In this short scene, Proteus explains that he and the others have made up their minds about what to do. They've decided that they don't want to force him into the fight, and that he can leave if he wants to. He tells them that he didn't tell them about the fight because he wanted to stay strong and take care of himself. Now that he's in the situation, he realizes that they're cowards. He offers to come to the meeting place tonight and write a letter to espresso telling him to come. He also tells him that if the fight gets rough, he'll intervene and make sure everyone's cool. He explains that his letter is the signal for the meeting and that if things get rough, pierre will intervene. He says that he was underestimating the strength of the attackers. He hears them accusing each other, and in a split second, the fight is over. .