Chapter 4 Summary

Lavisser says he must go meet his contacts and he tells Sharpe and Barker to wait. Sharpe wants Lavisser to open the chest so Sharpe can retrieve the pistols and sword, and Lavisser says that Barker has the key. After Lavisser has departed, Barker searches for the key and then claims he does not have it. Sharpe begins to use his picklock on the chest. A noise from offshore startles Sharpe, and he turns just in time to see Barker coming for him with a knife. Sharpe dodges, throws sand in Barker's eyes, and then runs into the nearby dunes.

While hiding in the dunes, Sharpe realizes that Lavisser intended to kill him all along. While Barker searches the dunes, Sharpe sneaks back to the chest, but he cannot find his picklock, and Barker returns. Sharpe returns to hiding in the dunes, and...