How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I had the wind of a deer, the muscles of a country boy, a heart full of dog love, and a strong determination. I wasn't scared of the darkness, or the mountains, for I was raised in those mountains. (4.24)
This is Billy's world. He's so much a part of it that the natural world has even worked its way into his body, with the "wind" (that is, lungs) of a deer. Look, Billy, all we're saying is that even you probably can't take on a mountain lion.
Quote #5
I had never seen a night so peaceful and still. All around me tall sycamores gleamed like white streamers in the moonlight. (8.43)
Finally, Billy is out in the woods. He's got his lantern and his dogs, and he's at peace. (Better him than us, we say. We'd be running straight back to the nice, bright house.)
Quote #6
A bunch of mallards, feeding in the shallows across the river, took flight with frightened quacks. A feeling that only a hunter knows slowly crept over my body. I whooped to my dogs, urging them on. (12.97)
So, evidently the advantage of being half-wild is that you've got great instincts. Billy is almost as good at the hunting thing as his dogs are.