Section 19 Summary

This section begins with the phrase, "And the music came back with the carnival..."

Bardamu is called to a carnival for a patient. Bardamu notes, dryly, that the shooting gallery has all the same figures, plus airplanes now - undeniably, humans are making progress. The children at the carnival, he reflects, still think its "pure generosity that makes the grownups" put on such a show. The children are too young to perceive the profit motive behind the raucous smiles. Bardamu goes to deal with a barmaid's kitchen wound, but he ends up meeting Robinson, who lets him in on more details of the sordid Henrouille murder scheme. Robinson has started blackmailing the family. Bardamu wonders if he should try to dissuade his friend, or report him, but he ends up doing neither. The barmaid goes home with a couple of her customers to...