The advent of the long, autumnal evenings coincided with another change too: it emerged that a nightly curfew had been imposed in the lower field. At ten o’clock exactly, all the lights were extinguished and the residents fell silent. Not everyone slept, however. Throughout the hours of darkness, shadowy figures could be seen patrolling the walkways between the tents, presumably ensuring that all was well. The keepers of the watch were no doubt Horsefall’s men, and I wondered what was the purpose of the curfew. Quite possibly it had been arranged for Isabella’s sole benefit, so that she could enjoy her slumbers uninterrupted. If so, then her influence was plainly in the ascendancy. On the other hand, the curfew might simply have been a device for maintaining law and order. This was the more likely explanation, and it was a source of profound satisfaction for the northerners, since they were free from such restrictions. Indeed, the idea of Hogust being subject to a curfew was unthinkable.
Meanwhile, the wave of migration continued apace. Fully laden boats started to appear from further upriver, and without exception they by-passed the north-eastern settlements. Instead, they headed directly for a landing stage which had recently been constructed by Hollis and Eldred. Word quickly came back to us that the pair were charging a modest fee for this service. As far as I knew it was the first occasion any kind of toll had been levied in the Great Field, and they were reputedly reaping a handsome profit from their venture. Hartopp made no comment when he heard the news, so it was hard to tell whether he was proud of his sons for their initiative, or disappointed at their blatant opportunism. Either way, the enterprise was a veritable sign of the times.
The happenings in the south-east held everyone’s undivided attention. As a consequence, nobody noticed the ragged fellow who came stumbling out of the wilderness one blustery day. Like Thomas, he was bearded and barefoot, but there the similarity ended. The newcomer had no possessions and no tent; all he had was a coarse blanket which he wrapped around himself for warmth, and which he slept beneath at night. His name was Hippo, and his stated objective was to go amongst the tents and speak to the people. He chose the north-east encampment as his first port of call, and in due course presented himself at Hogust’s doorway. Unfortunately, some of the longboatmen regarded this as an act of gross impudence. They seized Hippo and were on the verge of throwing him in the river when Hogust interceded on his behalf.
‘Let him explain himself first,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll decide what to do with him.’
Hippo spoke eloquently and declared that he was carrying an urgent message which he wished to impart.
‘Come on then,’ said Hogust. ‘Let’s hear it.’
‘The people aren’t yet ready,’ replied Hippo.
‘I thought you said it was urgent.’
‘It is.’
‘So why are you speaking in riddles?’
Hippo was clearly taxing Hogust’s patience, but he seemed quite unaware of the jeopardy he was courting. Instead of answering the question, he announced loftily that first he needed to meet the people and get to know them.
‘Only then can I tell my story,’ he said. ‘In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to contribute to the cause?’
‘No, I would not!’ snapped Hogust. ‘If you’re looking for a handout, you can go and see Hartopp!’
Accompanied by a chorus of hoots and jeers, Hippo swiftly left the camp. It was an ignoble retreat, and he could count himself fortunate to have escaped Hogust’s clutches in one piece.
His arrival at the adjoining settlement, by contrast, was met with a wholehearted welcome. Just as Hogust had suggested, Hartopp proved to be a munificent benefactor. He fed and watered his guest, and even offered him the use of a spare tent. Surprisingly, though, Hippo elected to sleep under the stars.
‘Until the people are ready,’ he said, ‘the sky will be my tent.’
True to his word, when everyone else bedded down for the night, Hippo wrapped himself in his blanket and went to sleep. (Hartopp told me later that he felt very guilty about this.)
The next morning, following a generous breakfast, Hippo resumed his mission. He meant to visit all four corners of the field, so after calling on Brigant he inevitably turned up at my door. Luckily I’d been forewarned by the others, and I was prepared for him. I listened politely as he delivered his introductory speech, which was evidently a variation on a general theme. Meanwhile, I pondered whether he was a genuine visionary, a charlatan, or merely a victim of self-delusion. For the present, I resolved to allow him the benefit of the doubt, and to treat him with civility. Therefore, when he asked for a donation, I reached into my tent and produced the biscuit which Hen had given me. For a moment I felt a tinge of regret: after all, I’d harboured ambitious plans for that biscuit. It was imprinted with the letter J, and was an integral part of my project to forge trading links between the field’s many diverse settlements. Seen from this perspective, the biscuit’s intrinsic worth went far beyond its face value. In the event, however, I gave it to Hippo as the price of getting rid of him.
He thanked me profusely, then said goodbye and proceeded into the south-west. His course took him past the turf wall, which he examined briefly before continuing towards Hen’s tent. For some reason Hen was absent, so the next destination was Yadegarian’s distant colony.
I imagined that Hippo would find Yadegarian and his companions more receptive than anybody else in the field. Like him, they were highly idealistic people, and I assumed they would embrace him with open arms. Accordingly, I was astounded when I discovered that his visit had been a complete disaster. Again I only heard second-hand reports, but it transpired that Hippo took a very dim view of the exalted copper bath. He harshly censured the settlers for polishing it morning, noon and night, condemning the practice as both ‘foolish’ and ‘unworthy’; moreover, he enjoined them to keep the bath hidden from view and employ it only in its proper purpose. For their part, they resented his criticism and angrily drove him out of the encampment.
Hippo appeared destined forever to sleep out in the open, yet his fortunes swiftly changed when he headed for the thriving south-east quarter.
It so happened that Thomas and Isabella had recently instituted a ritual of their own. Without fail, they embarked each morning on a ‘progress’ through their adopted territory, following a fixed route that took them past the rows of encircling tents, then along the river bank as far as the crossing. When I learnt about this daily excursion, I concluded it was a means by which Thomas and Isabella could show themselves to the populace at large: he in his flowing white robes, she in her crimson finery. It was a calculated exercise, a further example of their unabashed regal posturing. Nevertheless, Hippo managed to turn it to his advantage. At a carefully chosen moment, he engaged with the strolling couple and urged them to beware of their own vanity. Obviously such a blunt approach carried the risk of immediate rejection; after all, Thomas was hardly renowned for his self-effacement and Isabella was fiery to say the least. The encounter might easily have been yet another catastrophe for Hippo, but on this occasion his luck held out. Perhaps it was the bare feet and the beard that made the difference, or maybe it was Hippo’s verbal fluency. Whatever the reason, it fast became clear that Isabella found the stranger highly fascinating. No sooner had they met than she was entreating him to relate his untold message. Once again, however, Hippo insisted that it could not be unveiled before he had travelled to every corner of the field. This proviso served only to deepen the mystique which surrounded him, and in Isabella’s case it was especially effective. At once she offered to accompany Hippo on his tour of the south-east; she also assured him that henceforth no doors would be closed in his face. Thomas, meanwhile, had lapsed into silence. It was difficult to tell if he perceived Hippo as a friend, as a potential rival, or as simply unfathomable. At any rate, he said nothing when Isabella made her pronouncement.