Chapter 1 Summary

The narrator suddenly finds himself in a dismal gray town just before nightfall. It's raining, and the narrator wanders around the dingy streets, looking for direction or at least a better part of town. He never encounters another person; it looks like the entire town is empty, but then he finds a bus station where people are waiting in line. For lack of anything better to do, he stands in line.

A waspish little woman who is standing in front of him in line snaps at the man she is standing with, exclaiming that she won't go on the bus at all. The man tells her that he doesn't care if she doesn't come along, that all he really wants is peace. He's only been trying to please her, after all. The man walks away, so the narrator gets to move up two...