[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Jerez, Daddy? Such an earthy quality about it. )
Next, with a slight alteration of the usual sequence, the Agnus
Dei: roast leg of lamb from the Karoo, specially provided by brother
Sybrand and lovingly sprinkled with thyme and a soupçon of
rosemary; served with petits pois and accompanied by a 65 Roodeberg.
157
A NDRÉ B RI NK
( Don t you agree that all the subtlety and expanse of an entire Karoo
landscape really finds its ultimate expression in a joint like this? I see
it as a way of confessing the essence of one s Afrikaansness. Where
else in the world would one )
Sanctus: Mother s pêches au vin, marinaded overnight in Chablis.
And how impish of Professor Pienaar to serve with it a Swartberg
Aristaat, that impudent little wine from Ladysmith which he d
discovered all on his own, two years before, at less than fifty cents a
bottle!
A brief interlude while the table was cleared. A flickering of
candles. The discreet, contented rumbling of someone s stomach.
Benevolent chuckling about a proposal for intercourse smoking.
And then the collective withdrawal to the lounge for the Gloria:
home-roasted coffee, cream cake, and John Pienaar s cognac and port.
Editor La Grange had the bad taste of choosing that moment for
a reference to the demolition of squatters huts in the Cape, and
malnutrition in general.
Ag, no, said Mother smiling. We all know that malnutrition
is no longer a real problem in the world. Daddy and I were just talk-
ing about it yesterday, how our Bantus have raised their standards of
living. A brief silence. If anybody is still undernourished in our day
and age, she continued, biting into her cream cake, it s just due to
the wrong eating habits.
The gastronomic orgasm had been reached. In the contented
afterglow Professor Pienaar began to read his poetry to us, in the rich,
sensitive voice which had caused generations of first-year girls to fall
in love with him. It was followed by an appreciative murmur (Mother:
He has such a sensitive organ for poetry, don t you agree? ) and
enthusiastic discussion by the literary men in our midst. We had to
restrain ourselves for an unconscionable time before there came a gap
in the conversation, in which we could excuse ourselves gracefully
and depart without breaking up the party.
158
R UMORS OF R AI N
At last we were outside in the sultry summer night. It was nearly
eleven o clock.
Driving home to Johannesburg I switched on the car radio for
the late news. The news which suddenly, brutally, retroactively
changed the tenor of the entire evening.
The head of police in the Cape Peninsula, Brigadier Joubert,
has confirmed to the SABC that Bernard Johannes Franken, detained
by the Security Police four weeks ago, escaped from Caledon Square
earlier today. With him was one of his co-detainees, a Colored man,
Kerneels Ontong. It has not yet been established how
Charlie Mofokeng had been the first to inform me of Bernard s
arrest, four weeks before. On the Day of the Covenant, to enhance
the irony of the victory of the Boers over the Zulus more than a
century ago. I d spent the day with Bea, and in the evening we had
guests at a braai beside the pool until after midnight. I didn t know
where I was when the phone suddenly rang at half-past two in the
morning.
Charlie? It took a while to grasp what was going on. What
makes you phone at this hour of the bloody night?
It s Bernard. He said something which in my dazed state I
couldn t grasp.
What about Bernard?
Arrested. The SB.
But why? How? When?
Anybody s guess. I just wanted you to know.
Slowly the confusion cleared. Where did you hear it, Charlie?
Did he hesitate for a moment? Just got it from a reporter on
The Star.
But it s impossible!
159
A NDRÉ B RI NK
I m telling you, man. I tried to phone his flat in the Cape, but
no go.
Perhaps he s sleeping out.
Jesus, man! He sounded angry. Why d you think I m
phoning you? You got to do something.
What can I do?
You know all the Ministers and things, don t you?
I can t phone them at three in the morning, Charlie. Anyway,
suppose it s just a rumor. How do I know
Oh, Jesus! he said. Don t start with all that crap.
Be sensible, Charlie. You know how easy it is for this sort of story
to get out of hand. We ve got to make sure in the morning.
For the rest of the night I couldn t sleep. I refused to believe what
he d told me. From eight o clock the next morning I dialed Bernard s
number in Cape Town at regular intervals. No use. His secretary
couldn t help me either. But it was nearly Christmas, the Supreme
Court had gone into recess, he might be anywhere. I didn t want to
make a fool of myself by inquiring at top level about something for
which there might be a very simple explanation.
Still it continued to gnaw on my conscience. I became irritable.
At work I had an outburst when Charlie kept on insisting that I do
something. With Elise I quarreled simply because I didn t feel like
taking her into my confidence before something more concrete had
come to light.
It was only three days later that the Minister made the formal
announcement, without giving any reasons: several persons in the
Cape Peninsula had been detained by the Security Police in terms of
the Terrorism Act, among them the prominent advocate, Bernard
Franken.
Once again it was Charlie who conveyed the news to me, when
I arrived back at the office after lunch. It took me some time before
I could focus my attention on anything.
160
R UMORS OF R AI N
Charlie was waiting quietly. I waited for him to say: I told you so.
I swear I would have hit him. But he didn t say a word. And when I
looked up my God, how sentimental can one get? he was standing
there at the door, his black face ashen in color, tears running down
from under his glasses.
I looked down and reached for the telephone. I ll phone the
Minister immediately, I said.
Don t bother! he spat out. Without waiting, he turned round
and stormed out of my office. I was too shocked even to feel angry.
It wasn t until late in the afternoon that I finally got through to
the Minister. We d met at a few social occasions before and he d
impressed me as a very approachable person, but he sounded very
formal and severe on the telephone.
I appreciate your concern, Mr. Mynhardt, but unfortunately
there is nothing we can do about it at the moment. I cannot inter-
fere with the processes of justice in the country. But I can give you
the assurance that my men had very good reason for doing what
they did. The whole matter will be put into perspective in public at
our earliest opportunity. It sounded like a prepared statement.
There was a feeling of numbness in my stomach. I must have
known they wouldn t arrest such a public figure without grave reason.
Yet I refused to believe anything negative about Bernard. He was my
friend. I would stand by him. It had all been a ghastly mistake, no more.
I still had to face Elise with the news. And Louis too. ( Let me
tell you one thing, Dad: they don t realize it, but if people like Bernard
are turning against them their days are damned well numbered. ) The
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]