In this final chapter of the novel, Corin warns the young lovers in Rome not to fight because the city is full of immigrants and criminals. Corin reminds them that they are not the only ones in the city who are afraid of the city. He tells them that the city needs a bloodletting to rid it of its criminals and immigrants. He also reminds them of the danger that the woman in the fountain poses to them. He says that he is still an outsider in the world, and that the closest thing he has to a woman who will watch his back is the fountain. He compares the fountain to a scratching post, which will turn a man into a monster. He reminds the couple that they have already got a pet, a cat, and they have buried the cat in the ground. He wonders if the water has made a "version of the spear," but he does not know if it is a spear or a witch's cauldron. As he walks through the crowds, he sees a man of medium height, with a mustache and heavy lids. He knows it is his duty to observe what the man has told the young couple, and he knows that it was the right decision.