Chapters 5 and 6 Summary

Okei rises early and goes to the stream so that he may toughen up his feet on the incline at the water's edge. Nduka arrives, and the two boys discuss their wrestling conditioning. They condition themselves at this early hour to prevent suspicions from anyone who may see them. Okei orders Nduka to tell all the boys to begin their conditioning in the event that Okei is beaten or cannot compete for some reason. Nduka congratulates his friend for thinking like a true leader.

Okei and Nduka begin to wrestle to build up their strength, and soon a group of girls arrives on the way to the stream. Okei can see that the nasty girl Kwutelu is with them, and she taunts Okei for trying to build up his strength to wrestle the boys from Akpei. Kwutelu also accuses Okei and...