Chapter 2 Summary

The man known as the Vigilante is introduced, not so much by his drug addiction but by how it makes him behave. His early behavior involves shooting wildly with his gun. In this section, he is described as through he is in a courtroom. His defense of his actions is his drug addiction and, for this reason, he is sent to a federal psychiatric hospital for lifelong treatment. The difference in his demeanor and appearance are shown to contrast the user from the addict that has been kept from access to his drugs.

The Vigilante has put on a lot of weight during his lockup, though the narrator assures the reader that the new weight drops off almost instantly, when someone begins using drugs again. The narrator goes into further descriptions of the physical changes that affect people, both as they become addicts...