Tuck Everlasting: Chapter Nineteen Summary & Analysis

The man in the yellow suit looks around for a minute before addressing Winnie and telling her she's safe. Winnie thinks that there's something suspicious and unpleasant behind the man's expressionless face. Angus explains that they were going to bring Winnie home themselves. The man tells Angus to sit down and listen to what he has to say. He stands by the hearth and says that he was born in the west, where his grandmother told him stories about one of her friends who married a man who never got any older. Her husband's family didn't get older either and finally, the friend left her husband. Miles whispers, "Anna."

Mae tells the man in the yellow suit that he has no right to talk to them about this, while Angus tells the man to get to his point. The man in the yellow suit says that he was fascinated by these stories and went to school to figure out how it could be true. After school, the man gave his grandmother a music box, which made the grandmother remember that her friend's mother-in-law had a music box. The friend's children knew the melody by heart and the man's grandmother taught it to him. He says that he started looking a few months ago and finally heard the melody coming from the Fosters' wood, saw the Tucks take Winnie, and heard their story.

Mae goes suddenly pale and asks the man in the yellow suit what he's going to do. With a smile, the man says that Winnie's father gave him the wood in exchange for bringing Winnie home. Flushing, the man says that now, he can bottle and sell the water to "certain people, people who deserve it." It will be very expensive. He says that "ignorant people" like the Tucks shouldn't have the opportunity to purchase it, but since the Tucks are already immortal, he'll pay them to perform deadly tasks to demonstrate the water's efficacy. In a dull voice, Jesse says that the man wants them to be freaks.

This makes the man in the yellow suit raise his eyebrows. He says that he thought it'd be nice to offer and points out that with the money, the Tucks could live "like people again, instead of pigs." At this, Angus, Jesse, and Miles shout at the man, who grabs Winnie and roughly shoves her out the door. Winnie screams that she won't go with him. She turns to see Mae behind her, holding the rifle like a club, and Mae tells the man to leave Winnie alone. The man says that it's selfish to not share the water and says that when Winnie drinks the water, she'll be even more effective in demonstrating its power. Mae's face is bright red as she swings the shotgun and hits him in the back of his head. The man drops instantly as the constable emerges from the trees.