Pages 3 through 18 Summary

An unnamed man awakes from a dream in which he was asking God to heal him. What awakes him is the noise from a vendor who is in front of his cabin, deep in the woods. The man steps out and waves off the vendor, telling him there is sickness and that the cabin is quarantined. His sister, he tells the vendor, is very ill. When the vendor inquires as to the nature of the illness, the man is vague and does not provide an answer. The vendor has tea, coffee—everything from thread to skillets. The man tells the vendor he does not need anything now but may the next time he comes by.

The man returns inside to his sister, who is ready to give birth. The brother ignores his sister's request for more heat and some cocoa...