smoked raffia skirt and examined his tall feather head-gear and his shield. They were all
satisfactory, he had thought.
As he lay on his bamboo bed he thought about the treatment he had received in
the white man's court, and he swore vengeance. If Umuofia decided on war, all would
be well. But If they chose to be cowards he would go out and avenge lümself. He
thought about wars in the past. The noblest, he thought, was the war against Isike.
In those days Okudo was still alive. Okudo sang a war song in a way that no
other man could. He was not a fighter, but his voice turned every man into a lion.
"Worthy men are no more," Okonkwo sighed as he remembered those days.
"Isike will never forget how we slaughtered them in that war. We killed twelve of their
men and they killed only two of ours. Before the end of the fourth market week they
were suing for peace. Those were days when men were men."
As he thought of these things he heard the sound of the iron gong in the distance.
He listened carefully, and could just hear the crier's voice. But it was very faint. He
turned on his bed and his back hurt him. He ground his teeth. The crier was drawing
nearer and nearer until he passed by Okonkwo's compound.
"The greatest obstacle in Umuofia," Okonkwo thought bitterly, "is that coward,
Egonwanne. His sweet tongue can change fire into cold ash. When he speaks he moves
our men to impotence. If they had ignored his womanish wisdom five years ago, we
would not have come to this." He ground his teeth. "Tomorrow he will tell them that our
fathers never fought a 'war of blame.' If they listen to him I shall leave them and plan
my own revenge."
The crier's voice had once more become faint, and the distance had taken the
harsh edge off his iron gong. Okonkwo turned from one side to the other and derived a
kind of pleasure from the pain his back gave him. "Let Egonwanne talk about a 'war of
blame' tomorrow and I shall show him my back and head." He ground his teeth.
The marketplace began to fill as soon as the sun rose. Obierika was waiting in
his obi when Okonkwo came along and called him. He hung his goatskin bag and his