As the battle rages on, Volk and his men try to defend their positions. They hear the enemy approaching, and Volk realizes that they must have been planning an ambush. He realizes that the enemy must have taken cover in the cloud, and he realizes that he will have to shoot the enemy at a moment's notice. He sees a white figure standing out in the smoke. He wonders if his own body might not have been so agile, or if he would not have jumped at the chance to save the woman. He thinks of her as if she were chiding him for disturbing her nap. He feels suffocated by her, and wonders what he will do about it.