How does Ponyboy get home from the hospital?

Ponyboy gets home from the hospital in The Outsiders when a concerned stranger sees him wandering and offers him a ride.

This happens after Johnny dies and Dally runs out of the hospital in grief. Ponyboy is dazed, weak, and getting worse physically after the rumble, so he wanders through the hospital and then into the streets. A stranger notices that something is wrong and drives him home.

When Ponyboy gets home, he tells the other greasers that Johnny has died and that Dally has disappeared. Soon after, Dally calls Darry for help, saying he has robbed a grocery store and is running from the police. Ponyboy’s confused trip home fits the chapter’s mood: he is physically injured and emotionally overwhelmed after a series of traumatic events.