Opening
A tax bill pushes Little Willy from worry into action as he searches for $500 to save the farm and heal his Grandfather. Every adult says to sell, but Willy seizes on a new path: a winner-take-all dogsled race with a grand prize that matches the debt. His underdog quest collides with legend when the undefeated racer Stone Fox enters—bringing with him a solemn, just cause of his own.
What Happens
Chapter 5: The Way
After the tax collector leaves, Little Willy repeats his grandfather’s motto—“Where there’s a will, there’s a way”—and goes looking for the “way.” He confides in Doc Smith, who explains why taxes exist and warns that the bank won’t help. Willy insists he can care for Grandfather himself and correctly concludes that the fear of losing the farm is what made him sick; if Willy pays the taxes, Grandfather will get better. Doc Smith doubts a cure is that simple but admits it would help, which only hardens Willy’s resolve.
Dressed in his best suit, Willy appeals to Mr. Foster at the bank. The answer is blunt: sell the farm. No loan, no time, no options. Willy tries his teacher and townspeople—same response. Back home, he begs Grandfather for a sign and gets only silence. Then, in Lester’s General Store, Willy sees a poster for the National Dogsled Race with a $500 prize. Lester mentions the champion, Stone Fox—an Indian who has never lost. Willy grabs the poster, races home, and declares to Grandfather that he will win. Grandfather closes his eyes, and a single tear slides down his cheek.
Chapter 6: Stone Fox
Willy goes to city hall to register. Mayor Smiley tries to push him into the children’s race; Willy refuses. The entry fee for the main event is $50—money he doesn’t have. He storms back to the bank, demands his college savings from Mr. Foster, and won’t be talked out of it. He walks out with five ten-dollar gold pieces, returns to the mayor, pays the fee, and feels “ten feet tall.”
While hitching Searchlight to the sled, Willy sees five white Samoyeds pulling a heavy sled—and behind them, a towering man whose face is “as hard as stone.” Willy squeaks out, “Howdy.” Stone Fox says nothing, eyes passing over Willy and resting on Searchlight before he disappears into city hall. Word spreads: Stone Fox refuses to speak to white people in protest of injustices done to his tribe, and he races to buy back his people’s land with prize money. His mission mirrors Willy’s—both are fighting for home.
In the week before the race, Willy maps and practices the ten-mile course over and over. He trains relentlessly with Searchlight, sharpening turns, pacing hills, refusing to be rattled by Stone Fox’s spotless record.
Character Development
A quiet child becomes a strategist with a plan; a towering rival turns out to be more than a villain; a silent elder reveals deep feeling without words.
- Little Willy: Rejects adult pragmatism and claims responsibility for the farm. Stakes his college fund on the race, proving courage, loyalty, and leadership with Searchlight.
- Stone Fox: Introduced as an unbeatable, silent force, then revealed as a principled protester racing to reclaim ancestral land—honorable, not cruel.
- Grandfather: Motionless but emotionally present; his tear acknowledges Willy’s love and the danger ahead.
- Doc Smith: Practical and candid; her honesty clarifies the stakes and pushes Willy toward his own solution.
Themes & Symbols
Willy’s push into adulthood embodies Responsibility and Coming of Age. He stops asking for permission and starts making sacrifices, setting goals, and facing consequences. The race poster arrives at Willy’s lowest moment, turning despair into Hope Against Despair and reframing the story as a single-shot quest. His training grind and refusal to bow to odds underline Determination and Perseverance. Most poignantly, emptying his college savings for the entry fee highlights Love and Sacrifice: he trades future security for Grandfather’s present well-being.
Stone Fox’s silence functions as protest and memory. It points to collective trauma, demands dignity, and reframes the conflict from boy-versus-giant to a clash of worthy, competing needs. Compassion and justice surface beneath the rivalry: both racers fight for home, identity, and the power to stay.
Symbols:
- The Race Poster: A doorway from paralysis to action—the concrete “way” Willy needs.
- The College Fund (five gold coins): Willy’s future, willingly spent to protect family and land.
- Stone Fox’s Silence: A living emblem of resistance and historical wrongs.
Key Quotes
“Grandfather had always said, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ Little Willy had the will. Now all he had to do was find the way.”
This line encapsulates the book’s engine: willpower searching for a path. By shutting every conventional door, the chapter makes the race the only credible “way,” aligning plot and theme.
“He felt ten feet tall.”
After paying the fee, Willy isn’t richer; he’s braver. The line marks his shift from passive child to active contender, showing how risk and self-belief create stature that money cannot.
“His face was as hard as stone.”
The simile cements Stone Fox’s mythic presence—implacable, unreadable, formidable. It also foreshadows his role as a moral wall: not cruel, but unyielding in principle.
“Howdy.” [Silence.]
Willy’s timid greeting meets a protest that refuses small talk. The exchanged non-exchange defines the rivalry’s tone: respect, distance, and a conflict bigger than sport.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters pivot the story from crisis to quest. The $500 problem becomes a win-or-lose race, sharpening momentum and raising stakes from personal survival to competing visions of justice. Introducing Stone Fox as both obstacle and honorable counterpart deepens the conflict: two protagonists, two homes at risk, one prize. The narrative now runs on heart and grit, heading toward a showdown where victory will carry both triumph and cost.