Summary

The fifth chapter of the novel, “Hellsmouth,” encapsulates the brief racing career of Hellsmouth, the most successful horse to come from the Forge farm. The chapter begins at Henrietta’s funeral, which her mother Judith has travelled to attend, and at which Henry is profoundly shaken. After the funeral, Henry is by himself in the house with the baby and the nurse he has paid to help. He goes into Henrietta’s room and reads some of the odd journals she has filled with her scientific observations. Then, his neighbor Ginnie Miller comes by the house with a casserole, and offers for Henry and the baby to come over to their house. Henry meets her husband Roger, and the married couple amiably chat as Henry eats.

On the racing circuit, Allmon meets the long-winded and eccentric black jockey Reuben Bedford Walker...