Among the company was a lawyer, a young man of about twentyfive. On being askedhis opinion, he said, “Capital punishment and life imprisonment are equallyimmoral. If I were to make a choice between them, I would rather choose the latter.Anyway, it’s better to live than not to live at all.〞A lively discussion followed. A banker, who was then younger and more nervous thanthe lawyer, suddenly lost his temper and cried out, “It’s a lie. I bet you twomillions. You wouldn’t stick in a cell even for five years.〞“If you mean it,〞 replied the young lawyer, “I bet I’ll stay there longer;make it fif instead of five.〞“Fif! Done !〞 cried the banker. “Gentleman, I bet you two millions.〞“Agreed. Two millions for my ,〞 said the lawyer.So this wild, ridiculous bet came to pass. The banker could not hide hicitement. During supper he said to the lawyer jokingly, “Come to your senses,young man, before it’s too late. Two millions are nothing to me, but you stand tolose three or four of the best years of your life. I say three or four becauseyou’ll never stick it out any longer. Don’t forget that voluntary imprisonment ismuch harder to put up with than an enforced one. The idea that you have the right tofree yourself any moment will poison your life in the cell. I pity you.〞And now the banker, pacing from corner to corner, recalled all this and askedhimself, “Why did I make this bet What’s the good The lawyer lost fif yearsof his life and I threw away two millions. Will it convince people that capitalpunishment is worse or better than imprisonment for life No, no! Rubbish! On mypart, it was the caprice (心血来潮) of a wellfed millionaire; on the lawyer’s part,it’s the pure greed of gold.〞
The word ‘company’ in the first paragraph refers to______.