Chapter 5 Summary

In Chapter 5, Slake has order to his life. He wakes up early in the morning for his newspaper business. He has a system where he rides the train, clears off newspapers and straightens them. He smoothes them out and resells them. He does not have to go above ground. He has two regular customers: a man with a turban and a pink-faced lady. The man looks like he enjoys buying the paper because it is dishonest. The woman always pays in pennies.

After business hours on his second full day, Slake has $1.35. He goes to the lunch counter and buys hot soup and half a sandwich. It comes with saltines. He saves the saltines and one half of the sandwich for later. He also gets ketchup packets and saves them for later. It costs $1.05 plus tax.

He explores the subway. He takes all...