Who is John talking about when he says that “ not so many of them “ will come out in the rain “The road not taken”

This is from a story we haven't read so we have no idea how to answer.

Step 1. When there is a in front of an expression in parentheses, change the sign of each term in the expression-> -11 + 5 - 9 - (-13) - (-5)
Step 2. When there is a in front of an expression in parentheses, change the sign of each term in the expression-> -11 + 5 - 9 + 13 - (-5)
Step 3. When there is a in front of an expression in parentheses, change the sign of each term in the expression -> -11 + 5 - 9 + 13 + 5
Step 4. Calculate the sum or difference
The ANSWER is 3 .