Lev, Kolya, and the partisans set off into the night for the long walk to Novoye Koshkino, intending to arrive before sunrise and take Abendroth by surprise. Though the partisans know nothing about the mission for the colonel, Lev and Kolya hope they will also find eggs at the headquarters. Korsakov instructs them to walk single file, nine paces apart, and as they trudge through the snow, Lev is so exhausted he drifts in and out of consciousness while walking. Kolya shows himself a true friend by keeping a close eye on Lev and walking alongside him, though they receive a sharp scolding from Vika for disobeying Korsakov’s orders.

As Kolya once again acclaims and quotes from The Courtyard Hound, Lev correctly guesses that there is no Ushakovo: Kolya himself is the true author, and the novel is yet to be completed or published. Lev realizes that it was a harmless lie designed to protect Kolya’s pride. Lev remembers his father’s literary parties and the humiliation suffered by new authors when their work was not received well: “the reaction of disdainful silence, nobody willing to meet the poet’s eye” (250).