Chapter 5 Summary

British officers taken prisoner-of-war at the time are treated like guests, sometimes asked "parole" not to escape, and swapped for enemy prisoners. Flashy's dull, superstitious Russian captors regard Flashy with awe. Under guard in a tent, he feels sick but giddy to be alive. Dapper, French-speaking Major Lanskey takes Flashy to see General Lipandi, who checks Flashy's breath for alcohol, sure that only drunken men could behave like the Lights. Flashy has no answer for the "hideous mistake" and does not yet know he has been part of history, so he affects unfelt bravado in answering questions. The Russians toast the Light Brigade and Flashy accepts their plaudits. He is treated so well that he dreads being exchanged and returning to the squalid camp.

Rather than being exchanged, Flashy is taken to a country estate after a visit to Yalta, where 30 enlisted POWs...