Afterwards everything would go back to normal. Father would be quieter than usual today, complaining about his headache and becoming impatient if Daniel didn’t immediately grasp what he was saying.
Suddenly Father turned to face him.
‘I see that you’re awake. I also see that you cleaned up after me last night.’
Daniel sat up in bed.
‘I had a strange dream that you were gone,’ Father went on. ‘But when I woke up you were asleep behind my back.’
He stood up, but did not stop in front of the mirror the way he usually did. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took Daniel’s hand.
‘Today’s an important day. I don’t have any money and I can’t pay for this room. That’s why what I’ve decided to do has to be a success — what’s going to happen this evening. I need your help. I need to be sure you will do as I say.’
Daniel nodded. He understood.
‘Tonight I’m going to tell people about my journey through the desert. I’m going to display some of the insects and I’m going to display you. They will pay me for this. If it goes well, other people will ask to see both the insects and you. They will pay for it, and we will be able to move to a better room.’
Father was still naked. Daniel saw that he had big blue bruises on one arm. Apparently he had fallen down last night on his way home in the dark when he couldn’t make his feet move properly.
‘There’s nothing difficult about it,’ Father went on. ‘I’m going to stand up in front of people on a little platform. I’ll show the insects, point at a map and speak in a loud voice so everyone can hear. You will sit on a chair next to me. When I say your name you will stand up, bow and say your name. My name is Daniel. I believe in God. That’s all. When I ask you to open your mouth you will do so, when I ask you to laugh you will laugh, not too long, not too loud, and when I ask you to puff out your cheeks like an animal you will do it. Then you will take your skipping rope and show everyone how skilled you are. And that’s all. If someone wants to come up and touch you, you will let them. Believe me, no one wishes you any harm. But above all you must remember that we will get money so that we can leave this damn room and move somewhere better. Do you understand?’
Daniel nodded. He hadn’t understood a thing, but Father had spoken in a friendly tone of voice. There was something about him that was reminiscent of Be, when she and Kiko were angry with each other and she wanted them to make peace.
The rest of the day Father sorted his insects. He talked as if there were many people in the room, and when the insects were sorted and packed up in the little case where he usually kept his combs and brushes he practised with Daniel. My name is Daniel. I believe in God. He corrected his intonation, asked him to speak louder. He practised the way he would get up from his chair, bow and say his piece.
‘My name is Daniel. I believe in God.’
‘You’re talking too fast. And the word God doesn’t sound right. It sounds like Good. It’s God.’
‘Good.’
‘One more time. God.’
‘Good.’
‘One more time.’
Daniel practised until Father was satisfied.
That day they ate nothing but a little dry bread and water. Father brushed his hair for a long time and made a careful inspection of Daniel’s fingernails.
It was already dark when they left their room. Daniel noticed that Father was nervous, and he set his mind to doing exactly as he was told. He didn’t know who Father was, or why he had taken him from the desert, but he hadn’t done it out of ill will.
He also decided to make his own suggestion about what cliff face they should live in. He had never done that before. Now he would explain that he would feel better if they lived where he could see the big water.
They stopped outside a door where torches were burning. A short man in a tall hat was waiting for them. He stared with anxious fascination at Daniel.
‘This will be a great success,’ he said. ‘The Torch Workers’ Association has never before had the opportunity of exhibiting anything like this. Terrifying insects and this black child. A real Hottentot.’
The man leaned in close to Daniel’s face to study him. His eyes were yellow and sweat ran down his brow.
‘The boy must be treated well,’ said Father. ‘He may be black, but he’s a human being.’
‘But of course. A real human being. There is great anticipation for your lecture.’
The man opened the door. They entered a room full of chairs that were still empty. On a podium stood a table with a green tablecloth and next to it a speaker’s lectern from which hung the association’s banner, a semi-nude woman with a shining lamp in her hand.
‘The board members of the association will be here shortly,’ said the man, bowing. ‘They’re eating dinner at the moment.’
‘Who is on the board?’
‘Head Forester Renström, Baron Hake and Law Clerk Wiberg. The founder of the association, Colonel Håkansson, has also said he will come. We’re expecting many guests.’
‘And the workers?’
‘They’re coming. At least a blacksmith is.’
‘But this is a workers’ association, isn’t it? For the instruction and edification of people of limited means?’
‘Naturally. Colonel Håkansson was quite firm on that point.’
‘But what if they don’t come?’
The man threw out his arms.
‘One can hardly blame the colonel for that. He has the best intentions. ’
‘That sounds like a typical evasion. You form a workers’ association to which workers are not admitted.’
‘We don’t prevent anyone from attending.’
‘But you don’t encourage anyone either. The blacksmith will be here as an exception. Who is he?’
‘He’s employed at one of Baron Hake’s ironworks in Roslagen.’
‘What about the public? It will be a full house, won’t it?’
‘A number of lieutenants. Women, of course, are not admitted. A journalist or two looking for something useful to write about. It will fill up. There are so many people out and about, and soon they’ll be sitting here.’
After half an hour the hall was almost full. Father had set out his insect cases and covered them with a linen tablecloth. Daniel sat on a chair in the corner and practised his sentences. He was in the dark, since Father had put a tablecloth over him too when people in the audience began stamping their feet.
‘We’re going to surprise them,’ he told Daniel. ‘I’ll uncover you. They can see the shape of a person under the linen. And when I pull off the cover it will make a big impression.’
Daniel could hear people coming into the hall, banging chairs about, laughing and coughing. The smell in the room had changed, it was filled with the odour of dampness and tobacco. He assumed that it had started raining. Now and then Father would whisper to him.
‘The place will be full soon. There are just a few empty seats at the back of the hall. Practise your sentences.’
‘My name is Daniel. I believe in Good.’
‘God. Not Good.’
‘I believe in God.’
‘That’s better.’
Daniel could hear that Father was nervous. He was talking fast and stumbling over his words. It was hard to understand everything he said.
Then the audience fell silent. Someone banged a club on a table right next to him. The man who began speaking kept clearing his throat. Daniel didn’t understand what he was talking about. A couple of words were repeated over and over that he didn’t know the meaning of: worker, education, I give the floor to, and then a name. He began to grow warm under the linen. Daniel decided to remember that: if it was very cold he could sit underneath a linen tablecloth in a room full of people. Then it would feel as if the sun were rising over the horizon in the desert.