In one quick motion, Montag turns the liquid fire on Captain Beatty, who collapses to the pavement.Īfter pummeling Stoneman and Black, Montag tries to escape, but the Mechanical Hound stuns him in the leg with its procaine needle. While Montag hesitates, Beatty discovers the green bullet in his ear and threatens to track the two-way radio to its source (Faber).Īs if motivating Montag to take action against him, Beatty taunts Montag relentlessly. Montag has also fallen into his former way of thinking as a result of Beatty's verbal assaults and the trauma of what has happened to both himself and his home. Meanwhile, Faber continually urges Montag to escape, but Montag is hesitant because the Mechanical Hound is on the prowl. Little does he realize that Montag finds a certain perverse satisfaction in torching the interior of his home - especially the television screens.
While Beatty seems to regret what he must do to Montag, he taunts Montag in a mean-spirited way and reminds Montag that he has given him many warnings about what could happen.įinally, in his conversation with Montag, Beatty forces Montag to set fire to his own home.
Bowles, earlier lodged a complaint that Beatty ignored). In this final section of the book, Montag discovers that Millie turned in the fire alarm (though her friends, Mrs.
