i
- Major Plunkett continues to plot the course of the Battle and takes on the issue of being an "impartial historian."
- As he reflects on the passion that consumes him in this work (a.k.a. the two Helens), he can't imagine being able to take up so disinterested a position.
- Plunkett clings to his discovery of the island's Homeric associations, realizing that his heart has led him to make the connection where others have failed.
- He recalls a moment when he entered his bedroom and caught Helen "trying on" one of Maud's coiled bracelets; Plunkett overlooked it and let her go on her way.
ii
- Plunkett's passion/lust for Helen is fully revealed when he imagines the coiled bracelet speaking to him as a serpent of temptation, urging him to take advantage of Helen's position in his house.
- Plunkett resists, telling the bracelet that he only wants to help the poor, not exploit them, but the bracelet cynically tells him that those thoughts only belong to imperialists.
- Whatever his intentions, Plunkett is forever aware of Helen's presence around the house, heightening the drama in his days.
iii
- Plunkett digs through a garbage heap covering an old French cemetery, while contemplating that this place also belonged to "her," though we're not sure whether he's talking about the island or the girl. Again.
- He finds two French regimental buttons.