Rainsford and Whitney have a conversation as they approach Zaroff's island about hunting.  Rainsford says that hunting is "the best sport in the world", but Whitney amends, "For the hunter...not for the jaguar".  Although Rainsford scoffs at Whitney's concerns, the author has planted the seed of an idea that will develop into a main theme in the story, and a basis for suspense - that in thinking about the sport of hunting, there are two perspectives that need to be considered.

The author then builds suspense when Whitney feels "a mental chill, a sort of sudden dread".  He begins to talk about evil, which he believes is "a tangible thing".  It is clear that an atmosphere of evil emanates from the vicinity of Zaroff's island.

Subsequently, Rainsford is startled by the sound of gunshots, and "a high, screaming sound, the sound of an animal in an extremity of anguish and terror".  The suspense builds as it becomes evident that an unidentified creature has met an untimely end, with full knowledge of the fate which has befallen him.

After Rainsford meets Zaroff, Zaroff makes a comment which is subtle yet remarkably telling.  He identifies Ivan as "a Cossack...like all his race a bit of a savage".  Zaroff then chillingly adds, with a "smile show(ing) red lips and pointed teeth", that he too is a Cossack, and by implication, is a savage as well; the extent of his savagery remains yet to be revealed.