The townspeople have become morose and quiet. Although the day-to-day business of the town is taking place, the people now have the war on their minds.

Annie and Joseph bicker with each other as they struggle to move a large table into the Mayor’s drawing room. After throwing the hot water on the soldiers, Annie became a bit of a celebrity in the town. This has encouraged her to employ her angry disposition more often.

Annie and Joseph engage in a discussion about the invaders. They say that it is wrong for them to be here and that it would be wrong for them to sentence Alex Morden (the miner who killed Captain Bentick) to death. Joseph quietly tells Annie that two men from the town have escaped. He also tells her that he believes Corell will not live much longer.

Mayor Orden and Doctor Winter come into the room. They discuss the fact that the invaders were putting Alex Morden on trial. When the Mayor wonders why they are bothering with the trial, Doctor Winter says, “The invaders will have a trial and hope to convince the people that there is justice involved.”

The door opens and an attractive young woman enters. It is Alex Morden’s wife, Molly Morden. Molly tells Mayor Orden that she has heard that he would be the one to sentence her husband to death. The Mayor says, “How could the people know what I don’t know?”

Doctor Winter replies, "That is a great mystery. That is a mystery that has disturbed rulers all over the world—how the people know . . . how the truth of things fights free of control. It is a great mystery."

Molly asks the Mayor if he will be the one to sentence her husband, and the Mayor says, “I’ll not sentence him.”

When Molly leaves, the Mayor’s wife comes in the room, complaining about how many people are in the house. The Mayor tells her to go the Morden’s house and stay with Molly for as long as she needs her.

Colonel Lanser comes in and asks to see the Mayor alone. When Doctor Winter leaves, Colonel Lanser and the Mayor discuss the fact that Alex Morden will stand trial for the murder of Captain Bentick. When Mayor Orden asks Colonel Lanser why they didn’t just shoot Morden without bothering with a trial, Colonel Lanser replies, "You know as well as I that punishment is largely for the purpose of deterring the potential criminal. Thus, since punishment is for others than the punished, it must be publicized. It must even be dramatized."

Colonel Lanser explains that he has orders to “get the coal” and that he must take whatever measures are necessary to insure that objective, including shooting people who do not cooperate. For this reason, Colonel Lanser says that it would be best if the “punishment emanate[d] from the local authority.”

Mayor Orden refuses to be the one to sentence Morden. Then he sits down “and suddenly he seemed to be the judge, with Lanser the culprit.” The Mayor says, "You and your government do not understand. In all the world yours is the only government and people with a record of defeat after defeat for centuries and every time because you did not understand people."

Colonel Lanser tells Mayor Orden that although he likes and respects him and might agree with him about these issues, his own orders had to be followed. He admits that the military often repeats its mistakes and that he needs the Mayor’s cooperation to prevent further bloodshed. Once again, Mayor Orden refuses. Colonel Lanser replies, “I suppose I knew. Corell will have to be Mayor after all.”

At the end of the conversation, Mayor Orden tells Colonel Lanser that, with this invasion and occupation, he is trying to do something that is impossible to do. When Colonel Lanser asks what that is, the Mayor says, "To break a man’s spirit permanently."