After the night of the car accident, Nick cannot sleep. Upon hearing a taxi arrive in Gatsby’s driveway, Nick walks over to meet his neighbor. He advises Gatsby to leave town because the police will eventually identify his car.

Gatsby tells the story of his youthful love affair with Daisy and the power it held over him in the years that followed. When the story ends, one of Gatsby’s servants asks him if it’s okay to drain the pool. Gatsby tells him to wait and repeats to Nick something he has said twice already: that he has not used the pool all summer.

As Gatsby and Nick say goodbye, Nick tells him that he’s “worth more” than Tom, Daisy, or anyone else he’s associated with on West Egg. Despite his thorough disgust for Gatsby, Nick is happy to have said this.

Nick goes to the city to work for a while. Meanwhile, momentous events transpire in the wake of Myrtle’s death. Following the shock of the accident, George grows increasingly disturbed. Michaelis and others take turns watching him, but George slips away sometime in the morning. He tracks down Gatsby as the latter makes use of his pool for the first time this season.