The narrator wakes up in the middle of the night to find that he has a terrible toothache. He tries to eat his breakfast, but the pain in his tooth makes him want to run away. The narrator's dad comes in and tells him that they can't go to the dentist because they're too low. The captain tries to kick the narrator in the face, but he's too scared to do so. He begs the captain to take him to the city so he can get some work on his teeth. The men agree to go, and the narrator tells them that he heard the word "take care of" .