CHAPTER 4. After Ponyboy ran away from home after being slapped by Darry, he and Johnny headed to the park to "cool off." It was 2:30 a.m., but the boys soon spotted a group of Socs circling the parking lot in a blue Mustang. The Socs were drunk and they confronted the two greasers. Pony responded with an insult--

"You know what a Soc is?... White trash with Mustangs and madras..."

and the Socs were soon busy trying to drown Pony in the fountain. But Johnny remembered his knife, and he "killed that boy"--Bob Sheldon, the same Soc who had previously beaten Johnny. The two greasers headed to Buck Merrill's house to find Dally, who provided them with money, a gun, and a plan to hide out in an abandoned church on Jay Mountain, outside of Windrixville. After hopping a train, Pony and Johnny made their way up to the church, where they soon fell asleep.

CHAPTER 5.  The boys spend the next five days hiding out--dyeing their hair, reading Gone With the Wind, and eating bologna sandwiches. Dally arrives on the fifth day with a letter from Sodapop and the news that the greasers have a spy in Cherry Valance.

CHAPTER 6. Johnny tells Dally that the boys have decided to return home and turn themselves in, but before they can get on the road, they pass by the church which is on fire. Realizing that his lit cigarette has caused the fire and learning that a group of children are inside, Johnny heads inside the burning church, followed by Pony. After retrieving the children, the roof caves in as Dally heads inside to save Johnny. Pony awakes in an ambulance, where the teacher who was supervising the picnic at the church asks if he and Johnny are  "professional heroes or something?" Pony reveals that they are greasers wanted for murder, and he soon is reunited in a tearful meeting at the hospital with Darry and Sodapop.