The Road Sections 161-170 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Section 161

It's been five days since they've eaten.
Outside a town they come upon "a once grand house sited on a rise above the road" (161.1). The Man thinks they should take a look, but The Boy is scared.

Section 162

They walk up the driveway to the house. There are no tracks in the snow. Columns and a lamp hang overhead. The Man imagines the slaves that might have once worked here.
The Boy is scared someone is there but The Man doesn't think so and says they've got to find some food.

Section 163

The Man takes his pistol out and they start to explore the house. There's a huge pile of clothes and shoes in one corner of a room and some mattresses near the hearth. Not a good sign.

Section 164

The ashes are cold in the fireplace. The Man goes into the kitchen and then into the small adjoining pantry.

Section 165

There's a door in the floor with a hatch. The Boy is really freaking out. The Man says again that they have to find some food.

Section 166

The Man goes out into the backyard to look for a crowbar or something to pry open the hatch. He sees a macabre-looking barbecue pit, but it doesn't register. He finds a spade in the tool shed.

Section 167

The Man breaks open the hatch. The Boy is still freaking out but he says he wants to go with The Man.

Section 168

When The Man walks down into this cellar-type room, he sees naked people huddled against the wall and a mutilated man on a mattress. There's also a terrible smell. Someone has been keeping these people penned up like animals so they can eat them.
They run up the steps and The Man slams the hatch shut.
The Boy sees four bearded men and two women coming toward the house. They book it.

Section 169

They run out the front door to the road. They cross the road and keep going. They drop to the ground and hide.
The Man knows this is the moment: he'll have to kill himself and The Boy if the men and women see them.

Section 170

They hide in the leaves and ash. The Boy holds on tightly to The Man's hand. The Man thinks he's going to cough.