The chapter opens with the enlistment of Leper Lepellier, who decides to join the ski troops. The first recruit from the class, Leper simply makes up his mind and goes quietly, without any fanfare. Brinker begins to connect any triumphal news of the war with Leper, and the Devon students imagine their former classmate — at least in their jokes — as a war hero.
Only Finny refuses to imagine Leper as a legend. When he sees that talk in the Butt Room always revolves around Leper's imaginary heroism, Finny forbids Gene to go there, on the grounds that smoking is bad for athletes. Gene finds himself isolated from the rest of school life, alone with Finny in a world where the 1944 Olympic Games seem more real that World War II.
To liven up a dull winter, Finny invents the Devon Winter Carnival, an event that takes place on the banks of the Naguamsett River and includes sports, snow statues, food, and music. Finny presides over the action, which includes a ski jump, a prize table, and jugs of hard cider, guarded by Brinker. At the signal, Chet Douglass blows his trumpet, and the boys attack Brinker to raid the hard cider. In the midst of the riot, Gene pours cider down Brinker's throat, and Brinker declares the Games open.
