Summary

The next chapter of Book Two is titled “Night.” The narration describes how June Dey and Norman Aragon explore the part of Africa in which they have found themselves, often fighting to defend villagers from enemies and colonizers, most often the French. One night, they sit around their campfire and discuss the different reasons they are there – June Dey by accident, Norman Aragon as a result of his mother’s intention. They compare notes about their histories, and wonder whether they will ever see Gbessa again. They also discuss what her gift might be, and Norman theorizes that it might simply be the gift of staying alive.

Their conversation is interrupted by a sound from outside the cave where they are hiding. They go out in search of its source, the wind / Charlotte / narrator calling them to do so. They discover that a...