How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Old Sol had been on his way to Forestport, having run out of gin, and the Flanchers damned near ran him and his stump-hocked little black mare into the ditch. They'd kept right on, taking the fork up to the sand flats, and Sol was upset enough so he turned into Armond's drive and stopped to tell Parker Munsey about it. He told Joe Hemphill later on at McGee's bar in Forestport he thought everybody on the river road must have been crazy that night. (54.10)
All of this goes down the night after Tom's barn-raising and just after he has been to the Breen place to retrieve the hidden money. Tom's long, hard day of honest work is a serious contrast to the shenanigans of men out at night drinking and stirring up trouble. Tom is not on the path to being that kind of man, and the novel makes it pretty clear that that's a good thing.
Quote #11
Mr. Hook walked in and said, "Al, I've brought my friend who might be interested in buying that team."
Al turned around and got out of his chair. He shook hands with Mr. Hook, who said, "This is Tom Dolan. Al Rathbun."
They shook hands, too. (61.2-4)
Tom's come a long way from being a nervous kid asking for a job. Now he shakes hands in a business exchange the same way Mr. Hook does. At other points in the novel, Tom has admired Mr. Hook's confident way of dealing with other men. This passage shows that Tom is starting to get to that point, too.