Summary

The story begins on a train. Billy Weaver had been assigned to the branch of his employer’s company in Bath. He asked the porter where he could stay at little cost, and the Porter recommended a pub called the Bell and Dragon. When the train arrived, Billy began to walk to the pub.

The street on which Billy walked was absent of shops, and the houses on the street were identical. They were once pristine, and some of them had “cracked and blotchy” (3) walls. On the way to the pub, “his eye was caught” (4) by a sign for a bed and breakfast. The sign captivated Billy. Billy looked inside the bed and breakfast and saw a dog and parrot in the cozy living room. Some force outside of his control caused Billy to approach the door and ring the doorbell.

As soon as...