Pga 111-166

Faber advises Montag to follow the river down to the old train tracks and walk along them, in the hope that he will discover one of the hobo "walking camps" which provide refuge for the aging, hunted intellectuals deemed dangerous to society. Once he gets to the river, Montag strips, douses himself in alcohol, and changes into Faber's dirty clothing before floating off down the river, thinking about fire and burning.

Soon afterwards, Montag's feet touch the ground and he reaches the riverbank. The smell of hay wafts through the air, bringing back a childhood memory of visiting a barn. He fantasizes about sleeping on a bed of warm, dry hay in a barn loft and awaking to a cool glass of milk and some fruit left for him by a lovely young woman reminiscent of Clarisse. His daydream is interrupted when a deer moves nearby. At first, the nervous Montag thinks it is the Mechanical Hound, but is relieved to realize his mistake.

Montag wanders until he comes to train tracks, which he follows, as Faber advised, unable to shake a distinct feeling that Clarisse had once followed the same path. After half an hour, he sees the flicker of a fire in the distance. When he finally reaches it, he finds a group of scruffy-looking men gathered around it, engaged in discussion.