Bailey travels by train from Boston to New York with other rêveurs, uneasy in mismatched new clothes and too restless to focus on anything outside the window.

Victor sits beside Bailey and lends him a red leather-bound book that turns out to be a meticulously organized scrapbook of clippings and letters, many connected to Herr Friedrich Thiessen. Bailey becomes absorbed in Thiessen’s words, and Bailey overhears Lorena teasing Victor about his sudden generosity; Victor only says Bailey reminds him of Friedrich.

Near New York, Elizabeth joins Bailey and reflects on the strange devotion that sends them chasing the circus. Elizabeth insists Bailey accept a red wool scarf Elizabeth has been knitting, saying it had no intended owner and therefore must be meant for Bailey.

In New York, Bailey feels how far from home he truly is, while Elizabeth confidently leads the group through the city to the home of August, a local rêveur who offers them lodging. August greets them warmly and announces “good news and bad news.”

August’s good news is that Le Cirque des Rêves is set up less than a mile away, visible through the trees. The disappointing news is that the circus was closed the previous night due to a storm, and around midnight there was a tremendous crashing sound, smoke over the tents, and a flash of light; by morning nothing looks damaged, but the closure sign still hangs. Alarmed, Bailey vaults the porch railing and runs toward the circus with the scarf streaming behind him.