Si returns to 1882 on Sunday. He intends to enter the boarding house unobtrusively but is seen arriving by the whole household, who are about to go for a sleigh ride. Pickering insists Si ride in the sleigh with him and Julia, and he is shockingly friendly during the outing. That evening, Pickering announces, smugly, that he and Julia are engaged. Si leaves to think, wanting to warn Julia about Pickering’s cruel nature and illegal activities but feeling he should not interfere with the past.

During his walk, he talks with a bus driver who gives him an education about the troubles of the poor and the children who deliver newspapers and then sleep in parks on cold winter nights. This exchange makes Si realize that this version of New York is not just a backdrop for his adventures but a real place with real people. He decides he must tell Julia about Pickering, even if it changes the timeline.

On Monday morning, Si plans to be present when Pickering and Carmody meet at midnight to exchange money for blackmail materials. After some trouble figuring out how he can be present in Jake’s office when the deal takes place, Si has some luck: The janitor he met from his previous scouting trip in the office building gives him the spare key to the office, still believing him to be Pickering.