The lantern comes up to full brightness and the second half, subtitled "The Cry of the Beast", opens in the lighthouse. Arthur (bass) is leading grace and Blazes (baritone) is complaining of the food and the overdue relief crew, while Sandy (tenor) tries to keep peace between the two. He proposes a game of crib, and the sanctimonious Arthur leaves to light the lantern, issuing dire predictions as the offstage Voice of the Cards. He returns just as a fight breaks out over a card palmed by Blazes. Sandy proposes they pass the time with songs "lest we end up like beasts in a cage, eating each other". Blazes agrees: "...then we shall see who is king, who devil, and who the fool amongst us." He sings first, with "When I was a kid our street had a gang". Accompanied by 'bones, fiddle, and banjo, it relates a murder committed by Blazes, for which his father was arrested and hanged.