Now that 18-year-old Emmett is out of jail, he and his 8-year-old brother, Billy, plan to travel west to start a new life.  However, their plans are quickly defenestrated by Duchess and Woolly, who have escaped from jail as stowaways in the trunk of the warden’s car.  Duchess, who earned that nickname as a child, means well, sort of, but he creates way more problems than he solves, mostly at Emmett’s expense.  In fact, each time Emmett veers off to perform an errand or solve a sticky situation, we know that yet another calamity is on the horizon.  I kept thinking that he would eventually not allow Duchess to hoodwink him, but Emmett’s missteps continue, leaving Billy in the lurch, even when the trap seems obvious.  Billy may seem to be a vulnerable liability at times, but he remembers every piece of advice verbatim, applying these tidbits often with effective, and sometimes humorous, results.  And Duchess is not the only problem.  Billy occasionally finds himself having to rely on the kindness of strangers, but he finds it hard to distinguish which strangers are really kind, and which have darker motives.  Pastor John, who justifies his misdeeds as God’s will, is a threat.  Ulysses, on the other hand, is the foil to Pastor John and has been wandering for years, just like the mythical Greek Ulysses, whose story Billy shares with him.  Ulysses is then inspired to embark on a quest of his own, accompanied by another of Billy’s heroes.  In some ways this is a buddy novel in which Duchess is the instigator of mischief and Emmett is the easy mark, repeatedly caught unawares.  I noticed that the chapters are numbered backwards from 10, like a countdown.  A countdown to what?  Emmett’s retaliation, maybe?