The covenant - James A. Michener [586]
If he had left the room even at this point he might have avoided incrimination, but like other blacks across the nation he felt a growing sense of the future. 'I would not storm the police station. You could all get killed.' As soon as he uttered these words he knew they were irrelevant; these men were prepared to die.
'About Mozambique,' his brother repeated. 'I can't go with you. My job is to teach young men at the university.'
'Daniel,' his brother cried. 'We don't want you to come. Men like you . . . stay here to build. Men like us . . . get out so we can tear down.'
Professor Nxumalo felt old and out of place; he was alarmed at where his teaching had led, but he was also profoundly excited by the challenge. 'When you reach Mozambiqueand you will, I know you willyou've got to consolidate. Make no move till you can rely upon help from all the frontiers. Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Vwarda, and especially Mozambique. Then move subtly, a push here, a retreat there. In a dozen years, with help from Russia, East Germany and Cuba, the monolith will crumble.'
'We give it the first push tomorrow,' Jonathan said, embracing his brother. And when the professor was gone, he handed out the guns.
By separate routes the five young men journeyed to Hemelsdorp, having agreed to rush the detention center at one in the afternoon, when lesser policemen, like Krog, would be at lunch and their superiors, like Krause, so well-fed as to be lethargic. Jonathan's men would be armed, a fact which almost guaranteed their execution if apprehended.
Quietly they converged on the barracks, waited an interminable five minutes in position, then without any kind of juvenile exhibitionism, walked resolutely into the headquarters, took possession of the desk and the hallways, and hurriedly searched the rooms till they found Magubane.
'What's happening?' he asked through swollen lips. 'Off to Mozambique!'
As they ran from the barracks without having fired a round, the young man who had to care for his mother headed north, where he would function underground. The others concealed their guns and went into exile.
One of the most gratifying days in Van Doorn's life occurred on 16 December 1966, when he was invited to deliver the main speech at the Day of the Covenant celebrations at the new housing development that had arisen, under his direction, on the site from which the black township of Sophiatown had been bulldozed. The area had been renamed Triomf and was now occupied by white Afrikaner families who kept their little houses neat and their flower beds flourishing.
But as Detleef drove along the clean wide streets that had replaced the slum alleys he said somewhat sourly to his white chauffeur, 'I'll wager most people in those houses have no idea what the new name means.'
His chauffeur said quickly, 'But we know what a triumph it was, don't we?'
Van Doorn showed his appreciation for this support, then said, 'Sophiatown was a national disgrace. Crime, poverty, young tsotsis running wild.'
'A white man would be afraid to go there after dark,' the chauffeur agreed.
'Tell me frankly, isn't our new Triomf a hundred times better?'
Like any impartial judge, the chauffeur had to admit the new suburb was not only better, but was also inhabited by people of a much higher status: 'You did a wonderful thing here, Mr. van Doorn.'
Inspired by such approbation, Detleef showed real enthusiasm as he approached the podium in the church hall. Among the other dignitaries on the platform were four ancient men, oudstryders (old fighters), veterans of the Boer War, who nodded approvingly as he lambasted the enemies of the nation. In many ways his speech was a summation of his vision regarding the future of the Volk:
'Our beloved Voortrekkers, Retief, Pretorius and Uys, who answered the summons to freedom, saved this nation when it faced mortal danger. With pride I add my own grandfather, Tjaart van Doorn, who helped in handing to us the precious gem that is South Africa. They gave us moretheir vision