Part Four, Chapters One through Three Summary

Six months after the previous chapter, Felix plays cards with Aristedes. Aristedes is a captain in the Portuguese Army, and Felix thinks Aristedes has told him that he is dying of syphilis. Felix cannot be certain because he does not speak Portuguese, and Aristedes does not speak English. After they are finished playing cards, Aristedes looks at his pornographic pictures, and Felix thinks about what has brought him to serve in Portuguese East Africa. The British are pursuing the remnants of the German forces, and while Felix expected to be part of the fighting, he has been assigned to organize supplies and serve as a liaison with Portuguese forces.

Wheech-Browning arrives in a truck loaded with small artillery pieces. British intelligence believes that the Germans might be headed toward Felix's location and they...