Chapter Two: Fire on the Mountain

By the sound of the conch shell, Ralph gathers all of the children for another assembly. In this assembly, Ralph establishes that there are no adults on the island and that there must be rules that every child must abide by, such as needing to hold the conch before speaking. Another topic mentioned within this assembly is the need for hunters, as mentioned by Jack, to search and kill pigs for meat. Thirdly, within this assembly, a small child with a mulberry-colored mark on his face claims to the group that he saw a snake-like beastie. Lastly, Piggy notifies the group that they may be stuck on the island for a while and this prompts Ralph to propose that the group build a large signal fire on top of the island’s central mountain, so that any passing ships might see the fire and know that someone is trapped on the island. This, in turn without permission, adjourns the meeting with the children in search of firewood. As the firewood is placed on the mountain, the boys take Piggy's glasses to make a fire that soon withers away; however, on the second attempt to create the fire the boys set a swath of trees ablaze. This starts a huge fire that consumes a part of the island, and soon afterward the child with the mulberry-colored birthmark becomes missing.