But no snake could have been as terrified as was Mma Makutsi when she saw the hood of the cobra at her feet sway slowly from side to side. She knew that she should avert her eyes, as such snakes can spit their venom into the eyes of their target with uncanny accuracy; she knew that, but she still found her gaze fixed to the small black eyes of the snake, so tiny and so filled with menace.
“A cobra,” she whispered to Mma Ramotswe. “Under my desk. A cobra.”
Mma Ramotswe moved slowly away from the window. As she did so, she picked up the telephone directory that had been lying on her desk. It was the closest thing to hand, and she could, if necessary, throw it at the snake to distract it from Mma Makutsi. This was not to prove necessary. Sensing the vibration made by the footfall, the snake suddenly lowered its hood and slid away from Mma Makutsi’s desk, heading for a large waste-paper bin which stood at the far side of the room. This was the signal for Mma Makutsi to recover her power of movement, and she threw herself towards the door. Mma Ramotswe followed, and soon the two women were safely outside the office door, which they slammed behind them.
The two apprentices looked up from their work on Bishop Mwamba’s car.
“There’s a snake in there,” screamed Mma Makutsi. “A very big snake.”
The two young men ran across from the car to join the shaken women.
“What sort of snake?” asked Charlie, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. “A mamba?”
“No,” said Mma Makutsi. “A cobra. With a big hood—this big. Right at my feet. Ready to strike.”
“You are very lucky, Mma,” said the younger apprentice. “If that snake had struck, then you might be late by now. The late Mma Makutsi.”
Mma Makutsi looked at him scornfully. “I know that,” she said. “But I did not panic, you see. I stood quite still.”
“That was the right thing to do, Mma,” said Charlie. “But now we can go in there and kill this snake. In a couple of minutes your office will be safe again.”
He turned to the other apprentice, who had picked up a couple of large spanners and who was now reaching out to hand one to him. Armed with these tools, they slowly approached the door and edged it open.
“Be careful,” shouted Mma Makutsi. “It was a very big snake.”
“Look near the waste-paper basket,” added Mma Ramotswe. “It’s over there somewhere.”
Charlie peered into the office. He was standing at the half-open door and could not see the whole room, but he could see the basket and the floor about it and, yes, he could make out something curved around its base, something that moved slightly even as his eye fell upon it.
“There,” he whispered to the other apprentice. “Over there.”
The young man craned his neck forward and saw the shape upon the floor. Letting out a curious half-yell, he hurled the spanner across the room, missing the target, but hitting the wall immediately behind the basket. As the spanner fell to the ground, the snake reared up, its hood again extended, facing the source of the danger. Charlie now threw his spanner, which also struck the wall but in this case fell in such a way that it hit the end of the snake’s tail. The tail whipped round as the snake struggled to find its balance. Again the head swayed menacingly, the tongue darting in and out as the reptile sought to make sense of the noise and danger of its surroundings.
Mma Ramotswe clutched Mma Makutsi’s arm. “I’m not sure if these boys …”
She did not finish the sentence. In their excitement they had not noticed a vehicle draw up and a sunburned young man with fair hair step out.
“Well, Mma Ramotswe,” said the man. “What’s going on here?”
Mma Ramotswe turned to face their visitor. “Oh, Mr Whitson,” she said. “You have come just in time. There is a snake in there. The apprentices are trying to kill it.”
Neil Whitson shook his head. “There’s no need to kill snakes,” he said. “Let me take a look.”
He walked up to the door of the office and nodded to the apprentices to stand aside.
“Don’t frighten it,” he said. “It just makes it worse if you frighten it.”
“It is a very large snake,” said Charlie resentfully. “We have to kill it, Rra.”
Neil looked in through the door and saw the cobra curled at the foot of the waste-paper basket. He turned to Charlie.
“Do you have a stick here?” he said. “Any stick will do. Just a stick.”
The younger apprentice went off, while Charlie and Neil continued to watch the snake.
“We will have to kill it,” Charlie said. “We cannot have a snake here. What if it bites those ladies over there? What if it bites Mma Ramotswe?”
“It’ll only bite Mma Ramotswe if it feels threatened,” said Neil. “And snakes only feel threatened if people tread on them or … ,” he paused, before adding, “or throw things at them.”
The younger apprentice now returned with a longish stick from the jacaranda tree which grew at the edge of the garage plot. Neil took this from him and edged his way slowly into the office. The snake watched him, part of its body raised, the hood half up. With a sudden movement, Neil flipped the stick over the snake’s back and pressed the neck of the snake down against the floor. Then, leaning forward, he gripped the writhing cobra behind the head and picked it up. The lashing tail, searching for purchase, was soon firmly held in his other hand.
“There,” he said. “Now, Charlie, a sack is what we need. You must have a sack somewhere.”
WHEN MR J.L.B. MATEKONI returned an hour later, he was in a good mood. The inspection ramp which he had viewed was in excellent condition and the owner was not asking very much for it. It was, in fact, a bargain, and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni had already paid a deposit on the purchase. His pleasure in his transaction was evident from his smile, but this was hardly noticed by the apprentices as they greeted him in the workshop.
“We’ve had big excitement here, Boss,” said Charlie. “A snake got into Mma Ramotswe’s office. A very large snake, with a head like this. Yes, this big.”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni gave a start. “Mma Ramotswe’s office,” he stuttered. “Is she all right?”
“Oh, she’s all right,” said Charlie. “She was lucky that we were around. If we hadn’t been here, then I don’t know …”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni looked at the younger apprentice, as if for confirmation.
“Yes, Rra,” said the young man. “It is a good thing that we were here. We were able to deal with the snake.”
“And where is it?” asked Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. “Where have you thrown it? You must know that if you leave one of these snakes lying around, its mate will come to seek it out. Then we will have trouble.”
The younger apprentice glanced at Charlie. “We have had it taken away,” said Charlie. “That man from Mokolodi, the one you trade engine parts with. He has taken it away.”
“Mr Whitson?” asked Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. “He has taken it?”
Charlie nodded. “You don’t need to kill snakes,” he said. “It is best just to let them loose. You know that, don’t you, Boss?”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni did not reply. Striding across to the office door, he knocked and entered. Inside, seated at their desks, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi looked up at him expectantly.
“You have heard about it?” asked Mma Ramotswe. “You heard about the snake?”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni nodded. “I have heard all about it,” he said. “I am only happy that you have not been hurt, Mma Ramotswe. That is all that I am interested in.”
“And me?” asked Mma Makutsi from her desk. “What about me, Rra?”
“Oh, I am pleased that you were not bitten, Mma,” said Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. “I am very pleased about that. I would not want either of you to be bitten by a snake.”
Mma Ramotswe shook her head. “It was a very close thing for Mma Makutsi,” she said. “And we were very lucky that your friend happened to come by. He is a man who knows all about snakes. You should have seen him pick it up, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni. He picked it up just as if it were a tshongololo or something like that.”