Holes Chapter 47 Summary

  • Suddenly Zero, still squatting with the suitcase on his lap, unexpectedly says the word "Satan." Then: "Sa-tan lee" (47.3, 10).
  • Hmmm.
  • A tarantula crawls by, and one of the lizards leaps onto it and eats it. (Hey, at least it's not eating the boys.)
  • As the sun comes up, the yellow-spotted lizards slowly move downward into the shade. Stanley figures this would be a good time to climb out of the hole, but he stops when he feels a lizard digging its claw into his ankle.
  • In the midst of all this, Zero asks Stanley if his last name is the same as his first name, just spelled backwards. Stanley is amazed by the question: how could Zero have known that?
  • Suddenly, they hear the sound of approaching cars: a tall man and a short woman approach.
  • This is where things get good: the woman threatens the Warden with legal charges if anything happens to the boys.
  • The Warden responds with lies (surprise, surprise): she tells the two newcomers that Stanley snuck into her cabin and stole her suitcase the previous night, then ran away and fell into the lizard's nest. Quick thinking, crazy lady.
  • Stanley denies the Warden's story, but the woman – who says she's his lawyer – tells him not to say anything more.
  • The lawyer, apparently, came with a court order to have Stanley released the previous day, but the Warden refused.
  • Stanley very slowly manages to climb out of the hole, as the lizards climb downward into the shade. He helps Zero to his feet, and the last of the lizards scurry away.
  • The Warden hugs Zero, faking happiness that he's still alive (nice try, lady!). Really, she's trying to take the suitcase away from him. But Zero holds onto it, saying that it belongs to Stanley.
  • Sure enough, on the side of the suitcase, in big black letters, it says "Stanley Yelnats."
  • The Warden is speechless.
  • So are we.