Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe Read Free Book Online Page B

in his starched white uniform and saw that he was remarkably handsome.
    Captain Winterbottom seemed to read his thought.
    ‘He’s a fine specimen, isn’t he? He’s been with me four years. He was a little boy of about thirteen – by my own calculation, they’ve no idea of years – when I took him on. He was absolutely raw.’
    ‘When you say they’ve no idea of years…’
    ‘They understand seasons, I don’t mean that. But ask a man how old he is and he doesn’t begin to have an idea.’
    The Small Boy came back with the drink.
    ‘Thank you very much,’ said Mr Clarke as he took it.
    ‘Yessah.’
    Thousands of flying ants swarmed around the tilley lamp on a stand at the far corner. They soon lost their wings and crawled on the floor. Clarke watched them with great interest, and then asked if they stung.
    ‘No, they are quite harmless. They are driven out of the ground by the rain.’
    The crawling ones were sometimes hooked up in twos at their tails.
    ‘It was rather interesting what you said about Allen. A little smug, I think you said.’
    ‘That was the impression I had – sometimes. He doesn’t allow, for instance, for there being anything of value in native institutions. He might really be one of the missionary people.’
    ‘I see you are one of the progressive ones. When you’ve been here as long as Allen was and understood the native a little more you might begin to see things in a slightly different light. If you saw, as I did, a man buried alive up to his neck with a piece of roast yam on his head to attract vultures you know… Well, never mind. We British are a curious bunch, doing everything half-heartedly. Look at the French. They are not ashamed to teach their culture to backward races under their charge. Their attitude to the native ruler is clear. They say to him: “This land has belonged to you because you have been strong enough to hold it. By the same token it now belongs to us. If you are not satisfied come out and fight us.” What do we British do? We flounder from one expedient to its opposite. We do not only promise to secure old savage tyrants on their thrones – or more likely filthy animal skins – we not only do that, but we now go out of our way to invent chiefs where there were none before. They make me sick.’ He swallowed what was left in his glass and shouted to Boniface for another glass. ‘I wouldn’t really mind if this dithering was left to old fossils in Lagos, but when young Political Officers get infected I just give up. If someone is positive we call him smug.’
    Mr Clarke admitted that whatever judgement he made was made in ignorance and that he was open to correction.
    ‘Boniface!’
    ‘Yessah.’
    ‘Bring another drink for Mr Clarke.’
    ‘No really I think I’ve had…’
    ‘Nonsense. Dinner won’t be ready for another hour at least. Try something else if you prefer. Whisky?’ Clarke accepted another brandy with great reluctance.
    ‘That’s a very interesting collection of firearms.’ Mr Clarke had been desperately searching for a new subject. Then luckily he lit on a collection of quaint-looking guns arranged like trophies near the low window of the living-room. ‘Are they native guns?’ He had stumbled on a redeeming theme.
    Captain Winterbottom was transformed.
    ‘Those guns have a long and interesting history. The people of Okperi and their neighbours, Umuaro, are great enemies. Or they were before I came into the story. A big savage war had broken out between them over a piece of land. This feud was made worse by the fact that Okperi welcomed missionaries and government while Umuaro, on the other hand, has remained backward. It was only in the last four or five years that any kind of impression has been made there. I think I can say with all modesty that this change came about after I had gathered and publicly destroyed all firearms in the place except, of course, this collection here. You will be going there frequently on tour. If