Summary

Pages 38 through 41 – On a busy night at the bar, Christian comes in for a cold drink. After he says hello to Sophie (who sings a song about a wounded bird escaping capture but desperate to be heard), he gets into conversation with Mama Nadi. First, she gives him a list of all the things he forgot to bring her; then he tells her that the white preacher at a nearby mission has disappeared; and then he tells the increasingly nervous Mama Nadi that combat between the rebels and the soldiers is getting closer and more violent. “It’s been ugly,” he says, “but never like this. Not here.” Mama Nadi tries to reassure both him and herself by saying there will always be arguments and that all she’s trying to do is “keep everyone happy.” Christian flirts with her affectionately, hinting that...