Chike and the River

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.