That was when I saw Ric Spencer, running across the burning sand, waving his arms in an awkward way. He ran forward, then back, then forward again, like a dog wanting to play catch. He kept waving, shouting, then rushing back again. Then, Mr. Potter, whose own failing heart kept him pacing the shore, came puffing to me. “A child,” he said with surprising composure. “Over there,” pointing to the Spencer umbrella. (429)
I believe the climax starts in the passage above when Ric Spencer’s daughter chokes on a grape and everyone, especially the girl’s father, starts to freak out. In the paragraph before this passage, Josh Michaels, the narrator thinks someone is drowning based on everyone’s screaming and shouting. This most likely brought thoughts of when the only person to reportedly drown at this beach, Billy Mandel died. When the narrator goes to save Becky Spencer, he was unable to save the little girl. To everyone’s surprise, Mrs. Lovenheim, the woman who Josh Michaels had felt had been watching him all summer, came and saved the child. Not once did she speak to anyone throughout this entire encounter. I say this is the climax of the story because I feel it changes the way the narrator sees Mrs. Lovenhiem differently.