In the sentence three of the first paragraph of the selection of The Loner, find the phrase from the sentence that the author used to help you feel the boy's loneliness or his exhaustion. Type the phrase into the space below. The Loner:
1) Beyond him the road climbed another hill and upon the crest spruce trees bent in the wind and shadows spread like dark water seeping from the mountainside. The ruffled edges of the clouds had turned gold and for a moment it seemed that the whole world had become golden, the dried slopes about him reflecting the coming sunset. He was used to being out of doors at all hours but he had never seen anything like this and he stood, swaying wearily, caught by its splendor. In the distance, off to his right, a herd of deer driven from the higher ridges by the first signs of winter, moved slowly across the bronze grass. Except for birds, they were the first signs of life he had seen in days of struggling through this country, and suddenly the enormity of the space around him and the loneliness of its silence became more than he could stand and he found himself running toward the animals, leaving the road and scrambling over sun-scorched pastureland in a fury of haste.

2) "Wait!" he called, fighting through bushes and hillocks. "Wait!" he shouted foolishly with all his strength, his voice carrying through the thin air. The deer poised for a moment and then faded into the landscape. He watched them go, still calling frantically and running toward them. They were alive and at this moment he needed to be near something living, something besides endless stretches of hills and plains.

3) When he realized they were gone, his breath began to come in long shaking sobs. The reserve strength he had called on in trying to reach them left him and he fell headlong on the earth beside a cluster of pale-gold serviceberry bushes. The impact knocked the air out of him and he lay without moving, his tear-streaked face pressed into the rough dry grass.

4) Finally the boy tried to raise his body, his shaggy brown hair falling over his eyes. He couldn't go any farther. He was through, finished, beaten. How long had it been since he left the potato fields and started off on his own across this unfamiliar country? How many rides had he hitched on the highway? Which way was he headed now? How many meals had he made on berries and the raw potatoes he carried in his pockets? He didn't know. He didn't care. Nothing mattered now.

5) He lay quietly until the sobs began again, deep and racking. Above him the sky turned from gold to dark blue and the clouds drifted to the south. He burrowed deeper into the earth, rolling his body into a ball against the bushes, the weariness spreading through him like a soothing syrup. He cried himself out and slowly his hands relaxed and his eyes closed. Like a small animal seeking the warmth of the earth, he pressed his face against the grass and slept.

Note: The phrase should be 2 words long. Remember that a phrase is not a complete sentence and shouldn’t include any capitalization or punctuation.