One: Tide-Wash

The Raft opens at night on a creek in the Niger Delta. Two lumbermen, Kengide and Olotu, are trying to sleep in a cabin on a raft. Lumber is attached to the raft; the men and their two compatriots are to transport it down the Niger River for pay. Their slumber is interrupted by Ogro, who is pacing outside the cabin and muttering to himself. Kengide and Olotu become angry with him and each other. The fourth man appears, Ibobo. He accuses Ogro of walking in his sleep again. Ogro denies he is asleep, Ibobo reminds him that they lost a boat recently because he was asleep. Ogro changes the subject, because the raft is adrift. The men check the moorings and all are loose. They wake Kengide and Olotu. All the lumbermen believe they tied the knots tightly and cannot understand how all seven of...