Finny, however, objects. He officially opens the Games with "the sacred fire from Olympus" — a copy of the Iliad doused with cider and set ablaze. The boys, excited by the cider, throw themselves into the games, while Finny, atop the prize table, dances on one leg. Gene surpasses himself athletically, freed by the Carnival's imaginative escape from the realities of war.
When a telegram arrives for Gene, Finny grabs it, announcing it must be from the Olympic Committee. But, instead, the telegram is from Leper, who explains that he has escaped and needs Gene to come to him immediately — "at Christmas location."
