On the bus, Brent identifies constellations using a book he bought in San Francisco. By now, he feels familiar with the atmosphere of bus travel. A pair of thieves try to rob him at the bus station in San Diego, and he wards them off by shouting loudly. Feeling rattled, Brent takes a cab to a hostel. The clerk tells him that the hostel only accepts foreigners and encourages Brent to claim that he is Canadian. Brent keeps up the lie throughout his stay, though it makes him uncomfortable and leads him to stay mostly quiet among the other hostel guests.

Going up to his room, Brent hears another guest playing a concertina. He remembers the self-sufficient cyclist from Washington and wishes that he had more skills and interests to keep himself entertained. At breakfast the next morning, Brent meets Emil, a German boy a year older than him. Though the two boys look very similar, Emil speaks three languages and has a wide knowledge of history and natural science. Brent admires Emil and agrees to go sightseeing with him, rather than begin work on his whirligig. They visit the San Diego Zoo and several museums.