Mortified by the Sarazin-Levassor encounter, Marcelle disembarks at Flers carrying her typewriter and moves to an empty Second-Class carriage. Henry Tanner spots her from his window and watches her enter the next Second-Class carriage.

On the footplate, Pellerin receives orders via Le Goff for an unscheduled halt at Briouze. Garnier complains about the lost time. An ash collector takes ash from Engine 721 for soapmaking.

Le Goff manages boarding passengers, including a British cyclist who pays to put his bicycle in the baggage van. Mado approaches Le Goff asking whether anyone distinguished is aboard. He tells her that a deputy for Orne will board at Briouze, and she smiles.

The narration describes Engine 721’s history with various accidents and deaths on the railways. In Front Third, Mado sits with her lunch bucket clamped between her boots. A pregnant blonde woman, Cécile Langlois, sits beside her. Blonska draws Cécile out about her condition.

Marcelle, alone in her Second-Class carriage, sets up her Dactyle typewriter and begins typing notes for her doctoral supervisor’s study on nerve responses, working to forget her humiliation.

Senior guard Mariette rides in the Post Van checking parcels against papers. He recalls once tossing a suspicious hamper out the window for fear of a bomb.