MINE BOY

Introduction

This story was written in 1946. Since Mr Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990, things in South Africa have started to change.
The main character in this story is Xuma, a Zulu from a farm in the countryside far to the north of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Xuma's name is pronounced with a click. If you cannot make this sound, you can say it with a 'z' - Zuma.
Xuma has left his home in the north to find work in the gold mines around Johannesburg. He arrives late at night in a district called Malay Camp. He is looking for a place to stay.
Malay Camp is a township. Black Africans, coloured people, or people of mixed races must live in townships. They are not allowed to live in the same streets or districts as white people. When black people, coloured people, or people from mixed races go into a white district, they can be stopped by the police. They must show their identity passes. The story begins with Xuma finding a place to stay in the house of Leah.
Leah makes money by selling beer. Africans are not allowed to sell or drink beer. So Leah is always in danger of being arrested by the police. Many people come to visit Leah's house to buy and drink beer.

Chapter 1: Leah's Place

The big man heard a clock strike in the distance. It was three in the morning.
He lifted his box onto his shoulder and walked along the narrow street. It was a dark street, full of shadows. The whole township seemed to be full of shadows. He knew he was lost.
Suddenly someone coughed and moved in the shadows. In the dim light, he saw that it was a woman.
'Sister, I need a drink and a place to rest,' he said in a deep voice.
'Strike a match,' the woman said. 'I want to see you.'
'I don't have any matches.'
'Have you money?' she asked.
'No.'
'You are a strange one. What is your name?'
'Xuma. I have come from the north.'
'Well, Xuma, you wait here. I need a light. Maybe I will give you a drink and a place to rest, but maybe not.'
He saw the shadow move. He stood, his head aching from hunger, his mouth dry from thirst.
'Well, Xuma, cover your eyes, I'm going to shine a light on you.'
She had returned very quickly, like a shadow. He smiled. He liked her strong voice.
The beam of light moved from the old tennis shoes, tied together with string, to his dusty trousers. Both the shoes and the trousers were dirty and torn. His great chest and shoulders were covered by a torn shirt. The light showed his good-natured face and his old box. Then the light went out.
'All right,' said the woman. 'You can rest and drink. Come in.'
Xuma waited. The light showed him the path.
'Come,' the woman said again.
Xuma followed her into the house. In a room there were three men and an old woman. They were drinking beer.
'This is Xuma,' the woman said. 'He is tired and hungry. Give him some food, Ma Plank.'
Xuma looked at the woman who had asked him in. She was tall and strong, with sharp eyes. Those eyes could see into you, he thought.
'What is your name?' he asked.
'Leah,' she smiled.
'What business is it of yours?' The youngest man spoke. He was tall and thin and he glared at Xuma.
'Who is he?' Xuma asked Leah.
'That's Dladla. He thinks he's strong and he has a knife, but he's only a puppy.'
The oldest man at the table started to laugh. Dladla hit him suddenly with his fist, knocking him onto the floor. Xuma saw a knife in Dladla's hand.
Xuma put down his box and moved around the table. Dladla snarled. Daddy, the old man, forgot his sore face. He hoped there would be a fight.
Leah spoke. 'Give me that knife!'
Dladla looked at her and then at Xuma. 'No, please,' he said.
'Give!' Her voice was hard. Dladla gave her the knife.
'Women always spoil a good fight,' said Daddy. He leant back and went to sleep.
'Eat!' said Leah, when Ma Plank brought in the food. Xuma looked at her and began to eat.
'Has everything been hidden?' Leah asked the others. They nodded.
'Then go to sleep,' Leah ordered.
The third man, who had been silent, stood up. 'Perhaps he's from the police,' he said, looking at Xuma.
'He's not,' Leah said, and her face lit up with a smile. The man nodded and held out his hand for Xuma to shake. The man went out.
'He is Joseph, the brother of my man,' Leah said.
'Your man?' Xuma asked.
'Yes,' said Leah. Her eyes softened as she remembered. 'He's been in jail for a year. He must stay for two more. He killed a man who tried to kiss me. He is strong, my man. You are a strong man, Xuma, but he would break you like a stick.'
She stopped and she smiled her hard smile.
'I thought Dladla was your man,' Xuma said.
She laughed. 'A woman gets lonely,' she said. 'Now, Xuma, what will you do?'
'I came to work in the mines.'
'The mines are bad, Xuma. You will start to cough and spit blood. You will become weak and die. Today you are strong. Tomorrow you are ready to die. Listen, Xuma, if you become my headman, I will make you powerful. When you saw me, I was watching for the police. The others were hiding beer in the ground. There is a lot of money to be made selling beer.'
They looked at each other. Xuma said nothing.
'No?' she said. 'Well then, I will show you where to sleep.'
'I have no money.'
'No, but you will work and pay later. Also, sometimes when I need a strong man, you can help.'
'Maybe,' he said.
They came to a bright, cheerful room.
'Here,' she said. 'The teacher lives here, but you can stay. When she comes, we will find another place. Remember, Xuma, don't cheat me or I will use Dladla's knife on you.'
Xuma laughed. 'You are a strange woman. I don't understand you. But thank you for your kindness.'
Xuma got undressed. What strange people, he thought. But he was in the city now and this was city life.

Chapter 2: The Way of the City

Xuma woke late. He remembered where he was, got up and put on his trousers. He could hear nothing. He called. There was silence. He called again. The house was empty. He went into the yard and heard voices from the street. A crowd of people were standing in a ring. Daddy was doing a war-dance and shouting old battle cries in the middle of the ring. Xuma pushed through the crowd.
Two coloured women were fighting. The crowd was betting on the winner. Most people thought a little Indian-looking woman called Lena would win. A few thought a fat, pale woman called Drunk Liz would win.
The fat one was on top, but the little one was pulling her by the hair. Drunk Liz fell back and the crowd roared. Daddy lay in the road laughing, his feet in the air.
Now Lena was on top, hitting Drunk Liz with her shoe. Blood flowed from her head. Daddy screamed with laughter.
Xuma turned away. His heart was heavy.
'Stop it!' Leah's voice was loud above the shouting of the crowd. She moved through the crowd without looking left or right. Her eyes were angry. She pulled Lena from Drunk Liz. The crowd made angry noises.
Leah turned. 'I hear voices,' she said. 'Let me hear them again.'
There was silence.
'If anyone wants to fight in front of my house, fight me!' she said.
The crowd moved away. The fat woman sobbed, holding her head.
'Look!' Daddy laughed. 'Lena's getting the horrors.'
The little woman was lying on the ground. Her body was shaking and saliva was running out of her mouth, down her face and onto her dress. She lay like a dead person.
Leah carried her into the yard.
'Bring a sack,' she said.
Daddy laid a sack on the ground in the shade. Leah put the woman down on it. She ordered Drunk Liz to wash herself.
Then Leah filled a mug with water and poured it over Lena's face.
'She drinks too much,' said Leah. 'One day she will get the horrors and she won't wake up. Lena knows life is hard and she is trying to forget. But you, Xuma, have you had food?'
'When I woke, the house was empty. I came and saw the fight. Is Daddy always like that? He likes fighting, doesn't he?'
'We will eat and then we can talk.'
Leah started to cook some food. Her face became soft, like the night before when she talked about her man. She was hard to understand. Xuma shook his head.
Leah saw him.
'Why do you shake your head? You think I am strange. You think I am strong and people are afraid of me. But I cook food for you. You think maybe I like you?'
Xuma smiled, but said nothing.
'Listen Xuma, you do not understand life here. I was once like you. But I have been in the city for many years. Living in the city makes us forget the ways of our people. Now eat.'
She put the food in front of him and took some herself.
'Your people are like my people,' she said. 'We both have tribal law and tribal traditions', right?'
'Yes.'
She called Daddy.
'Daddy! Come in here.'
He came in, walking drunkenly.
'Tell Xuma about the Traditional Way and the Way of the City.'
'The Traditional Way and the Way of the City,' Daddy stopped. He began to smile. 'Ah, yes, the Traditional Way and the Way of the City. Very funny. Just you listen, it's very funny.
'One day, the Way of the City came to visit the Traditional Way, The Traditional Way was kind. It gave the Way of the City food and it gave the Way of the City beer and it gave the Way of the City beautiful girls. The Way of the City didn't say anything. It didn't say "No, thank you" or "Thank you".
'The people said, "Now everything will be alright, the Traditional Way and the Way of the City are friends". And the people went to work in the fields. In the evening, the people came back. They looked for their beer, but it was gone. And the Traditional Way had gone too. But the Way of the City was there laughing at them. Now the people go to jail if they drink beer. Very funny, heh, Xuma?'
Daddy walked out drunkenly into the yard. Leah followed him. She spread out a sack on the ground and Daddy lay on it and started to snore.
Leah knelt down and kissed his forehead.
'You like him,' Xuma said.
'What's it to you?' she said angrily.
She went into the house and started to work. She began to sing. It was a sad song and her voice was full of sadness. But then she sang a happy song and Xuma smiled and sat and listened.
'Xuma!' her voice called.
He went in. Joseph, the brother of Leah's man, was there.
'Joseph will show you around,' said Leah. 'It is Saturday, so we will be busy here with customers and maybe the police. Eat somewhere and come back later.'
'Who will help you to sell the beer?' Joseph asked.
'Drunk Liz, Lena, and Daddy and Ma Plank. And I have two more coming. You go Joseph. If the police catch you, you will be in jail this time.'
Joseph and Xuma went outside. The streets of the township were crowded. It was Saturday, a national half-holiday for the black citizens of Johannesburg.
'People have money in their pockets today,' Joseph said.
The men wore their best clothes. Some of them wore brightly coloured shirts. Others wore singlets to show off their muscles. Sometimes there would be fights and sometimes men would die.
The young women wore brightly coloured dresses and came to the townships from all round Johannesburg. They laughed and talked very loudly.
At night, the men and women would go off together to drink or to talk. Some went to the cinema, some went for a walk in the streets.
Joseph and Xuma walked up the road. Suddenly a police van appeared. Police jumped out of it. Joseph called to Xuma to run.
'But we have done nothing,' said Xuma.
'They will not ask you,' replied Joseph.
A policeman came straight at Xuma. Xuma stood still. The policeman raised his stick and struck Xuma on the shoulder.
'I have done nothing!' Xuma shouted, grabbing the policeman's arm.
'Let go! Bastard!' the policeman shouted.
Xuma struck the policeman in the face. Hard. The policeman collapsed in a heap.
'Now I will run,' Xuma said.
The police called for him to stop and a coloured man tried to stop him. A second coloured man knocked the first coloured man down and called to Xuma to follow.
'Come,' the man said. 'We will lose them.'
'Thank you, brown man,' Xuma said.
The coloured man and his black wife hid Xuma until the police had gone.

Chapter 3: Eliza

Xuma could not find his way back to Leah's house. All the houses looked the same.
There were people everywhere, but no one would stop and listen to him. It was Saturday, and they all wanted to spend their money and enjoy themselves. Suddenly Xuma met Daddy. Daddy was drunk and ready to fight. He offered to take Xuma back to Leah's house in return for beer.
Leah's house was full of people, some trying to get in to buy beer, others trying to get out. The whole house smelt of beer. Ma Plank was selling beer from a huge barrel in the yard. Joseph was selling beer in the kitchen. Joseph was delighted to see Xuma and wanted to know how he had escaped from the police. But the noise was so great that they could not hear each other.
Joseph offered Xuma a beer. Xuma took it and gave it to Daddy. At that moment, Leah came in and took the beer away. Xuma explained that he had promised Daddy the beer and Leah gave it back to the old man.
Leah and Xuma went outside to talk. First, she wanted to know how he had escaped from the police. Xuma explained quickly.
'Have you had food?' Leah asked. When Xuma said no, she told him that he could eat with the teacher who had just come back.
Just as they were about to go back into the house, a black policeman came up on a bicycle. He said hello to Leah and then stared at Xuma.
'He's all right,' Leah said.
'They will not come tonight,' the policeman told her, 'but they will dig up your place and some of the other houses in the morning.'
Leah gave him five one-pound notes from her bag. 'You will not tell the others,' the policeman said.
'I look after myself,' Leah said and she walked away.
Xuma caught up with her and took her arm. 'Will you tell the others?' he asked.
'Don't be a fool,' she answered. 'If I tell the others, the police will know we have been warned.'
She knocked at a door at the far end of the yard and went in. A young woman was sitting at a table eating. Xuma knew that this must be the teacher.
'This is Xuma,' Leah said. 'He is going to work in the mines. Give him food and let him stay here. We have a lot to do. The police will come digging in the morning.'
'What about tonight?' the girl asked.
'They won't come. We will sell as much beer as we can now and hide the rest later. I will call you if we need help.'
Leah went out and closed the door behind her.
The girl got up and brought Xuma some food. She was beautiful. She was young and strong. She looked like a smooth, brown, fresh flower. Xuma liked looking at her and listening to her voice. He could not stop looking at her.
She wanted to know about the policeman he had knocked down.
'Why didn't you run?' she asked him.
'Why should I run when I have done nothing?'
She smiled at him and he saw her beautiful teeth and the dimples' in her cheeks.
'You are not afraid?' she asked him.
'I'm afraid of no man,' he boasted.
They sat for a while eating. Then he looked up.
'What do they call you?' Xuma asked.
'Eliza.'
She was silent for a while, and he could think of nothing to say. She saw him watching her and looked away.
Leah opened the door. 'She's beautiful, heh, Xuma?' she said.
'Very beautiful.'
Leah went away laughing.
'Help me lift the sewing machine onto the table,' Eliza said. 'I want to do a little sewing.'
Xuma lifted the machine and immediately felt pain in his shoulder where the policeman had struck him.
'You're hurt,' Eliza said.
'It's only where the policeman hit me.'
Eliza rubbed the place with ointment. Xuma wished she could go on doing it.
'You are good,' he said. 'Good and beautiful.'
'You are lonely,' Eliza said, but she laughed.
They were silent again, but now it was a friendly silence.
Eliza asked him where he came from, and Xuma told her about his home in the north. A farm between two hills, beside a river.
Suddenly Eliza got up. 'Come,' she said. 'I will take you to a place where it is like the country.'
They walked away from Malay Camp and away from the noise of the crowds and the fighting and shouting. After a while, they were walking on grass.
'It is almost like the country,' Xuma said.
'There is the city,' Eliza said and pointed.
He looked and saw the huge shadowy buildings and the twinkling lights.
Eliza lay on the grass and stared up into the sky. 'I like to look at the stars,' she said.
'You are beautiful,' Xuma said.
'You are lonely,' Eliza laughed.
Xuma felt that there was something between them which stopped them from becoming friends. They were together and yet they were apart. Xuma looked around and saw in the distance huge, towering, shadowy shapes that seemed to push their heads against the sky.
'What are those?' he asked.
'Those are the mine-dumps. They are made of all the sand that the miners have dug out of the earth in their search for gold. You will help make more of them.'
'Just sand?' he asked.
'Yes,' she said. 'Just white sand.'
'That's funny,' he said. 'A mountain of white sand made by black men.'
'And white men too. Come, we must get back.'
As they walked back to Malay Camp, Xuma caught hold of her and pulled her to him. He tried to kiss her.
'Don't!' she said. It was like the cry of a child.
They walked in silence. He looked at her and saw only sadness in her face. He suddenly felt a terrible loneliness in his heart, as if, deep inside, he knew she could never be his.
People drank at Leah's all night. Ma Plank had two empty barrels of beer behind her and she was serving from a half-full barrel. The coloured woman, Lena, who had been drunk in the afternoon, was selling beer from another barrel in the far corner of the yard. Xuma was surprised to see her sober.
Every room in the house was full of people drinking. He saw many coloured women talking to black men, but very few coloured men drinking in the house.
Eliza left him and went back into her room. Xuma went into the yard. Leah was talking to a group of men. Ma Plank called Xuma.
'Sit here,' she said, touching the bench beside her. 'I have got a lot of money tonight. I want you to give some of it to Leah. There may be fighting and I am only an old woman.'
She gave him a handful of pound notes and touched his arm, smiling sweetly. She reminded Xuma of his old mother.
'Come on, you sons of dogs!' Ma Plank shouted. 'Come and fill your guts with drink.' She did not sound like a mother now.
Xuma walked away to find Leah.
'Here he is, the bastard!' a voice snarled.
Xuma turned and something cut across his face. He felt blood running down his chin.
'That's for stealing my woman!' Dladla shouted at him, waving a knife. He had two men with him. They had knives too. Dladla laughed and stepped closer.
Xuma moved back. He tried to find a stick to defend himself.
'Take this,' a woman said and pushed a club into his hand. It was Lena, the thin coloured woman.
'Now we can fight,' Xuma called, and he raised the club.
'Leave that Dladla for me!' He heard Leah's voice behind him. She moved forward smiling her strange smile.
One of the men turned to look at Leah. Xuma struck quickly and the man fell without a sound. The other man turned to run, but was caught round the throat by a tall man who had just come in through the gate.
'My name is J. P. Williamson and I will crush you sonofabitch!'
'Johannes, don't kill him! You'll go to jail!' Lena, the coloured woman, shouted.
Johannes opened his hand and Dladla's man fell to the ground.
Leah moved slowly forward.
'Don't come any nearer, woman!' Dladla shouted.
Leah moved again. Dladla struck out with the knife, but Leah caught his arm and hit him in the face with her forehead. Dladla and Leah struggled together. Dladla tried to bring the knife down onto Leah, but Leah held him easily. Then Leah started to push Dladla's arm back. Back and back. Finally there was a crack and Dladla's arm was broken. He fell in a heap. Leah kicked him in the face.
Eliza took Xuma to a doctor to have the cut on his face stitched up. When they returned the yard was empty. Only Leah and Johannes were still in the house.
'Johannes works in the mine,' Leah said. 'He will help you find work. Won't you Johannes?'
'My name is J. P. Williamson,' Johannes replied. 'I will help him.'
Xuma looked at him. He looked like a coloured man, but he spoke and behaved just like a black man. And Xuma could see Leah loved him.
Xuma, Leah and Eliza went to the room.
'He has lost a lot of blood,' Eliza said.
'He can sleep here,' Leah answered. 'You can help us clear up now so that all will be well when the police come in the morning.'
'Do you want food?' Leah asked Xuma.
'No.'
'Drink?'
'No.'
'Do you want her?'
'Don't be foolish,' Eliza said.
Xuma was silent. Then he remembered the money Ma Plank had given him. He handed it to Leah. She smiled, slapped him on the back and went to the door. She pointed to Eliza.
'That one likes you, but she's a fool. She's been to school so she wants someone who can read and write and who dresses like white people. She wants someone who speaks the language of the whites and wears a bit of cloth they call a tie. Take her by force or you'll he a fool too.'
She went out slamming the door.
'Is that so?' Xuma said, watching Eliza closely.
'Go to bed,' Eliza said. She went out without answering his question.

Chapter 4: Xuma the Mine Boy

When Johannes was drunk, he was loud and he was boastful.
He called everybody a sonofabirch. But when Johannes was sober he was a different man. He was quiet and gentle as a lamb.
Now it was early on Monday morning. It was not yet light. Johannes was sober and he and Xuma were walking through the empty streets of Malay Camp. To Xuma it looked strange after Saturday. Street after street. Empty. Only the faint lights of the street lamps.
'It is quiet now,' Xuma said. 'I like it like this.'
'I like people,' said Johannes. 'I don't like empty streets and dead buildings. People, I need people.'
'How is it in the mine?' Xuma asked. 'I'm not afraid of the work. I want to understand what it will be like and what to do.'
'You will understand. It's not hard to learn.'
They had left Johannesburg a little behind them. They could still see the tops of the buildings, but now in front of them were the towering mine-dumps. To their left, on the road, marched a long line of men.
'They work in the mine,' said Johannes. 'They live in the compound. Anyone who comes from Rhodesia or Mozambique - the white man brought them here - must live in the compound. They're not from the city. The white men don't like people from the city so they don't employ many. I'm all right. I'm a boss boy for a white man. I don't have to live in the compound.'
'And will they take me?' Xuma wanted to know.
Johannes nodded. 'Come, we will talk with them,' he said.
It was a long column of men. In front, on either side, and at the rear of the column were indunas - mine policemen - with clubs and assegais'. The men hummed as they marched.
'Morning!' Johannes called.
'Morning, Williamson!' the induna in front shouted. 'How is the city?'
'As always,' called Johannes.
They marched alongside the column. Xuma looked at the men. An old man smiled at him. He smiled back.
'Who is your friend?' called the induna. 'Is he going to the mine?'
'He will work for the Red One,' answered Johannes.
Just as the sun rose, they approached the gates of the mine. The gates opened and the men marched through.
Xuma and Johannes stopped and watched the column go past. The column turned left and marched behind a mine-dump and some low buildings. Suddenly, from the right, another column of men appeared.
'The night-shift,' Johannes explained. 'They will march back to the compound to sleep.'
'Wait here,' Johannes said. He approached the gates. An induna searched him casually and then allowed him through. Johannes disappeared behind the low buildings.
White men on cycles and in cars passed quickly through the gates. Johannes returned.
'The Red One is not here yet. We will wait here.'
Another man on a cycle appeared. 'That is my white man,' Johannes said.
The white man stopped suddenly and got off the cycle laughing. He was tall and as broad as Johannes, but he looked younger and stronger. His bright eyes twinkled with laughter.
'Ho, Johannes,' the white man said. 'Who is looking after the boys if you are here?'
'It's all right, I've seen them.'
'Goodness, Johannes, you're sober!'
'Chris!' a white man called his name from a hut at the gates.
'Coming!' Chris shouted. He laughed and slapped Johannes on the shoulder. Then he saw Xuma. 'Who is this?'
'He's called Xuma,' Johannes said.
Chris smiled at Xuma and Xuma smiled back. Suddenly the white man called Chris slapped Xuma hard in the chest. Xuma raised his fists and stepped forward.
The white man laughed and quickly held up his hands. 'I just wanted to see if you're a man. This one is only a man when he's drunk.' He pointed to Johannes.
Chris held out his hand. Xuma hesitated and then shook it doubtfully.
The white man at the gate called for Chris again.
'Tell the one at the gate that Xuma can go through,' Johannes said. Chris entered the gate and spoke to the induna there.
'But where is the Red One? You said I would work tor him,' Xuma said.
'Don't worry,' said Johannes, 'if that one says it is all right then it is so. He is a great friend of the Red One. Come!'
Xuma followed Johannes and they went through the gate. An induna grabbed Xuma's arm. Xuma pulled back.
'He must search you,' Johannes said, it is the law.'
The induna searched Xuma casually as he had searched Johannes.
'I like your white man. Is he a Dutchman?' asked Xuma.
'Yes. You're right, he is good. Your white man comes from over the seas.'
Johannes took him to one of the low buildings. They went up to a glass window with a hole in it. A white man appeared.
'This is a new one for the Red One,' Johannes said. 'He's going to be the Red One's boss boy.'
'The Red One has not come.'
'My white man said so.'
The white man behind the window turned to Xuma and asked for his name and his pass'. He gave Xuma a piece of blue card. Xuma could not read it, but it said:

PASS
NATIVE: Xuma
GANG LEADER
for: Mr Paddy O'Shea

'What about my pass?' asked Xuma.
'After work,' the man replied and he turned away.
Xuma followed Johannes to where a group of men were working. They were shovelling sand into trucks and pushing the trucks up a track to a new mine-dump. A white man was in charge. Xuma did not like him. He looked like one of those white men who would kick you and push you around.
'You will work here today,' Johannes told him. Johannes spoke to the white man, explaining that Xuma was the Red One's new boss boy.
Johannes came back. 'This white man is no good. Do nothing to anger him. You will only be here for today. Remember.'
Johannes walked over to the cage waiting to go underground. He put on a cap with a lamp attached to it and entered the cage. The cage disappeared underground. There was a black hole where the cage had been. Xuma had been expecting this to happen, but it still gave him a shock. His hands felt wet with excitement.
'Hi, you!' the white man's eyes were blazing with anger. 'Push that!'
Xuma looked at the white man. Then he looked at the truck loaded with sand and at the steep slope. He would have to push the loaded truck up this steep slope. He looked back at the white man. The induna muttered that it was the work of two men. One of the workers called out that Xuma did not know how to do it.
'Shut up!' the white man roared.
Xuma walked over to the loaded truck. He took hold of it and looked back at the white man. There was a strange look in the white man's eyes. Behind the white man he saw Chris and another white man. This one had bright red hair. They, too, had strange looks on their faces. But they did not look mad like the man who told him to push the truck.
'Go on! Push it!' the white man screamed.
Xuma pushed. The top half moved, but the wheels stayed in the same place. The truck started to tip over. Xuma realized that if he could not pull it back the sand would spill all over the track. When he pulled hard, the wheels began to move back towards him. Xuma looked at the white man who had a gleam of triumph in his eyes.
'Pig!' muttered Xuma. He pushed his leg against the lower half of the truck and began to pull with all his great strength. Suddenly the truck slid back into place and Xuma began to push low down. The truck moved easily up the tracks. It was easy when you knew how.
'Xuma,' Chris called to him. Xuma stopped and two other men took his place at the truck. Chris took his arm. There was a look of great rage in Chris's eyes. It was clear he wanted to hit the white man who had told Xuma to push the truck. Xuma smiled.
'It is all right,' Xuma said.
'You are strong, Xuma,' Chris said. 'Here is the Red One. He is strong too.'
Xuma looked at the Red One. He did not like him. The Red One had hard, sad, blue eyes. There was no laughter in them as there was in Chris's eyes. The Red One had a square chin and thick red hair. His mouth was hard. He would be a fair man, but a hard one, Xuma thought.
'I can't make the click in your name so I'll call you Zuma,' said the Red One. 'All right?' Xuma nodded.
The Red One turned to the white man who had made Xuma push the truck. This is my boy. Don't ever try anything like that again.'
It was a strange day for Xuma. The noises, the shouting, the explosions and the trembling of the earth were bad enough. And then there were the indunas shouting for more work, and over it all the white man with the glaring, angry eyes who had made him push the truck.
But worst of all was the look in the eyes of the black men and coloured men who worked with him. He had seen this look before in the country when he worked on the farms. The look in the eyes of the men was like the look in the eyes of sheep who did not know where to run when a dog barked at them. This really frightened Xuma.
Over all this, stood the induna like a shepherd with a spear. And the white man sat with folded arms.
Xuma pushed a truck up the slope with another man. Together, they pushed the truck up to where a new mine-dump was being started. But as fast as they moved the sand, the pile at the bottom grew just as fast. A truck came up out of the earth and dumped the sand on the pile. The men pushed loaded trucks up the slope and built the new mine-dump.
At the end of the day, the pile of sand at the bottom was the same size as it had been in the morning. And the new mine-dump did not seem to have grown. This really frightened Xuma. There was nothing to show for a man's work. No matter how hard you worked, nothing seemed to change. The noises, the shouting, the explosions and trembling of the earth beat against his brain until his eyes were red like the eyes of all the other men.
They stopped for food. A man called Nana shared his food with Xuma. Nana understood what Xuma was thinking.
'It takes time to get used to it,' Nana said. 'At first you look and look and there is nothing to see for all the work. But tomorrow you will not look as much and you will be less afraid. Finally, you do not look at all.'
'But the eyes of the men...' Xuma said. 'They're like the eyes of sheep.'
Nana smiled. 'Are we not all sheep that talk?'
When they had eaten, the men rested. They lay flat and stretched their bodies. One man began to hum and soon the others all joined in. It helped. The aches and pains lessened. Xuma watched the blue sky. He remembered the green hills and the cattle on the hillsides. His eyes were suddenly wet.
'How is it underground?' he asked Nana quietly.
'Some like it, some do not,' Nana replied.
The sun was low in the sky when the men who had gone underground in the morning came up from out of the earth. The men covered their eyes against the bright light.
'Is it dark underground?' Xuma asked.
'Did you think there was a sun?' Nana laughed.
Johannes pushed through the crowd of men.
'How goes it?' Johannes asked.
'Williamson!' the white man in charge shouted.
Johannes called over his shoulder, 'The Red One wants this man.'
'You should have come to me first,' the white man shouted angrily.
'Why?' said Johannes. He was boasting now. His smile seemed to say, 'I am J. P. Williamson and I will crush you, sonofabitch.'
The white man turned away. 'You'll get into trouble, kaffir, someday soon.'
Johannes took Xuma to the mine doctor's shed. Chris, Paddy O'Shea - the Red One - and Johannes watched as the doctor examined Xuma.
'As strong as an ox,' the doctor said. 'But he shouldn't go down as soon as this.'
'Johannes will look after him,' Chris said.
Xuma and Johannes washed and then went back to Paddy and Chris. Paddy took Xuma to one side.
'It is hard underground. If you are a good worker, it will be well. You will look after the other boys. Make them work. But to be a good leader you must be a good worker.' Paddy stopped. 'If you are good, I will be your friend. If you are not, I will be your enemy. That is my indaba with you. Is it wise?'
'It is wise,' Xuma replied.
Paddy held out his hand. Their hands met. It was the grip of two strong men.
'Have you money?' Paddy asked.
'No, baas.'
'Don't call me baas. Here, take this,' Paddy gave Xuma some money. 'I have some old work clothes underground. You can wear them in the morning. That is all.'
'Don't get too drunk, Johannes!' Chris called.
Johannes waved and laughed.
Xuma and Johannes set off for Malay Camp.

Chapter 5: Maisy and Eliza

As they arrived at Leah's gate, a group of women were just leaving.
'Ho, Xuma!' Leah said. 'How was the work?'
'It was all right.'
'Ho, Johannes,' she said.
'That's me, Leah. My name's J. P. Williamson and I'll crush any sonofabitch.'
Leah laughed and caught Xuma's arm.
'Where did you get the drink from?' she asked. 'Where did you go, Xuma?' She looked from Xuma to Johannes.
'My white man had whisky underground and he gave me some,' Johannes laughed loudly.
Leah sent Johannes inside for food and to talk to his coloured woman.
'And you liked it?' Leah asked Xuma again.
'It was not bad.'
'Don't lie to me. I know when you are not telling me everything.'
'Who were those women?' Xuma asked.
Leah laughed. 'They're the women who sell beer. We all collect money to pay the fines of the ones in jail.'
'I see,' Xuma stared down the street.
'You still think I should have warned the others that the police were coming?' Leah asked.
'It's not my business,' Xuma replied.
'But you think I am doing wrong. And it makes you unhappy. Why?'
'You've been good to me. But ... I don't know. Let me be, woman!'
They sat and watched the street. There were people everywhere. They sang. They danced. They fought. They loved. Some died. Some were born. But everywhere there were people.
'Listen, Xuma,' Leah said. 'I will try to make you understand. In the city it is like this. You must fight all the time. Fight! Whether you are awake or asleep, you must fight. Where you come from it isn't so. But here it is so. And your best friend is money. With money you can buy anything - a policeman, get someone out of jail - anything.'
The stars came out and twinkled in the dark sky. Leah and Xuma went inside. There was a strange girl there. She was not pretty, but she smiled all the time and people looked at her. Ma Plank was sitting with Daddy, who was drunk.
'This is Maisy,' Leah said. Xuma nodded to her. 'Eliza is not here,' Ma Plank said. 'But there are others!'
'Shut up and get him food,' Leah ordered. Ma Plank laughed and dished up food for everybody.
Lena, the coloured girl, looked pretty when she was sober. Xuma could not believe that it was the same person he had seen fighting in the street on Saturday. When he had finished eating, he left the room. He stood and watched the street. What would they be doing at home in the north? They would be sitting round the big fire, talking together, singing and dancing.
But here it was different. No one trusted anyone else. Leah said everyone was always fighting. Daddy was never sober. Johannes was afraid to be sober. Ma Plank was a little crazy. Lena was two people, one when she was drunk and another person - a very unhappy person - when she was sober. Eliza was strange too. She seemed to need the things of the white man, and yet she liked him, he knew that.
Maisy came out and sat beside him.
'Leah tells me you are new here. When did you come?'
'Four days ago. From the north. What about you?'
'I was born in the city.'
'Don't you long to be on a farm sometimes?' asked Xuma.
'I've never been on a farm so I can't long for it,' Maisy laughed.
'And you're not unhappy, like the others?' Xuma nodded his head towards the room.
'I like to be happy. I like to dance and to laugh. Come, I hear people singing and dancing on the street.'
'No.'
'Eliza won't have you, you know. She thinks she is a queen. You're not good enough for her. Come with me. We can have some fun.'
She pulled him away from the house and up the street. She was happy and he became happy too. He began to smile a little. At the corner, a group of men and women were standing in a ring. They were dancing an old dance. Xuma and Maisy joined in the dance. Afterwards, they walked back to the house breathless and laughing.
Leah was outside the house.
'So you made him smile, Maisy?' Leah said.
'This is a happy one,' Xuma said, still smiling.
'This one wants you, Xuma,' Leah said.
'Is that bad?' Maisy asked. 'Maybe you want him for yourself?'
Leah laughed. 'Maybe he doesn't want you or me. Look, Eliza has come.'
Xuma tried to pull his arm away from Maisy, but she held on to it.
Inside the house, Eliza was talking to a well-dressed young man. He looked thin and unhealthy.
Xuma was sad again and went to the back room. He sat thinking. Maisy was good. He could understand Maisy. She had made him happy, and she was kind. But it was Eliza he longed for, Eliza who was cold and who was sitting with another man.
There was a knock at the door.
'Can I come in?' It was Eliza's voice.
'Yes. Come in.'
'How was the dancing?' She spoke in a quiet voice.
'Good.'
'You were happy when you came in with Maisy. You like her?'
'Yes. I can understand her and she's friendly,' Xuma said.
Eliza looked for a cigarette. 'Give me a light.'
'How was the work in the mines?' Eliza asked.
'Hard, but not too hard. I helped to start a mine-dump that would not grow.' Xuma waited. Then he said, 'Why have you come here?'
'I don't know. Sometimes I want to be with you. At other times, I don't want to be with you. It's something inside me. One minute I know what I want, the next minute I don't know.'
'What do you want now?' Xuma asked her.
'I don't know. I came because I wanted to be with you, and now that I'm here I'm still not happy.'
'Come here,' Xuma's voice was strong.
She moved closer to him. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. Slowly she relaxed and lay against him. Then she kissed him. It was a long, warm, passionate kiss.
Xuma's heart beat faster. She did love him.
He leant over her, moving his hand along her leg. Her body stiffened. She pushed his hand away and jumped up.
'No! No!' she shouted. 'No! No!'
She was crying, unable to speak. She turned to the door and went out.
Xuma lay for a long time looking at the ceiling. Then the door opened and Eliza came in again. She lay beside him.
When she spoke, she spoke very softly.
'I'm no good and I can't help it. You should hate me and you should heat me. Inside me there is something wrong. I want the things of the white people. I want to be like the white people. I want to do the things they do, go to the places they go and I am black, I can't help it. Inside I'm not black and I don't want to be black. I want to be the way they are. I know it's no good but I can't help it. Please understand!'
'How can I understand!'
Eliza sighed and went out again.

Chapter 6: The Red One's Woman

Winter had come to Malay Camp, to Johannesburg. The nights were bitterly cold. People wrapped themselves warmly and slept close to their fires.
Xuma had been in the city for three months. He had left Leah's place two months ago and found a room of his own in Malay Camp. He had not gone back to see Leah in case he met Eliza. He could not forget her. He wanted to see Leah and the others. They had been his first friends in the city. They had given him food and a place to stay. But because he was afraid of seeing Eliza, he would not go.
As he sat in a cold room with no fire, with no one to speak to, he longed for the warmth of Leah's place and for the brightness in Leah's eyes. He even longed for the drunken nonsense of old Daddy.
Then he got up, put on his coat and went out. He shivered in the night air. It was Saturday night and the streets were crowded even though it was cold. But it was not the same as that first night when he had walked with Joseph. Now they were all dressed up to keep the cold out. There were no crowds at the corners. They all moved to keep warm.
He walked towards the centre of Johannesburg. His shoes were thin and soon his feet ached with the cold. But it was not too bad, he thought, remembering the clothes his white man had given him. Some people who passed him did not even have shoes. Some did not have coats. But they all walked with someone. Some walked with a woman. Others had men friends. Only he walked alone.
He was now in the centre of Johannesburg. There were more white people now. But he did not look at them. They were not his people so he did not care.
He passed a restaurant. Inside, people ate and laughed. It looked warm and friendly. He looked away quickly.
He felt a touch on his shoulder. A policeman asked him for his pass. He looked at it, looked at Xuma carefully, and returned it.
'Where are you going, Xuma?' the policeman asked.
'I'm just walking.'
'Why not go home and sit at your fire with a beer?'
'You want me to go to jail?'
The policeman laughed and moved on. Not a bad one, Xuma thought. Maybe he's new.
He was in Eloff Street now. There were crowds of white people. It was difficult to move among them. He had to keep stepping aside. Xuma smiled to himself. The only place he was really free was underground in the mines. There he was master and he knew his way. He was the boss boy. Everyone respected him underground.
His white man tried to be friends with him because the other mine boys respected him. But a white man and a black man cannot be friends. They work together. That's all. He did not want to be friends with the white man. He did not want the things of the white man.
Now he thought again of Eliza. He had tried to forget her, but it was no good. Every day he longed for her more and more.
Suddenly he saw his white man. There was a woman with him. And there was laughter in his eyes. It was the first time Xuma had seen Paddy laugh.
'This is Di, my girl, Xuma. Do you like her?' Paddy laughed.
'The Red One talks about you a lot,' the woman said. She shook Xuma's hand.
They walked down the street a little and stopped at a large building.
'This is where I live,' Paddy said.
'Bring him up, Red,' the woman said.
'No!' Xuma said. But Paddy took him into the building and up the stairs.
In the flat, Xuma sat on the edge of a chair. Paddy sat down and the woman brought three drinks.
'This will warm you,' Di said. She lifted her glass. 'To Xuma.'
The wine warmed Xuma. He looked around the room. Now I understand what Eliza wants, he thought. Carpets on the floor, books, a radio. Beautiful things everywhere. They were beautiful, but they were all white man's things.
'Do you like it?' the woman asked.
'What?' Xuma asked.
'I mean the room,' she said.
'It is fine,' he said, and looked at her.
She smiled at him.
'I'll bring the food in from the kitchen,' said Paddy. He got up and left the room.
'The Red One wants you to be his friend,' Di said.
Xuma looked at her again. Again she smiled as if she understood.
'He is white,' Xuma said.
'And so you cannot be friends?' she asked, and there was great sadness in her eyes.
Paddy came in with the food. Xuma felt uncomfortable at first. He had never eaten a meal with white people. But Paddy and his woman talked and soon Xuma forgot his feeling and ate. When they had eaten, they drank more wine and Xuma and Paddy talked about the mines and the funny things that happened there. Soon they were all laughing. Xuma forgot they were white and even spoke to the woman.
Paddy took away the empty plates and Xuma suddenly wanted to tell Di about Eliza. But he could not find the words. She gave him a cigarette and took one herself. He smiled.
'What are you smiling at?' asked Di.
'My girl smokes too.' Then he told her about Eliza. 'She wants to be like white people. She wants a place like this and clothes like yours. It's foolish because she is not white.'
'It's not foolishness, Xuma. I'm a white girl and your girl is black, but inside we are the same. She wants the things I want and I want the things she wants. Eliza and I are the same inside.'
'But it cannot be.'
'It is. We are the same and it is right.'
'It cannot be. You are good, but it cannot be.'
'It is. You do not believe me, but it is so.'
Paddy came back and Xuma got up to leave. He was terribly confused - he did not know what to think.
Paddy closed the door behind Xuma and turned back into the room. 'Well, what do you think of him?' he asked.
'At the moment, he's confused,' said Di. 'His girl wants all the things I have and he can't understand her. By the way, he doesn't dislike you. The problem is that you're living in different worlds.'
'That's nonsense.'
'You don't understand him,' said Di. 'He is different from Johannes, Chris's boy. Johannes believes in himself. Xuma is confused. He doesn't know who or what to believe in. He talks, he feels, he thinks, he gets lonely, but nothing more. He is empty inside.'
'He does believe in himself and his work,' Paddy said.
'You're wrong, Red. He looks beautiful and strong and you think he believes in himself. You think that he is the kind of native you want to see in the future. But you're wrong.' She stopped for a few moments. Then she went on speaking slowly and carefully.
'Most of the people who are liberal or progressive think they know the kind of native they want to see in this country. They have decided who is a good native and what is good for him. They want to tell him what to do. He has to depend on them. Progressives would think that Xuma was a "good native". He wants to be told what to do. That's why you like him.'
'That's not true,' Paddy replied.
'Yes, it is. Listen! The trouble with progressives is that they want to lead. They don't really believe that the natives will one day become the leaders.'
Xuma was glad to be away from the white people. He had been uncomfortable. But he had liked the woman. She seemed to understand. But now he had seen what Eliza wanted.
He walked back slowly to Malay Camp. The food had been good, but without a mealie meal to fill a man he still felt hungry.
He left the centre of the city behind. Now he bumped into people and did not step aside. He knocked against them and felt their warmth and friendliness. This was Malay Camp. It was all right. They were his people.

Chapter 7: At Leah's Place Again

Although it was getting late, Xuma did not want to go back to his room. He knew he would not sleep and he did not want to lie awake in a cold bed.
He walked slowly through Malay Camp. Malay Camp. Rows of dirty streets crossing other rows of dirty streets. Mostly dark streets. Mostly narrow streets. Streets crossing streets. Houses crossing houses.
But in these streets and houses lay life and death and love and hate. Little children playing in dirty puddles. Men gambling at street corners. Prostitutes standing at the corners, waiting. There was the sound of a piano and the sound of dancing feet. The air was full of shouts and screams. Malay Camp was full of fighting and thieving and lying and living and dying. But at the same time, life in Malay Camp was warm and friendly.
'I will go to Leah's place,' Xuma said.
He thought Leah's place would be crowded, but it was silent and the gate was locked. He knocked at the front door. He knocked again, and this time Ma Plank opened the door and pulled him inside.
'Where have you been?' Ma Plank asked.
'It's very quiet here,' he said.
'The police are around,' Ma Plank replied. 'A lot of women have been arrested.'
'Did Leah warn them?'
'You're still a fool,' said Ma Plank.
Xuma could see Daddy lying in a drunken sleep near the fire.
'Where are the others?' Xuma asked.
'They went to the cinema. Leah, Eliza and Maisy.'
Xuma and Ma Plank talked and laughed together. Xuma felt as if he had come home.
'Tell me about Eliza,' Xuma said.
'You still think about her?' the old woman spoke softly.
'Yes.'
'She's still the same. Sometimes she is all right and sometimes she speaks to no one.'
'Do many men come to see her?' Xuma asked.
'They come and she gets tired of them. She's not a bad woman.'
Daddy coughed and rolled over. He had piddled and the floor was wet. Xuma looked at him in disgust'.
'You scorn him, Xuma?' Ma Plank asked.
'He was a man and look at what he is now.'
'When he first came to the city, he was a man. And what a man! He was strong and he was feared and he was respected. Even the white ones respected him. He had money then. Men wanted to be his friend and women longed for him. But he soon saw how the black man lives in this country and it made him unhappy. He fought against life. He learnt to read and write. He became like Eliza, but in the end he was wiser than her.
'He found Leah in the street and looked after her.'
Xuma looked at Ma Plank. There were tears running down her face. But there was a light in her eyes as she remembered the man Daddy had been.
'I will make some tea,' she said.
Xuma looked at Daddy, trying to see him as he had once been. But he could not. He had never seen Daddy sober.
He heard the others returning. Would they be pleased to see him?
Leah came in first. When she saw him, she smiled. That was all. Eliza saw him and there was a strange light in her eyes. Then she looked away. Maisy came in and her eyes were bright with joy.
Leah picked Daddy up as if he was a child and carried him out of the room.
Eliza sat at the fire. Xuma watched her - her hands, her shoulders, the curve of her breasts.
Leah came back. 'How are you?' she asked.
'As always.' He smiled.
'It is a long time,' Leah said, looking from Xuma to Eliza.
'It is the same,' he said. Leah nodded. She looked into the fire.
Then she looked at Maisy. 'This one has longed for you.'
Maisy looked straight at Xuma. There was no laughter in her eyes now. She looked away and then back at him. The laughter came back into her eyes and made her look almost beautiful.
Eliza looked from Xuma to Maisy, and then at Leah. Suddenly she got up and left the room.
Leah sat and stared into the fire. Her eyes were hard.
'Leah!' Xuma spoke.
Leah looked up. His voice was hard and strong.
'Yes?'
'Do you want me to go?'
'Yes!'
'Goodnight.' Xuma got up and went out of the door. Maisy got up to follow him.
'Come back!' Leah shouted. Maisy came back to her seat.
Leah watched Maisy with a smile. Then she got up and went out.
Leah caught up with Xuma at the corner of the street.
'Xuma!'
He stopped, but he did not turn around.
'Xuma,' her voice was soft and quiet.
He turned. She was close to him and there were tears in her eyes. She held him and clung to him, her body shaking with sobs. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. Then, suddenly, she moved away from him. She was strong and hard again. She brushed the tears away from her eyes.
'There is a devil in me tonight,' she said. 'Come. We will walk a little.'
They walked in silence. All around them people moved up and down the street.
'They arrested Joseph,' Leah said. 'I think someone is betraying me. The police know what I do and when I do it.'
They walked a little.
'Are you angry with me?' Xuma asked.
'Of course I'm not,' Leah laughed.
'You are a good one,' he said and he took her arm.
She let him hold her arm for a while and then pulled it away.
When they came back into the house, Eliza was in the kitchen. She was reading and she did not look up at them.
'You will sleep here tonight,' Leah told Xuma. 'It is very late. You can sleep in the little room.'
'I will read for you,' Eliza said, looking at Xuma.
'It is late,' said Leah, looking at Eliza.
'Let her read,' Ma Plank said.
Leah shook her head. There was a smile on her face.
Eliza read about the Zulu wars. The Zulu language is a beautiful language. Xuma listened and was happy. Once again the Zulus were fighting the white man who had come to steal their lands. In the end, the Zulus were beaten because the white man was stronger. Xuma was full of sorrow because the Zulus had lost the fight.
'I will go to bed,' he said. Eliza said nothing.
He went to the little room, undressed and got into the bed. The door opened and Eliza came in.
'Leave me,' he said.
She undressed and got into bed. He could feel her body beside him. He remembered the last time.
'Leave me,' he said again.
She rolled on her side and pressed her body against him.
'I love you,' she whispered.
Xuma held her soft body in his strong arms.
'I love you,' he said.
When they had made love, she lay with her body close to his.
'You did not want me,' Xuma said.
'Leah is right. You don't understand people.'
'I love you,' Xuma said again.
'I am not good for you. There is a devil in me that wants things I cannot get.'
'You are beautiful.'
'I love you, Xuma.'

Chapter 8: The Trip to Hoopvlei

Xuma woke slowly from a deep sleep. He put out his hand to feel tor Eliza, but she was not there. The coldness of the bed told him that she had gone a long time ago.
He got up and dressed. He washed himself under the tap in the yard.
Maisy called him from the kitchen. 'There is hot water here.'
'I have finished,' he replied.
'You look good,' Maisy said with laughter in her eyes.
'I feel good,' he said.
Ma Plank looked at him closely. 'What has happened? Last night you were terribly unhappy and now you look as if you could jump over the sun.'
'Maybe he could!' said Maisy with a longing look, giving him a cup of coffee.
'Where are the others?' asked Xuma.
'Eliza is in her room,' Maisy said. 'Don't go in.'
Xuma went into Eliza's room. He went to take her in his arms. She pulled away from him.
'Don't touch me!' she cried.
'But last night...'
'Last night was a mistake. I was a fool last night. Please leave me.'
'If you want the things of the white people, it is all right. We will save money to buy them.'
'Please go, Xuma!'
He tried to speak, but she pointed to the door.
'Go, please!'
Xuma went out. Eliza lay on the bed and sobbed.
Xuma went into the yard. Maisy followed him.
'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I tried to warn you.'
She put her hand into his hand and he held it tightly.
'You are kind,' he whispered.
'Food is ready,' Ma Plank called.
Leah had returned. She had found out nothing. No one would tell her anything. She knew that someone was betraying her to the police, but she could not find out who it was.
'We'll have to stop selling beer for a while,' Ma Plank said.
Leah laughed. 'But where will money come from if we don't sell beer? We'll have to start selling again soon. But first, I'm going to catch the one who is betraying me. It is the same one who betrayed my man and Joseph...'
The front door banged shut.
'Eliza!' said Ma Plank.
Xuma hurried to the door, but Eliza had gone on down the street without looking back.
'She's gone,' he said with a heavy heart.
'Eat,' ordered Ma Plank, but her eyes were soft and full of kindness.
Maisy moved closer to him. 'I'm not working today. I'm going to see some friends. Come with me. It will help you to forget. They are good people.'
'I will set a trap for the one who is betraying me,' said Leah.
'I'm sure it's not Johannes or Lena,' said Ma Plank.
Maisy stood close to him. 'It's far off, so we must start soon. It is like being in the country there. There is grass and a river. There are cows and farms.'
'I will come,' he said suddenly.
They put on coats and walked down the street. At the corner, they turned and waved. Ma Plank waved back. Daddy stood beside her.
They hurried to the bus stop. Their bus was just moving off. They ran and jumped on. They sat together. Maisy put her head on Xuma's shoulder and fell asleep.
Xuma remembered the night they had danced in the street. He was happy and relaxed. Maisy made him feel this way. She knew how to laugh.
Two hours later, they got off the bus in the open countryside. Below them was a valley - Hoopvlei - the valley of hope. There were some houses and a few streets, and a river at the bottom of the valley.
'It is beautiful,' Xuma said.
'I knew you would like it,' Maisy smiled.
Xuma smiled. He knew now how much he had longed for the land. He ran down the sloping path. Maisy ran in front of him and shouted, 'Catch me!'
They ran happily down the path and along the river.
Maisy knew that Xuma was happy. Maybe he wanted Eliza. But he would remember that he had been happy when he was with her, not with Eliza.
'It is like home,' said Xuma. 'And you know how to make a person happy.'
Xuma walked slowly. Maybe he wanted Eliza, but he knew Maisy was good. She understood him.
'Maisy!' he called.
She waited. He came to her and held her. As he bent to kiss her, she pulled back.
'No, Xuma. You are thinking of her, not me.'
She pulled away from him and walked on. They were now near the little township.
The white man was building new townships like Hoopvlei far from Johannesburg. They did not want natives or coloureds living near Johannesburg. Maybe in ten years Malay Camp would be no more.
Xuma and Maisy walked past the houses, past the men and women.
'Look!' Maisy called excitedly. Across the river a boy was driving a herd of cattle.
'You should be on a farm,' Xuma laughed. She held his arm and looked up at him. The laughter was back in her eyes.
They enjoyed their day in the countryside. Maisy's friends were kind and good people. They were full of laughter like Maisy and Xuma felt he had known them all his life. He forgot about Eliza and Leah and Ma Plank. Xuma spoke about his home and his people. Everybody talked and laughed together. Other people came and lots of beer was drunk and there was singing and dancing.
Then it was time to go. The people wanted them to stay, but Maisy explained that Xuma had to go to the mines early in the morning. Then they managed to find the last taxi back to Malay Camp.
When they got out of the taxi, Xuma did not know where he was and he did not care.
'I am drunk,' he told Maisy.
Maisy took him to her room and put him in her bed.
'I will take care of you,' she said.
He lay in the bed and looked around. It was hard to see clearly because the room kept moving, but it looked like a white person's room.
'Where am I?' he asked.
'My room. This is the place where I work. You can sleep here and get up in time to go to work in the morning.'
'Maisy. You will not leave me?' he said. 'I am drunk.'
Maisy undressed him and then made a bed for herself on the floor. She looked at him for a long time and then turned out the light.

Chapter 9: Other People's Trouble

Maisy woke Xuma up at five o'clock the next morning. When he had dressed, she brought him some breakfast.
'Yesterday was good,' he smiled at her. 'Maybe we can go again.'
'If you want to,' she said.
He held her hand for a moment and then hurried to his own room to get his working clothes.
At the mine gates, he met Johannes who was a little drunk.
'They've taken my woman, Lena!' Johannes shouted. 'Drunk and noisy. Seven days in jail or a pound fine.'
'Maybe Leah will lend the money to you to pay the fine,' Xuma said.
'No!' roared Johannes. 'It will be good for Lena. Let her work for seven days.'
'Then what are you shouting about?' asked Xuma.
'I don't know.' Johannes put his arm around Xuma's shoulders and smiled.
Paddy called to Xuma. 'Listen, Xuma. We will work until it is food time and then we will rest until midnight. After that, we will work at night only. We will work this shift for a month. Is it clear?'
'It is clear,' Xuma replied. He walked away.
Chris called him to explain the new shifts to Johannes. Xuma explained to Johannes what was happening and then looked closely at his friend.
'Is it true about Lena?' he asked.
'Yes.'
'Then we will try to get the money from Leah.'
'No,' replied Johannes, 'I owe money to too many people. I still owe Leah some money.'
'Go to my room,' Xuma said. 'Here is the key. Go and sleep. There is some food. Eat. It will do you good.'
Johannes looked away. Xuma had a room and clothes and food, and he owed no one any money. Yet Xuma had only been working at the mines for a short time.
Xuma knew what Johannes was thinking. 'Are we not friends?' he said.
As Xuma was joining his men to go underground, Johannes stopped him.
'I saw Dladla,' he said. 'He was boasting that Leah would be sorry for what she had done to him.'
Xuma now understood everything. It was Dladla who was betraying Leah.
'I will tell Leah when I see her,' he said.
Xuma hurried to the cages. The men were waiting for him.
'All right,' Xuma said. 'Get in.'
The men walked into the cage and the cage moved slowly down. Another cage came.
'All right. Move along,' Xuma ordered.
Here Xuma was the master. He knew what he was doing. He was the best mine boy in the mine.
A group of white men stood watching. 'You're really lucky,' one of them said to Paddy. They all knew that Xuma's team was the best team in the mine. That meant that Paddy's money went up.
The third cage was filling up. Xuma waited for Paddy to get in. Xuma was the last person to get in. That was the job of the head mine boy.
The cages went down, down, deeper and deeper. Now the men were silent. And their hearts beat faster. Even those who had gone down the mine day after day for months. They never became used to the journey down into the mine.
But they did not know how the white man felt. The white man never showed anything. He never showed fear. He was never upset. And if the boss boy was a good worker like Xuma or Johannes, they never showed fear either.
At the bottom, Paddy and Xuma examined the place where they were to dig. They were not happy about the roof. It looked unsafe and two of the boys were sent to get poles to support it.
Now Paddy showed four other white men where their gangs were to work. Xuma gave each white man a gang of ten boys and work started.
Paddy and Xuma stood side by side and drilled deep into the rock - a black man and a white working together. The broken rock was shovelled onto the conveyor belt and it moved slowly upwards.
When the hour to eat came, Xuma explained the new shifts to the men. The men were so tired that they showed little interest.
One of the men told Paddy and Xuma that he had noticed water coming into the tunnel. They had called the engineer and he said that it was safe. But Paddy and Xuma were not certain.
As they moved back to the cages, one of the men spat a trickle of red saliva. Xuma had heard of the sickness of the lungs which killed miners, but he had never seen anyone who had the sickness.
'How long have you been sick?' Xuma asked.
'Two months,' the man said.
'Why didn't you see a doctor?' Xuma asked.
'Listen. I have a wife and two children. We have a small farm and I owe a white man eight pounds. If I don't pay him, he'll take away the farm. I've been saving. Another four months and I can pay him the money. I know I am dying, but my wife and children will be safe.'
Paddy came over and Xuma made the man tell his story again.
'Didn't anyone tell you that if you got the sickness of the lungs, money would be paid to you?' Paddy asked.
The man shook his head.
'Come,' Paddy said, 'we will go to the doctor.'
The examination was short. The doctor signed a paper and Paddy took the man to the manager. The manager said that it was unusual. It had not happened before. But he finally signed the paper.
Next, they went to the cashier and the miner received his money. He was also given a railway warrant and a pass to show he had not run away from the mine.
Paddy and Xuma watched him as he joined the miners on his last march back to the compound.
'That was a good thing you did,' Xuma said.
'A good thing?' Paddy said sadly. He turned and hurried away.
Xuma changed his clothes and decided to go and see Maisy. If he saw Leah, he would have to tell her about Dladla. But he was frightened to tell her. He had seen the look on Leah's face when she talked about the one who was betraying her.
He was not sure which house Maisy worked in. Finally, he saw Maisy and they went into her room. Maisy was warm and friendly.
'You look sad,' she said.
'I saw one who spat blood,' Xuma explained. He told her about the man who owed eight pounds.
'And that makes you sad? You are a very good man, Xuma, and I like you very much,' she said softly, looking at him.
'I like you too, Maisy, but...'
Maisy smiled. 'I know.'
'No, you don't! You think I like her, but I don't. I know she is no good for me. But I can't help it. She is like a devil to me.'
'And the ways of white folks are like a devil in her,' Maisy sighed.
She looked at him. 'Lie down,' she said. 'You're tired.'
Xuma lay for a while. 'Dladla is betraying Leah,' he said suddenly.
'How do you know?'
'Johannes told me. Dladla was drunk last night and he boasted to Johannes.'
'Have you told Leah?' Maisy asked.
'No.'
'I will hurry up and finish my work. Then we will go together and warn her.'
'You saw her when she swore to get the one who was betraying her?' Xuma said.
'We must tell her. Now you sleep and I will finish my work.'
Maisy touched his forehead with cool fingers. She left them there for a moment and then she took them gently away.

Chapter 10: Eliza and Xuma

It was a cold winter's evening when they walked through Malay Camp to see Leah. Maisy was quiet. There was no laughter in her eyes.
As they came near Leah's house, Xuma thought again of Eliza. He had been peaceful and happy since the day at Hoopvlei. He knew that Eliza could not make him happy in the way that Maisy made him happy. He knew for certain that it was Maisy who gave him this happiness.
He wanted Eliza. But she did not dance like Maisy. She did not laugh like Maisy. He looked at Maisy and wished he loved her. But it was Eliza he loved and longed for'.
'Why is it when you love a person there is nothing you can do about it?' he said suddenly.
'Maybe you love the wrong person.'
'But maybe you cannot help it,' he said.
'I know. I cannot help it... And she?' Maisy sighed.
'I don't know,' said Xuma. 'It is hard to talk to her. With you I can talk. But with her it is not so.'
'She came to you that night.'
'She came. I did not ask her.'
'She loves you, Xuma. That's the way people are.'
'You are not like that,' Xuma said. He looked at her. 'But you love me.'
'What's it to you?'
'It is important to me,' he said. 'You are a good person and I can understand you and talk to you.'
'And what about me?' she asked. 'Is it good for me to watch you run after her? Is it good that you come to me only when she chases you away? Walk on your own!'
She spoke angrily. Then she turned and disappeared quickly into the crowd.
Leah was alone in the house and a little drunk. She wore a blue dress with red and white flowers and she had a colourful scarf on her head. She stood on the verandah looking beautiful. Xuma stopped and stared at her.
'My! You are good to look at!'
Leah laughed. 'Have you seen my new shoes?' She stepped onto the pavement and raised her skirt a little.
'Let me see, Leah,' the woman across the street called.
Leah stepped into the street. Quickly, a crowd gathered to admire her. Leah walked up and down like one of the fashionable white ladies of Johannesburg. She walked down the street putting her left hand on her hip. The crowd roared with delight.
Daddy came drunkenly along the street. He saw Leah, came up to her and bowed to her. Leah held out her hand to him. He went down on one knee and kissed the hand. As he tried to get up, he said on his face in the street. The crowd laughed and clapped. Xuma laughed until tears ran down his face. Maisy sat on the pavement a little distance away, like Xuma, laughing until she cried.
Daddy got up and again bowed to Leah. Leah took his arm and, arm in arm, like a lady and gentleman, they walked slowly back into the house. There was a roar of applause from the crowd.
Leah returned to tell them that the lady and gentleman invited them all to a party. The people clapped again and went to put on their best clothes.
'Did you tell her about Dladla?' Maisy asked Xuma.
'No.'
'I will tell her,' she said.
Xuma looked down the street and saw Eliza. Maisy saw where he was looking. She turned and quickly went into the house.
Eliza saw him and waved. He wanted to go to her, but he waited. She waved again. Yes, she was waving to him. Now he hurried forward.
'Hello, Xuma,' she said softly. 'It is good to see you. You're not angry with me any more, are you?'
'I'm not angry,' he said. 'It's not important.'
'It was a bad thing,' she said, not looking at him.
'No, if a man loves a woman, he loves her. That is all. I love you and it cannot be bad if you love me.' He looked at her. He wanted her to say she loved him.
'If a man loves a woman and she doesn't love him, why is that bad?' asked Eliza.
'Because a man is not happy then.'
'But what if the woman is no good for him?'
'When a man loves, he loves. There is nothing he can do about it.'
'You will be happy if I love you?' she asked. She looked in his eyes and saw the answer. His look was so strong she could not take her eyes from him.
'Listen, Xuma. When we are together I fight with you. Yet when you are not there, I want you. I am your woman. I cannot help it. But you must be strong with me for I am bad.'
She held his arm tightly. There were tears in her eyes as she tried to smile.
'Those things you want,' he said. 'I can give them to you if I work hard. But I cannot read books and I cannot speak the language of the white man.'
'It is my madness,' she said. 'When it comes, leave me alone. When it is gone, I will be good again. I do love you, Xuma. I am your woman.'
Xuma wanted to shout with happiness. 'You are beautiful,' he said.
They laughed and he realized it was the first time he had heard Eliza laugh. It was a good laugh.
Maisy called them in for food. She understood everything immediately.
Leah looked at Xuma and Eliza. She laughed loudly.
'So they have come together at last - the dog and the bitch. It is about time. I was getting tired of it.'
Leah turned to Maisy and put her arms around her shoulders. They walked out into the yard.
'You will be the head of the party,' she said. 'You must be happy tonight. Now, go! Start dancing.'
Maisy called the people to listen. She sang a song of happiness. And as she sang, there was laughter in her eyes. And the people felt it and it showed in their faces and in their eyes.
'Now we will dance,' Maisy called, and she turned to a handsome young man.
Leah smiled and brushed away a tear from her face. 'She is a good woman,' she said.
Ma Plank had come to stand beside her. 'Yes, and that Xuma is a fool,' said the old woman.
'You are foolish, Ma Plank,' Leah said. 'You cannot go to a man and say: "This is the woman you must love." A man will fall in love with a woman and that is it.'
Leah watched the dancers for a moment and then went back into the house.
Xuma and Eliza were there, sitting together. Now and then, Eliza would reach out and touch Xuma as if to make sure he was there.
Eliza looked different. She had become softer. The hardness had gone from her mouth. She looked happy.
'You are happy now?' Leah asked Eliza.
'Yes, Leah!' Eliza smiled.
Leah turned to Xuma. 'This is a talk between you and me. Eliza may listen, but it is for you and me. Do you understand?'
Xuma nodded.
'Sometimes this one is a fool, Xuma. If you were different, I would tell you to beat her. But you are a fool too. When she is mad, let her be. Is that a good indaba?'
'It is good,' Xuma said.
'Good. You are good, Xuma. Now you can look after her and I will be finished with her. She is your woman now.'
Leah looked at Eliza. 'Now it is your turn. Do you really love him or is it the madness that sometimes takes you?'
'I love him,' Eliza said. She could not look away from Leah's face.
'That is good,' Leah said. 'He is a good man.'
Eliza came to Leah, knelt down before her and put her head on Leah's lap.
Xuma went outside. He saw Maisy with a crowd of young men. He asked her to dance.
'She loves me,' he told Maisy.
'I am happy for you,' she replied.
'You are a good friend,' said Xuma. Maisy smiled a strange smile.
'You must remember to go to work,' she said.
Eliza joined them and held Maisy's arm. 'I am happy,' she said.
'Xuma must be at work at midnight. Remind him,' Maisy told her.
Eliza nodded and looked at her watch.
Xuma danced with Eliza and then she took him to a quiet corner. She made him rest his head in her lap and she fed him, pushing little bits of food into his mouth.
He told her about his home, about his mother who had died and about his father and his young brother.
Then Eliza told him about herself. She had not known her parents and Leah had brought her up and sent her to school. Then she tried to tell him about her madness. The madness that made her hate herself because her skin was not white and made her hate her own people because they did not want the things of the whites.
'It is the madness of the city that is in me,' she said.
Then she told him that she loved him and he told her over and over that he loved her.
The party became louder. The people began to clap and stamp their feet. They began to dance the dance which he and Maisy had danced at the corner of the street.
'Let us dance,' Xuma said and took Eliza's hand.
Maisy was the singer. Her voice was strong and beautiful. Xuma and Eliza joined the ring of dancers. They danced together, holding hands, turning and turning. Their dance spoke of their love for each other. At last, the dance ended. The people clapped and shouted.
'We must go now,' Eliza said, breathless.
They left Leah's place and went to Xuma's room. She looked around the room as he changed into his working clothes.
Then they walked to the place above the city where she had taken him that first night. He held her close for a few moments, then pushed her away. He walked quickly towards the mines. He turned once and waved. She watched him walk away into the darkness.

Chapter 11: Dladla is Dead

Xuma thought he could hear someone singing. He had come back from the mine and thrown himself on the bed without taking off his clothes. He did not want to wake up, but the voice went on humming and singing. He sat up and looked around his room.
There was a fire burning in the middle of the room and a pan was on the fire. The door opened and Eliza came in carrying some parcels.
She kissed him. 'Was your sleep good?'
He nodded. He was still confused. He had not expected to find Eliza there.
'You are not happy to see me?' she said.
'I am! I am! I did not think...'
'You did not think I would come and work for you?'
'No, I didn't.'
'You are a fool sometimes.' She held him tightly. Then she went and made tea and cut some bread. 'What time is it?' he asked.
'You've slept all day,' she replied. 'Now it is nearly six.'
'Why didn't you wake me?'
'You were tired. It was good to sleep.'
They sat together and ate the food she had prepared.
'Xuma. Do you want me to come and live here?'
'Yes.'
'Why did you not ask?'
'I thought you would not want to come. It is only one room. I thought I would try later to get two rooms.'
'Ask me now.'
Xuma looked at her. He could not say the words. He shook his head. She smiled at him and held his big hand in her little ones.
They sat and looked into the fire. The two of them are alone together. Two people in love.
'It is good to be loved by you,' she said.
She washed the dishes, touching him every now and again.
They cleaned the room. It was empty apart from the iron bed, a round table and a chair.
'We will make it beautiful,' she said.
'Later we will have two rooms, heh?' Xuma said hopefully.
Ma Plank came quietly into the room.
'There is trouble and Leah wants you to come,' Ma Plank said in a frightened voice.
'What is it?' Eliza asked.
'Dladla is dead. They found him behind a wall. He had a knife in his back.'
'We must go quickly,' Xuma said.
Leah was standing in the centre of the room. The others were sitting silently.
'Someone has killed Dladla,' Leah said. 'I want to know who it was. The police will come here because Dladla was betraying me.'
They all said that they had not killed Dladla.
'What about Johannes?' Xuma asked.
'No,' said Leah. 'I spoke to him this morning. I would have known from his face if he had done it.'
Xuma looked at her closely. 'What about you, Leah?'
'No. I did not kill him.' She stood as straight and as strong as ever.
There was a bang on the door and a white policeman came in. He knew Leah well, for he had tried to trap her many times.
'You know Dladla is dead?' he asked Leah.
'Yes.'
'You know he was betraying you?'
'I had heard this.'
'And you did not kill him?'
'No.'
'He betrayed your man and his brother. Did you know?'
'I was told.'
'Who told you?'
Leah smiled and said nothing.
'All right, Leah. Come with us.'
'I will go with you,' Xuma jumped up.
'No, Xuma, stay and look after these others.'
Leah followed the policeman out of the door. She got into the car and the policeman got in beside her.
Eliza began to sob loudly. Xuma helped her back into the house.
Xuma could do nothing. A white man had come and said, 'You must go' and you had to go.
Hours passed. Once someone knocked at the door, but it was only a neighbour wanting to know if she could help.
Then Xuma looked out of the kitchen window. There was Leah, smiling at them.
They pulled her into the room and gave her food and coffee. Daddy burst into tears and then went back to sleep again. Eliza cried and held Xuma tightly.
The neighbours came and welcomed Leah back as if from a long journey. People started dancing outside until it turned into a party. No one ever discovered who killed Dladla.

Chapter 12: The Death of a Good Man

Xuma and Eliza had been together for five days and it had been good. Every day, Xuma would come from work and sleep. Then they would eat and go out to walk. They walked together in quiet places away from the crowds. Then they would go back to the room and sit until it was time for Xuma to go to work. Once or twice they had gone to Leah's place after eating and helped to serve the beer. Now that Dladla had gone there was no one to betray them and it was safe to sell beer again.
Sometimes Xuma saw that Eliza was quiet and thinking her own thoughts. Then he would go out and walk by himself. When he returned, Eliza was all right again.
At Leah's, Maisy would smile and laugh as usual. Xuma wondered if Maisy had really wanted him. It was only when he was not looking that she watched him and then there was no laughter in her eyes.
One night, as they walked home, Xuma knew that Eliza was unhappy again. She said it was nothing and asked him when his night shift would finish.
'Another two weeks,' he said.
'Then no more night shift?' she asked. 'For how long?'
'I don't know.'
As they came near the house, the old lady opposite waved to them.
'You must go to Leah's at once,' she said.
'What is wrong?' asked Eliza.
'Maybe they have arrested Leah,' Xuma said.
They hurried to Leah's. Ma Plank opened the door. She was crying.
'Is it Leah?' Eliza asked.
'No. It's Daddy,' Ma Plank sobbed, tears running down her face. 'A car knocked him down.'
Xuma went into Leah's room. A doctor was there. Daddy lay on the bed. There was blood on his lips. Leah was holding his head. Xuma looked at the doctor.
'How is he?'
'He is finished,' the doctor said.
'But you are a doctor!'
'He is damaged inside,' the doctor replied. He went out of the room.
Daddy coughed and more blood came to his lips. He opened his eyes.
Daddy's eyes were bright and clear. Xuma thought for a moment that he was looking at a different man. A man he had never known before. Even Daddy's face had changed. It was the face of a strong man. A good and kind man. Not the face of a drunken old man.
'Get Ma Plank,' Leah called, without looking up.
Ma Plank came. She put her hand on Daddy's forehead and kept it there. Daddy tried to put his hand on hers. Then he looked at Ma Plank. She smiled and it made her face like the face of a young woman.
Daddy opened his mouth. Ma Plank leant forward to hear.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered.
'What nonsense is this?' Ma Plank said. 'Haven't we been happy together? Haven't you been a good old man to me?'
Daddy smiled. He looked at Leah. They looked at each other for a long time. They did not need to speak. Then Daddy sighed and closed his eyes.
'Leave us,' Leah said. Xuma, Maisy and Eliza went out.
The two women who had loved Daddy stayed with him.
After work the next morning, Xuma went straight to Leah's. Hundreds of people, who had known Daddy when he was young, came and looked at him for the last time.
They put a little cross over his grave. They wrote his name on the cross. Daddy was called Francis Ndahula.
That night, Leah got drunk - very drunk. She laughed and laughed until Eliza became angry and would not talk to her. Leah invited everyone in to have a drink. It was like a Saturday night.
Suddenly Leah wanted to dance. She called to Xuma and held him tightly, leaning heavily against him. Eliza and Ma Plank left to go to Xuma's place.
'Let them go!' cried Leah. 'Do you think your tears will bring him back? What is finished is finished. Go on! Get out, both of you!'
Leah began to dance. She danced round and round, faster and faster. Then suddenly she stopped and Xuma realised that she was going to fall. He carried her to her room and left Maisy to look after her.
On the way back to his place, he met Ma Plank.
'Is she alright?' she asked.
Xuma nodded.
'She loved him,' Ma Plank said.
He hurried home to Eliza. She was waiting for him at the corner of the street.
'Come. We will walk,' she said.
They passed all the houses and climbed the hill. They reached the top. Suddenly, they turned and saw the city below them. 'That is the city,' Eliza said. 'The city!' She watched the lights shining brightly in the centre of the city. When Xuma looked at her, he saw that she was crying.
'Do not go to work tonight. Stay with me...'
'I must go. I am the boss boy.'
'But only tonight, Xuma. Please.'
'I must go. My white man needs me.'
She smiled a bright smile and laughed.
'I was foolish to ask,' she said. 'You must go.'
They stood for a moment in silence. Then she touched his hand, then his arm.
'Love me now,' she said.
'Let us go,' he said, excited by her touch.
'No! Here!'
Xuma held her close. Before she turned to him, she looked back again at the lights of the city. Then she put her arms around him and held him tightly.

Chapter 13: Sadness for Xuma

When Xuma awoke, Ma Plank was in his room.
'Where is Eliza?' he asked.
'She's gone.'
'Will she be long?'
'She's gone,' Ma Plank said again. 'She's gone on a long train journey and will not come back.'
Xuma sat staring at her.
'She said she tried but it was no good, Xuma. She loved you, but it was no good. She's like Daddy. She's a good girl, but she has the sickness of the city.'
Xuma sat on the edge of the bed and did not move. He sat for a long time. Ma Plank tried to touch his shoulder.
'Please go,' he said.
Ma Plank looked at him and went out.
'She's gone,' Xuma looked round the room.
He sat all afternoon. Then it was evening. Still he sat. Maisy knocked and entered.
'You must dress,' she said. 'Do you work tonight?'
'No, it is Saturday.' Xuma dressed slowly.
'My friends at Hoopvlei want us to visit them. Leah said she would come if you went.'
Maisy gave a short laugh.
'I don't want to go to your friends,' Xuma said. 'Later, maybe I will go with you. Now I want to be left alone.'
Maisy went out. As she left, he heard her sobbing. He sat down on the bed again.
'She's gone,' he repeated the words slowly. He had no feeling, no hurt. He just felt empty.
In a few minutes, Leah came in. She stood and watched him for a little while. Then she smiled and walked over to him.
'I hear a lot of talk and see old women and young fools crying,' she spoke loudly.
Xuma looked at her.
'So you cannot speak, heh? Xuma from the north. Your woman has left you. Look at you!'
'Leave me,' Xuma said.
'Oh, I can leave you. I'm sick of weak fools who pretend they are men.'
Then suddenly, her voice became soft and friendly.
'She has gone, Xuma. You can do nothing about that. She was sick of this place, she was sick of us. She wants things we cannot give her. That is how she is. Now... Go out. Walk until you are tired.'
She pushed him out of the room and watched him walk up the street. She went back into the room and looked around. There were tears in her eyes. This was where Eliza had been happy sometimes.
Two big tears fell down Leah's face. She went to the little table and picked up an old picture of Eliza and looked at it.
'They don't know how I feel,' Leah whispered. She slipped the picture into her dress and held her hand over it. Her eyes were like the eyes of a mother looking at her child.
Eliza had gone…

Chapter 14: The Trap

Eliza had gone. The words went through Xuma's head as he walked. He walked without knowing where he was going. He did not see the people, he did not see the streets.
He walked for two hours. Slowly he began to see the world around him again. He stopped. He felt terribly tired. He looked around. He saw a flat stone. Where had he seen it before?
Yes. This was where they had been the night before. She had asked him not to go to work. She had been strange. She had made love to him here. He looked at the stone and thought for a moment she was standing there.
He turned and hurried away. His memories came back to him. He remembered the places they had been to. He came to Malay Camp. He saw the people once again. They laughed and danced. They moved up and down.
He pushed through the people and they pushed back. He went to the room. He could not stay there. He locked the door and walked towards Leah's place. He did not want to go there, but there was nowhere else to go.
Ma Plank was at the gate.
'Are you alright?' she asked. 'Go in. They are all there. Maisy is there too.'
He went in. Leah saw him and came over. She looked at him.
'It is better now,' she said. 'I know it still hurts, but you will feel better soon.'
She smiled into his eyes.
'Maybe you should drink tonight,' she said.
'No.'
'Well, go and talk to Johannes before he gets too drunk to talk,' she laughed.
'I don't want to talk to anyone,' he said.
'All right, come and sit by me. Later we will talk to my friend and we will hear what the police are doing.'
They sat and she sold beer. All around were people. There were people coming to get their drinks, people moving away, laughing and talking.
Maisy came out of the house and saw him. She came and stood by him. She said nothing. She touched him on the shoulder and looked at him. Then she went back into the house.
'She is a good woman, that one,' Leah said.
'I know,' he said sadly.
'She loves you.'
Leah looked at him. He looked away silently.
Johannes came out of the house, he was very drunk. He pushed a man out of his way. When the man complained, Johannes caught him round the throat.
'I am J. P. Williamson,' Johannes roared, 'and I will crush you sonofabitch!'
'Put him down!' roared Leah and she smacked him in the face. Johannes dropped the man. He fell on the floor.
Johannes began to cry. 'You hit me, sister,' he sobbed and tears ran down his face. Even Leah was surprised. Johannes was so big and strong. She burst out laughing.
His woman, Lena, began to cry too. Leah laughed and Xuma laughed too. Maisy came into the yard, saw what was happening, and roared with laughter.
Finally, Johannes helped the man to his feet, told him he was sorry and they made friends.
'Come, Xuma,' Leah took Xuma's arm. 'We will go up the street to see my friend. Maybe he has news for us.'
They walked up the street. Xuma was silent.
'I miss Eliza too,' Leah said.
Xuma looked at her. Of course, he thought, she loves Eliza too. Eliza must be like a child to her.
'Yes. You love her too,' Xuma said.
'We all love her.'
They got to the corner of the street. They waited for a while. Then the black policeman came up on his bicycle. He looked worried.
'What is the news?' Leah asked.
'They look at me strangely,' the policeman said.
'I pay you to tell me what they plan, not how they look at you. What do they plan?'
'You are very hard,' the policeman complained. 'They will not come tonight or in the morning. But they will come tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night.'
'Good.' Leah counted out some money.
The man rode off.
'We will take the tins out tonight,' Leah said. 'We will not sell tomorrow at all.'
They walked back to the house. Maisy met them at the door.
'Let us walk, Xuma,' Maisy asked.
'Go with her,' Leah told him. 'But do not stay long. I need you to help me later.'
They walked until there was grass under their feet. Maisy sat down and pulled him down beside her. He lay and watched the sky. He thought of his home in the north. He had planned to take Eliza there. But she had gone and he knew that he would never go back to his home again.
'We must speak of Eliza,' Maisy said. 'I know you are thinking of her and it is better to speak of her.'
'I don't want to speak of her.'
'All right, I will speak about myself,' Maisy said. 'To love a man who loves another is painful. You look at him and he is thinking of another woman and you feel pain. You lie down to sleep and you are alone and you think: "They are together." And it hurts so that you cannot sleep. Day after day it is the same. That is the pain I have carried for months.'
She pulled up some grass and threw it away from her. There was silence between them after that.
Then Maisy spoke again. 'I knew she would go away. I just knew. She wants things we do not understand. I waited. Now it is over and I am not happy. Maybe it is because I know now that she really loved you. I thought I would be happy when she left you and you came to me. But I am not happy.'
She turned towards him and tried to smile. Instead she began to cry, great sobs that came from deep inside her. She cried for a long time, the pain and the hurt coming out with every sob.
Slowly the sound of her crying died away and Maisy lay for a long time, her eyes closed.
'We must go back,' Maisy said and stood up.
The last customers were leaving Leah's place when they got back. They had started to take the tins out of the house to hide them in the yard.
'I will mark the places and you will dig,' Leah told Xuma.
They had just started to dig, when suddenly, the yard was full of people. A torch shone in Leah's face.
'Take that light out of my face,' Leah ordered.
The policeman switched off the light. 'So, I've got you at last,' he said.
'Yes, you've got me.'
'I set a trap, Leah. I knew someone was telling you our plans, so I told everyone the wrong plan. We said we were to come tomorrow, but really we were coming tonight. Are you ready?'
'Give me a little time,' Leah said.
She went to Ma Plank and Maisy. 'I shall be gone for about six months. Don't get me a lawyer. Sell everything and keep the money. We will need a new home when I return.'
'I will come with you,' Xuma said.
'No, Xuma, I want to go alone. Isn't it strange,' she went on, 'how things happen. First Daddy dies, then Eliza leaves and now this. I shall worry about you. You are like a son to me.'
He watched her go with the policeman. She was holding her head high. She was Leah, strong Leah. Daddy was dead... Eliza had gone... and now Leah was not there.

Chapter 15: Paddy Tries to Understand

Xuma went to work and then he went home to sleep. The next day, he did the same thing. He ate and worked and slept and drank. The world did not seem to care about people. Daddy died and the world went on. Eliza ran away and still the world went on. Now Leah had gone to jail.
He had been in court when the white man had told Leah that she must go to jail for nine months. Outside the court a young person said that white people sold beer and did not go to jail.
Why is it wrong if Leah sells beer and right if a white person sells beer? Xuma thought.
One evening, he went to Leah's house, but now it was full of strangers. The house where he found Eliza was full of strangers.
He walked on through the streets. Suddenly he heard a voice calling him. He looked up and waited to see who it was.
'Ho there, Xuma,' Paddy said.
Xuma looked at the white man and waited for him to speak.
'What is it?' Xuma asked at last.
'I want to speak to you,' said Paddy. 'When a man is sick in the body, you take him to the doctor. Right? And the doctor gives him medicine and says: "Take this and you will get well." Right?'
'Yes.'
'But if a man has a sickness of the mind, what can he do?'
'There is nothing he can do,' Xuma said.
'Your forefathers did not teach this.'
'That was before the white man came.'
'And now that the white man has come?'
'There is nothing to do.'
'You must do something. You must think and not be afraid of your thoughts. If you have questions, look around to find those who can tell you the answer. But first you must know what you want.'
'Why do you, a white man, talk to me like this?'
'Because I am a man first, and a white man afterwards. I have watched you and I understand what is troubling you.'
'You say you understand, white man. You say I must speak what is in my heart.'
Paddy nodded.
Xuma looked away and was silent. Paddy waited.
'How can you understand?' asked Xuma. 'You are a white man. You do not carry a pass. You do not know how it feels when they say: "Get out! White people only!' Did your woman leave you because she is mad for the things of the white man? Did you know Leah? Did you love her? Do you know how it feels to see her go to jail for nine months? How can you understand, white man? You want me to be your friend. How can I be your friend when your people do this to me and my people?'
'What you say is true, Xuma. These things have not happened to me so I cannot feel them. But there is always a great unhappiness in my heart,' said Paddy.
'You are white.'
'I am a man first. I want you to be a man first and then a black man.'
'I am a black man. My people are black. I love them.'
'It is good to love your people, but it is not good to think only as a black man or only as a white man. The white people in this country think only as white people. That is what is wrong.'
'Then I must think as a black man.'
'No. You are a man first. You must be a man first and then a black man. If you do that, you will understand like a black man and also like a white man. You must be free inside yourself. Only those who are free can help to free other people.'
Xuma shook his head. He had told the white man the truth. He had thought the white man might tell him not to come back to work. But instead he had not been angry. He had tried to understand! He was a good one, a kind one.
'You are kind, Red One, but it is not the kindness I want.'
'It is not kindness I give,' Paddy was getting angry now. 'I thought you wanted to understand. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have gone to bed. Maybe you are a fool who is afraid to think.'
Paddy turned to walk away.
Xuma watched him go. He started to smile.
'Sleep well, Red One!' he shouted. His voice was friendly.
The anger in Paddy's voice had reminded him of Leah. He thought about Paddy's words. To be a man first; think like a man first, and then a black man. It would mean that people did not think about their colour. But people do think about their colour. It was a good idea. No white and no black. If that was so, he could go anywhere without a pass. He would get the same money as Red. He would go in the same buses as white folks. And Eliza would be with him now.

Chapter 16: 'We Are Men'

It was night when Xuma awoke. He lay in the darkness remembering his talk with the Red One. He remembered the beautiful dream he had had. Man without colour. But it was not possible. The white man would not let it happen.
Suddenly he felt alone and unhappy. He felt that he could not bear the pain. He hated all white people and he hated the Red One. If the Red One had not spoken to him, he would not feel the way he did now.
He got up and dressed. He washed and went out to find an eating house.
It was full. He sat in a far corner and a dirty old man put a filthy plate of meat in front of him. There was a dry piece of bread on the dirty table.
As he ate, he thought about the restaurants the white people went to. They had big rooms with lots of space. There were white eating houses in nearly every street.
Suddenly he felt lonely. He realized that he wanted to talk to Maisy. Then he stopped. Maybe she had a new boyfriend. He started to walk to her place of work.
When he got there, he stood looking at the gate. How could he tell her about being a man without colour? He felt confused. He hurried away.
When he arrived at the mine, there were people moving everywhere. The lights shone, whistles blew and men shouted.
He grabbed a man near him.
'What is it?'
'There is an accident.'
'Where is Johannes?'
'He's down there,' the man said.
Paddy took Xuma's arm. 'Johannes and Chris are down there. I'm going down.'
'I will go with you.'
'It is dangerous,' a white man said. 'Wait for the engineers.'
'There are two men down there,' Paddy said.
The cage carried them down into the darkness.
Twenty minutes later, the men heard the cage coming up again. Paddy and Xuma came out carrying Johannes and Chris. They were both dead.
'They held the roof up with their bodies so that we could get up,' a mine boy sobbed. No one listened to what he had said.
Two engineers came back up. 'It is not serious,' one of them said. 'You can go back to work now. The roof just needs some new supports. The men panicked. If they had stayed where they were no one would have died. That's all.'
Paddy knocked him down with one blow.
Men stepped between Paddy and the fallen engineer.
'All right! All right!' the manager cried. 'The mine's all right. Get back to work. Night shift, get ready to go down the mine.'
'No!' shouted Xuma. 'Let them fix the roof first. Weeks ago, they said it was all right. Now two men are dead. Let them fix it first.'
The manager looked at Xuma and the other boys.
'Get ready,' he shouted.
'No!' a voice called. 'Fix it first.'
Suddenly Xuma felt good. He felt free.
'We are men,' he shouted. 'It does not matter if our skins are black. We are not cattle. We are men.'
'This is a strike!' the manager shouted. He pointed at Xuma. 'You will go to jail! I have called the police! They will be here soon.'
'We will not go down if you say so, Xuma,' a man shouted.
'Build the roof properly and we will go down!' Xuma shouted. 'Build it properly! Johannes was my friend. Now he is dead. Build it properly.'
'Those who are not striking stand on the left!' the manager shouted. All the white men and the indunas moved to the left.
Only Paddy stood in the middle. Xuma and the mine boys were on the right. The manager, the indunas and the other white men were on the left.
'O'Shea,' the manager called.
Paddy walked over and shook Xuma by the hand.
'I am a man first, Xuma,' he said. He turned to the other mine boys. 'Xuma is right. Isn't the blood of a black man like that of a white man?'
Two vans came into the yard and police jumped from them.
'There they are! Those two are the strike leaders!' the manager shouted.
The police attacked them. They hit out at the mine boys with clubs and whips. Xuma saw Paddy struck by a policeman. He was held with his hands behind his back.
Xuma felt a terrible blow on his head and he turned and pulled the club from a policeman's hand.
Suddenly he knew he had to run away. He began to run through the crowd. Then Paddy's voice came to him.
'Do not run away, Xuma.'
But he could not stop. Around him the streets were empty. He knocked on the door of Maisy's room.
'Xuma!' Maisy took him inside. Ma Plank was there, looking very old. Maisy bathed his bleeding head. He told them what had happened.
'I must go back. The Red One is in jail. I must go there too. I would not be a man if I did not go.'
'Don't be a fool,' Ma Plank said. 'They don't care.'
'I must go. The Red One is there. He is not black, but he has gone to jail for our people. It is good that a black man should tell the white people how we feel. You understand?' He looked at Maisy.
'I understand, Xuma.'
'You have always been good to me, Maisy. Now I know I love you. Maybe you will wait for me and when I come back you will make a home for me?'
Maisy smiled through her tears.
'I will wait for you for a long time or a short time. Then we will make a home that will be full of laughter and happiness. You are the one I want and I will wait for you every day and every night.'
'Now I must go.'
'I will go with you to the police station.'
'No,' he said.
'Let her go,' Ma Plank said.
'All right,' said Xuma.