In chapter 5, fittingly titled “The Unguessed Beginning of Trouble,” Philip and Gerald encounter, on the train to New York, a man who claims to be Mr. Hilliard, but he is really the antagonist Mr. Jennison (37). In a moment that reveals Jennsion’s false identity and that anticipates how he attempts to manipulate both Philip and Gerald, he suggests that the boys are travelling to Newfoundland (38). After missing the train, they board the next train (42). However, after passing through Bergen Hill, they decide that it was good that they tell “Mr.

In chapter 2, Gerald and Philip encounter a German doctor while they are riding on the hotel-wagon. He “began a chat with Touchtone entirely in German“ (15). Philip reveals that he was born in Germany and that he had learned German when he lived in Hanover before moving to New York (16). This instance gives insight into Philip’s past and his character; and it confirms Gerald’s earlier assumptions regarding Philip fitting in with the boys at Murray Hill. 

Ossokosee House is a central location in Left to Themselves. The house is a summer resort where Gerald and Philip meet after the former flees from a tramp by the name of Mr. Sip (8). There are no specifics regarding where Ossokosee is in the United States. However, following this encounter, the narrator says that Mr. Sip can be seen drinking buttermilk within the hour at a cottage (8). A farmer’s daughter gives it to him because she pities him for needing to walk from “Wheelborough Heights to Patterson, in Jersey” (9). Eric L.