Chapter Five Summary

Peekay wakes up on the train in the morning and Hoppie gives him some coffee. Peekay is horrified when he realizes that he is not wearing his pants, and therefore is in danger of being exposed as a rooinek due to his circumcised penis. He tries to deflect Hoppie as the railroad man tells him that they are going to get breakfast, but Hoppie reads the bluff, not realizing why Peekay is so reluctant. In jest, he rips the blanket off of the bed and Peekay breaks down in horror as he confesses to his idol that he is not the next welterweight champion, as Hoppie has proclaimed, but is just an English boy. Hoppie says nothing and eventually Peekay has to look up. It is evident to the reader, though not the little boy, that Hoppie has guessed exactly what...