When Adam was pulled free only George Palmer-Jones and Tina were there to see. Tina had mud on the hem of her dress and on her face. She said nothing to Adam, but waited and watched him, apparently hoping that he would turn to her for comfort. When he did not respond she bent to help the men to clear their equipment, to coil their ropes, and allowed herself a few tears of relief and disappointment.

They all left George to deal with Adam. They stood quite close together. It was as though they were alone.

“I’d better call an ambulance,” George said, “ to make sure that nothing’s broken.”

Adam spoke for the first time.

“No.” The sudden sound was explosive, startling. “No fuss. I don’t need an ambulance.”

“Who pushed you?” George asked.

“I don’t know.” Then with sudden panic: “ No one. No one pushed me. I fell in. It was all my fault. I wanted to see how deep it was and I fell in.”

“You must tell me. And tell the police. Tell them what really happened. They’ll send somebody to look after you. They’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Then the boy did begin to cry. With frightened and hysterical sobs, he begged George to believe that it was an accident, not to tell the police. George put his arm round Adam, held him very tight, tried to calm him. Tina watched the intimacy with pain, turned away and walked into the building.

George felt that the physical contact gave him some of the status of fatherhood. He felt privileged and responsible.

“You must tell me,” he repeated. “You know that you can trust me. You must let me help you.”

But the white face turned up to him, beseeching him not to ask any more. George was helpless and angry, but could not direct his anger towards the boy.

They walked together towards the Windmill kitchen where there was hot strong tea and whisky. Tina sat next to him and tried to take his hand, but Adam still ignored her. There were no more questions. Ella presided over the teapot and made concerned and comforting noises. The others sat quietly, shocked and sympathetic.

Slowly, with great control, Adam told his story. He had been out on the marsh. He had seen very little and, not knowing that the Windmill had closed for the day, went there to see if anything had been seen elsewhere in the district. When he found it was shut he had waited, hoping to see other birders. He had heard stories about the well and had tried to lift the planks covering the shaft to see how deep it was. He had lost his balance and slipped. He was sorry to have caused so much trouble. He seemed very tired, and spoke as if he were making a great effort.

Molly too had accepted responsibility for Adam. She had told Mr. Anderson that they would find him a bed for the night and that they would take care of him. Finally, it was Ella who looked after him. When she saw that he was exhausted she wrapped him in a blanket, sat him in her car and drove him back to the cottage. She did not ask him questions or expect him to tell her what had happened. The room she gave him was small and safe, like his room at home, and he slept without dreaming.