Several days pass since Montag's last meeting with Clarisse. During one of his final conversations with Clarisse, Montag learns that she fears the violence in her peers. She points out that their world used to be an entirely different world, one where pictures showed actual people and people talked about important things.
One day at the fire station, the firemen receive a call that an old woman has stashed books in her house. The firemen race to her home and begin destroying the contraband. Montag urges the woman to leave the house because the entire home will be destroyed, but she refuses to leave her precious books. The home, along with the old woman and her books, is set aflame, but not before Montag steals one of the books.
Later the same night, Montag tries to discuss the day with Millie, but she is not interested in what he has to say. During their conversation, Montag discovers from Millie that Clarisse was killed in an automobile accident.
Montag decides to call in sick to work the next day, but he is surprised by a visit from Beatty. Somehow, Beatty knows that Montag is keeping a book, and he is interested in reading it. Beatty converses at great length with Montag and tells him that every fireman gets the itch to read a book at some point in his career. Beatty also tells Montag that even though he may keep the book for twenty-four hours, he must return to work, with book in hand, so the book can be properly destroyed.
