5) The Face  of the Tiger

The community takes in another wandering stranger, named Alistair  McFadden. He is asked to stay in the new quarantine quarters,  until Ruth learns that he had no contact with anyone since the  death, and lets him out immediately.

He is an ex-librarian, and has a knowledge of herbal cures,  so he is given the job of collecting herbs and advising/supplying  Ruth on natural remedies.

There is still a lot of tension within the community. Jenny  resents the fact that she has been given the unpleasant job of  making soap, and has a running argument about this with Ruth,  who has been obsessed with cleanliness since she returned from  the London adventure. The shepherd, Hubert, is also unhappy,  as the roof of his shepherds hut is leaking, and Jack the carpenter  is too busy to fix it. No one in the communal houses will take  him in as he smells!

McFadden is given a room in the White House, a communal house  with Arthur as its 'warden'. Hubert sees this as preferential  treatment to the newcomer, who in his eyes also has a cushy job.  McFadden feels uneasy and inadequate about this situation, so  when he comes across the other men building a stockade for the  sheep while out on his wanderings, he takes off his jacket and  attempts to lend a hand. They refuse his offers of help however.  When he picks up his jacket again, he finds something is missing  from the pocket.

Hubert had taken his chance to go through McFadden's pockets,  and has found something of great interest. It is a newspaper  cutting. He takes it to Charles in the hope that either McFadden  will be asked to leave, or that he can wangle a room in return  for his silence. McFadden also comes to Charles to complain about  the theft however, so the story comes out into the open anyway.

They gather to hear McFadden's story. He had been in a prison/hospital  when the death struck, and after recovering himself had led a  secluded existence in a cottage he had found. He had been in  prison for murdering a child - it was this that the press cutting  referred to. He had killed the child in a fit of anger, because  she had been frightened of him, and he couldn't understand why.

He believes that the months he spent alone after the death  have helped him to come to terms with the crime, and his illness,  and that he is now cured. He wants to be with people again.

They decide to let him stay, and Ruth believes that he is  cured and represents no danger. Hubert is angry at this, and  Greg threatens him not to spread rumours around the community  before everyone has had a chance to hear the official story.

However, Hubert decides to spread a little poison anyway.  He tells young John to beware of McFadden, and to run away if  he ever talks to him.

Later on, John is playing in the woods, when McFadden spots  him. He playfully leaps out from behind a tree, meaning no harm.  John looks up at McFadden with terror on his face, and runs away.  McFadden looks very confused, and makes his way after John...

Arthur comes across McFadden back in the White House. He is  packing to leave. He has decided he wants to live alone again  - he'd hoped that the death would have changed people to be more  helpful to one another, but all he has found is bickering and  jealousy.

Lizzie is worried when she can't find John. She reports back  to the adults. When Arthur arrives, announcing McFadden's departure,  they draw the obvious conclusion.

They go after McFadden and bring him back to the settlement.  He tells them the story of what had happened, admits he couldn't  understand why John was so frightened, but claims he didn't touch  the boy. John is still missing as night falls.

McFadden is kept in the kitchen of Charles house, with a person  watching over him 'for his own safety' - he is used to this situation.  Greg and Ruth discuss what should happen. Ruth (having not been  involved in the Barney affair) thinks their only course of action  is to let McFadden go, as whether he is guilty or not, they have  no facilities to keep prisoners. Greg agrees - he doesn't want  to go through another murder trial. He decides to let McFadden  go at first light, without telling anyone else.

They leave at dawn, Greg promising to see McFadden safely  away from the area. As they pass the quarantine quarters, they  see John standing in the doorway. His flight the previous day  had taken him out of the settlement, so when he returned he had  assumed he had to go into quarantine, and had gone straight there!

McFadden still decides to leave. Charles is annoyed that Greg  didn't consult him about letting him go.