It is nighttime in the Sierra Nevada, the Spanish mountain range. One man stands guard while a group of about a dozen men, “a selected band of tramps and ablebodied paupers” (140) are lounging around a campfire. In a lengthy description of the scene, Shaw explains that many men wind up in bands like this not because they have no skills, but because “they are strong-minded enough to disregard the social convention” (140) of enslaving themselves with work. Shaw suggests that his readers “contemplate the tramps of the Sierra without prejudice” (142) as many share similar goals—“briefly, to be gentlemen of fortune” (142)—but are simply not in the same position or using the same methods. Although a couple of the men are perhaps too dangerous to be free. Most of the men are young, and they are a mix of Englishmen and Frenchmen.

The men are a band of thieves, and their primary objective is to rob passing motorists. As they wait for a new target, the chief of the group, Mendoza, addresses the men, continuing an ongoing discussion on “the principles of Anarchism and Social-Democracy” (144). In the debate, Mendoza refers to their practice as “hold[ing] up motor cars and secur[ing] a more equitable distribution of wealth” (146).