Anxious to fulfill Mr. Norton's request for whiskey, the narrator arrives at the Golden Day, a disreputable bar on the outskirts of the college community. Big Halley, the bartender, refuses to let the narrator take a drink outside to Norton. Inside, Norton is propositioned by a prostitute, insulted by a veteran, and overwhelmed by the "inmates" — institutionalized war veterans who fill the bar.
After the narrator and Norton witness the chaotic events at the Golden Day, including the brutal beating of the veteran's attendant, Supercargo, the narrator finally manages to get a distraught Norton — collapsed under the strain of being in a situation where he has no control — back into the car, and the two head back to the college campus.
After dropping Norton off at his rooms, the narrator heads back to the administration building to see Bledsoe. After briefly describing their misadventures and informing Bledsoe that Norton wants to see him, the narrator is shocked and bewildered by Bledsoe's angry outburst that the narrator should have known better than to take Norton to see Trueblood's quarters, regardless of his request. Moments later, he is equally shocked as he watches Bledsoe undergo an astounding transformation as he masks his anger and assumes an attitude of conciliation and servility as he prepares to meet with Norton.
