Thinking about his friend, the Abbot began to remember that Kwaen had of late been very strange in his speech and opinions. Sometime he talked like like articles from certain papers and periodicals from Bangkok. One day he would come to the Abbot's cell to sit there gnashing his teeth in deep thought. On another day he would come to talk to the Abbot, expressing such strange thoughts and theories as to throw the Abbot into utter confusion. On his last visit to the monastery, he walked out of the Abbot’s living quarter muttering:
“Comrades! As long there is breath in our body, as long as there is sweat and labour, the land will belong to us one day. I am speaking the truth, Comrades! When the shadows of small people like us show longer on the ground, the sun must indeed be setting. We shall not give up! We must be hopful.”
After that he left without waiting to hear the Abbot’s remark, made with concern:
“What’s the mallet with you to-day, Kwaen? You seemed all right a few minutes ago, but now you’re talking like a drunk.”
Thinking about these things made the Abbot somewhat apprehensive. He was not sure whether these new symptoms of Kwaen’s were the same as those of Communism, of which he knew very little. Loudly, he spoke to the Kamnan:
“Eh! I’m not so sure about it, Kamnan. To condemn him without certainty would be a sin on our part. He seems to be well-behaved. I have not heard of him him committing any sins.”
“of course not,” replied the Kamnan, “That is, not in the way you mean, sir. But I have noticed lately that Kwaen and his men are getting more difficult than usual. They begin to question my authority and often put up an opposition to my plans for the village. Sometimes the refuse to obey my orders. Kwaen now holds a meeting of his friends every night at his house. I really don’t know what they talk about.”