The chapter opens with a soliloquy by Huxtable in which he says that he is still suffering from the effects of the pills he has been taking. He wonders if they will make him feel any better. When he first arrived at the company, he was shocked to find that his father was much stronger than he was, and he wonders how he can put an end on this. He hears a call for him from the board of directors, and when he realizes that it is a board meeting, he rushes to the company. He finds an envelope with the contents of which he learns that his uncle bought at least 10 percent of the stock of the company during the stock market's volatile phase. He tells his father that he must cancel the board meeting because he is facing prison time for purchasing the stock. He also tells him that if he does not sign the document, he will not be able to get out of prison.