Harry reflects that this trip is not something he should choose to do, but he feels that he has no choice. If he does not take this job, he is unsure what will come next and if there will even be any more chances. His family must eat, so he must do this job. He thinks he should probably not take Albert. Albert is not that intelligent, but he is honest and valuable in a boat, and he does not scare easily. Harry, however, is still not sure that he should take him. He cannot take anyone else—not Eddy or Wesley. He has to have someone on whom he can depend.

Harry vows that, if they make it through, he will give Albert a share. However, he cannot tell him beforehand or he will not go into it, and Harry must have someone. With his amputated arm, Harry cannot make the trip alone, as advisable as that is. It is better if Albert knows as little about the situation as possible.

Harry's only concern is that Bee-lips, the lawyer, knows so much. He doubts that the lawyer knows everything about the situation, and Harry thinks the Cubans are counting on that. He is sure Bee-lips does not know what the Cubans intend to do to him. He figures that they will have to do it right before the deal closes, or else the coast guard will come down from Miami. It is dark now at six o’clock, and the coast guard cannot fly down in less than an hour.

If Harry intends to go through with this job of carrying the Cuban revolutionaries to Cuba, he must do something about the boat. It will not be difficult to get to the boat in customs, but if he takes it out that night they might discover it is gone soon enough that they will come looking for it. Harry is relieved that this night is the only time he has to take it out. If he takes it out with the tide, he can hide it and check to see what sort of repairs or fuel it needs. Once he has the boat hidden, Albert will bring the Cubans out in a speed boat. He thinks Bee-lips should be the one to hire the speed boat for transport. Harry wonders if the Cubans are really sailors who might hijack his boat and dispose of him and Albert. He prepares for the night knowing he has a lot of work ahead of him.