The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy by Bev Vincent

he will tell them two stories, one nested inside the other. One is true and the other is a story his mother read to him when he was small.
    The story of “The Skin-Man” is split into two parts, interrupted when Roland recounts “The Wind Through the Keyhole.” One of the interesting aspects of the skin-man story is that it is told in first person from Roland’s point of view. When he told his
ka-tet
about his adventures in Mejis, that story was told in third person, in part because Roland learned much of it from the pink Wizard’s Glass.
    Shortly after Roland returns from Mejis, his father sends him on another mission, this time with Jamie DeCurry. The High Sheriff of Debaria, a town west of Gilead, reported that a creature has killed and maimed dozens of people in his district. The attacker is said to resemble a wolf, a lion, a tiger or a bear, and its tracks change from enormous to man-sized when followed. Roland’s teacher, Vannay, has assembled all of the available information, along with the legends of the skin-man.
    Sending Roland to Debaria will prove to the people that the gunslingers of Gilead still care about what is happening in their realm. However, it’s more than a token gesture—Steven Deschain expects Roland and Jamie to solve the mystery and put an end to this scourge. It’s also a way of getting Roland out of his funk. He’s depressed after killing his mother and punishing himself by acting as Cort’s nursemaid.
    Debaria has resonance for Roland—it’s where his mother, Gabrielle, went on retreat while he was in Mejis. After being dumped off the little train that carried them from Gilead when it derails, and observing during their journey how many people outside of Gilead appear to be for the revolutionary John Farson, their first stop is at the Serenity retreat, where the skin-walker attacked two women, one of whom survived but was disfigured. There they meet the prioress, Everlynne, who recognizes Roland by his resemblance to his mother. She invites Roland to return to the retreat when his work is done, for she has something to give him.
    Two boys representing Gilead don’t impress the locals, though their weapons do. Sheriff Peavy is cooperative, though. He has Steven Deschain to thank for his position. The gunslinger gave him credit for capturing the Crow Gang twenty years ago, when Peavy was a deputy. The then-sheriff and the rest of the posse were killed when they ignored Deschain’s advice. Peavy removed a bullet from Deschain’s arm—Roland’s father sent the bullet as a gift via Roland.
    Jamie sees a pattern in the attacks and the course of the tracks that leads him to believe that the skin-walker is one of the miners in nearby Little Debaria. Their problem becomes reducing the field of two hundred potential suspects to something manageable and breaching the creature’s defenses—if he even knows what he is.
    They bunk out at the jailhouse and are awakened by a call the next morning reporting another attack. Almost everyone at the Jefferson Ranch—eighteen people, including the owner, his family, the staff and hands—has been slaughtered. The only survivors are three hands who were out gathering strays and the son of the cook, who was camping.
    The boy, Young Bill Streeter, saw the creature and provides two helpful clues when Roland hypnotizes him. After transforming back into a man, the killer rode away on a horse. He had a tattoo on his ankle. Few miners are likely to know how to ride, and the tattoo—which turns out to be a sign the man spent time in Beelie Stockade—will further reduce the suspect pool. Roland sends Jamie with a team to Little Debaria to round up possible suspects and spread word that they have a witness who can identify the man. Only a cold person like Roland could conceive of and execute a plan that uses a young boy as bait.
    While Jamie is away, Roland hires a blacksmith to