Back on the cruiser, Thomas Hudson talks over the situation with Antonio. The high tide will not come until after eleven o’clock that night. The wind may be pushing the water out of the bay, so the water still may not be deep enough to get the boat out of the mud. Antonio, however, is confident that it will float. George and Gil have gone out to stake the channel in the places where it is shallow so they will be able to maneuver the boat on the way out. Thomas Hudson wants to go to the turtle boat and shine a light on it. If one of his men is on the boat, he can blink a light at them if the Germans come out in the skiff. However, Antonio thinks it will be too dark. Thomas Hudson agrees because he has been wrong twice that day. Antonio reminds him that, to the Germans, they will look like a pleasure craft and not worth their trouble. Thomas Hudson calls up Willie and asks his opinion. Willie agrees with Antonio and points out to Thomas Hudson that he has now been wrong three times that day.

Thomas Hudson is sure the Germans saw the dinghy going out to the turtle boat. Therefore, they will believe the boat is a trap and will not go near it. He wonders if they will come out to the cruiser. He tells Willie to lay a booby trap in the turtle boat while it is still light. Willie agrees with the plan. Thomas Hudson warns him not to blow himself up. Willie tells Thomas Hudson to get some rest because he is going to be up all night.

Antonio tells Thomas Hudson the tide has turned but is fighting with the current caused by the strong wind. Thomas Hudson tells him to fix the crew some dinner. He asks Antonio how much ice they have. Antonio says they enough for a week unless they use too much preserving Peters’s body. He suggests burying Peters at sea. Antonio persistently urges Thomas Hudson to have a drink, and Thomas Hudson finally gives in.

Thomas Hudson tries to think what the Germans will do that night, but he does not succeed. He has trouble thinking at all. When Antonio brings him a drink, he remembers his promise to himself not to drink this trip so that he will not think of anything but work. He had also planned to drive himself to the point of exhaustion so he would fall instantly asleep with no time for thinking. As he drinks, he thinks of when young Tom was a small boy and they went hunting birds together. Tom had shot a plover and went to bed with the dead bird, but Thomas Hudson took the bird and put it in the icebox. He remembers when Tom was worried about another ice age occurring. He thinks back to all the happy times, especially the times in Paris. Willie returns with news that he has successfully booby trapped the turtle boat.