The underground man tells the others to calm down. He's been hearing strange noises, and he wants to go up to the top of the hill to see what's going on. He thinks it's because someone has prepared the place for human habitation. He says he's heard some weird noises, but he can't figure out who they are. He wants to know if they're people, or just yokels. They're the ones who live in the rice paddies in the western part of the country, he says, because the climate is too hot. He apologizes for his rudeness to his sister, and says that he'll try to find a way to get back to the surface. The elevator is stopped, but it'll work if the man gives it a ride. He asks the old man if he can help them with the elevator. The old man says he can, and the two men head back up the hill.