‘And how did I come here, you are asking me, my young Master? I will tell you. The last white master I served on the coast liked me very much. When he was going to go away for good, he told me not go too far away from the bungalow. In fact, that I should stay in the boys’ quarters for the first two months after he was gone. That in the third month, a new master would come from their country. My old master was going to leave a recommendation with me for the new master so that he would employ me I said, “Yes, Master.” But just a few days before he left, he let me know that there was a Government Rest House attached to his office in this area. That the keeper of it was going away for some reason of his own. My master knew it had a better salary. He had recommended me for it. That’s how I came here.

‘Yes, my Master, that is more than ten years ago. At first, it was only white people who came here. Then a few black men began coming too. Now, they don’t come any more – I mean the white men. How can I be sorry? Do I sound sorry? Between me and you, I can say that I don’t know whether it has made much difference for me or not. Sometimes I am really glad when I think that our own people have done so well. About two years after the white people left, I stopped wearing the uniform. No one seemed to notice. Now I can feel the type of person a visitor is and then I may or may not even wait at table. But that is all, I am still Zirigu. I thank God that my little sons here seem to be doing well at school. I don’t think I will have money to send them to college. But I will not grieve about that. Setu is a good wife. For the rest, I don’t know. I have lived here for many years. It is the only home the children know. I hope that by the time I am too old to be the keeper here, the children too will be old enough to look after themselves.

‘Master, I’m sure it is very late. After all that tuo and now the pito, I’m sure you need a long night’s sleep. I only hope you will not have to get up to look after running bowels.

‘Sleep well, my young Master.’

‘No, neither of us is going to bed yet. No, not until you have told me the rest of the story you promised.’

‘Weyting?’

‘You said you were going to tell me something else soon.’