Part 3, pages 167-187 Summary

The narrator tries to characterize the exact quality of Amanda's lisp, offering both literal and poetic comparisons. Marx joins the Zillers in hunting mushrooms. Later in bed, Amanda explains to John Paul that Marx has joined them at the zoo because he has misplaced something and suspects that they may have found it. The narrator intrudes, returning again to the present. He and Amanda have now spent five days in custody. They have since freed the garter snakes. The narrator promises the reader that, if the agents allow him to continue typing, he will soon get to the topic of the Corpse.

Marx and the Zillers are in the forest searching for morel mushrooms. Amanda patiently explains how to identify them as Marx cross-references what he hears with what his limited knowledge of fungal botany. The two discuss the...