The Lieutenant: Part 3, Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

A week later, Tagaran, Tugear, and Worogan race down the path to Rooke's hut, yelling for him. They're breathless and crying, and Tagaran's arm is covered in blood. Rooke ushers them inside, settles them next to the fire, and gets them water and bread. Tagaran tries to tell Rooke what happened, but suddenly Tugear and Tagaran start laughing. Rooke asks the girls to tell him what happened. Tagaran slowly tells Rooke in Cadigal that a white man beat Tugear. Rooke feels himself shrinking as Tagaran acts out what happened and shows him her hurt arm, hand, and Tugear's back.

Rooke takes Tagaran's hands in his own and gently inspects her swollen hand. Tagaran pulls her hand back and says something in an accusatory tone. Rooke tries to inspect Tugear's back, but she turns away in fear. He carefully asks Tugear in Cadigal why she's afraid, and she answers that she's afraid of the men. Tagaran again acts out what happened and points to the wounds as though Rooke doesn't understand that they hurt. He suspects that she heard about the flogging. She's angry, and Rooke knows that she wants him to be angry too and deal with the man who hurt them.

Rooke tells the girls that he's very angry, but he knows he doesn't sound angry. Tagaran asks if he's angry with them, which shocks him. He insists he's not angry with the girls, but realizes that Tagaran only asked the question to make him look at her. Rooke meets Tagaran's eyes and she asks him to speak. Rooke realizes that for the first time, this isn't a language lesson: they understand each other, and he cannot hide. Rooke asks who she wants him to speak with, and Tagaran asks him to speak to the man from the Charlotte who beat them.

Rooke imagines approaching the captain of the Charlotte and reporting the incident. He imagines the soldier in question insisting that the girls stole something small and inconsequential. Rooke can't imagine himself in the scene. Worogan asks if she can have some of the leftover biscuit, and Rooke realizes the girls understand perfectly that he's not going to stand up for them. He playacts trying to break the biscuit and finally cuts it with his hatchet. Worogan and Tugear laugh, but Tagaran isn't amused.

Rooke asks Tagaran if her finger is better, and he thinks her reply means that her finger is worse. After the girls eat, Tagaran shows Worogan and Tugear around the hut. When she shows them the sextant, she cautions them to not touch it and indicates that it's for looking at the stars. Rooke can tell she's purposefully ignoring the musket. Suddenly, the girls are off. They yell goodbye from the top of the rocks.

Alone, Rooke feels as though he has failed. He imagines again approaching the captain of the Charlotte and reporting the sailor, and knows it's impossible. He wonders if Tagaran's request was a test she knew he would fail, and he understands that they all know he's Berewalgal—and this means that he stands by when members of his tribe are cruelly punished, and he doesn’t stand up for his friends. Rooke realizes that he's been pretending otherwise, but it's impossible for him to continue doing so.