Kino orders Juana and Coyotito to leave him, for he can go faster alone, but she staunchly refuses. Kino and Juana escape into the mountains, not bothering to cover their tracks. Kino and Juana both realize that if the trackers find them, they will kill them to get the pearl. As the horseman passes by Kino, he does not notice him. Kino realizes that if the trackers find them, he must leap for the horseman, kill him and take his rifle. While Juana hides, Kino moves through the brush to see what he heard, and notices in the distance three bighorn sheep trackers, one of whom is on horseback. When they hear noises from the distance, Kino orders Juana to keep Coyotito quiet. When they stop to rest during the day, Juana does not sleep and Kino stirs as he dreams. Kino repeats what they will have once they sell the pearl: the church wedding, the rifle, education for Coyotito. Kino says that they would not have tried to steal it if it were not valuable. Kino warns Juana that 'whoever finds us will take the pearl,' but Juana wonders whether the dealers were right and the pearl has no value. They walk all night and rest during the day so that they may not be found, and attempt to cover their tracks so that they cannot be followed easily. As Kino and Juana travel northward, Kino feels a sense of exhilaration along with his fear.

The cry of the hunted