Holes Chapter 35 Summary

  • Zero comes out from under the boat, looking pretty bad. Stanley tries to convince him that they have to go back to camp (in order to, you know, survive), but Zero refuses.
  • Stanley crawls under the boat with Zero. It's cooler under there, and Zero has survived by drinking what he calls "sploosh": jars of a sweet, tangy, nectar-like substance that must have been in the boat when it sank way back when.
  • Zero shares the last jar with Stanley, who thinks it "might have been some kind of fruit at some time, perhaps peaches" (35.25).
  • (We readers are starting to put the pieces together, but remember that Stanley doesn't know the whole story about Katherine and Sam. We're totally ahead of the curve.)
  • Stanley is a little worried about drinking something that's so old, because of the bacteria that might be living inside it. And sure enough, Zero, who has had fifteen jars of the sploosh in all, is suddenly doubled over with pain.
  • Once again, Stanley encourages Zero to head back to camp, but Zero won't have any of it.
  • While he's sitting there, Zero tries to read the name on the side of the boat, and our tutor friend Stanley helps him out.
  • Stanley tells Zero to look at the mountains in the distance and tell him if he sees anything that looks like a familiar shape. Zero looks, and slowly forms his hand into a thumbs-up sign. Nice: he sees it, too.