This Was Our Pact

The grayscale coloring of the final panel of Chapter 2 continues into Chapter 3 as the boys and the fisherbear realize they are lost. They find themselves on the shore of a large lake. The fisherbear rummages around in his big basket, looking for a map. A splash page taking up all of Page 71 offers an extreme close-up of the fisherbear’s map. It lacks any meaningful detail, and its unhelpful vagueness is humorously juxtaposed with word balloons conveying the bear’s directive to the boys: “[D]on’t touch it, please. It’s a family heirloom” (71).

Ben points out that there is really nothing on the map except the river, and the bear concedes that they should probably just head east, since that will take them back to the river. He says they can make a compass by magnetizing a needle. Ben complains that no one carries magnets around with them, but Nathaniel says that his backpack’s closure is magnetic and allows them to cut one of the magnets out. The boys and the fisherbear work on creating the compass, and they then place the magnetized needle on a leaf in the water. The compass rotates to point north, and the boys are excited that the compass worked. As the three of them walk along the lake’s shore, headed east, the fisherbear explains that his father taught him how to make a compass this way.

As they slog through the mud along the shore, Ben becomes irritated, but Nathaniel and the fisherbear joke around and play guessing games. Much of their conversation focuses on outer space, which is an interest Nathaniel and the bear have in common. Suddenly, they are forced to halt by a huge cliff that blocks their way. A full-page panel depicts a black cliff face that dominates the majority of the visual field, and in a strip of light gray at the bottom of the page, the tiny figures of the two boys and the fisherbear contemplate the obstacle. The fisherbear cheerfully comments that there surely must be a way around. Nathaniel excitedly wonders if they are in a crater made by an ancient asteroid. He runs forward, looking for a way to climb out. The fisherbear dashes after him, and they make a race out of it; Ben lags behind, uninterested. The fisherbear shouts encouragement to Nathaniel as he begins to climb, but soon, Nathaniel gets stuck and needs to be helped down. The fisherbear realizes that Nathaniel has no coat and is cold; he wraps the boy in the long scarf his wife made for him, saying his wife would be glad to know it was being used for a noble purpose. The fisherbear apologizes to the boys for getting them lost and for leaving them behind, but he says that he has to fulfill his family tradition and go after the fish because his ancestors will be watching him. He bids them goodbye and sets off to climb the cliff face on his own.

Ben tells Nathaniel that he is not giving up on their quest, either. Frustrated that he cannot think of a plan, he tells Nathaniel that he looks ridiculous in the bear’s long scarf. Nathaniel begins skipping stones in the lake for fun; one hits something, and the two boys begin throwing rocks together, trying to hit whatever Nathaniel’s stone had hit. Several panels depict the two boys standing side-by-side, throwing rocks into the foggy lake. Nathaniel wonders if the object is one of the three boulders the bear mentioned earlier, but Ben is skeptical. Determined to find out, Nathaniel bravely wades into the icy, fog-covered lake to investigate. He is gone for what seems like a long time, and Ben becomes anxious. A series of panels show just the fog over the lake. Finally, Ben calls Nathaniel’s name. The visuals highlight Ben’s fear and loneliness. In a frameless panel that consists almost entirely of white negative space, Ben is depicted as a tiny, dark figure at the bottom. Over his head, a small word balloon asks: “Are you there?” (91).

Finally, Nathaniel answers and offers surprising information: He has found a set of stairs. Ben wades into the shallow water and follows Nathaniel’s voice. Ben nears a huge, rounded boulder with stairs curving around the outside, and sees Nathaniel standing on top. Ben struggles to make the climb, and Nathaniel helps him. At the very top, there are two sets of cables stretching away into the fog. On one of the poles holding the cables up, the boys spot a box; inside is a phone. Ben hesitates, but Nathaniel is excited and tells him to try and call someone.

When the call connects, bright yellow word balloons convey the sounds coming from the phone: Madam Majestic’s voice shouts, “ARE THEY HERE ALREADY?!” (99). Confused, the boys identify themselves and explain that they are lost and that a cliff is blocking their way. Madam Majestic is disappointed that it was not who she was expecting; she says that she cannot do anything about the cliff. They ask if she has a map, and she says she can have one made. She hangs up, and the boys hear the rumble of something approaching through the fog. A series of full-tier panels depicts the boys’ panic as whatever is heading toward them grows louder and then screeches to a halt. In a final electric-blue panel, they huddle on the ground, their hands covering their ears.

There is now a platform tethered between the two cables, and they realize that they are meant to ride it to whoever they have been talking to on the phone. Ben is outraged at the idea, saying it does not look safe. However, Nathaniel eagerly climbs onto the platform, thrilled at the idea of the ride. Finally, Ben agrees to get on, saying that they will just go look at the map and then come right back for their bikes. As they are carried away into the fog, Nathaniel amuses himself by spitting over the side of the platform into the dense fog below.

The two boys are astonished when they approach a village of homes cut into towering rock columns. Nathaniel asks Ben whether he was serious about never turning back for home and if he should have said goodbye to his parents before leaving. Ben scoffs at the idea that they would never go home again. He tells Nathaniel that if they keep going in the same direction, eventually they will circumnavigate the earth and return home again. Nathaniel is overcome with excitement when he hears this; “IT’S BRILLIANT!” he yells, “Just imagine all of the ADVENTURES waiting out there for us!” (112-13). The final page of the chapter shows the two boys on the platform, heading upward toward a small, reddish opening in an enormous cliff face.