Summary

In Chapter 39, Miles falls into a depression and sleeps for days before packing up and leaving on the Greyhound headed for California. Miles arrives in San Francisco in Chapter 40 and stops at a park to collect beetles for Cob’s bug collection before gathering the courage to begin his search. He is turned away from Fort Mason and dejectedly heads back to his hotel. In Chapter 41, Miles tries again at a few other army bases and is turned away each time. Miles begins to feel frustrated and thwarted and decides to go for a drink. He meets a handsome young man named Joey at a jazz club. Chapter 42 takes place a week later, and just as Miles begins to accept the possibility that he may return to New York empty handed, Joey offers to help. In Chapter 43 they try the local YMCA, where military...