Summary

Part Three: Restoration – Alistair finds it hard to balance at first with only his left arm. Without the arm, he is due to be shipped out of Malta since he is considered combat ineffective. Before he is to leave, Alistair wants to have the fully-restored painting returned to the church in the village. His subaltern, Briggs, arranges a truck under false pretenses and drives Alistair to the church. As they drive, an enemy plane zooms in, injuring Briggs and causing the truck to catch on fire, killing Briggs. Back at the fort, Alistair takes blame for what has happened. Simonson will not court-martial Alistair under the circumstances, for Alistair has just lost an arm, is not himself, and has demonstrated nothing more than poor judgement. Meanwhile, a letter arrives from Hilda, speaking about Mary’s refusal to stop using morphine and her consorting with...