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was in deep shadow under the low cliff, and they were sitting on the grass outside, waiting for us. Wisps of smoke were rising up from the chimney into the still air.
    Duncan asked the Page to open the door for us, wait until we were all inside, and then come in, closing the door behind him. Milo followed his instructions, andwhen Duncan thanked him, he wriggled like a puppy, all waggy with pride.
    The room was set out differently. The upturned fish-boxes were arranged in a semi-circle around the fireplace, where a bright fire of driftwood crackled in the hearth. There were candles placed on jutting-out stones in the wall all around it, and with all the light at one end, the other end of the bothy looked even more shadowy and dark.
    The makeshift table was in front of Elspeth, to the left-hand side of the hearth, and Duncan sat opposite her on the right-hand side. He gave her the key and she unlocked the box. Then she delicately took out the black square of cloth they called the Judgement, and the big candle.
    She put the candle in its candle-holder, and Hamish lit it. We didn’t need it in order to see each other’s faces because they were lit up by the fire. It was just the dance.
    We waited for Duncan to say something. To our surprise, he looked at Milo and asked him, ‘Have you brought Nee-na?’ Milo nodded into his chest.
    â€˜Then go outside and stay there until I call you back in, and when you come back inside, don’t bring him with you.’
    I caught Tressa’s eye.
    â€˜What if he wanders off?’ I said. ‘We’re supposed to be looking after him.’
    Duncan fixed Milo with his pale piercing eyes and said, ‘He will not wander off. He will stay on the grass right in front of the bothy.’
    Milo’s bottom lip quivered and his hand moved to put his thumb in his mouth, but he didn’t.
    â€˜B-but what if the seagulls take him?’
    â€˜I told you not to bring him to the bothy,’ Duncan said.
    Milo went outside, shutting the door quietly after him. We sat there, looking at each other. I listened for the sound of him crying, but the only sounds were the crackle of the fire and the murmur of the sea.
    After a few minutes, Duncan called Milo back in.
    â€˜Have you left Nee-na outside?’
    Milo said, ‘Yes.’ It was weird, because he didn’t look upset or cross—he just looked completely in awe of Duncan.
    â€˜Then you can take your place.’
    When Milo was sitting down again, Duncan told Elspeth to start a new document. She took a clean sheet from her pile of papers.
    â€˜You will call it, “The history of the new members,”’ Duncan said.
    She wrote it down.
    â€˜Now, I’ll ask them some questions, we’ll listen to their answers, and I will tell you what to write.’
    He started with Milo.
    â€˜Where have you come from, Page?’
    â€˜London,’ said Milo.
    â€˜What kind of place is London?’
    Milo immediately thought of all the things he loved about London. ‘It’s got cars, all sorts of cars. They’re parked in all the roads round us, and you can tell what sort they are by their badges.’
    Duncan nodded encouragement and Milo went on.
    â€˜It’s got buses too, and ambulances and police cars. . .’ He glanced wistfully at the door.
    â€˜And what else?’ said Duncan.
    â€˜Trains and planes, lots of planes. . . And the tube!’
    â€˜So the places you roam with the Joker and the Teacher are streets and stations?’ asked Duncan.
    â€˜We don’t roam!’ Milo looked surprised.
    â€˜Why not?’
    â€˜Because of bad people and getting lost and. . .and things.’
    Duncan said to Elspeth, ‘Teller, write this down—“They came from a city choked with noise and fumes. It was a dangerous place full of bad people.”’
    While she wrote it down, Duncan turned to me.
    â€˜Joker, tell us, why did you