Esperanto Summary

Skoroseev becomes a watchman. He also volunteers to do all sorts of things for the camp administration, like skin a dead horse. He and the narrator are in a gold prospecting group. Civilian clothes are seized by the authorities, in one of the periodic crackdowns. This causes anguish and damage to the inmates and angers the narrator. He comments that the administration is worse than the criminal prisoners. His chance remark of outrage is reported to the administration by Skoroseev. Soon after, the narrator is shipped off to a more difficult work group in the mines, while Skoroseev remains in the prospecting group.

Later, at an acting performance, the narrator hears that Skoroseev is an Esperantist and is a known government informer, who betrayed his whole group to the authorities. All those involved are sent to prison for espionage. After the narrator is...