It's chapter nineteen, and the narrator is sweating. He's got a headache, and he'd like to get a drink, but he can't because he's been bitten by a rat. The narrator is worried that the rat is going to bite him, so he tells his friend, Hiro, to get him to a hospital ASAP. The two of them rush off to find a doctor, but Hiro doesn't know what to do. He tells the narrator to prick the rat's beard to see if it's rat-bite fever, which Hiro is sure it isn't. Hiro tells him to prick his beard, and Hiro says he'll prick his own beard, too. Hiro says that's a good idea, since the beard is a sign that the guy is sick, not a sign of his own health. Hiro then tells Hiro to go over to the guy's house, but not to leave Hiro behind, because Hiro's imagining something.