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“I gave the President my word that nobody would be killed, and I kept it, ” Bermú dez said. “Here are the police records of fifteen of the ones arrested. We’ll clean up San Marcos and classes can start again. Aren’t you satisfied, Uplander? ”

“Not sorry because he’d been in jail, you understand, son, ” Ambrosio says. “But because he looked like a beggar. No shoes, toenails this long, scabs on his arms and his face which weren’t scabs but filth. I’m telling you the truth. ”

“You acted as if I didn’t exist, ” Colonel Espina said. “Why didn’t you consult me? ”

Don Melquí ades was coming along the corridor escorted by two guards and followed by a tall man who was carrying a straw hat which fluttered in the white-hot wind, the brim and the crown wavering as if they were made of tissue paper, and wearing a white suit and a blue tie and a shirt that was even whiter. They had stopped and Don Melquí ades was talking to the stranger and pointing out something in the courtyard to him.

“Because there was risk, ” Bermú dez said. “They might have been armed, they might have started shooting. I didn’t want the blood to be on your head, Uplander. ”

He wasn’t a lawyer, no shyster would ever have been so well-dressed, and he wasn’t from the authorities either, because did they give them noodle soup today, did they have them sweep out the cells and latrines the way they always did when there was an inspection? But if he wasn’t a lawyer or an official, who was he?

“It could have hurt your political future and I explained that to the President, ” Bermú dez said. “I’ll make the decision, I’ll assume the responsibility. If there are any consequences, I’ll resign and the Uplander will come out clean. ”

He stopped gnawing on the small polished bone that he held in his big hands, remained stiff, lowered his head a bit, his startled eyes looking at the veranda: Don Melquí ades was still signaling, still pointing at him.

“But things turned out all right and now the credit is yours, ” Colonel Espina said. “The President’s going to think that the man I recommended has more balls than I do. ”

“Hey, you, Trifulcio! ” Don Melquí ades shouted. “Can’t you see I’m calling you? What are you waiting for? ”

“The President knows I owe this job to you, ” Bermú dez said. “He knows that all you have to do is frown and I’ll say thanks for everything and go back to selling tractors again. ”

“Hey, you! ” the guards shouted, waving their arms. “Hey, you! ”

“Three switchblades and a few Molotov cocktails, there wasn’t any reason to get upset, ” Bermú dez said. “I’ve added some revolvers and a few more knives and brass knuckles for the newspapers. ”

He got up, ran, crossed the courtyard, raising a cloud of dust, stopped a few feet from Don Melquí ades. The others had put their heads forward and looked and remained silent. The ones walking had stopped moving, those who were sleeping were squatting and observing and the sun was like liquid.

“Did you call in the press too? ” Colonel Espina asked. “Don’t you know that the Minister signs communiqué s, that the Minister holds press conferences? ”

“Come on, Trifulcio, lift up that barrel, Don Emilio Aré valo wants to see you do it, ” Don Melquí ades said. “Don’t make me look bad, I said that you could. ”

“I called them so you could talk to them, ” Bermú dez said. “Here’s the report in detail, the files, the weapons for the photographers. I called them with you in mind, Uplander. ”

“I haven’t done nothing, sir. ” Trifulcio blinked and shouted and waited and shouted again. “Nothing. My word of honor, Don Melquí ades. ”

“All right, let’s drop it, ” Colonel Espina said. “But remember that I wanted to clean up the San Marcos business after the problem of the unions had been settled. ”

Black, cylindrical, the barrel was at the foot of the veranda, beneath Don Melquí ades, the guards and the stranger in white. Indifferent or interested or relieved, the others looked at the barrel and Trifulcio or exchanged mocking glances.

“The San Marcos business hasn’t been cleaned up and it’s time now to clean it up, ” Bermú dez said. “The twenty-six we have are shock troops, but most of the leaders are still on the loose and we have to grab them now. ”

“Stop playing the fool and pick up that barrel, ” Don Melquí ades said. “I know you haven’t done anything. Go ahead, pick it up so that Mr. Aré valo can see you. ”

“The unions are more important than San Marcos, they’re the ones we have to clean up, ” Colonel Espina said. “They haven’t said a word yet, but APRA is strong among the workers and one little spark could set off an explosion. ”

“If I shat in my cell it’s because I was sick, ” Trifulcio said. “I couldn’t hold it in, Don Melquí ades. My word of honor. ”

“We’ll do it, ” Bermú dez said. “We’ll clean up everything that needs cleaning up, Uplander. ”

The stranger began to laugh, Don Melquí ades began to laugh, laughter broke out in the yard. The stranger leaned over the railing, put his hand in his pocket and took out something shiny that he showed to Trifulcio.

“Have you read La Tribuna, the underground paper? ” Colonel Espina asked. “Terrible things against the army, against me. We have to stop that dirty little sheet from circulating. ”

“A sol, just to lift that barrel, sir? ” Trifulcio blinked and started to laugh. “Of course, why not, yes sir! ”

“Of course they talked about him in Chincha, sir, ” Ambrosio said. “That he’d raped an underage girl, stolen, killed a guy in a fight. He couldn’t have done all of those terrible things. But he must have done some of them, because why else would he have been in jail for so long? ”

“You military men are still thinking about the APRA of twenty years ago, ” Bermú dez said. “Their leaders are old and corrupt, they don’t want to get themselves killed anymore. There won’t be any explosion, there won’t be any revolution. And that little sheet will disappear, I promise you that. ”

He raised his hands to his face (wrinkled now on the eyelids and around the neck and alongside his kinky gray sideburns) and he spat on them a couple of times and rubbed them and took a step toward the barrel. He touched it, felt it, put his long legs and his domed belly and his broad chest against the hard body of the barrel and hugged it hard, lovingly, with his long arms.

“I never saw him again, but I heard him mentioned once, ” Ambrosio says. “They’d seen him in the towns of the district during the 1950 elections, campaigning for Senator Aré valo. Putting up posters, giving out handbills. For the candidacy of Don Emilio Aré valo, your papa’s friend, son. ”

“I’ve got the little list for you, Don Cayo, only three prefects and eight subprefects among those appointed by Bustamante have resigned, ” Dr. Alcibí ades said. “Twelve prefects and fifteen subprefects sent telegrams congratulating the General for having taken power. The rest silent; they probably want to be reappointed but don’t dare ask for it. ”

He closed his eyes and, as he was lifting the barrel, the veins on his neck and temples puffed up, the worn skin of his face became moist and his fat lips turned purple. Arching, he supported the weight with his whole body, and a big hand descended roughly along the side of the barrel and it was raised a little more. He took two drunken steps with his burden, looked proudly at the railing, and with a shove returned the barrel to the ground.

“The Uplander thought that they were going to resign en masse and he wanted to begin naming prefects and subprefects like crazy, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “You can see, doctor, that the Colonel doesn’t know his Peruvians. ”

“A regular bull, Melquí ades, you were right, it’s incredible at his age. ” The stranger in white tossed the coin into the air and Trifulcio caught it on the fly. “Say, how old are you? ”

“He thinks they’re all like him, men of honor, ” Dr. Alcibí ades said. “But tell me, Don Cayo, why would those prefects and subprefects remain loyal to poor old Bustamante? He’s never going to raise his head up again. ”

“I don’t know for sure. ” Trifulcio laughed, panted, dried his face. “I’ve got lots and lots of years behind me. More than you, sir. ”

“Reappoint the ones who sent telegrams of support and the silent ones too, we’ll calmly go about replacing all of them, ” Bermú dez said. “Thank the ones who resigned for services rendered and have Lozano put them on file. ”

“Here’s one of the kind you like, Hipó lito, ” Ludovico said. “He comes with a special recommendation from Mr. Lozano. ”

“Lima’s still flooded with underground fliers, ” Colonel Espina said. “What’s going on, Cayo? ”

“Where the underground Tribuna is printed and who’s printing it, one, two, three, ” Hipó lito said. “Remember, you’re one of the kind I like. ”

“These subversive sheets have got to disappear right away, ” Bermú dez said. “Do you understand, Lozano? ”

“Are you all set, black man? ” Don Melquí ades asked. “Your feet must be burning up, right, Trifulcio? ”

“You don’t know who or where? ” Ludovico asked. “Then how come you had a Tribuna in your pocket when you were picked up in Vitarte, pappy? ”

“Am I all set? ” Trifulcio laughed with anguish. “All set, Don Melquí ades? ”

“Right after I came to Lima I sent money to the old woman and would go visit her from time to time, ” Ambrosio said. “Then nothing. She died without knowing what I was doing. It’s one of the things that bother me, sir. ”

“Did they put it in your pocket without your knowing? ” Hipó lito asked. “But that was awful silly of you, pappy. And just look at the skin-tight pants you’re wearing and all that grease on your hair. You’re not even an Aprista, you don’t even know where La Tribuna is printed and who prints it? ”

“Have you forgotten that you’re getting out today? ” Don Melquí ades asked. “Or are you so used to it here now that you don’t want to leave? ”

“I found out that the old woman had died, from a person from Chincha, son, ” Ambrosio says. “When I was still working for your papa. ”

“No, sir, I didn’t forget, sir. ” Trifulcio shuffled his feet, rubbed his hands. “Absolutely not, Don Melquí ades. ”

“See? Hipó lito got mad and look what happened to you. You’d better get your memory back pretty quick, ” Ludovico said. “Remember, you’re the kind he likes. ”

“They don’t answer, they lie, they point their finger at each other, ” Lozano said. “But we’re not asleep, Don Cayo. Whole nights without shutting our eyes. We’ll get rid of those handbills, I promise you. ”

“Give me your finger. That’s it, now make an X, ” Don Melquí ades said. “All set, Trifulcio, free again. You can’t believe it, can you? ”

“This isn’t a civilized country, it’s barbarian and ignorant, ” Bermú dez said. “Stop sitting around and find out what I need to know right away. ”

“But look how skinny you are, pappy, ” Hipó lito said. “With your coat and shirt on, you wouldn’t think it, I can even count your ribs, pappy. ”

“Do you remember Mr. Aré valo, the one who gave you a sol to pick up the barrel? ” Don Melquí ades asked. “He’s an important rancher. Do you want to work for him? ”

“Who and where? One, two, three, ” Ludovico said. “Do you want us to go on like this all night? What if Hipó lito gets mad again? ”

“Of course I do, Don Melquí ades, ” Trifulcio answered with his head and his hands and his eyes. “Right now or whenever you say, sir. ”

“You’re going to get your body hurt and it kills me, ” Hipó lito said, “because I’m getting fonder and fonder of you, pappy. ”

“He needs people for his election campaign, because he’s a friend of Odrí a’s and he’s going to be a senator, ” Don Melquí ades said. “He’ll pay you well. Take advantage of this opportunity, Trifulcio. ”

“You haven’t even told us what your name is, pappy, ” Ludovico said. “Or maybe you don’t know that either, maybe you’ve forgotten it too. ”

“Go get drunk, visit your family, whore around a little, ” Don Melquí ades said. “And on Monday report to his ranch, on the way out of Ica. Just ask anybody and they’ll tell you. ”

“Have your nuts always been so small or is it because you’re scared? ” Hipó lito asked. “And I can barely see your little deal, pappy. Is that because you’re scared too? ”

“Of course I’ll remember, sir, what more could I want? ” Trifulcio said. “I can’t thank you enough for recommending me to the gentleman, sir. ”

“Leave him alone, Hipó lito, he can’t hear you, ” Ludovico said. “Let’s go to Mr. Lozano’s office. Leave him alone, Hipó lito. ”

The guard gave him a pat on the back, fine, Trifulcio, and closed the gate behind him, until never again or until the next time, Trifulcio. He walked rapidly ahead, through the dust that he knew so well, that he could see from the block of better cells, and soon he reached the trees that he also knew from memory, and then he went forward along a new stretch until he reached the shacks on the outskirts, where instead of stopping he quickened his pace. He went through the huts and human figures almost on the run, while they looked at him with surprise or indifference or fear.

“And it’s not that I was a bad son or didn’t love her, the old black woman deserved heaven, just like you, sir, ” Ambrosio said. “She broke her back raising and feeding me. What happens is that life doesn’t give a body any time, not even to think about his mother. ”

“We left him because Hipó lito got carried away and the guy began to say crazy things and then he fainted, Mr. Lozano, ” Ludovico said. “I don’t think that Trinidad Ló pez there is an Aprista or even has any idea what he is. But if you want, we’ll wake him and keep on with it, sir. ”

He continued forward, more and more in a hurry and wilder, unable to get his bearings on those first paved streets that his bare feet were treading furiously, going deeper and deeper into the city that was so much longer, so much wider, so different from the one his eyes remembered. He walked without direction, without haste, finally he dropped down onto a bench shaded by the palm trees of a square. There was a store on the corner, women and children were going in, some boys were throwing stones at a street light and some dogs were barking. Slowly silently, without realizing it, he began to weep.

“Your uncle suggested I call you, Captain, and I wanted to meet you too, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “We’re colleagues of sorts, right? And we’ll certainly have to work together someday. ”

“She was good, she worked hard, she never missed mass, ” Ambrosio says. “But she had her ways, son. For example, she never hit me with her hand, only with a stick. ‘So you don’t turn out like your father, ’ she’d tell me. ”

“I already knew you by name, Mr. Bermú dez, ” Captain Paredes said. “My uncle and Colonel Espina appreciate you very much, they say that this whole setup is functioning only because of you. ”

He got up, washed his face in the fountain on the square, asked two men where he could catch the bus to Chincha and how much it cost. Stopping from time to time to look at the women and the things that had changed so much, he walked toward another square, covered with vehicles. He asked, bargained, begged and got into a truck that waited two hours before leaving.

“Let’s not talk about merits because you’ll leave me way behind, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “I know that you got deeply involved in the revolution by lining up officers, that you got military security rolling along. I learned from your uncle. You can’t deny it. ”

All through the trip he was standing, holding onto the side of the truck, smelling and looking at the sand, the sky, the sea that appeared and disappeared behind the dunes. When the truck got to Chincha, he opened his eyes wide and turned his head from side to side, startled by the changes. There was a cool breeze, no more sun, the tops of the palm trees on the square danced and whispered as he walked under them, agitated, nauseous, still in a hurry.

“The part about the revolution is all true and there’s no need to be modest, ” Captain Paredes said. “But as far as military security is concerned, I only work for Colonel Molina, Mr. Bermú dez. ”

But the way to the slum settlement was long and tortuous because his memory went back on him and he had to keep asking people how to get to the road to Grocio Prado. He got there when it was already the time of lamps and shadows, and the settlement was no longer a collection of shacks but a group of well-built houses, and instead of the cotton fields that began where the edge used to be, the houses of another settlement started. But the hut was the same and the door was open and he recognized Tomasa at once: fat, black, sitting on the floor, eating, to the right of the other woman.

“Colonel Molina’s the one who heads it up, but you’re the one who keeps the wheels rolling, ” Bermú dez said. “I know that too from your uncle, Captain. ”

“Her dream was to win in the lottery, sir, ” Ambrosio said. “Once an ice cream man in Chincha won, and she maybe God will send it here again and she bought her pieces of a ticket with the money she didn’t have. She’d take them to the Virgin, light candles for them. She didn’t even get a rebate prize, sir. ”

“I can imagine what this Ministry was like under Bustamante, Apristas everywhere and sabotage the order of the day, ” Captain Paredes said. “But it didn’t do the devils much good. ”

He went in with a leap, pounding his chest and grunting, and stood between the two and the stranger gave a cry and crossed herself. Tomasa, huddling on the ground, looked at him and suddenly fear left her face. Without speaking, without standing up, she showed him the door of the shack with her fist and finger. But Trifulcio didn’t leave, he began to laugh, he dropped down merrily to the ground and began to scratch his armpits.

“It did them enough good not to leave any traces, at least, the security records are useless, ” Bermú dez said. “The Apristas got rid of the files. We’re reorganizing everything, and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Captain. Military security could help us a lot. ”

“So you’re Mr. Bermú dez’ chauffeur, ” Ludovico said. “Pleased to meet you, Ambrosio. So you’re going to help us out a little in that matter of the slums. ”

“There’s no problem, of course we have to work together, ” Captain Paredes said. “Any time you need some piece of information, I’ll supply it, Mr. Bermú dez. ”

“What have you come for, who sent you, who invited you? ” Tomasa roared. “You look like an outlaw, you look like what you are. Didn’t you see how my friend took one look at you and ran away? When did you get out? ”

“I’d like something else, Captain, ” Bermú dez said. “I’d like to have access to the whole political file at military security. Have a copy of it. ”

“His name is Hipó lito and he’s the dumbest of all the dumbbells on the staff, ” Ludovico said. “He’ll be back soon, I’ll introduce you. He’s not on the civil service list and he probably never will be. I hope to be someday with a little bit of luck. Say, Ambrosio, you must be on it, right? ”

“Our files are untouchable, they’re classified secret, ” Captain Paredes said. “I’ll tell Colonel Molina about your plan, but he can’t make a decision either. The best thing would be a request from the Minister of Public Order to the Minister of War. ”

“Your friend ran off like I was the devil himself. ” Trifulcio laughed. “Listen, Tomasa, let me have some of that food. I could eat a horse. ”

“That’s precisely what we have to avoid, Captain, ” Bermú dez said. “The copy of that file should reach the Director of Public Order without either Colonel Molina or the Minister of War himself knowing anything about it. Do I make myself understood? ”

“Killing work, Ambrosio, ” Ludovico said. “Hours on end losing your voice, your strength, and then along comes someone on the list and he insults you, and Mr. Lozano threatens to cut your pay. Killing for everybody except that horse of an Hipó lito. Do you want me to tell you why? ”

“I can’t give you a copy of top-secret files without my superiors’ knowing about it, ” Captain Paredes said. “They hold the life and future of every officer and thousands of civilians. It’s like gold in the Central Bank, Mr. Bermú dez. ”

“Yes, you’ll have to go away, but calm down now and have a drink, you poor devil, ” Don Fermí n said. “Tell me now just what happened. Stop crying. ”

“Precisely, Captain, of course those files are worth their weight in gold, ” Bermú dez said. “And your uncle knows that too. The matter has to stay just among those responsible for security. No, it’s not a matter of offending Colonel Molina…. ”

“Because after working a guy over for half an hour, that horse of an Hipó lito, all of a sudden, boom, he gets all excited, ” Ludovico said. “Your morale gets low, you get bored. Not him, boom, he gets all excited. You’ll meet him, you’ll see. ”

“It’s a matter of promoting him, ” Bermú dez said. “Giving him the command of a unit, a detachment. And no one will dispute the fact that you’re the person most indicated to take Colonel Molina’s place in charge of security. Then we can merge the services discreetly, Captain. ”

“Not for one night and not for one minute, ” Tomasa said. “You’re not going to stay here for one minute. You’re leaving right now, Trifulcio. ”

“You’ve got my uncle in your pocket, friend Bermú dez, ” Captain Paredes said. “You’ve only known him for six months and now he trusts you more than he does me. I’m joking, of course, Cayo. It’s time we got on a first-name basis, don’t you think? ”

“They don’t lie because they’re brave, Ambrosio, but because they’re afraid, ” Ludovico said. “Just try to see if you can get something out of one of them sometime. Who’s your leader? So-and-so, what’s-his-name. How long have you been an Aprista? I’m not. Then how can you say that so-and-so and what’s-his-name are your leaders? They’re not. Killing, believe me. ”

“Your uncle knows that the survival of the government depends on security, ” Bermú dez said. “Everybody’s all applause right now, but pretty soon the tug of war and the battle of interests will start, and because of that everything will depend on what security has done to neutralize ambitious and resentful people. ”

“I don’t plan on staying, I’m just passing through, ” Trifulcio said. “I’m going to work for a rich fellow from Ica named Aré valo. That’s the truth, Tomasa. ”

“I know that quite well, ” Captain Paredes said. “When there aren’t any Apristas left, the President will have enemies in the government itself. ”

“Are you a Communist, are you an Aprista? I’m not an Aprista, I’m not a Communist, ” Ludovico said. “You’re a sissy, friend, we haven’t touched you and you’re lying already. Like that for hours, whole nights like that, Ambrosio. And that gets Hipó lito excited, can you see what kind of a guy he is? ”

“That’s why we have to take the long view, ” Bermú dez said. “The most dangerous element today is the civilian sector, tomorrow it’ll be the military. Can you see why there’s so much secrecy about the files? ”

“You didn’t even ask where Perpetuo is buried or whether Ambrosio is still alive, ” Tomasa said. “Have you forgotten that you had children? ”

“She was a happy woman who loved life, sir, ” Ambrosio said. “The poor woman, hitching up with a guy capable of doing that to his own son. But naturally, if the old woman hadn’t fallen in love with him, I wouldn’t be here today. So it was good for me. ”

“You have to get a house, Cayo, you can’t keep staying at the hotel, ” Colonel Espina said. “Besides, it’s absurd for you not to use the car that goes with your being Director of Public Order. ”

“I don’t care about the dead, ” Trifulcio said. “But I would like to see Ambrosio. Does he live with you? ”

“The fact is, I’ve never owned a car and, besides, taxis are convenient, ” Bermú dez said. “But you’re right, Uplander, I’ll use it. It must be rusting away. ”

“Ambrosio is leaving to look for work in Lima tomorrow, ” Tomasa said. “What do you want to see him for? ”

“I didn’t believe that about Hipó lito, but it’s true, Ambrosio, ” Ludovico said. “I saw it, nobody told me. ”

“You shouldn’t be so modest, make use of your prerogatives, ” Colonel Espina said. “You’re shut up in here fifteen hours a day and work isn’t everything in life either. Let your hair down once in a while, Cayo. ”

“Just out of curiosity to see what he’s like, ” Trifulcio said. “I’ll see Ambrosio and I promise to leave, Tomasa. ”

“For the first time they gave a guy from Vitarte to the two of us alone, ” Ludovico said. “Nobody on the list there to bawl us out, there weren’t enough people. And that’s when I saw it, Ambrosio. ”

“Of course I will, Uplander, but first I’ve got to get a lot of work cleared up, ” Bermú dez said. “And I’ll get a house and set myself up in more comfort. ”

“Ambrosio was working here as a long-distance driver, ” Tomasa said. “But it’s going to be better for him in Lima and that’s why I’ve pushed him to go. ”

“The President is very pleased with you, Cayo, ” Colonel Espina said. “He thanks me more for having recommended you than for all the help I gave him in the revolution, imagine that. ”

“He was hitting him and he began to sweat, hitting him more and sweating more and he hit him so much that the guy began to say crazy things, ” Ludovico said. “And all of a sudden I saw his fly puffed up like a balloon. I swear, Ambrosio. ”

“The one coming this way, that big fellow, ” Trifulcio said. “Is that Ambrosio? ”

“‘What are you hitting for, you’ve left him half loony, you’ve already sent him off to dreamland, ’” Ludovico said. “He wasn’t even listening, Ambrosio. All excited, just like a balloon. Just the way I’m telling you, I swear. You’ll meet him soon enough, I’ll introduce you to him. ”

“Our hopes are with you people now so we can get out of this danger, ” Don Fermí n said.

“I recognized you right away, ” Trifulcio said. “Come here, Ambrosio, give me a hug, let me take a little look at you. ”

“The government in danger? ” Colonel Espina asked. “Are you joking, Don Fermí n? If the revolution isn’t sailing along with a good tail wind, how can anybody …? ”

“I would have gone to wait for you, ” Ambrosio said. “But I didn’t even know you were getting out. ”

“Fermí n is right, Colonel, ” Emilio Aré valo said. “Nothing will sail along with a good wind if elections aren’t held and General Odrí a isn’t returned to power anointed and consecrated by the votes of all Peruvians. ”

“At least you’re not throwing me out like Tomasa, ” Trifulcio said. “I thought you were a boy and you’re almost as old as this black father of yours. ”

“Elections are a formality, if you want, Colonel, ” Don Fermí n said. “But a necessary formality. ”

“You’ve seen him, now be on your way, ” Tomasa said. “Ambrosio’s going away tomorrow, he has to pack his things. ”

“And in order to have elections the country has to be pacified, that is, the Apristas all cleaned up, ” Dr. Ferro said. “If not, the elections could blow up in our faces like a bomb. ”

“Let’s go have a drink somewhere, Ambrosio, ” Trifulcio said. “We’ll talk a little and you can come back and pack your bags. ”

“You haven’t said a word, Mr. Bermú dez, ” Emilio Aré valo said. “It would seem that politics bore you. ”

“Do you want to give your son a bad reputation? ” Tomasa asked. “Is that why you want people to see him with you on the street? ”

“Not seems, the fact is I am bored by them, ” Bermú dez said. “Besides, I don’t understand anything about politics. Don’t laugh, it’s true. That’s why I’d rather just listen. ”

They went along in the dark, through streets that wavered and made sudden turns, among reed huts and a brick house here and there, looking through windows and seeing by the light of candles and lamps hazy silhouettes that chatted as they ate. There was a smell of earth, excrement and grapes.