Chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12 Summary

Josephine and her friends are anxious to get to the Akpei market because they have many plantains to sell and hope to make a good profit. Josephine has plans to buy new fabric for an outfit for the day of the wrestling match and hopes that she will have a successful day. As the day wears on, no one purchases any plantains from Josephine and her friends, and they begin to suspect that they are being ignored on purpose. Finally, toward the end of the afternoon, an old woman approaches the girls and tells them that they should give their plantains to poor people because no one in Akpei will buy from them. The rumors and the ill will propagated by the upcoming wrestling match between the boys of Akpei and Okei and his friends has prompted the Akpei villagers to...