Chike and the River

kinds of evil men and spirits chasing him and screaming in his ears.

Then in the middle of the night he woke up suddenly. Three men were talking very close to him. His body froze with fear. The men were actually leaning on the lorry. Chike could hear their bodies rubbing against the wood. They spoke in low voices, sometimes in Ibo and sometimes in pidgin English. Chike could hear every word they said.

“He is expecting us when the church bell rings three o’clock,” said one of them.

“Are you quite sure that he is trustworthy?” asked a second man.

“Yes,” said the first man. “I trust him.”

“You know that some of them can make arrangements with you and then go and tell the police,” said the second man again. “We must be quite sure that he is trustworthy.”

“Oga, if we no sure,” said a third voice in pidgin, “make we no go at all. I no de for police wahala.”

“You people too fear,” said the first man. “Small thing you begin de shake like woman. Na only when time come for chop money person go know say you get power.”

“Oga, no be say we de fear,” said the second man, “but Oyibo people say prevention is better than cure.”

“To get rich no easy; na for inside rock money build im house. If fight come we go fight. Dis revolver way I hol for hand no be for yeye?” said the man they called Oga.

Chike was now afraid even to breathe. He knew that if he made the slightest noise they would shoot him so he kept as quiet as a mouse.

As the men talked and made plans the church bell struck three. “Oya, make we go,” said the first man, “by God power everything go all right.”

Chike was happy when he heard “make we go.” But his happiness vanished when he heard someone climbing into the back of the lorry. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. Sweat covered his body and his throat was dry. He shut his eyes tight and waited for the worst.

The engine of the lorry started and it began to move. Chike opened his eyes a little but it was too dark to see. He closed them again. His body was now trembling.

The strange man at the back of the lorry with him began to cough and mutter something to himself. Because of his terror Chike did not know how long they had been traveling. But he knew when the lorry slowed down. Then it took a turning and went very slowly for a while before it stopped finally.

17 What the Thieves Did

When the lorry stopped the man at the back climbed out. Chike opened his eyes but it was pitch dark. The three men were now talking in whispers. Then the driver reversed the lorry.

For a while there was silence. Chike prayed that the men would move away for even one minute so that he could get down and hide. But they did not move. Instead a fourth man came and joined them. From what they said Chike understood that this fourth person was the night-watchman.

The first man, who seemed to be the leader of the thieves, spoke to the night-watchman.

“You see this gun way I carry,” he said, “I no carry am for play. If you start any turn-turn game na we and you go die.”

“Why I go play you turn-turn game?” asked the watchman. “You tink money de bitter for my mout? Or you tink na dis watch-night work I go take send my pickin for college?”

“Oya, come show us the door,” said the leader. Then he told the driver, whose name was Ignatius, to move out the benches from the back of the lorry. Chike was half-dead. He heard the man let down the tail-gate. But he did not come in. Instead he returned to the front of the lorry to get a flashlight. In the twinkling of an eye Chike slipped out and began to walk away. He had no idea where he was going. It was too dark to see. But he continued walking as quietly as a cat. Unfortunately his foot kicked against a tin and made a noise.

The driver shouted, “Who dat?”

Chike turned sharply to his left and ran. His eyes were now used to the darkness and he could see vaguely. He saw something like a door and walked in.

“I say who dat?” shouted the driver again and shined a flashlight.

There was very little room where Chike had entered. He felt about with his hands and found that the thing was like a big box with an open door. He wanted to get out again and run. But the other men had joined the driver. He was telling them that while he was looking for his flashlight he heard a man’s footsteps.

Chike shut his eyes and bit his lips. The men were looking for him. The night-watchman told them that no man would be walking around there at that hour. He said perhaps it was the cat which lived in one of the old houses. This reassured them and they all went away again. Chike’s heart continued to pound like a pestle in a mortar.

Later he heard the men loading things into the lorry. It took them a very long time. But in the end the engine started and the lorry moved away. Chike heaved a great sigh of relief. He felt like singing. Then he remembered the night-watchman; he must be somewhere quite near. Chike’s happiness vanished again. He prayed to God to send daylight and save him. As if in answer to his prayer a cock crowed somewhere in the distance. Another answered from the opposite direction.

But Chike did not know when dawn came. He was so tired that he had fallen asleep, standing.

18 How It All Ended

For the second time Chike was awakened by the voices of people. He opened his eyes in terror. To his great joy it was daylight. He came out of the huge box and peeped in the direction of the voices. They were loud and friendly. So he went toward the crowd. He was amazed by what he saw. A man was tied to a mango tree. His hands were tied behind him and his mouth was covered with a black cloth. He could neither move nor speak.

The crowd was very excited. Someone tried to untie the man but the others said it was best to wait for the police. Chike was thinking very hard. But he could not understand what was happening. His mind was confused and tired.

At last two policemen arrived and the man was untied. He fell down to the ground and Chike thought he was dead. Someone brought cold water and they poured it on him. This seemed to help because he raised himself and sat down.

It took him a long time to recover fully and to tell his story. All the time Chike was thinking as hard as he could. Everybody waited to hear the story of the man who had just been untied.

When he had rested he drank some water. Then he told his story. He said he was watching the big shop when a band of armed robbers attacked him and overpowered him. They tied him to the tree and then broke into the shop. He said they were about eight in number and that they came in a new lorry.

The policemen were about to go and look at the shop when a small boy suddenly shouted from the crowd.

“The man is telling lies,” cried the boy. “I saw them.”

All eyes were turned on the small boy. It was Chike.

“What is he talking about?” asked some people.

“I saw the thieves,” said Chike. “This man helped them. I heard him talking with them.”

Perhaps some people would have ignored Chike if the watchman had not then behaved violently. As soon as he heard what Chike said he rushed forward and seized him by the throat. But one of the policemen saved Chike and pushed the man aside. The crowd was now angry with him for his violence.

“Do you want to kill the boy?” asked some of them. “It seems the boy has spoken the truth,” said the others.

The policemen asked Chike what he meant. He was so excited that he could not tell the story well. But he told enough to convince everyone that he spoke the truth. He told them that the lorry was called S.M.O.G. no. 1 and that its driver was called Ignatius. Then he showed them where he had hidden after his escape from the lorry. It was a sentry-box in a nearby garage.

As Chike told his story the night-watchman began to shake. He covered his face with his hands to hide his