Soapy is a homeless man who attempts to become arrested for the sole purpose of finding more comfortable lodging and solace from the harsh winter months. Despite many of his escapades, he fails to get arrested, e.g., attempting to enter a café, throwing a stone into a glass of a shop, eating a meal at a restaurant, luring a woman who turns out to be a prostitute, and stealing an umbrella from a cigar store, disorderly conduct by shouting drunken gibberish at a policeman. At one point he becomes totally annoyed at his unsuccessful attempts to become arrested and feels that his fantasy of living on the island is an "unattainable Arcadia." As he walks by a church, he is moved at the beautiful organ music he hears and realizes that he must change the type of life he is living, and. is determined to mend his...