held out his hand, signaling her to wait while he drank.
“You have not heard what I must tell you,” he said with a wheeze.
Jade sat back down.
“I must tell you that the power of the crocodile is in the water.”
CHAPTER 7
The Swahili word for crocodile is “ mamba ,” not to be confused
with the poisonous snake by the same English name.
Perhaps mamba should actually translate into “deadly.”
—The Traveler
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. What was your teacher telling me?” Jade and Jelani had left the mondo-mogo ’s hut and found a quiet, shady place outside of the palisades to sit and talk. Biscuit had taken his dinner, a scrawny chicken that Jade had paid dearly for, to an even more secluded spot thirty yards away.
“When the crocodile is on land, he is not as powerful as in the water, where he is hidden,” said Jelani.
Jade shook her head. “I understand that much. But I don’t understand why your teacher told it to me. Is your village being plagued by a crocodile? Has it taken some of the women when they draw water?”
“We have no trouble with a crocodile. Not now, though many have died that way in years past. Now the women have for many months gone down to the river in large groups, trumpeting like elephants. They beat the water with poles and they throw rocks while they take turns washing or filling their jars. They are also instructed not to go to the same spot each time to draw water. Crocodiles watch and learn where people go.”
“Clever idea,” said Jade. “Yours?”
Jelani shook his head. “Not all of it. I told them to go to different spots each time. The sticks and the trumpeting are my mother’s idea. My mother is Mumbi, younger sister of the mondo-mogo . She has some of the seer’s gift. For many years she has had this idea that the crocodiles do not harm the elephants, but no one would listen to her. Now she has my mouth to speak through and all the villagers call her a wise woman.” His lips twitched, and Jade thought the smile was less of pleasure and more of amusement.
“I’m sure your mother’s status is well deserved,” Jade said. “Your teacher, is he ill?”
“He grows very old, Simba Jike. He has already predicted his own death this year.” Jelani’s head bowed and his chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. “I am not ready to be mondo-mogo .”
“How so? Is there more for him to teach you? Can you learn from another man in another village?”
“That is not it. I am not ready to shoulder the burden. But my teacher reminds me that the elephant must carry his own tusks.”
“Carrying your own isn’t the problem,” said Jade. “It’s carrying everyone else’s. I think you are trying to carry the burden of all your people.”
Jelani looked sidewise at her, a wry smile forming on his handsome young face. “And Simba Jike never carries anyone else’s burdens, does she?”
He laughed, and Jade could tell it was at her expense. Somehow, coming from her young friend, it didn’t sting and she was happy to hear it. He’d grown so serious in the time she’d known him. Jade joined in his joke. “No, I just run around trying to save elephants and leopards and solve murders.”
“And so whose burdens do you carry this time?” Jelani asked.
“Only my own, I think.” She told him briefly about the terrible package and the letter she’d received. She omitted her hallucinations and the strange vision in the smoke, for the very fact that he would take them seriously. The last thing Jade wanted was another smelly ointment or medicine pouch to carry. She wanted information.
“I know I have a strong enemy in David’s mother,” she said. “She is in prison, but she had a lover who came to Africa long ago. I believe he has helped her in the past and is probably still helping her.”
“And you do not know who this man is?”
“I know his name, Mathers Pellyn, but I don’t even know if he lives in Nairobi. He could be anywhere. Mombassa,
“You have not heard what I must tell you,” he said with a wheeze.
Jade sat back down.
“I must tell you that the power of the crocodile is in the water.”
CHAPTER 7
The Swahili word for crocodile is “ mamba ,” not to be confused
with the poisonous snake by the same English name.
Perhaps mamba should actually translate into “deadly.”
—The Traveler
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. What was your teacher telling me?” Jade and Jelani had left the mondo-mogo ’s hut and found a quiet, shady place outside of the palisades to sit and talk. Biscuit had taken his dinner, a scrawny chicken that Jade had paid dearly for, to an even more secluded spot thirty yards away.
“When the crocodile is on land, he is not as powerful as in the water, where he is hidden,” said Jelani.
Jade shook her head. “I understand that much. But I don’t understand why your teacher told it to me. Is your village being plagued by a crocodile? Has it taken some of the women when they draw water?”
“We have no trouble with a crocodile. Not now, though many have died that way in years past. Now the women have for many months gone down to the river in large groups, trumpeting like elephants. They beat the water with poles and they throw rocks while they take turns washing or filling their jars. They are also instructed not to go to the same spot each time to draw water. Crocodiles watch and learn where people go.”
“Clever idea,” said Jade. “Yours?”
Jelani shook his head. “Not all of it. I told them to go to different spots each time. The sticks and the trumpeting are my mother’s idea. My mother is Mumbi, younger sister of the mondo-mogo . She has some of the seer’s gift. For many years she has had this idea that the crocodiles do not harm the elephants, but no one would listen to her. Now she has my mouth to speak through and all the villagers call her a wise woman.” His lips twitched, and Jade thought the smile was less of pleasure and more of amusement.
“I’m sure your mother’s status is well deserved,” Jade said. “Your teacher, is he ill?”
“He grows very old, Simba Jike. He has already predicted his own death this year.” Jelani’s head bowed and his chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. “I am not ready to be mondo-mogo .”
“How so? Is there more for him to teach you? Can you learn from another man in another village?”
“That is not it. I am not ready to shoulder the burden. But my teacher reminds me that the elephant must carry his own tusks.”
“Carrying your own isn’t the problem,” said Jade. “It’s carrying everyone else’s. I think you are trying to carry the burden of all your people.”
Jelani looked sidewise at her, a wry smile forming on his handsome young face. “And Simba Jike never carries anyone else’s burdens, does she?”
He laughed, and Jade could tell it was at her expense. Somehow, coming from her young friend, it didn’t sting and she was happy to hear it. He’d grown so serious in the time she’d known him. Jade joined in his joke. “No, I just run around trying to save elephants and leopards and solve murders.”
“And so whose burdens do you carry this time?” Jelani asked.
“Only my own, I think.” She told him briefly about the terrible package and the letter she’d received. She omitted her hallucinations and the strange vision in the smoke, for the very fact that he would take them seriously. The last thing Jade wanted was another smelly ointment or medicine pouch to carry. She wanted information.
“I know I have a strong enemy in David’s mother,” she said. “She is in prison, but she had a lover who came to Africa long ago. I believe he has helped her in the past and is probably still helping her.”
“And you do not know who this man is?”
“I know his name, Mathers Pellyn, but I don’t even know if he lives in Nairobi. He could be anywhere. Mombassa,
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