'faust' is distracted from repentance by helen of troy, whom he seduces before realising she is a wooden demon in disguise. lucifer arrives earlier than expected to claim his soul, and 'faust' rushes in panic from the theatre, meeting a newcomer in at the doorway as he bursts into the street. he is felled by a red car, and cornelius and valdes watch in amusement as a tramp carries away a severed leg from the scene of the accident. a policeman checks the car, but it is without a driver.