Section 2, pp. 22-32 Summary

Two Sicilian men sit in a cafe in Rome. One is a dark man, and the other unidentified fellow considers himself to be a man of honor, or an Honourable Member. This is a sort of pun, indicating that not only does he have honor, but that he is a member of the Italian Parliament. The Honourable Member is complaining to the dark man about an encounter he has had with a certain police officer. The Honourable Member has sunk most of his money into investing in a sulphur mine, and at present there is a crisis in the sulphur industry, so he is going to lose his entire investment. Because money has been so slow coming in, the Honourable Member has not paid his workers their wages for three months, although he himself assumes that it has been...