Henderson the Rain King - Saul Bellow [67]
to hear what this lean fellow in the hemp wig, the examiner, with his leopard-skin cuffs, would say. I was told to sit down and I did so, stooping onto the low stool with my hands on my knees and putting my face forward very attentively. Now the examiner made no mention of any corpse, but instead asked me a series of curious questions, such as my age and general health and was I a married man and did I have children. To all my answers, translated by poor Romilayu, whose voice showed the strain of terror, the examiner gave deep bows and he frowned, but favorably, and seemed to approve of what he heard. Because he didn't mention the dead man I felt gracious and obliging, if you please, and thought with a certain amount of satisfaction, and maybe even jubilation, that I had passed the ordeal they had set me. It had sickened me, it had wrung me, but in the end my boldness had paid off. Would I sign my name? For comparison with the passport signature, I supposed. Willingly I dashed the signature down with my liberated and light fingers, saying to myself within, "Ha, ha! Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! That's okay. You may have my autograph." Where were the ladies? Sleeping with those big contented horizontal mouths and round, shaved, delicate heads. And the torch bearers? Holding up the sizzling lights from which a hairy smoke was departing. "Well, is everything in order now? I guess it's okay." I was really highly pleased and felt I had accomplished something. Now the examiner made a curious request. Would I please take off my shirt? At this I balked a little and wanted to know What for. Romilayu couldn't tell me. I was somewhat worried and I said to him in low tones, "Listen, what's all this about?" "I no know." "Well, ask the guy." Romilayu did as I had bid him but only got a repetition of the request. "Ask him," I said, "if then he'll let us go to sleep peacefully." As if he understood my terms, the examiner nodded, and I stripped off my T-shirt, which was greatly in need of a wash. The examiner then came up to me and looked me over very closely, which made me feel awkward. I wondered whether I might be asked to wrestle among the Wariri as I had been by Itelo; I thought perhaps I had strayed into a wrestling' part of Africa, where it was the customary mode of introduction. However, this did not seem to be the case. "Well, Romilayu," I said, "it could be that they want to sell us into slavery. There are reports that they still keep Slaves in Saudi Arabia. God! What a slave I'd make. Ha. ha!" I was still in a jesting frame of mind, you see. "Or do they want to put me into a pit and cover me with coals and bake me? The pygmies do that with elephants. It takes about a week's time." While I was still kidding like this the examiner continued to size me up. I pointed to the name Frances, tattooed at Coney Island so many years ago, and explained that this was the name of my first wife. He did not seem much interested. I put on my sweaty shirt again and said, "Ask him if we can see the king." This time the examiner was willing to reply. The king, Romilayu translated, wanted to see me tomorrow and to talk to me in my own language. "That's wonderful," I said. "I have a thing or two to ask him." Tomorrow, Romilayu repeated, King Dahfu wanted to see me. Yes, yes. In the morning before the day-long ceremonies to end the drought were begun. "Oh, is that so?" I said. "In that case let's have a little sleep." So we were allowed at last to rest, not that much of the night remained. All too soon the roosters were screaming and I awoke and grew aware first of foaming red clouds and the huge channel of the approaching sunrise. I then sat up, remembering that the king wished to see us early. Just inside the doorway, against the wall, sitting in very much my own posture, was the dead man. Someone had fetched him back from the ravine.
XII
I swore. "This is brainwashing." And I resolved that they would never drive me out of my mind. I had seen dead men before this, plenty of them. In the last year of the war I shared the European continent with about