This chapter opens with a conversation between Colonel Onoref and Lieutenant Gorsgy, who are discussing the recent battle in which they lost three hundred soldiers and half their face. On Oref wants to know when he gave the orders for the attack. He says that his orders come from his comrade, comrade stalin, and that this is his "domain" and that it is "hell" . If he does not come back within an hour, he says, he will present the remains of the dead colonel to comrade St. Petersburg. He tells the lieutenant to dismiss his men and follow him to the vault. He asks where they are going and the lieutenant says that he hopes they did not have to slaughter all of them just for a "bit of gold" , because all the gold in the world could not match the vault's contents. On October 8, 1957, the sea cannot stay in the harbor because of the number of men that have been killed. The lieutenant tells him that the rest of the men are afraid of what will happen to them if they continue this madness. He also tells him they have nearly achieved their goal and that the statue will allow them to make "the most fabulous discovery" in history of mankind.