He clears his throat. ‘They’ve found out who gave Stig away,’ he explains. ‘It was the arrow polisher in this area.’

Black circles seem to gather round the arrow polisher the instant he is mentioned.

‘Ah,’ says Peter, ‘was it him?’

John clears his throat again. Then he says curtly, ‘He’s condemned already. As soon as it was certain about Stig. We’ve been given the order to deal with him. I was handed it on the way here. It’s to be done immediately.’

The terrible burden settles on them. But all they can do is obey. They have agreed to do what is demanded of them.

‘So we’d better draw lots,’ says John.

Peter answers all right.

Henry merely looks at the floor. So much is happening all at once that it seems likely to crush him.

John tears three pages out of a notebook. He makes a mark on one of the pages, folds them all up tightly and puts them in his hat. He raises the hat up high and asks the other two to take a slip of paper each.

‘The one who takes the piece with the cross on it will have to do it. The order cannot be disregarded.’

They remain seated for a moment.

‘Take one then, Peter.’

Peter stretches out his hand and takes one of the pieces, but waits before opening it.

‘And you, Henry.’

Henry seems dazed. He is afraid of this, and exhausted and tense. The others look at him almost certain the lot will fall to him, to the one who can bear least. It would be a tremendous relief not to have to do this, yet something in the two older men makes them feel it would be terrible if Henry were to be singled out. He seems doomed beforehand. But they don’t want to go over his head either. He wants to be treated as their equal, and will have to accept what comes.

‘Henry –.’

He gropes for the slip of paper. The one remaining in the hat is for John. Then they each have one. The other two have turned towards Henry.

‘Better look at it, Henry,’ says John, and this has the effect of a signal. They all unfold their slips of paper, and there stands Henry with the one marked with a cross, just as they were certain he would.

‘Oh no!’ he exclaims, loud enough for them to hear.

His hands holding the piece of paper are trembling. He is finished. He has misjudged his strength.

The other two are initially relieved at having escaped, but anxious for Henry.

John says to him, ‘I see it’s fallen to you. So that’s settled.’

He turns to Peter: ‘You might as well go now, Peter. Then I’ll discuss with Henry how we’re going to deal with it.’

He says this mainly to test Henry, who, he realizes, has been crushed by the pressures on him.

Peter picks up his hat, looking searchingly at Henry as he does so.