In the short chill of dawn the four boys gathered round the black smudge where the fire had been, while Ralph knelt and blew. Grey, feathery ashes scurried hither and thither at his breath but no spark shone among them. The twins watched anxiously and Piggy sat expressionless behind the luminous wall of his myopia. Ralph continued to blow till his ears were singing with the effort, but then the first breeze of dawn took the job off his hands and blinded him with ashes. He squatted back, swore, and rubbed water out of his eyes.
'No use.'
Eric looked down at him through a mask of dried blood. Piggy peered in the general direction of Ralph.
' 'Course it's no use, Ralph. Now we got no fire.'
Ralph brought his face within a couple of feet of Piggy's.
'Can you see me?'
'A bit.'
Ralph allowed the swollen flap of his cheek to close his eye again.
'They've got our fire.'
Rage shrilled his voice.
'They stole it!'
'That's them,' said Piggy. 'They blinded me. See? That's Jack Merridew. You call an assembly, Ralph, we got to decide what to do.'
'An assembly for only us?'
'It's all we got. Sam-let me hold on to you.'
They went toward the platform.
'Blow the conch,' said Piggy. 'Blow as loud as you can.'
The forests re-echoed; and birds lifted, crying out of the treetops, as on that first morning ages ago. Both ways the beach was deserted. Some littluns came from the shelters. Ralph sat down on the polished trunk and the three others stood before him. He nodded, and Samneric sat down on the right. Ralph pushed the conch into Piggy's hands. He held the shining thing carefully and blinked at Ralph.
'Go on, then.'
'I just take the conch to say this. I can't see no more and I got to get my glasses back. Awful things has been done on this island. I voted for you for chief. He's the only one who ever got anything done. So now you speak, Ralph, and tell us what. Or else-'
Piggy broke off, sniveling. Ralph took back the conch as he sat down.
'Just an ordinary fire. You'd think we could do that, wouldn't you? Just a smoke signal so we can be rescued. Are we savages or what? Only now there's no signal going up. Ships may be passing. Do you remember how he went hunting and the fire went out and a ship passed by? And they all think he's best as chief. Then there was, there was . . . that's his fault, too. If it hadn't been for him it would never have happened. Now Piggy can't see, and they came, stealing-' Ralph's voice ran up '-at night, in darkness, and stole our fire. They stole it. We'd have given them fire if they'd asked. But they stole it and the signal's out and we can't ever be rescued. Don't you see what I mean? We'd have given them fire for themselves only they stole it. I-'
He paused lamely as the curtain flickered in his brain. Piggy held out his hands for the conch.
'What you goin' to do, Ralph? This is jus' talk without deciding. I want my glasses.'
'I'm trying to think. Supposing we go, looking like we used to, washed and hair brushed-after all we aren't savages really and being rescued isn't a game-'
He opened the flap of his cheek and looked at the twins.
'We could smarten up a bit and then go-'
'We ought to take spears,' said Sam. 'Even Piggy.'
'-because we may need them.'
'You haven't got the conch!'
Piggy held up the shell.
'You can take spears if you want but I shan't. What's the good? I'll have to be led like a dog, anyhow. Yes, laugh. Go on, laugh. There's them on this island as would laugh at anything. And what happened? What's grownups goin' to think? Young Simon was murdered. And there was that other kid what had a mark on his face. Who's seen him since we first come here?'
'Piggy! Stop a minute!'
'I got the conch. I'm going to that Jack Merridew an' tell him, I am.'
'You'll get hurt.'
'What can he do more than he has? I'll tell him what's what. You let me carry the conch, Ralph. I'll show him the one thing he hasn't got.'
Piggy paused for a moment and peered round at the dim figures. The shape of the old assembly, trodden in the grass, listened to him.
'I'm going to him with this conch in my hands. I'm going to hold it out. Look, I'm goin' to say, you're stronger than I am and you haven't got asthma. You can see, I'm goin' to say, and with both eyes. But I don't ask for my glasses back, not as a favor. I don't ask you to be a sport, I'll say, not because you're strong, but because what's right's right. Give me my glasses, I'm going to say-you got to!'
Piggy ended, flushed and trembling. He pushed the conch quickly into Ralph's hands as though in a hurry to be rid of it and wiped the tears from his eyes. The green light was gentle about them and the conch lay at Ralph's feet, fragile and white. A single drop of water that had escaped Piggy's fingers now flashed on the delicate curve like a star.
At last Ralph sat up straight and drew back his hair.
'All right. I mean-you can try if you like. We'll go with you.'
'He'll be painted,' said Sam, timidly. 'You know how he'll be-'
'-he won't think much of us-'
'-if he gets waxy we've had it-'
Ralph scowled at Sam. Dimly he remembered something Simon had said to him once, by the rocks.
'Don't be silly,' he said. And then he added quickly, 'Let's go.'
He held out the conch to Piggy who flushed, this time with pride.
'You must carry it.'
'When we're ready I'll carry it-'
Piggy sought in his mind for words to convey his passionate willingness to carry the conch against all odds.
'I don't mind. I'll be glad, Ralph, only I'll have to be led.'
Ralph put the conch back on the shining log.
'We better eat and then get ready.'
They made their way to the devastated fruit trees. Piggy was helped to his food and found some by touch. While they ate, Ralph thought of the afternoon.
'We'll be like we were. We'll wash-'
Sam gulped down a mouthful and protested.
'But we bathe every day!'
Ralph looked at the filthy objects before him and sighed.
'We ought to comb our hair. Only it's too long.'
'I've got both socks left in the shelter,' said Eric, 'so we could pull them over our heads like caps, sort of.'
'We could find some stuff,' said Piggy, 'and tie your hair back.'
'Like a girl!'
'No. 'Course not.'
'Then we must go as we are,' said Ralph, 'and they won't be any better.'
Eric made a detaining gesture.
'But they'll be painted! You know how it is.' The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.
'Well, we won't be painted,' said Ralph, 'because we aren't savages.'
Samneric looked at each other.
