In this chapter, Murph's Bar, the main character of the novel, is in the middle of a soliloquy when he realizes that he has been wrong about something. He wants his son, dermoto, to be his heir, and he wants him to be the one who is going to buy the next round of whiskey. He tells his son not to fall in love with a girl who has been wrapped around his finger. He also tells him not to try to seduce her. He says that he is just trying to get her to join his team, and that she should join him if she wants to. When he sees that she is drunk, he kills her, but she is not as drunk as he thinks she is. He then tells the boy that they should head north to meet old friends, and they should stop to eat before they go back to the city.