This chapter opens with a creak. It's tea time, and it's been a while since we've heard from Mr. Wicks. He's sitting in his rocking chair in front of his house in London, and he's worried that his guest is pretending to be "human again" . He wants to know if he can borrow his chair, and if he'll be able to find someone to take him to the pound if he leaves the house. He doesn't want to go to school, so he wants to go out for a walk, and answer nature's call. He also wants to see if the guest is wearing a collar and walking around in the street like a normal human being. He wonders if history's "greatest detective" is actually human again, and wonders if he should wear a collar, go for walks, and "answer the call" of nature. He asks if this is a good idea, because if he were to leave the house, someone would come pick him up and take him back to town, and then he'd have to go back to school. He thinks that's a bad idea, too, and asks if there's anyone in the neighborhood who would take him off to town while he was gone. He hopes that no one will be there to pick up groceries for him, and that no van will come pick up him. The dogcatchers are already there, and the dog is already wearing a mask and a ski cap, and sunglasses, and is carrying a bag with a paisley pattern on it. He says that this is "beyond robbery," and that it offends his larcener aesthetic, because it