Part 2, Chapters 30-36 Summary

Leaving Coalmont around four pm, H.H. would have been back in Ramsdale by dawn had he not taken a shortcut that gets him stuck in mud. Cursing his plight and changing into old clothes, he walks to a farm and a wrecker has him out by midnight. Back on the highway and into a small town, he pulls over for a drink before proceeding to The Enchanted Hunters, weeping "drunk on the impossible past." He sees with great clarity himself and his love.

He relives the years with Lolita, knowing he has loved her in a despicable and brutal way and has at times known how she feels—and experienced hell. He sees that even the most miserable family life is better than the "parody of incest" that he could offer Lolita.

Returning to Ramsdale, H.H...