Stranger in his Homeland

Chapter Twelve

85 Chapter Twelve W ith Anuse’s departure from the scene, chaos set in and made it impossible for anybody who respected himself to linger there much longer. It began with the scramble over beer. It was true that they had contributed their money wholeheartedly to come and welcome Antony. It was true also that everybody had felt disgraced by what Antony had said. But it was even more true that no matter the circumstances under which the party had broken up, if they missed their drinks that night, they would never get any refund from Anuse. Therefore, they thought it wise to take advantage of Anuse’s anger and get their money’s worth before he came back to give new orders. It did not start riotously. A few people walked up to the table, took a bottle of beer each and then returned to their seats with glasses. Others followed suit. Soon there were not enough glasses. Those who had been drinking out of the glasses saw that they were being cheated by those who drank directly from the bottle. They rose to acquire themselves extra bottles. It was at this point that it turned into a pell-mell. Some now found it safer to carry their beer home and drink there. Whole cartons were lifted and taken away by those who had the strength. Fights broke out over the struggles, bottles were broken and people wounded. Beckongncho lay back watching in dazed silence and pity. He wondered why Antony had not discussed what he was to say with them. In the midst of all this, Antony remained in his seat, shocked, angry but not ashamed. He had never in his life thought of Anuse as anything other than his own father, although he was only an uncle, and although they disagreed on so many points. The rest of the group who had attended the party might have found something wrong with what he said. He could argue, although he would not easily convince anybody that he had not offended them. But for Anuse to rise in front of the whole tribe and say that of him, he found that far worse than all the insults that the people 86 Linus T. Asong kept throwing at him from the crowd. It even occurred to him that Anuse must have grown jealous of his achievement, and of the fact that it was not his own child who had achieved all that. Otherwise, why bring his parentage into the incident? While he sat wondering with his head bowed, he caught sight of a tallish figure moving up to him. Antony’s sight was not the best in the world, which was why he wore spectacles. Although much work had been done to light up the entire compound a man who had eye problems would have to strain his eyes to recognise anybody coming towards him from the lights. In addition to the darkness, Antony was angry, which impaired his vision all the more. The man was just as tall as Antony himself, and was wearing a much rumpled black coat over a bluish shirt whose sleeves wee so long that they extended a good distance beyond the hands of the coat, covering his hands to just before his thumb-nails. The old man’s name was Pa Godsabi, an old commercial rival and an enemy of Anuse’s. He had a daughter who was a friend to Angela. His daughter was the only person to whom Angela had told the story of how Antony had told her off. She had communicated the information to her father so that he could see if Antony could be introduced into their own family. If that work, it might be possible for her to win Antony’s heart. The man had not been invited to the party, but he had come all the same, hoping that he would find an opportunity, he saw his chance. At first, Antony was not anxious to look at him because he assumed that he was one of the natives coming to reprimand him. “Let me say my own good evening,” the man said. Antony looked up at him from his sitting position. The face was mildly familiar. His hair was parted in the middle in the bogy-bogy fashion as it was usually described. He must have been in his late sixties. His forehead was heavily lined with age, but his eyes were sharp and wide. He wore...