"CIVILISED MAN" 22 c

*?

"No, no," I said. "To Monrovia. But first to Grand
Bassa. AndTapee-Ta. How do we get to Tapee-Ta?"

"You want to see elephants?" Steve Dunbar said.
"You will see plenty. Hundreds. You go to Baplai.
There is a civilised man at Baplai. He is a friend of
mine. Mr. Nelson. You will find him very agreeable.
You may say you are my friend. From Baplai you
will go to Toweh-Ta. You will see lots of elephants.
They will run backwards and forwards all the time
over the path." Across Steve Dunbar's shoulder I
caught sight of Laminah's startled face. Steve Dunbar
said, "I will leave you now, but I will see you again
in Monrovia and we will talk about the bed and the
chair." He stepped inside and looked at the bed again
and then made off across the compound followed by
his boy; he had the air of a well-established firm. The
chief and I sat in silence. He had his eye on thei>ottle
which Amedoo had put out on the card-table.
Presently I could stand his sad covetousness no
longer; I gave him a few fingers of neat whisky and
he went away.

Almost immediately Laminah was at my side. He
was excited (his woollen cap and bobble were all
askew), and when he was excited it was almost
impossible to understand him. I gathered he wanted
a goat. 'Tor chop?" No, it wasn't for chop. He said
something about elephants. Amedoo came forward
and explained that our path from now on would be
through the biggest bush, .that there were lots of
elephants, and die labourers wanted a goat. I still
didn't understand. He explained that elephants were
frightened by the noise a goat made; it need only be
a very, very small goat. It seemed a tall story, but if: