Chapter 4

The park was abandoned  by 2:30 in the morning. Ponyboy and Johnny go for a walk beside the fountain. Suddenly the boys see the blue Mustang from earlier that night. Five Socs, including Randy and Bob, jump out of the car and approach them. Presumably, the Socs have come to get even with the boys for picking up their girlfriends. Ponyboy can tell they are drunk. Bob tells Ponyboy that greasers are white trash with long hair, and Ponyboy responds that Socs are nothing but white trash with Mustangs and madras shirts. In a rage, Ponyboy spits at the Socs. A Soc grabs Ponyboy and holds his head under the freezing water of the fountain. Ponyboy feels himself drowning and passes out. By the time he regained his consciousness, the Socs had run away. He lies on the pavement next to Johnny. Bob's bloody corpse is nearby. Johnny says, "I killed him," and Ponyboy sees Johnny's switchblade, dark to the hilt with blood.Ponyboy panics, but Johnny stays calm. They decide to go to Dally, thinking he might be able to help them. They find Dally at the house of Buck Merril, his rodeo partner. He manages to get the boys fifty dollars, a change of clothing for Ponyboy, and a loaded gun. He instructs them to take a train to Windrixville, where they can hide in an abandoned church. Ponyboy and Johnny get on a train, and Ponyboy goes to sleep. When they get to Windrixville, they get off the train and find the church, where they collapse and fall asleep.