Eleanor and her friends are going for a picnic in the woods. Fairbanks and Forester are carrying the martinis, while she carries the food. Draper and his much younger wife, Sue, walk by themselves, while Carmany and Renweg bring up the rear. Forester and Carmany are having an affair, which Forester's wife Mary knows about and openly resents, although no one pays her any heed. When they reach the picnic spot, Eleanor is dismayed when her friends only want to drink and not eat anything. Buoyed along by her need to please everybody, Eleanor has several drinks, and is swiftly inebriated. She leaves her friends behind and goes running through the trees, dreaming of owning an island where she can throw parties for her friends. Eleanor stumbles across a baby turtle, and she carries it back to her now-drunk friends. They coo over it for a moment, until Renweg suggests making turtle soup. This idea is quickly rejected, but they play around with the turtle and cast it as the 'virgin sacrifice' in a theatrical improvisation. Eleanor finds another turtle, a much bigger one, and suddenly the atmosphere becomes much more violent. They beat the turtle with heavy branches, and poke it sharply in the throat when it tries to leave. Renweg pours liquor down the animal's throat and they turn it onto its back, hitting the vulnerable stomach even harder. Carmany and Forester slip away into the bushes together, leaving Mary furious, while Draper has drunk too much and is passed out on Sue's lap. The young bride is horrified, and decides that the picnic is over. As they leave, Renweg begins to fool around on the train tracks, even though Fairbanks shouts several warnings about the oncoming train. When these warnings are not heeded, Fairbanks is forced to physically pull Renweg away, and they narrowly escape. Eleanor bursts into tears, but cannot explain why she is so suddenly miserable.