Part 1, Summary

p. 20 - 36. As Montag arrives at the firehall, narration describes its Mechanical Hound, an eight-legged, doglike creature used by the firemen during downtimes as amusement, betting on how long it will take to catch and kill a target animal, like a chicken or a mouse. Narration describes how Montag used to participate in these games, but a short while ago stopped, and how, when he goes down to look at the Hound, it responds to him in a threatening way that it's not supposed to. When he reports its activity to Captain Beatty, Beatty says the only way something like that could happen is if some programmed Montag's genetic material into the Hound, defining Montag as something to be watched for.

Narration describes how Montag encounters Clarisse every day, and how they become closer with each encounter. One time she plays a game...