The story opens with two men walking into Henry’s lunchroom and taking a seat at the counter. The manager, George, asks them what they want to eat. Another man, Nick Adams, also sits at the counter and watches the two men. The men try to order dinner, but George tells them the food they want isn’t available yet, since dinner begins at six o’clock. After some argument the men finally settle for food that’s available. The men, one of whom is named Al, seem like twins, both dressed in tight-fitting overcoats, derby hats, mufflers, and gloves. They even sit in the same position.

The men ask George if they can get an alcoholic drink, and George says they have none. The men mock the town, Summit, for being boring and unknown. When they comment that the only thing for people to do in Summit is eat at Henry’s lunch counter, George agrees with them. The two men continue to mock him, sarcastically calling him “bright” and then calling him “dumb.” They also confront Nick, who tells them his name right away. Then men mockingly call him “bright” as well. George brings the two men their food, and when one of the men, Max, quizzes him on whose food is whose, he correctly remembers.

One of the men, Max, asks George what he’s looking at. George answers “Nothing.” Al suggests that George answered this way as a joke, and George obligingly laughs. Max acts offended at the laughter and says it was unnecessary, and George agrees. The men ask Nick what his name is, and they order him to stand by George on the other side of the counter. George and Nick ask what’s going on, but the men say it’s none of their business. They ask who’s in the kitchen, and order George to get him to come to the counter. George tries to confront the gangsters and ask what they’re up to. The gangsters order George to fetch Sam, despite his continued protest, assuring him they won’t do anything to Sam. George calls Sam out to the front. 

Sam comes out of the kitchen and asks what’s going on. The two killers look him over and order him to stay where he is. After looking them over in turn, Sam agrees. Al announces that he’s going to stay in the kitchen with Sam and Nick. Max stays with George in the front, but looks into the mirror above the bar rather than at George. Max asks George why he’s being so quiet. George continues to ask what’s going on. Rather than answering, Max keeps asking George what he thinks is going on. He never looks at George, but keeps looking into the mirror. Al orders Max and George to move to different positions in the bar, and both follow his directions. Finally, Max tells George the truth, which is that they’re at Henry’s to kill Ole Andreson, a Swedish man who frequents the lunch counter for dinner at six o’clock.

Max urges George to keep talking, asking him about whether he goes to the movies. Max tells him to go to the movies more often, since George is smart. George asks why the two men want to kill Ole. Max and Al say they’ve never met Ole, and he hasn’t done anything to them. Max admits they’re going to kill him on a friend’s behalf. Al tells Max to keep his mouth shut because he’s too talkative, but Max argues that he needs to keep George entertained. Al says that his hostages, Nick and Sam, are keeping themselves entertained while they’re tied up in the kitchen. He compares them to girls who have been tied up in a convent. 

George takes note of the time on the clock, and Max tells him that if anybody comes in, he should tell them Sam is gone and cook the food himself. George agrees and asks what’s going to happen to the hostages once the killers accomplish their goal. Max says he doesn’t know. At 6:15, a streetcar operator enters and leaves when George says that Sam is out. At 6:20, Max says George did a good job and has good manners, but Al says George is only acting this way because if he acted differently, Al would shoot him in the head. Max defends George, saying he’s a nice and likeable kid. 

At 6:55, George announces that Ole won’t come to dinner that night. Max says they can wait ten more minutes. More time passes, and the clock reads 7:00 and then 7:05. Another customer enters and berates George when he says Sam is out sick. Once the customer leaves, Max reiterates that he and Al should leave. Al asks what they’ll do with the hostages. Max decides they’ll leave them alive since he likes them. Al is unhappy with this decision, but he agrees. Al comes out of the kitchen with his gun tucked back in his overcoat. He bids George farewell and tells him he’s very lucky.

The killers leave the lunch counter. George unties Nick and Sam. Sam is distressed, but Nick tries to shrug off the ordeal by putting on a show of swagger. George informs them that the two men wanted to kill Ole Andreson when he arrived for dinner. George tells Nick to go see Ole, and Nick says he will. Sam tries to dissuade Nick, stating that it can’t end well if they get more involved. Nick says he’s going to see Ole, and Sam turns his back, commenting that young boys like Nick are stubborn. George gives Nick directions to Ole’s place, and Nick leaves. He walks to Hirsch’s rooming-house, where Ole rents a room, and rings the bell. He asks the woman who answers if Ole is in. 

The woman, Mrs. Bell, leads Nick up to Ole’s room. Nick sees Ole, fully dressed, lying on his bed. Ole is too big to fit on the bed and his head is resting on two pillows. He avoids looking at Nick, but asks what Nick wants. Nick tells Ole about how the two killers came into the lunch counter and were planning to kill Ole. Nick thinks he sounds silly, but Ole doesn’t respond. Ole finally says that there isn’t anything to do, and that he doesn’t want Nick to tell him any more details about the two killers. He keeps looking at the wall, but thanks Nick for the warning.

Nick keeps asking if there’s anything he can do, but Ole tells him nothing is going to help. Even when Nick says it might be a joke, Ole says it’s real. Ole turns to the wall, facing away from Nick. He says he can’t make himself leave the room. Nick suggests the Ole leave town, but Ole says he’s done running and that there’s nothing more he can do. He says that he made a mistake and can’t fix it, but he’ll leave the room eventually. Nick says he’s going to go back to the lunch counter, and Ole once again bids him farewell.

Nick meets Mrs. Bell again and she says that Ole hasn’t seemed well and hasn’t been out of his room all day. Nick says Ole wants to stay in, and the woman expresses sorrow over Ole’s poor condition, saying that he’s a nice man who used to be a prize fighter. She says he’s so gentle that he doesn’t seem like a fighter, except for some evidence of boxing on his face. Nick says goodbye and goes back to Henry’s lunchroom, following the same path he used to get there.

George is behind the counter and asks Nick if he saw Ole. Nick tells him that Ole won’t leave his room. Sam peeks his head out but then goes back in, once again saying that he wants nothing to do with the situation. George asks if Nick warned Ole, and Nick replies that Ole knows everything but isn’t going to do anything about it. George says Ole is going to get killed, and that it’s probably because of something he did in Chicago. They wonder what Ole did, and George thinks that Ole betrayed someone he shouldn’t have. Nick declares he’s going to leave Summit, and George says it’s a good idea. Nick once again says how terrible it is that Ole is in his room waiting to die. George tells him to put it out of his mind.

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