As the Invisible Man and Mr. Norton near a local bar, Golden Day, the Invisible Man sees the war veterans and silently curses them. Mr. Norton is feeling ill and needs "a little stimulant" (71). The veterans are shellshocked and all suffer from mental illnesses. To the Invisible Man's dismay, they are headed for the Golden Day. He does not want to take Mr. Norton into the bar for fear that the vets might get out of hand, as they are inclined to do. The Invisible Man enters the bar alone in hopes of buying a pint of whiskey to bring outside. The Invisible Man notices that the vets' attendant is nowhere to be seen, and whenever the vets are left unsupervised, they have no inhibitions. The bartender, Halley, will not allow the Invisible Man to take the alcohol outside, and he is forced to bring Mr. Norton inside.

When the Invisible Man goes to the car, Mr. Norton is not moving and his lips are bluish. The Invisible Man is afraid that Mr. Norton is dying, so he and some of the vets carry him inside. One of the vets pokes fun by saying that Mr. Norton is his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson. Others call him, "Mr. Eddy," "John D. Rockefeller," and "the Messiah." One vet punches Mr. Norton's face and remarks that his action was "a mild case of hysteria" (79). This action is the first sign of the theme of violence in this chapter.

After sipping some brandy, Mr. Norton comes to and converses with the vets until their attendant, Supercargo, appears on the balcony. He is drunk and has been with a prostitute. The vets get angry and attack Supercargo. They throw bottles of liquor and jump on him. When he loses consciousness and is drenched in blood and beer, they put him on the bar.

After the brawl, the Invisible Man finds Mr. Norton unconscious once again. They take him upstairs to a prostitute's room and attempt to revive him. One of the vets, who used to be a doctor, declares that Mr. Norton suffers from mild shock. When he regains consciousness, Mr. Norton begins talking with the vet. The vet informs him that he used to live in France with the Army Medical Corps, and he studied and practiced medicine. He had been a successful physician and had performed a few brain surgeries. Unfortunately, the vet stopped practicing and came back to the United States because he realized that his work could bring him no dignity.

While the vet is conversing with Mr. Norton, the Invisible Man becomes rather uncomfortable with the way the vet "was acting toward the white man with a freedom which could only bring on trouble" (93). Here, the theme of humility appears. The Invisible Man's humble attitude towards Mr. Norton reveals his submissiveness to the entire white race. The Invisible Man's anxiety is justified when the vet begins saying wild things and calling Mr. Norton "the great white father" and "the lyncher of souls." The vet continues to offend Mr. Norton until Mr. Norton announces angrily that it is time to leave.

On the way out, a prostitute tries to make it look as though Mr. Norton and the Invisible Man are leaving without paying her, and she ends up pushing them down the stairs. When Mr. Norton reaches the door, he passes out and scrapes his head on the screen. The Invisible Man once again believes that Norton is dead and calls Halley. Halley insists that he cannot die in his bar and is about to remove him when Mr. Norton looks up and furiously says that no one is dead. They get in the car and the Invisible Man drives away with Mr. Norton in a huff.

By Kari Jenkins