Johannes believes that “the essence of liberation” is thinking of others’ problems before one’s own (127), so he takes the Assistant Eyes’ plan to rescue him and reimagines it as a way to free the bison. He wants to make Freya, Meredith, and Samuel proud of him with an extraordinary feat and “rally the animals and pull off the impossible” (129). The dog decides that the best time to free the bison is at night during a storm.

While Johannes is lying low, he still has his daily meetings with the Assistant Eyes, but Bertrand delivers reports to the bison in his stead. Sonja is her usual shy self, but Angus surprises the dog by arriving promptly. The raccoon explains that he has a clock now. Bertrand arrives late and in great excitement. He tells his friends, “There’s a bunch of weird animals near the windmill. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen” (133). The seagull urges them all to hurry to the scene and reassures Johannes that no one will notice him in the hubbub.