Read Online Out of Bounds by Beverley Naidoo - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Beverley Naidoo
Ads: Link
waited.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
The soft tapping came more rapidly. Her heart drummed as she forced herself from the bed to the window.
“Who is it?” she whispered through the open slit. She clenched the curtain, scared to pull it back.
“It’s me…Esther! Open quickly!”
Carefully, she released the latch and leaned forward. The shape of her cousin was pressed up against the wall. Eerie moonlight lit part of the yard but the side of the house was in deep shadow. Before Nandi could say anything, Esther began:
“Look, Nandi, I need help!”
“Ah! Are you hurt?”
Esther was shaking, and Nandi could just make out that she was clutching her arm. Her voice was low and hoarse.
“It’s nothing…later…there’s something urgent!”
Breathing heavily, the older girl explained. In the afternoon she and her friends had been closeto the cemetery gates. Themba and Zinzi had been carrying a banner saying: “THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM.”
When the police attacked, both Themba and Zinzi had been grabbed. Esther had escaped, although a baton had whipped down on her arm. She had seen both her friends being beaten about their heads and thrown like sacks into a police van.
Esther feared the worst. Everyone knew the police stopped at nothing to get information. There were funerals to prove it. So it wouldn’t be long before they would be coming for her too. Even now, someone could be secretly watching Khulu’s house, waiting…. But worse, they might have started searching the house—and then Khulu would be in terrible trouble.
“It’s the typewriter, Nandi. For our leaflets. I hid it—but if they find it, they’ll arrest Khulu. They won’t believe she knows nothing!”
Nandi sucked in her breath, horrified. Esther continued.
“It’s not only Khulu. That typewriter can send us to jail for a long time.”
“Can’t we do something? Can’t I get a message to Khulu?”
“It’s dangerous. Not a game.”
“I know…but I can try…first thing in the morning. If someone is watching the house, I can look as if I’m going to help Khulu.”
Esther said quietly,
“It’s very risky…but it’s our only chance. There’s no one else I can ask.”
“Where is the hiding place?” asked Nandi simply.
Briefly Esther explained that the typewriter was hidden behind the kitchen cupboard, wrapped in brown paper. Nandi and Khulu would have to pull away the panel at the back. To get rid of the package, she said they should stuff it in the dustbin outside the backdoor and cover it well with the rubbish. If the police didn’t find it in their search, it might even be possible for a friend to retrieve it later.
“But what if the back of the house is being watched?”
“Then we’re trapped,” replied Esther.
Although her voice was steady, her cousin was still clasping her arm.
“Where will you go? What about your arm?”
“I’ll find somewhere…and tell Khulu I’msorry….” Esther paused. “It had to be done. Tell her not to worry. I’ll send her a message as soon as I can.”
Nandi’s eyes followed Esther’s bent shape making its way across the yard. After closing the window, trying not to let it squeak, she crept back into bed to wait for the morning. She curled herself up small and tight, as if to hold in her fear and stop it from growing.
It was impossible to take her mind off Esther stumbling away into the dark to look for a “safe” house…Themba and Zinzi being hit about the head…Themba who always greeted Nandi with a wink and his “How’s it, sis?”…Zinzi with her warm smile and special way of swinging your hand in friendship. Both looked on her as a younger sister. When she had acted as “lookout” for their meetings, she had known it was something serious, yet it had still been a bit like a game. Although she had known there was danger, it was also exciting. But what she had to do this time contained no enjoyment, no excitement of that kind at all. The danger was all around now.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
The soft tapping came more rapidly. Her heart drummed as she forced herself from the bed to the window.
“Who is it?” she whispered through the open slit. She clenched the curtain, scared to pull it back.
“It’s me…Esther! Open quickly!”
Carefully, she released the latch and leaned forward. The shape of her cousin was pressed up against the wall. Eerie moonlight lit part of the yard but the side of the house was in deep shadow. Before Nandi could say anything, Esther began:
“Look, Nandi, I need help!”
“Ah! Are you hurt?”
Esther was shaking, and Nandi could just make out that she was clutching her arm. Her voice was low and hoarse.
“It’s nothing…later…there’s something urgent!”
Breathing heavily, the older girl explained. In the afternoon she and her friends had been closeto the cemetery gates. Themba and Zinzi had been carrying a banner saying: “THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM.”
When the police attacked, both Themba and Zinzi had been grabbed. Esther had escaped, although a baton had whipped down on her arm. She had seen both her friends being beaten about their heads and thrown like sacks into a police van.
Esther feared the worst. Everyone knew the police stopped at nothing to get information. There were funerals to prove it. So it wouldn’t be long before they would be coming for her too. Even now, someone could be secretly watching Khulu’s house, waiting…. But worse, they might have started searching the house—and then Khulu would be in terrible trouble.
“It’s the typewriter, Nandi. For our leaflets. I hid it—but if they find it, they’ll arrest Khulu. They won’t believe she knows nothing!”
Nandi sucked in her breath, horrified. Esther continued.
“It’s not only Khulu. That typewriter can send us to jail for a long time.”
“Can’t we do something? Can’t I get a message to Khulu?”
“It’s dangerous. Not a game.”
“I know…but I can try…first thing in the morning. If someone is watching the house, I can look as if I’m going to help Khulu.”
Esther said quietly,
“It’s very risky…but it’s our only chance. There’s no one else I can ask.”
“Where is the hiding place?” asked Nandi simply.
Briefly Esther explained that the typewriter was hidden behind the kitchen cupboard, wrapped in brown paper. Nandi and Khulu would have to pull away the panel at the back. To get rid of the package, she said they should stuff it in the dustbin outside the backdoor and cover it well with the rubbish. If the police didn’t find it in their search, it might even be possible for a friend to retrieve it later.
“But what if the back of the house is being watched?”
“Then we’re trapped,” replied Esther.
Although her voice was steady, her cousin was still clasping her arm.
“Where will you go? What about your arm?”
“I’ll find somewhere…and tell Khulu I’msorry….” Esther paused. “It had to be done. Tell her not to worry. I’ll send her a message as soon as I can.”
Nandi’s eyes followed Esther’s bent shape making its way across the yard. After closing the window, trying not to let it squeak, she crept back into bed to wait for the morning. She curled herself up small and tight, as if to hold in her fear and stop it from growing.
It was impossible to take her mind off Esther stumbling away into the dark to look for a “safe” house…Themba and Zinzi being hit about the head…Themba who always greeted Nandi with a wink and his “How’s it, sis?”…Zinzi with her warm smile and special way of swinging your hand in friendship. Both looked on her as a younger sister. When she had acted as “lookout” for their meetings, she had known it was something serious, yet it had still been a bit like a game. Although she had known there was danger, it was also exciting. But what she had to do this time contained no enjoyment, no excitement of that kind at all. The danger was all around now.
Similar Books
