He spends some afternoons talking with his father about why he didn't buy the ranch. The father at one time had money from work in the oil rigs and gambling but wasted it all. He is a veteran of World War II and hasn't spoken to John Grady's mother for seven years. The father gives John Grady a Hamley Formfitter saddle.
John Grady stays on the ranch with Luisa and Arturo after his mother returns to San Antonio and her acting engagements. When she returns, John Grady tries to get her to lease him the ranch. She says it hasn't paid for 20 years and that he has to go to school. John Grady goes to see a lawyer named Franklin who does not give him any hope about the ranch. They also talk about John Grady's father's ill health.
After Christmas, when his mother is away most of the time, John Grady hitchhikes to San Antonio to see her in the play she is appearing in. He does not let her know he is there, but he watches her from behind a newspaper with her young boyfriend in the lobby of the Menger Hotel.
In March, he takes a last ride with his father. They discuss horses, John Grady's girlfriend, and John Grady's future. His father provides some explanation of his marriage to John Grady's mother as well as their divorce. The father wants John Grady to make up with his mother. Closing on the ranch sale is scheduled to take place June 1. John Grady and his friend Rawlins make plans to run away on their horses. He sees his girlfriend, Mary Catherine, for the last time.
The last two-thirds of Chapter I follow the two young men on their horses to the border at Langtry and tell of their ride approximately 170 miles into Mexico to a large hacienda where they seek work as cowboys.
Their journey is filled with the details of riding and camping and finding food and water. Their brief discussions are often about horses and women.
