Part 2 commences with an extensive look into one early morning in Altamont. Wolfe focuses much of this chapter on Ben. Delivery boys complete their routes after a lecture on the possible mishandling of paper route fee collection. Ben and Harry Tugman, the editor of the paper, grab breakfast at a local establishment, where Dr. Hugh McGuire attempts to sober up for a challenging surgery. Various men from the town, including multiple doctors, the undertaker, and a policeman, flitter in and out of the restaurant while engaging in banter regarding their respective crafts. Tugman jealously perseverates on the previous evening’s upper-society dance at the Hilliard estate attended by one of the young doctors. Ben responds by “forcing out in a wide yawn the night-time accumulation of weariness, boredom, and disgust” (148).

The chapter concludes with a juxtaposition of wake-up scenes featuring various members of the Altamont community across social status, gender, and race, including both Gant and Eliza.

Eliza, now in better health and enjoying the success of her many investments, has paid off all of Dixieland and continues to seek other investment properties, a desire that Gant refuses. Eugene befriends a millionaire Dixieland boarder named Simon who suffers from mental illness and has experienced trouble at multiple Altamont hotels.