Cry, The Beloved Country Part 20

No, they told me Johannesburg was dangerous.

Who told you?

The boy is silent.

You mean you were told by the kind of man who is engaged in this business of breaking in and stealing?

No, I do not mean that.

Well, who told you?

I do not remember. It was said in some place where I was.

You mean you were all sitting there, and some man said, one needs a revolver in Johannesburg, it is dangerous?

Yes, I mean that.

And you knew this revolver was loaded?

Yes, I knew it.

If this revolver is to frighten people, why must it be loaded?

But the boy does not answer.

You were therefore ready to shoot with it?

No, I would not have shot a decent person. I would have shot only if someone had shot at me.

Would you have shot at a policeman if he had shot at you in the execution of his duty?

No, not at a policeman.

The Judge pauses and everything is silent. Then he says gravely, and this white man you shot, was he not a decent person?

The accused looks down again at the floor. Then he answers in a low voice, I was afraid, I was afraid. I never meant to shoot him.

Where did you get this revolver?

I bought it from a man.

Where?

In Alexandra.

Who is this man? What is his name?

I do not know his name.

Where does he live?

I do not know where he lives.

Could you find him?

I could try to find him.

Was this revolver loaded when you bought it?

It had two bullets in it.

How many bullets were in it when you went to this house?

There was one bullet in it.

What happened to the other?

I took the revolver into one of the plantations in the hills beyond Alexandra, and I fired it there.

What did you fire at?

I fired at a tree.

Did you hit this tree?

Yes, I hit it.

Then you thought, now I can fire this revolver?

Yes, that is so.

Who carried the iron bar?

Johannes carried it.

Did you know he carried it?

I knew it.

You knew it was a dangerous weapon? That it could kill a man?

The boy's voice rises. It was not meant for killing or striking, he said. It was meant only for frightening.

But you had a revolver for frightening?

Yes, but Johannes said he would take the bar. It had been blessed, he said.

It had been blessed?

That is what he said.

What did Johannes mean when he said the bar had been blessed?

I do not know.

Did he mean by a priest?

I do not know.

You did not ask?

No, I did not ask.

Your father is a priest?

The boy looks down again at the floor and in a low voice he answers, yes.

Would he bless such a bar?

No.

You did not say to Johannes, you must not take this bar?

No.

You did not say to him, how can such a thing be blessed?

No.

Proceed, Mr. Prosecutor.

And if these two say there was no murder discussed at the house of Baby Mkize, they are lying?

They are lying.

And if they say that you made up this story after meeting them at the house of Mkize, they are lying?

They are lying.

And if Baby Mkize says that no murder was discussed in her presence, she is lying?

She is lying. She was afraid, and said we must leave her house and never return to it.

Did you leave together?

No, I left first.

And where did you go?

I went into a plantation.

And what did you do there?

I buried the revolver.

Is this the revolver before the Court?

The revolver is handed up to the accused and he examines it. This is the revolver, he says.

How was it found?

No, I told the Police where to find it.

And what did you do next?

I prayed there.

The Prosecutor seems taken aback for a moment, but the Judge says, and what did you pray there?

I prayed for forgiveness.

And what else did you pray?

No, there was nothing else that I wished to pray.

And on the second day you walked again to Johannesburg?

Yes.

And you again walked amongst the people who were boycotting the buses?

Yes.

Were they still talking about the murder?

They were still talking. Some said they heard it would soon be discovered.

And then?

I was afraid.

So what did you do?

That night I went to Germiston.

But what did you do that day? Did you hide again?

No, I bought a shirt, and then I walked about with the parcel.