, Dan quickly had the upper hand. He knocked Ethan to the ground with one blow. Franz happened to step out of the house right then and caught Dan's arm as he was about to hit Ethan again. Dan turned angrily and stared at Franz. Slowly, he cooled down and realized what he had done. Looking down at Ethan, who had pulled himself into a sitting position, he was struck with remorse.

Extending his hand, he said, "Sorry Ethan. My temper got the best of me."

Ethan ignored him, climbing stiffly to his feet. Turning, he faced Dan, and spit in his face. Then he spun around and headed off in the direction of the woods. Dan, his temper once more aroused, tried to follow, but Franz held him back.

"Come inside, Dan." He said, looking after Ethan. Dan took a deep breath and followed him up the front steps. As they reached the front door, Jo opened it. "Oh, Dan, Franz! Have you seen Ethan? Tommy's looking for him." Then, noticing Dan's ruffled appearance, "What happened to you, Dan?"

Neither boy answered, they just looked at each other. Jo caught on quickly. "Dan, did you have a fight?"

Dan nodded.

"With who?"

Again, neither boy spoke. Jo's eyes grew wide. "You didn't fight with Ethan did you?" Dan grimaced, looking down at his feet. "What happened?" She asked angrily. Dan related what had happened. Jo was silent for a minute, then said with a sigh. "Dan, go on inside and get cleaned up."

Dan obeyed, and Franz followed him. Jo caught Franz's arm as he headed inside. "Where did he go, Franz?"

"That way." Franz indicated the direction and Jo immediately went that way.

She found Ethan sitting on the snow covered bridge, dangling his legs over the edge. She sat down beside him and for several moments, neither of them said anything. Then she asked, "Are you okay."

Ethan nodded.

"It's cold out here." Jo commented. "Do you want to head back to the school now?"

Ethan just shrugged, and then rose to his feet, brushing the snow from his jacket, one of Jack's cast-offs.

Jo smiled at him, and putting her arm around his shoulders, she said, "Dan didn't mean to hurt you. He has a bad temper, that's all. He feels bad about what happened." She waited for a response, but, none coming, she continued, "He'd like to let bygones be bygones, I think."

Ethan didn't reply, just pulled away from her and started back towards Plumfield. Jo stood where she was for a minute, then shook her head and raised her eyes to heaven and followed him back to the house.