Chapter 8 Summary

Flashy figures anyone who considers it "poetic justice" that he is "hoisted on his own petard" for tossing Valla overboard, which so angers East that he abandons a comrade for duty. Christians like East always put morality first. Flashy would have gotten word to Raglan out of cowardice and self-love. Badly patched up, Flashy sits in a filthy cell facing Ignatieff's hypnotic eyes. The Russian slaps him and warns not to expect mercy after breaking his promise to Pencherjevsky and escaping. Another slap silences Flashy's retort, but learning that father and daughter are both safe relieves him.

As a common felon, Flashy has no rights and will soon wish he had been crushed to death. His only chance is to answer truthfully why he has tried to escape. When Ignatieff confronts Flashy with Item 7, he babbles the truth, blaming East for instigating the...