A RICKETY VOICE calls out: “What are you doing here? Nobody ever comes up here!” Too startled to exhale, Hagen beams a flashlight to the dark corners of the attic. He sees no one. “Go away!” the voice orders. At a loss, Hagen says: “I’m just checking the insulation.” The angry reply: “Insulation is fine for those below, but this place is cold for the rest!” Hagen hurries to the steps and never visits his attic again.

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FLATULENT DOGS haunt Bear’s dreams, the first one in a lurid dream with Asian twins named Valentina and Valeria. Bear gets a whiff of something really funky. A decrepit pit bull appears on the bed, looks Bear in the eye and says: “I’m just an old stink dog, but I know what’s right.” That’s two years ago. Odorous dogs appear in every dream since. “Fartin’ dogs are on my trail,” says Bear. “I don’t know what it means.”

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