Synopsis : A dense fog covers Edgestow as well as the ugly works of the N.I.C.E. there. As the N.I.C.E. begins it's diversion of the Wynd river, they demand that Bracton College sell them the land right up to the college walls. Busby and the Progressive Element are blamed for this. None of the commotions around town are reported in the newspapers. A plethora of foreign work men have made Edgestow overcrowded to the discomfort of it's residents. This turmoil extends into Jane's dreams. She has a disturbing dream/vision in which she is the one being watched. Mark begins his research on the "rehabilitation" of Alcasan with the help of Miss Hardcastle's second in command. The funeral for William Hingest is interrupted by the loutish workers in the fog just outside the college chapel. Curry and the Bursar feel insulted, but the junior fellows under Lord Feverstone's influence take it as a joke.
So much happens in part 2 of this chapter that it could have been made into three subchapters. The one theme common to all of part 2 is turmoil. Edgestow is under siege by an army of barbaric workers. Mark runs roughshod over the truth as he puts his spin on Alcasan. And the last rites for Hingest the skeptic are interupted by the curses of the same N.I.C.E. laborers.
The smug inner circle of Bracton's Progressive Element shrinks as Busby and the Warden get the blame for inviting the N.I.C.E. into town. What they thought would be the chance of a life time has proven to be the destruction of Edgestow.