Later, Arlo hears the sound of the trap. With the mallet in hand, he approaches and sees a human child (Jack Bright) trapped and choking with the net wrapped around his neck. Arlo sighs and lets the boy go, but the boy approaches him, sniffing around. Arlo backs away, tripping over a rock and letting out a scream. Startled, the boy runs off as Henry runs over. Henry sees the boy escaping and yells at Arlo for letting him go. Henry tells Arlo to come with him as he follows the boy's tracks. Just then, it started to rain. Arlo worries that they'll get lost, but Henry tells him that as long as he can find the river, he can find home. Henry tells Arlo that the boy's tracks are getting washed out in the rain, so they have to move quickly. Lightning and thunder are crackling all around them, and Arlo slips and falls in the mud. Henry tells him that they should head home. Just then, a landslide causes the river to overflow. Henry uses his strength to push Arlo to safety, before being swept away.
With Henry gone, Ida and the kids struggle to keep up with the chores. Arlo takes corn into the silo for the winter, but he finds the boy eating it. Arlo chases after him, grabbing an ear of corn from his mouth. As they struggle, Arlo falls into the river and cries for help, but nobody hears him. Careening down the river, Arlo smacks his head against a large rock and is knocked unconscious. He wakes up lying on a sandbar, and sees that he's miles from home. The only sound he can hear is a howl coming from the boy, and he sees him at the top of a cliff. The boy watches as Arlo awkwardly climbs up the cliff, then he jumps on Arlo's face. Arlo shakes him off, and then climbs up to the cliff edge, when he sees that the boy has disappeared.