The escorts take the firewood the prisoners gathered for themselves, and they charge the Moldavian with attempting to escape. They count the prisoners one more time before letting them into the prison, where they become “free [men] again” (123). Shukhov runs to the parcels office to hold a place in line for Tzesar. When Shukhov was at Ust-Izhma his wife used to send him packages, but he forbade her from sending more because he didn’t want to take supplies his children could use. Still, he longs to see his name on the list of recipients. While in line, Shukhov hears that they will be working on Sunday. Tzesar arrives with his bags to collect his items, as the guards dump the contents out of their original containers. Tzesar talks about a newspaper with another prisoner for a moment, and Shukhov asks if he should bring Tzesar his supper. Tzesar tells Shukhov to take his dinner for himself.

There is a rule against walking alone, but it proved difficult to enforce and is mostly ignored. Shukhov returns alone to his barracks and finds his bunk untouched. He drops off his mittens, coat, and hacksaw blade, then runs to the mess hall. There is another rule that prisoners can only enter the mess hall with permission and in formation.