Suddenly he heard Father’s name. Some people applauded, briefly, and then Father’s voice began speaking. The words came uncertainly at first, fumbling their way out of his dry mouth. Daniel prepared himself but he had to wait. Father had a lot to say about the insects. Finally he heard his own name and Father pulled away the linen.
Daniel wasn’t prepared for what he saw: the room so full of people, the faces so close. Father nodded at him and he stood up. It was dead silent in the room and he said his words.
‘My name is Daniel. I believe in God.’
He pronounced them all correctly. He could see that from Father’s face. He was pleased. That was the most important thing.
Suddenly he thought he saw Kiko’s face way at the back of the room, where the light was dimmest. He had to go to him. Kiko had come to get him. He jumped down from the platform and started climbing over the people sitting in their chairs. A tumult broke out; people tried to get out of the way or grab hold of him. But Daniel knew that he had to reach Kiko before he disappeared. He struck at the hands trying to grab hold of him, clawing at the faces in his way.
When he reached the back of the room Kiko was gone.
Someone hit him on the back of the neck and everything went black. He was forced to the floor and the last thing he heard was Father screaming in the background.
Chapter 15
When Daniel woke up he was lying on a table covered in green felt. Over his head hung a chandelier on which several of the wax candles had already burned down. He turned his face and saw Father sitting on one of the straight-backed chairs, wiping the sweat from his brow. His memory slowly came back. He had seen Kiko somewhere in the darkness behind all the people staring at him, and he had tried to get to him. It had been like throwing himself into a whirlpool in a river. But Kiko wasn’t there, he had vanished into the darkness the same way Daniel was dragged down by the maelstrom, and now he had washed up on a beach consisting of a table covered with green felt.
‘He’s awake now,’ said a voice quite close to his ear.
Daniel gave a start and sat up. The man who spoke was the same one who had met them on the street in a filthy hat and who bowed and scraped as though Father were a man with great power.
Father got up and came over to him. Daniel could see at once that he was disappointed. His eyes were weary and there were white flecks on his lapels from the skin that fell from his scalp whenever he was upset and scratched at his brow. He shook his head.
‘I don’t understand you,’ he said. ‘We practised this. They listened when I was talking about the insects. Then I raised the cloth and you went completely crazy. They thought I had let loose a wild ape in the hall. You kicked a cavalry lieutenant in the head and bit a court of appeals judge. There was utter chaos, and I didn’t even get paid.’
‘Most unfortunate,’ muttered the man, who had now taken off his hat and was cradling it to his breast like a baby.
‘I still think I should get paid,’ said Father. ‘That was the agreement.’
The man with the hat hung his head morosely.
‘The secretary left with the cash box. There was nothing I could do. The head forester yelled that it was scandalous and demanded that the hall be cleared. The next meeting a month from now will deal with the distribution of free hymnals to the unfortunate people in the poorhouse. Things will be calmer then. The only topic of discussion will be how to determine who is poor enough to be given a hymnal.’
At that moment the doors to the hall were thrown open. Two men came in and marched in a determined column up to the podium.
‘The baron,’ the man with the hat whispered nervously. ‘Now someone will be taken down a peg.’
Father sprang up and stood as if he were about to meet a god. The man marching in front had a long moustache. He struck at the chairs with his walking stick so they flew to either side, and then stopped in front of the table. Behind him stood a man wearing simple clothes, and Daniel looked at his hands, which were very big. Something made him think of an elephant, the one Kiko had shot with three arrows after they had gone without meat for almost a month.
‘I don’t believe we have ever been properly introduced,’ said the man with the moustache. ‘Baron Hake. Factory owner and patron of the Torch Workers’ Association.’
Father said his name and bowed.
‘I beg your pardon. The boy lost his head.’
‘Actually it was an amusing sight,’ replied Hake. ‘But rather bad form. Besides, he climbed on one of my shoulders. I have rheumatism and the pain immediately returned.’
‘I beg your pardon once again.’
The man pointed with his stick at Daniel.
‘I once saw a Negro in Berlin, but he was full-grown, and a different type. Broader lips and peculiar tattoos on his face. That was in a menagerie. It may have been in Hamburg at Herr Hagenbeck’s and not in Berlin. My memory fails me.’
‘I can do nothing more than beg your pardon.’
Hake thumped his stick on the floor.
‘All these excuses,’ he said angrily. ‘I’ve lived my entire life surrounded by excuses. I can’t stand them. The boy should have been on a lead, of course.’
Hake kept staring at Daniel.
‘What’s going through his head?’ he asked.
‘Hard to know,’ replied Father.
‘He’s wondering why the hell he’s here and being put on display,’ said the man with the big hands, who had been quiet until now.
Hake turned to him.
‘If I chose to do so I might regard that comment as insubordination.’
The man seemed about to leave, but stayed where he was.
‘One of my long-time blacksmiths,’ Hake explained to Father. ‘Nils Hansson. Highly skilled. Made the new wrought-iron gates at Drottningholm Castle, for one thing. That’s why he’s here representing the workers.’
‘I was wondering’, said Father, ‘whether this really is a workers’ association. The hall was filled with lieutenants and foresters.’
‘The important thing is not what we talk about,’ said Hake. ‘The important thing is what we don’t talk about. We encourage peace of mind in the country. No political preaching, no insubordination. On the other hand, insects are a good topic. If the workers’ lot is to be improved, it should be done by deepening the connections among various groups in society, not by changing them.’
‘Too bloody right,’ said the blacksmith.
Hake didn’t seem to have heard that. Or else he chose not to reply. He turned to the man with the hat, who seemed to cringe even more.
‘The insects were excellent,’ said Hake. ‘Being able to hear about and look at fascinating creatures can be useful. But the boy should have been restrained.’
‘Naturally,’ said the man who had shrunk as much as possible without disappearing entirely.
‘I was promised an honorarium,’ said Father.
‘The secretary will see to it.’
‘But he left.’
Hake gave the shrinking man a cross look.
‘Herr Wiberg left?’
‘He was one of the first to vacate the premises. He has weak nerves.’
‘Then he’ll be replaced at the next meeting,’ Hake said firmly. ‘A workers’ association must set an example, don’t you think?’