Read Online Ama by Manu Herbstein - Free Book Online

Bekpokpam with its tail, hiding their tracks from their Bedagbam pursuers. Perhaps Itsho had sent this leopard to protect her in the same way? Perhaps; perhaps not. It would be better not to count on it.
    She forced herself to concentrate. The moon would soon set and then it would be completely dark until dawn. She had worked a full day pounding shea-nuts and had had only a short sleep before stealing out of the prison and the town. Now there was a very real danger that she might be torn to pieces by a wild beast. There was that sawing cough again. She shivered. A fire might keep the leopard at bay but she had no means of making a fire. She stood up and looked around her. Silhouetted against the waning moon there stood a tree.
    * * *
    Damba was fond of Nandzi. He had thought of asking leave to buy her for himself, taking her as his concubine or even as a wife.
    However he had been present when the Asante Consul had placed an embargo upon the Na's lust. There was no way that he could ask for that which had been denied the King.
    Damba did what he could for Nandzi, though with discretion. He had given her an old cloth of his mother's and he brought her food from time to time to supplement the spare diet which she shared with the other slaves. When he inspected the prison camp at dawn each morning, at the changing of the guard, he made a point of looking for her and greeting her.
    So this morning he noticed her absence almost at once. The guards knew nothing. The girl had been there the previous evening. They had all been awake throughout the night and there was no way she could have climbed the outer wall or slipped out through the entrance hall.
    Then Damba saw the footprint which Nandzi had left in the horse shit.
    * * *
    The dew was already dry when they rode up.
    Nandzi was still fast asleep. She was sitting upright on a branch tied to the trunk with her old cloth.
    While two men held his great white horse, Damba stood on the saddle. Leaning his body against the tree he removed Nandzi's home-made safety harness. She did not resist as he lifted her down and placed her on the saddle before him. He noticed how hot her skin was and felt her forehead. She had a high fever.
    * * *
    Fearing that he would be punished as Abdulai had been, Damba sought a private audience with the Na and told him exactly what had happened.
    â€œWhere is the girl now?” asked the Na.
    â€œShe is very ill, delirious with fever,” replied Damba. “She is in no condition to repeat her attempt to escape. I took her to my mother's house. My mother has knowledge of the use of plants and she is treating her. It was my mother who insisted that I report to Your Highness at once. As soon as she can walk, I will send her back to the slaves' compound. Unless, of course, Your Highness orders otherwise.”
    â€œShe will have to be executed,” said the King, “as an example to the others. I am sure that that is what Nana Péte will require. But let your mother first restore her to good health.”
    * * *
    Damba’s mother looked after Nandzi well.
    At first she was only pandering to the wishes of her beloved first-born, but as she nursed the girl, she became fond of her. Using Suba, who was now staying in their compound, as an interpreter, she asked her about her home and family. She fed her well and soon Nandzi began to put on weight. As soon as she was able, she insisted on sweeping the compound and helping with the cooking.
    Nandzi’s outward display of gratitude and humility concealed an inner turmoil. In other circumstances she would have calmly considered her position and weighed up the choices open to her. Now she was scared of thinking, terrified of what she might find in her own mind. She no longer attempted to communicate with Itsho. She no longer thought of her mother and her small brother. Inside her, she was already dead.
    She was troubled by terrible nightmares, from which she awoke screaming and sweating; but by