Gene Forrester, the narrator of the story, visited his previous school where he had studied 15 years ago during World War II. He wandered around the Devon school in New Hampshire and noticed that everything appears to be coated in paint and is well preserved. As he walked around the school grounds, he remembered his childhood memories and how scary they were. Then there he decided to visit the places he most associates with fear. The first is the marble staircase which shows little sign of wear over the years. And the second is the river where a specific tree is located. At that point, the plot returns to the summer of 1942, where Gene stands under the tree by the river that looms large like a black, steel steeple. Gene, Finny, his best friend and his other friends like Leper, Chet and Bobby were there to have fun. Finny then convinced the other boys to jump from the tree into the river after his leap. Gene jumps into the river even though he is scared due to Finny's persistence. After the two boys jump, the other three refuse to make the jump, so they return to dinner. On the way home, the two best friends fight each other and skip dinner. Accordingly, they went straight to their rooms. Prud'homme, a substitute teacher for the summer session, went to Gene and Finny to discipline them the next morning for missing dinner, but was quickly won over by Finny's exuberant talkativeness and left without punishment. That afternoon Mr Patch-Withers, the deputy headmaster, held tea. Most of the students and faculty had awkward conversations; Finny, on the other hand, has proven to be a great conversationalist. Like Mr.... in the center of the card... inny out of the tree. Paralyzed, he challenged a younger boy to "reenact the crime," but the boy simply said that Gene must have pushed Finny off the branch. Gene ridiculed the boy's conclusion, drawing attention away from him but arousing the boy's hatred. He then declared that he should go and study French, leaving without having smoked. To alleviate wartime labor shortages, the boys shovel snow from the railroad. When they returned to Devon, the boys found Leper returning from his expedition to the beaver dam. Brinker teased him, and as they walked away, he told Gene that he was tired of school and wanted to enlist the next day. Gene felt a thrill at the thought of leaving his old life to join the army. That night, after spending some time gazing at the stars, he decided to enlist as well. When he returned to his room, however, he found Finny there.