‘Yes of course he’s in prison, but what’s its name?’

‘But Marion, what are you planning to do?’

‘I told you, I’m not going to live for myself any longer. I want to write to the poor thing, and see what I can do for him.’

‘But Marion …’ Anna looked at Marion, trying to make contact with the woman she had been talking to only a few minutes before. She was met by a gaze from brown eyes glazed with a guilty but happy hysteria. Anna went on, firmly: ‘It’s not a nice organized prison like Brixton or somewhere like that. It’s probably a shack in the bush, hundreds of miles from anywhere, about fifty political prisoners, and very likely they don’t even get letters. What did you think? — that they had visiting days and rights and things like that?’

Marion pouted and said: ‘I think that’s an awfully negative attitude to take about the poor things.’

Anna thought: negative attitude is Tommy’s — echoes from the Communist Party; but poor things is all Marion’s — probably her mother and sisters give old clothes to charities.

‘I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or possibly the Daily Worker.) ‘And measures ought to be taken immediately to restore the Africans’ faith in justice if it is not already too late.’ (The New Statesman, thought Anna.) ‘Well at least the situation ought to be thoroughly gone into in the interests of everybody.’ (The Manchester Guardian, at a time of acute crisis.) ‘But Anna, I don’t understand your attitude. Surely you’ll admit there’s evidence that something’s gone wrong?’ (The Times, editorializing a week after the news that the white administration has shot twenty Africans and imprisoned fifty more without trial.)

‘Marion, what’s got into you?’

Marion sat anxiously leaning forward, her tongue exploring her smiling lips, blinking earnestly.

‘Look, if you want to get involved in African politics, there are organizations you can join, Tommy must know that.’

‘But the poor things, Anna,’ Marion said, very reproachful.

Anna thought: Tommy’s political development before his accident was so far in advance of the ‘poor things’ that either his mind has been seriously affected or … Anna sat silent, considering for the first time whether Tommy’s mind had been affected.

‘Tommy told you to come and ask me for the prison address of Mr Mathlong so that you and he could send the poor prisoners food parcels and consoling letters? He knows quite well they’d never reach the prison at all — apart from anything else.’

Marion’s bright brown eyes, fixed on Anna, did not see her. Her girlish smile was directed towards some charming but wilful friend.