This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the protagonist, who describes his love for the smell of sweat. He is at work, and he smells the sweat of a scaffold worker. He wonders if the worker is aware that he is sniffing the man's scent. He notices that the man seems to be staring at him, and wonders if he has a headache or something else. He then wonders why the man does not take his lunch break.