WHAT THE NANNY GOAT TOLD HER KIDS (CHAPTER 10) - B

Water Lily

The sound of the dogs’ feet rushing forward without barking forced Mr Ransom out of his thoughts to appraise who had come into his compound. His mind told him it could not be any other person than the man he had just spoken with a few minutes ago with his phone. The dogs were leaping happily on the visitor.

‘There’s no time I come into this compound with my neat clothes and go back the same,’ Perempe said as he grabbed the paws of the dogs and tried to see if he could calm their excitement. ‘Muscle, Bone; Muscle, Bone,’ he said, his hands rubbing their heads and necks but the dogs still wanted to leap, wagging their tails and touching him with their paws.

But Perempe was no longer having any of their play and his voice changed. He hollered at them to stay calm and looked for an imaginary deterring object to pick. The dogs trotted slightly away from him but were looking at and wagging their tails at Perempe.

When they drew close to the veranda, Mr Ransom said: ‘It’s hard to forget a good master.’

Perempe laughed and said: ‘Now it looks like the millions won’t come, we should look for a day and take the dogs out for hunting again.’

‘Look, Perempe, I just wish it was possible to hunt those crooks with the dogs and my shotgun. How do they dare take us for fools?’

Perempe laughed out loud at Mr Ransom’s pained expression. ‘Wait, Oga sir. So in your wildest dream, you believed these guys had millions they’d throw around like that?’

Mr Ransom gaped and disbelievingly spoke: ‘So you knew they wouldn’t, why didn’t you let me know earlier?’

‘It’s good we all witness how the whole thing would play out. If I’d said anything at the start against these guys, I would’ve been seen as a spoilsport. It’s good for us all.’

‘Meaning?’ Mr Ransom could not believe what he had just heard his friend say. He had thought he would even get angrier than himself. He would have urged him this time (as he had not much to lose than what the crooks had cunningly taken from him) to apply his medicine bag to teach them the biggest lesson of their lives. ‘I wish I knew what you know and I tell you these crooks would’ve seen my red eyeballs,’ he tested the ground to see like water, how his friend would flow.

Perempe laughed and said: ‘I learnt a lot from those fellows. What they wrote in their books are things I know and there are a lot more I know that they didn’t mention. I can’t write as well as they did but I’ve started writing and intend to start working with my son who luckily wants to read medicine in the university. I pray he gets the admission and with him, I’d realize my ambition.’

It was Mr Ransom’s turn to laugh out loud at his friend. ‘You want to start selling books and to steal from the people too?’

Perempe replied smilingly: ‘You want me to go and kill people. But I want to pass my knowledge to my son so in a big way he would be saving lives.’

The answer totally snuffed out Mr Ransom’s evil thoughts and left him disappointed. He nodded understandingly and said: ‘That’s a great idea. I wish you and your son great success.’ He got up to go bring bitter kola and akaikai so they could while away the time.

Returning with the items, Mr Ransom said as he stepped onto the veranda: ‘I’d buy your idea that we go hunting soon.’

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