The Departure of Jones from Upton, With What Past Between Him and Patridge on the Road
- And now, we're going back to Tom.
- Tom and Partridge are trudging away from the inn at Upton.
- They reach a crossroads.
- Partridge asks Tom once again to turn back home.
- Tom shouts that he hasn't got a home.
- Then Tom starts shaking Partridge violently.
- Partridge begs Tom to stop hurting him.
- Tom starts raging against himself.
- Eventually, Tom calms down and apologizes to Partridge.
- He now has a new plan: since his life is completely ruined, he may as well go and die in the army.
- Partridge thinks Tom has gone completely around the bend. Totally loco. Really, genuinely crazy.
- Partridge is so uncomfortable that he just picks something to say at random.
- He starts talking about the Man of the Hill. His main question: was he a ghost? His answer: he's gotta be.
- Partridge complains that he dreamed of fighting last night.
- Maybe that was an omen of this whole army plan of Tom's.
- Tom asks why it matters if they both die in battle.
- It matters a lot to Partridge, because his life would be at an end.
- Tom doesn't approve of Partridge's lack of courage: we're all going to die anyway, so why shouldn't we die well on the battlefield?
- Partridge agrees that we will all die eventually, but there is a big difference between dying in your bed years from now and dying today or tomorrow.