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Jonathan soon transferred the money to his left hand and pocket so as to leave his right free for shaking hands should the need arise, though by fixing his gaze at such an elevation as to miss all approaching human faces he made sure that the need did not arise, until he got home.
He was normally a heavy sleeper but that night he heard all the neighbourhood noises die down one after another. Even the night watchman who knocked the hour on some metal somewhere in the distance had fallen silent after knocking one o’clock. That must have been the last thought in Jonathan’s mind before he was finally carried away himself. He couldn’t have been gone for long, though, when he was violently awakened again.
“Who is knocking?” whispered his wife lying beside him on the floor.
“I don’t know,” he whispered back breathlessly.
The second time the knocking came it was so loud and imperious that the rickety old door could have fallen down.
“Who is knocking?” he asked then, his voice parched and trembling.
“Na tief-man and him people,” came the cool reply. “Make you hopen de door.” This was followed by the heaviest knocking of all.
Maria was the first to raise the alarm, then he followed and all their children.
“Police-o! Thieves-o! Neighbours-o! Police-o! We are lost! We are dead! Neighbours, are you asleep? Wake up! Police-o!”
This went on for a long time and then stopped suddenly. Perhaps they had scared the thief away. There was total silence. But only for a short while.
“You done finish?” asked the voice outside. “Make we help you small. Oya, everybody!”
“Police-o! Tief-man-o! Neighbours-o! we done loss-o! Police-o!…”
There were at least five other voices besides the leader’s.
Jonathan and his family were now completely paralysed by terror. Maria and the children sobbed inaudibly like lost souls. Jonathan groaned continuously.
The silence that followed the thieves’ alarm vibrated horribly. Jonathan all but begged their leader to speak again and be done with it.
“My frien,” said he at long last, “we don try our best for call dem but I tink say dem all done sleep-o … So wetin we go do now? Sometaim you wan call soja? Or you wan make we call dem for you? Soja better pass police. No be so?”
“Na so!” replied his men. Jonathan thought he heard even more voices now than before and groaned heavily. His legs were sagging under him and his throat felt like sandpaper.
“My frien, why you no de talk again. I de ask you say you wan make we call soja?”
“No.”
“Awrighto. Now make we talk business. We no be bad tief. We no like for make trouble. Trouble done finish. War done finish and all the katakata wey de for inside. No Civil War again. This time na Civil Peace. No be so?”
“Na so!” answered the horrible chorus.
“What do you want from me? I am a poor man. Everything I had went with this war. Why do you come to me? You know people who have money. We …”
“Awright! We know say you no get plenty money. But we sef no get even anini. So derefore make you open dis window and give us one hundred pound and we go commot. Orderwise we de come for inside now to show you guitar-boy like dis …”
A volley of automatic fire rang through the sky. Maria and the children began to weep aloud again.
“Ah, missisi de cry again. No need for dat. We done talk say we na good tief. We just take our small money and go nwayorly. No molest. Abi we de molest?”
“At all!” sang the chorus.
“My friends,” began Jonathan hoarsely. “I hear what you say and I thank you. If I had one hundred pounds …”
“Lookia my frien, no be play we come play for your house. If we make mistake and step for inside you no go like am-o. So derefore …”
“To God who made me; if you come inside and find one hundred pounds, take it and shoot me and shoot my wife and children. I swear to God. The only money I have in this life is this twenty poun
ds egg-rasher they gave me today …”
