Billy and Icky meet Kidder, the owner of the seemingly abandoned house. At first he agrees to let the boys stay for the night, but Icky breaks all of Kidders plates by skimming them off the stream when he is supposed to be washing them. They set out to find replacement plates and steal them from a local house. When they return they find a group of locals graffitiing the house. They chase them off, and eventually Kidder agrees to let them stay. Billy is beaten up by the local gang, and Kidder discovers Icky is illiterate.