Chapter 22

He turned and shot at two of his pursuers, but they had no heart for the fight. His steady hand unlocked the gate and closed it behind him. He saw Abiboo on the ground in the midst of a swaying tangle of men. The girl had disappeared. Then he saw her struggling with two of the women, and the half-witted Koforo slashing at her over the shoulders. He reached the women as one grasped the girl by her hair and pulled back her head. Koforo saw him coming, and dropped his hand. “Ho, father!” he said, in his foolish, jocos…