Part Three, p. 147-176 Summary

The narrator passes by Florence's room and sees John sitting on the bed looking at an object in his hands. When he becomes aware of her presence, he shoves the object under the bedclothes. The narrator also notices that a portion of the baseboard has been removed. She tries to question John, but he refuses to answer.

The narrator tries to telephone Florence and identifies herself as Mrs. Curren. She instead reaches Mr. Thabane. The narrator (hereafter Mrs. Curren) tells Mr. Thabane that she thinks John has weapons, and she wants someone to talk to the boy. Mr. Thabane says he will do what he can to find someone to come fetch John, but he cannot predict how long that will take. Mrs. Curren says she thinks that whatever form of comradeship the youths have is insane...