Gene Forrester, the narrator of the story, visited his old school where he studied 15 years ago during World War II. He walked around the school in Devon, New Hampshire, and noticed that everything there seemed to be covered in varnish and was well preserved. As he walked around the school grounds, he remembered his childhood memories and how scary they were. There, he decided to visit the places he most associates with fear. The first is the marble staircase which shows little sign of wear and tear over the years. And the second is the river where a specific tree is located. At this point, the storyline returns to the summer of 1942, where Gene is standing under the tree by the river that stands tall like a black steel steeple. Gene, Finny, his best friend and his other friends like Leper, Chet and Bobby were there to have fun. Finny then persuaded the other boys to jump from the tree into the river after jumping. Gene jumped into the river even though he is scared because of Finny's persistence. After the two boys jump, the other three refuse to jump, so they go back to dinner. On the way home, the two best friends fight and miss dinner. As a result, they went straight to their rooms. Prud'homme, a substitute teacher for the summer session, went to Gene and Finny's house to discipline them the next morning for missing dinner, but he was quickly won over by Finny's bubbling chatter and left without giving of punishment. Mr Patch-Withers, the acting headteacher, provided tea that afternoon. Most of the students and professors conversed awkwardly; Finny, on the other hand, has proven himself to be an excellent conversationalist. Like Mr. ...... middle of paper ...... inny out of the tree. Paralyzed, he challenged a young boy to "reenact the crime", but the boy simply replied that Gene must have pushed Finny off the branch. Gene ridiculed the boy's conclusion, drawing attention away from him but arousing the boy's hatred. He then declares that he must go and study his French, without having smoked. To remedy the wartime labor shortage, the boys shoveled snow on the railroad tracks. On their return to Devon, the boys found Leper returning from his expedition to the beaver dam. Brinker laughed at him and, as they walked away, told Gene that he was tired of school and wanted to enlist tomorrow. Gene was thrilled at the idea of ​​leaving his old life to join the military. That night, after spending some time gazing at the stars, he decided to enlist as well. However, when he returned to his room, he found Finny there..