The Bell (15 page)

Michael thought that the argument came particularly ill from Mark Strafford, who always discovered urgent work in the office whenever some hard digging was to be done; but he recognized it as a strong one, having more than a merely romantic appeal. They had set themselves outside the bounds of ordinary convention, but without adopting any clear traditional mode of life. They had to invent their own norms. Michael felt sure that his own view was the right one; to be eclectic to this extent about methods of work was a sort of idiotic aestheticism. Yet he found it hard to argue the point clearly, and was distressed to find how emotional he soon became about it. Everyone else seemed ready to become emotional too, and by now the excitement had gone on long enough. In driving the matter to a vote instead of quietly dropping it Michael knew that he was trying to impose his own conception of how the community should develop. It seemed important to him to outlaw nonsense of this kind from the start; but he found his role in doing so a distasteful one.

A silence followed Michael's invitation to speak. It was a subject on which the interested parties had already said rather too much. James shook his head and looked down, indicating that he would make no more speeches.

Patchway said in a tone which was half statement and half question, ‘That don't make no difference about the plough.' Patchway had been one of those who looked askance at the cultivator, but for different reasons. He regarded it as an amateur's toy.

‘No, of course not,' said Michael. ‘This thing won't replace the plough. We'll need that anyway for the heavy work, such as ploughing up that bit of pasture in the autumn.' They had a standing arrangement to borrow a plough from a nearby farmer.

More silence followed, and Michael called for the vote. For the cultivator were Michael, Peter, Catherine, Patchway and Sister Ursula. Against it, James and Mark. Margaret Strafford abstained.

Trying not to sound pleased, Michael said ‘I think that's a sufficient majority to act on. May I be empowered to go and buy the cultivator?' A murmur empowered him. Michael felt that there was something to be said for being a leader after all.

Margaret Strafford spoke in a high nervous voice. She was timid of speaking, even in such an informal gathering, ‘I don't suppose this is the moment to raise the question about the pottery. But I'd just like to ask people to keep it in mind. I'll raise it again later on.' Margaret was anxious that, even if mechanization should triumph on the agricultural front, at least the Simple Life should be available in other forms.

Michael said ‘Thank you, Margaret. You understand that this arts and crafts problem will have to wait until we have more people here and have our finances on a sounder footing. But we certainly won't forget it. And that conveniently raises my next item, which is the financial appeal. Perhaps you could take this one, Mark?'

‘I think everyone knows about this item too,' said Mark. ‘The point is, we need capital. We've lived so far from hand to mouth, and depended long enough on the generosity of one or two individuals. It seems perfectly reasonable and proper, to get ourselves well started, to make an appeal for funds to a limited circle of persons whom we know to be interested. The only questions are the exact wording of the thing, the list of clients, or should I say victims, and the time-table.'

‘Bell!' said James.

‘Yes,' said Mark. ‘There'd be no harm done if we could synchronize the appeal with the arrival of the new bell, and got a little innocent publicity.'

‘I suggest we appoint a sub-committee to deal with the details,' said Michael. A sub-committee was appointed consisting of Mark, James, and Michael.

‘Might I raise the subject of the bell now?' said James. ‘It seems to come up. As you know, dear friends, the Abbey has existed since its second foundation without a bell. Now at last,
Deo gratias
, it is to have one. The bell is cast, and should be delivered sometime later this month, in fact in about a couple of weeks from now. The Abbess has expressed the wish, dear Sister Ursula will correct me if I'm wrong, that the whole business be conducted quietly and without undue ceremony. However, since we have this privileged role of camp followers to the Abbey, I think a little merry-making on our behalf would be proper to celebrate the entry of the bell into the Abbey. And as I hinted just now, the tiniest bit of publicity might be welcome for other and more worldly reasons! '

‘I'm nervous of publicity,' said Michael. ‘This community could so easily be made to look absurd in the press. I suggest we take the Abbess very literally. What do you think, Sister Ursula?'

‘I think a
little
merry-making might be in order,' said Sister Ursula, smiling at James. ‘The Bishop is coming, you know, and he won't want too Lenten a scene.'

‘Gilbert White says', said Peter, ‘that when they had a new ring of bells at Selborne the treble bell was up-ended on the village green and filled with punch and they were all drunk for days!'

‘I don't think we can quite emulate Selborne,' said James, ‘but then neither need we emulate the old man of Thermopylae who never did anything properly. We could organize a small festival and see to it that we got the sort of publicity we wanted. I gather the Bishop wants to revive the old ceremony of christening the bell. This could take place with just ourselves present on the evening of his arrival, and then we could have a little procession with some of the village people on the following day. The village seems quite excited about the whole business. As I think most of you know, the Abbess has the poetic idea that the bell should enter the Abbey early in the morning through the great gate as if it were a postulant.' He looked at Catherine.

‘All right,' said Michael. ‘Another committee please. Perhaps a definite plan could be submitted to us next week. And, of course, Father Bob must be consulted about the music.'

‘He's got some ideas already,' said James. ‘He says he's game for anything except “Lift it gently to the steeple”!'

A sub-committee to deal with the bell was appointed, consisting of James, Margaret Strafford, Catherine, and Sister Ursula. Father Bob was to be co-opted.

Michael looked at his notes.
Squirrels etc.
His heart sank and he was half tempted to leave this item over. He spoke up quickly. ‘The next thing, and I think we can't put off discussing it any longer, is this question about shooting squirrels and pigeons.'

Everyone looked glum and avoided each other's eyes. This problem had arisen early and was still unsolved. Soon after arriving at Imber, James Tayper Pace had produced his shotgun and made regular sorties to shoot pigeons, crows, and squirrels in the vicinity. He regarded this both as a normal country pursuit and as a proper part of any farmer's duty; and it could not be denied that the pigeons especially were a menace to the crops. Encouraged by his example, Patchway also took to prowling the estate with a gun and proved singularly adept at slaughtering hares, some of which, it was suspected, went to adorn tables in the village. When Nick Fawley arrived, bringing a .22 rifle with him, he joined in the game, this being indeed the only service which he appeared to perform with any enthusiasm for the community.

Michael, who had had his first unpleasant shock on seeing James armed with a gun, had at last felt that the practice must be put an end to. Again, he felt surprisingly distressed and not able to put his arguments very clearly. It seemed to him improper that a community of this sort should kill animals. Three of its members, Catherine and the Straffords, were vegetarians on religious grounds, and it seemed, to say the least, in bad taste to confront them continually with the spectacle of slaughtered creatures. Michael knew that Catherine especially was thoroughly upset about it, and he found her once in tears over a dead squirrel. She had in any case an extreme horror of firearms. As time went on Michael began to feel far from democratic, and had at last forbidden gunfire upon the estate pending a full discussion. He realized that he was open to a charge of inconsistency. He advocated mechanization because it was natural in that it increased efficiency, but he opposed shooting as improper, although it too increased efficiency. But in this case he was even more sure of being in the right.

James said, ‘My view is this. We can't afford to be sentimental. Animals that do serious damage ought to be shot. What we shoot and when and how might need discussing. But after all, as Michael observed a little while ago, we're seriously in business as market-gardeners. ' This was as near as James ever came to making a sharp point. He gave Michael a gentle deprecating look as he spoke, to soften the sharpness.

Patchway said, ‘A wood pigeon eats its own weight every day.'

Peter Topglass said, ‘I think the question is not one of efficiency. We're agreed about that. The fact is that the shooting gives grave offence to some among us.'

Mark Strafford, turning round, said, ‘If it's the feelings of the animals that are to be considered one might point out that much more distress is caused to a bird by trapping it and ringing it than by shooting it.' This was a piece of gratuitous polemic, since Strafford was in fact against the shooting too.

Michael, now thoroughly annoyed, said ‘It's the feelings of the human beings we want to consider.'

‘I don't see why one side should monopolize the appeal to feeling, ' said Mark. ‘James and I had very strong feelings about your cultivator.'

There was a disapproving silence. James said ‘Come, come,' to dissociate himself from the remark.

Michael was now too angry to trust himself to continue. He said ‘Perhaps after all we had better postpone this question again. James has given us his view. Mine is that since a number of people here believe on religious grounds that animal life should be respected we ought, since we profess to be a religious community, to allow this view to prevail, as against a mere consideration of efficiency, even if certain other members don't hold it. I might add that I also hold the view that members of the community ought not to possess firearms at all, and if I had my way I'd confiscate the lot!'

‘Hear, hear!' said Catherine in a clear voice, speaking for the first time.

After a silence during which Michael had time to appreciate Catherine's contribution and to regret his use of the word ‘confiscate', James said ‘Well, well, you may even be right. I for one would like to think the matter over again. Perhaps we could discuss it in a week or two. And meanwhile no shooting.'

‘Any other business?' said Michael. He felt tired now and not pleased with himself. He had been catching the eye of young Toby during the last outburst. He wondered what the boy was thinking of them all. How unwise of James to want outsiders at these meetings.

‘I would like to remind everybody about the Bach record recital on Friday evening,' said Margaret Strafford. ‘I did put up a notice, but I'm afraid people don't always remember to look at the board.'

With various other trivial admonitions the Meeting broke up. James came up to Michael and began to say placatory things. He was obviously regretting his little piece of controversy. Michael felt emotionally exhausted. He patted James on the shoulder, doing his best to reassure him. He could see from the corner of his eye Peter Topglass lying in wait for him. Peter would certainly have been upset by Mark Strafford's attack on his bird-ringing. He was sensitive to this particular charge. Michael, wishing to be alone, excused himself from James, had a word with Peter, and walked out onto the balcony.

The good weather was holding. How very large and peaceful the scene was outside. Michael rested his eyes upon it with relief. The sky was a steady blue, washing paler towards the horizon, and a line of small rotund clouds was stretched above the trees which secluded the Abbey from view. The lake was a brilliant yet gentle colour of which it was hard to say whether it was a light blue or an extremely luminous grey. A slight warm breeze took the edge off the heat. To the left along the drive Paul and Dora Greenfield could be seen returning from their walk, Dora's red dress conspicuous and bright against the grass. They waved. Margaret Strafford, who had been standing down on the gravel with her husband, turned away to go and meet them. Mark Strafford, without looking up, walked slowly the other way towards the estate office. Then suddenly from behind Michael young Toby erupted from the common-room and went past him and down the two flights of steps in three leaps. He set off straight ahead at a run towards the ferry and then slowed to a quick loping walk. He was probably too shy to dally.

Michael walked down the steps. He wanted to avoid the Greenfields who had now stopped and were talking to Mrs Strafford. He began to follow Toby along the path to the ferry. The boy skipped along with an irregular gait, sometimes taking a long jump, his arms swinging wildly. He was wearing his dark grey flannels and an open-necked shirt. His shirt sleeves, escaping from their tight roll, flopped gaily about his wrists. He seemed to Michael a graceful thoughtless animal, without self-knowledge, without sin. Michael quickened his step a little, hoping to come up with Toby before he reached the ferry; but the boy had a long start and had already jumped into the boat and punted violently off before Michael had covered half the distance to the lake. Michael slowed down to a more meditative step, not wishing Toby to think he was anxious to speak with him, for in fact he was not, and had followed the boy half instinctively. Toby, turned now to face the house, waggling the oar vigorously at the back to propel the boat, waved to Michael. Michael waved back and came down to stand on the little wooden landing-stage. The trailing painter of the ferry-boat moved gently in the water at Michael's feet, drooping from its iron ring. The boat itself came abruptly to land on the other side and Toby leapt out; his departing kick sent the boat bobbing away upon the ripples. Michael lifted the painter and began idly to pull it towards him.