“The funny thing was that I looked at Annie while it was going on and she was upset too.”

“The salesman wasn’t specific? He didn’t say how long ago he’d seen her or what sort of programme it was?”

She shook her head.

“No. It happened just as I told you.”

He waited until she had walked away before he went back into the hall to talk to the Woollie Man. All the customers had gone and the trestle tables were empty. A shaft of sunlight came in through the open door and showed the dust in the air and the cobwebs on the rafters. The Woollie Man answered his questions with a polite bewilderment, but he provided no more useful information. He was very sorry that he had upset the young lady. He had not meant to do that. He thought that she must be famous because he had seen her face on the television. Once a famous actress had bought from his stall in Glasgow.

“Are you based in Glasgow?”

“Yes, I travel. It’s six months since I was there, but Glasgow is my home.”

“The young lady comes from Glasgow. Perhaps you met her there.”

“Perhaps.”

He was no longer interested. He had not sold as much as he had expected and he was disappointed. He wanted to finish clearing away.

George was at the door when he turned back.

“I wonder,” he said. “Could I come out with you on the plane? I’d pay half of the charter cost.”

The man grinned.

“Sure,” he said. “Sure.”

At the school the children were out to play for lunchtime. The girls had a skipping rope and were singing a rhyme. The boys were playing spacemen. Ben Dance sat on a wall and watched the children, but made no attempt to join in.

Jonathan sat at his desk in the school room drinking a mug of coffee. He was reading the manuscript of a paper about gull population control sent by an ornithological magazine for his comments. He was concentrating so hard that he did not hear George come in.

“There’s a short-toed lark on the stubble field below the hall,” George said.

“That’s good. I’ll get down to see it after school.”

“Will Stennet found it.”

“Is he back? I’ll have to arrange the swan-ringing expedition, then.”

“I’m going out on the plane. I’ll stay on Baltasay tonight and come back on the Ruth Isabella tomorrow.”

“Will you see Sylvia?”

“Probably. But that’s not why I’m going.”

“Tell her that I miss her,” Jonathan said abruptly, “and that I’ll leave the island as soon as I can get another job. Before that if she’s desperate to go.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“The police phoned from Baltasay,” Jonathan said, “just after you’d gone out. They’re coming in this afternoon, in their own plane.”

“They’ll miss me, then.”