Chapters 3 & 4 (pages 36-61 and endnotes) Summary

Based on what he overheard during his liaison with Mrs. Madison, Flashman applies for the political service position. In a meeting with George Broadfoot, Broadfoot shows Flashman 140,000 British Pounds worth of gold, and says that his tasks will include negotiations about how the British East India Company will dispose of the gold. The gold came into possession of the East India Company from a Punjabi prince who has since died. The present Punjabi government wants the gold back.

Flashman soon learns that his negotiations concerning the gold are merely a cover for his real task in Lahore. He will serve as a spy for Broadfoot. Flashman is horrified to realize that this assignment is far more dangerous than had he stayed a soldier. Broadfoot tells Flashman that he will convey coded messages by leaving them...