Summary

Pages 72 through 76 – Mama Nadi, Mr. Harari, and Sophie listen as a drunken, frightened Christian tells them about a battle between the rebels and the soldiers. He describes how one young boy hacked off the head of a soldier and shouted about how strong, proud, and free he is. Christian also talks about the evils and monstrousness of Osembenga; of how Osembenga and other authorities are lying every time they say something about a battle, a medicine, a book, a law that will make life better. Mama Nadi shuts him up, telling him that everyone – soldier, rebel, traveler – is welcome in her bar: that’s the only way, she says, she can keep it going. When Christian tells her that one day trouble will be at her door, she says that that’s the day she will close her door and leave.

Pages 76 through...