How It All Goes Down
Southeastern Rostov Oblast, West of the Town of Gukovo, 2 April
- Young Petya is excited because he's finally getting some new stamps. He's been collecting since he was five, but the hobby has recently grown into an obsession.
- Petya's so excited, in fact, that he arrives at the stamp kiosk before it opens. Shucks. As he burns time, he's approached by a "smartly dressed" man carrying a black suitcase (3.31.5).
- The man reveals that he's a stamp collector, too. He offers to give Petya his personal collection—his own children have no interest in the hobby.
- Though distrustful towards the stranger, Petya is hypnotized by visions of shiny new stamps. The stamps are at the stranger's house, so they'll need to take a train.
- The man silently disembarks after a few stops. Petya is confused: they're "in the middle of the woods" (3.31.50). Seeing this concern, the man explains that he owns a cottage in the forest.
- More concerned than ever, Petya asks the man for his name. The man says that his name is Andrei. If that doesn't ring a bell, then you should reread the first chapter...
- Andrei knocks Petya unconscious and takes off his clothes, piling them up nearby. Then, he ties a string to the boy's leg before grabbing the other end and crawling behind the tree.
- After removing his glasses, Andrei sits and waits, absentmindedly chewing on tree bark. Finally, Petya wakes up.
- Panicked, Petya sprints towards the train station. After a few yards, the string around his leg goes taut and Petya "toppled forward, falling to the ground" (3.31.68).
- Andrei gleefully pulls the boy towards him. Somehow, however, Petya manages to loosen the noose and takes off running "as fast as he'd ever run before" (3.31.73).
- Andrei follows, but heads in the wrong direction—guess he should have left those glasses on. Suddenly, Andrei locates his prey and closes the gap, tackling Petya and using his hunting knife to finish the job.