Chapter 3 Summary

Given the events of the previous night, Stingo is shocked to hear the cheery voices of Nathan and Sophie calling for him to get out of bed and join them on an outing to Coney Island. Nathan mimics a Southern accent with eerie but insulting accuracy, adding several references to Southern racism, until Stingo's heard enough. He opens his door just long enough to tell Nathan to get out, and then tries to slam the door in his face, but Nathan wedges his foot in the crack. Nathan says he wants to be pals. Stingo gets so worked up while insisting he does not want to be pals that he sends himself into spasms with an attack of smoker's cough Nathan, still with his foot in the door, tells Stingo smoking causes cancer and is bad for the heart - in 1947, this information...