Summary
Constable Bumpher interviews Mike but discovers little, as the boy cannot recall almost anything about finding Irma. Gradually, Mike begins to regain his strength. One day, Irma invites Mike to tea, to thank him for saving her. They talk for a little while and Michael says he can only take a little credit for finding her, as Albert was the one who found both of them. He then describes Albert at length, to Irma's eventual irritation. Later, he shares a beer with Albert at the stables and tells him about it. He tells Albert Irma also wants to meet him, and introduces them the following day.
Mike starts to spend more and more time with Irma, who appears to be very taken with him. She comes over to his family's house and admires his father's garden. She also has dinner with them and compliments their cooking. They part ways that evening. Shortly after this, Mike writes Irma a letter saying he has been called away on family business. Irma looks out the window and feels a sense of heartbreak, as she feels that she was always supposed to be with Mike.
Irma prepares to leave the school, as her parents arrive from India. She talks with Mrs. Appleyard before her departure. Mrs. Appleyard asks if she remembers anything from the events at Hanging Rock and Irma says she does not. Mrs. Appleyard expresses doubt about her being ready to go off on her own and travel. Irma replies that she is seventeen and is perfectly capable of conducting herself.
Mrs. Appleyard quickly realizes she is too harsh with Irma. Irma curtly replies that anything of value she learned at Appleyard, she learned from Miranda. Irma leaves to say goodbye to the staff and other students. She and Mrs. Appleyard exchange an extremely cold handshake and Irma heads towards the gymnasium. The other girls appear disturbed by some feeling in the gym. They claim to see visions of Miranda from the afternoon at Hanging Rock. They start screaming, throwing up, and generally freaking out. Mlle. De Poitiers tries to calm the girls down, but has no luck.
Irma stands surrounded by the pandemonium, frozen and uncertain of what to do. She feels disgusted by their improper behavior and by the scent of their bodies. Edith pushes to the front of the group and asks Irma to tell them what happened at Hanging Rock. Irma says she does not remember. Edith calls out that all the people who disappeared are dead. Mlle. De Poitiers slaps Edith and asks her to leave Irma alone. She offers a prayer to Saint Valentine and asks the girls to be kind to one another.
The girls say goodbye to Irma finally and Mlle. De Poitiers retires to her room. Dora Lumley catches her and says they should tell the headmistress what happened in the gym. Mlle. De Poitiers is repulsed by Dora's lack of kindness and says there is no need and says she will stop her from doing so by force if need be. The narrator notes that Dora, under this stress, neglected to fasten the restraints on Sara's bed that night.
Later, Dora does reveal what happened in the gym to Mrs. Appleyard. Mrs. Appleyard feels increasingly despondent about the situation at the school. She receives a call from Reg Lumley, Dora's sister. Reg informs her that Dora wrote him a telegram saying Appleyard is no longer a suitable place for her to be employed, with all of the negative publicity and campus hysteria. Mrs. Appleyard becomes furious and tells Reg his sister is completely incompetent. The two siblings depart the college. The night of their departure, they are killed in an accidental fire at the hotel where they are staying.
Analysis
Wealth is an important theme in this part of the book. Irma's status at the school is directly related to her family's significant financial resources. Mrs. Appleyard calculates her behavior around Irma, taking pains even as Irma is leaving to be polite. She recognizes the power that Irma's family holds and wishes not to contradict her or cause further problems for the school. Similarly, Irma is very aware of her social status and feels embarrassed by the other girls' lack of propriety. Once again, Lindsay elucidates how class has a direct bearing on individual students' treatment at the school. Despite attending the same boarding school, the girls' place in the social hierarchy is directly determined by their families' wealth.
Social dynamics are another prominent theme in these pages. The girls fall into a state of mass panic in the gymnasium. They claim to experience hallucinations of Miranda at Hanging Rock, as well as visions of dead bodies. They wail and scream, seeming to be induced to increasingly disturbed behavior by the group. This moment highlights how the atmosphere of unease at the school is largely supported by the students' collective experience of trauma. This scene reaches its dramatic height because the girls sense that there really is something evil afoot at the school. Whether or not this is truly the work of something supernatural or just a figment of groupthink is left up to the reader, but Lindsay underscores how their panic is amplified in a collective setting.
Propriety is also a major theme in this section. Dora has a disagreement with Mlle. De Poitiers about whether or not to report the students' panic in the gymnasium. Mlle. De Poitiers says it would be cruel, but Dora says it must be done. Somewhat humorously, Dora seems to side with Mrs. Appleyard about matters of propriety and rule-following, despite the fact that Mrs. Appleyard dislikes her intensely. Mlle. De Poitiers recognizes that sometimes following the rules is not what is best for the collective and is little more than an excuse for cruelty. She shows a more flexible point of view about these issues. Lindsay highlights how kindness can often run counter to protocol, as Mlle. De Poitiers holds this position out of compassion for the girls' shared suffering.
The supernatural appears as a significant theme here as well. Dora and Reg perish in a hotel fire shortly after departing from Appleyard. Their deaths are ruled accidental, but seem eerily linked to both the school and the disappearances. The reader is not given any indication of what actually caused the fire, as the narrator simply reports what the police think happened that night, but they are left to wonder. As the narrator repeatedly notes, events in the story seem interlinked in strange and inexplicable ways. Once again, the supernatural seems to be a potential cause for this tragedy but, like the events at Hanging Rock, there is no concrete evidence or explanation.
This part of the book shows the school shifting into complete decline. It loses its wealthiest student and several staff members. The controversy depicted in the news gives it a bad reputation and the students seem increasingly convinced it is haunted. Mrs. Appleyard attempts to hold things together, but is wholly unable to do so. Instead she takes out her frustration on the students and staff she dislikes, in an effort to exert control where she still has it. Overall, this section is a portrait of the school folding in itself, as its inhabitants fail to care for and protect each other in crisis.
