Bertie swallowed hard. Unlike Olive, who enjoyed denouncing wrongdoing, he did not like to inform. But nor did he like to lie. It was not that he feared the consequences threatened by Olive – that was an empty threat, as Bertie had heard Tofu lie regularly and had never seen him engulfed in flames below the belt. When he had pointed this out to Olive, though, she had dismissed his objection with the observation that Tofu wore special flame-proof pants – that was well known. ‘They call them fibbers’ trousers,’ she said knowledgeably. ‘They’re more expensive, but they stop your pants going on fire when you lie. Tofu’s father buys them on the internet because he knows that Tofu can’t wear ordinary pants because of all the fibs he tells. I’m surprised you didn’t know that, Bertie – he’s meant to be your friend.’

‘We don’t need to involve Bertie in this, Tofu,’ said Rosemary Gold. ‘All I have to say is this – Chloë is very welcome, and we’re all thrilled to have her in the pack, aren’t we, Tofu?’

Tofu looked down at the floor. ‘Yes, Akela.’

‘He’s crossing his fingers,’ shouted Olive. ‘I saw him, Akela! He crossed his fingers when he said that. That means he doesn’t mean what he says.’

Rosemary Gold chose, quite wisely, to ignore this. For his part, Bertie tried to be helpful. ‘She can stand next to me, Akela,’ he offered.

‘Well, isn’t that nice?’ said Mrs Gold, pushing Chloë towards her new six. ‘You’ll be very happy in the reds, Chloë. Bertie, at least, is a very kind boy.’

The new recruits now integrated, it was time for the evening’s business to begin in earnest. ‘Does anybody know what this is?’ said Rosemary Gold, holding up a round metal object.

‘A compass,’ called out Bertie.

Mrs Gold nodded. ‘Indeed it is. And what does a compass do? Does anybody know?’

Bertie, of course, knew, but did not wish to claim all the limelight. So he was silent.

‘It tells us something, doesn’t it?’ prompted Rosemary Gold. ‘What does it tell us, boys and girls?’

Bertie looked about him, and realised that he would have to speak. ‘It depends on what sort of compass it is,’ he ventured. ‘A magnetic compass tells us where north and south are.’

‘Exactly,’ said Rosemary Gold. ‘And I don’t think there are any other sorts, are there, Bertie?’

‘There’s a moral compass,’ said Bertie. ‘I haven’t seen one ever, but I’ve read about it in the newspaper. The Prime Minister says he’s got one.’