- The next morning Brian opens the survival bag. In it he finds "unbelievable riches" (19.1)—a sleeping bag, a cooking set, waterproof matches and some lighters, a knife, a first-aid kit, scissors, and a fishing kit. Wow.
- The bag also contains a rifle. The rifle makes Brian feel peculiar, as though he's removed from everything around him. He uses the lighter to re-start the fire, which has gone out during the night. That makes him feel strange, too.
- Returning to his rummaging in the survival pack, Brian finds a little electronic device in a waterproof bag. At first he thinks it's a radio or a cassette player, but when he examines it more, he realizes that it's an emergency transmitter.
- Jackpot.
- Or not. He flips the switch back and forth a few times, but nothing happens, so he sets it aside to keep looking through the survival bag.
- He finds two bars of soap, and bag after bag of freeze-dried food. Overwhelmed by all the choices he has available to him, Brian selects a beef and potato dinner, an orange drink, and a peach whip for dessert. Using water from the lake and his new cooking pot, he cooks the food over the fire.
- Suddenly, as he's sitting savoring the orange drink and waiting for the stew to be ready, a plane appears. Brian hears a roar above his head and then suddenly a bushplane with floats passes over him and glides to a stop on the lake.
- And just like that, he's rescued.
- The plane's pilot steps out onto the sand in front of Brian's shelter. He tells Brian that he picked up the emergency transmission, then saw the crashed plane sticking out of the water as he flew over the lake. He asks if Brian is "that kid," the one they were looking for a couple of months ago.
- Brian, not quite believing that he is finally being rescued, introduces himself to the pilot. Then, seeing that the stew and the peach whip are nearly done, he asks the pilot if he'd like something to eat.