Chapter Seventeen, Chapter Eighteen, and Chapter Nineteen Summary

Sharpe wakes in chapter seventeen with a major hangover and is shaved by a young guard. He decides he cannot possibly sign the parole and still live with himself. He tips the ink bottle onto the paper, destroying it. Sharpe witnesses a cavalryman throw a lit cigar into a pile of fuses leading to shells and decides not to raise the alarm in hopes he will escape in the explosion. Though the explosion is very destructive, Sharpe escapes into the city but is captured by a Spanish family thinking him an escaped prisoner. The French leave Burgos and head toward Vitoria.

In chapter eighteen, Hogan learns that Sharpe very likely died in the explosion. He cannot believe it, and the British troops pursue the French to Vitoria. Sharpe is alive and...