Paperboy Chapter 16 Summary

  • Victor heads on home to grab the money he needs to make change for Rat's mother when he drops off the newspaper collections.
  • He goes upstairs to his room only to find that something is terribly wrong—everything is all messed up and his drawers are pulled out.
  • The drawer where he keeps his money is almost falling out of the dresser, and when Victor peeks in, he sees that everything's gone—his money, his wristwatch, and even his billfold.
  • Victor yells for Mam and she runs up to his room and looks around. They can both smell that Ara T's been here, and with that, Mam unties her apron and gets down to business.
  • She tells Victor that she's going to go after Ara T but that he needs to stay safe so he should go on over to stay with Rat's mom for the time being.
  • He agrees but then starts following Mam once she heads toward Ara T's shed. He sneaks around behind her as she looks inside the shed… only to find no sign of Ara T.
  • Then she catches Victor. He's stubborn, though, and refuses to leave her alone; if she's going to be doing something dangerous, then he wants to go along with her.
  • Using the five-dollar bill he got from the Worthingtons, they buy bus tickets. Mam says that they're going to find Ara T to get all of Victor's money and stuff back.