The Op returns to his hotel. As he enters his room, someone fires at him from the rooftop opposite. The Op is unharmed, but he fails to identify the gunman. He suspects that Noonan orchestrated the assassination attempt, so he declines Noonan’s offer to station guards around him. 

Returning to Dinah’s apartment, he finds Whisper and Dan inside, playing cards. Whisper suggests that the Op should take Elihu’s money and leave town. After two assassination attempts, however, the Op is angry and determined to clean up Personville. Though the Op ignored his advice, Whisper is friendly toward the Op, offering him a “straight tip” on an upcoming boxing match. He believes that Kid Cooper will defeat Bush in the sixth round. No one else seems surprised by his certainty.

The Op ventures out into the town, visiting many disreputable establishments to find out information. Each place he visits, including cigar stores and speakeasies, he talks about the boxing match. He shares Whisper’s tip that “Ike Bush takes a dive in the sixth” (69). As he speaks to more people, the odds of the match change. Cooper becomes the favorite. 

When the Op talks to an angry man named Bob MacSwain, he learns that MacSwain placed all his money on Ike Bush to win the fight.