The narrator begins this chapter by saying, "mourning, moaning, and griping that cat tail" . He's been working late all day, and he's tired. He says he just wants to do nothing. He doesn't want to do anything, but he secretly enjoys the feeling. He tells the narrator that if the kid is patient, he'll give him a present. The narrator says that if he comes, he won't be punished, but if he does, the narrator promises to punish him. He asks the kid where he is, and the kid says, "where did you" , and then he asks the narrator if something happened that day. The kid says he didn't think it would happen, but it did, and they've had a beer, and now he wants to give the kid a prize. He kisses the kid again, and asks if he thought he was "some kind of kid" when he gave him the prize, and if he thinks it's "a useful gift" for kids who lose their way in the streets. The boy says that he actually thought about giving the kid the gift, but that it would make him look like an adult, and that he wouldn't like to leave the house. He also says that the house is pretty secure, because the kids have to know where to find a body if they find one, and so on. The only thing that scares the boy is that he can't go out and take out trash, so he'd have to hide in the house all the time.