The narrator goes to the college’s evening church service before his meeting with Dr. Bledsoe. During the service a visiting preacher tells a moving story about the college founder’s life and how, on his deathbed, he selected Dr. Bledsoe as his successor. The young man is so moved by the story and so distraught at the idea of being kicked out of the college that he loves that he leaves the church service and waits in the dark by the administration building. He waits to meet Dr. Bledsoe and feels lost at the idea of what to do once he’s expelled.