92 DAHLAK 



between the fragments a hail of buttons, almost ready to go 

 on a hundred shirts, the entire spectacle abandoned to the 

 derision of the mice and the kaleidoscopic enthusiasm of the 

 sun. 



'Goodness knows how many snakes there must be around 

 here,' Priscilla said. 



'Snakes? Oh quite a lot. Asps. But they run away. They 

 don't do anything.' 



'Have you seen any?' Priscilla asked. 



'Have I seen any? Hundreds, thousands, millions . . .' 

 Nasi smiled. 



'And weren't you afraid of them?' 



'A bit . . . but they don't do anything. They run away. 

 There's no need to be afraid.' 



'But has anybody here been bitten?' Priscilla wanted to 

 know everything. 



'I don't think so ... oh stupid, of course — I was bitten 

 once.' 



'You?' 



'Yes. I was building a house. I went to get a plank from a 

 pile of wood and there was an asp underneath. He bit my 

 wedding-finger. Look here, see the scar. He hung on so hard 

 that when I drew my finger away he was still on the end of 

 it. I had to juggle my hand about to make him drop. Then 

 I stood on his head, went home, got a razor blade and zac — 

 cut the tip of my finger off. So you see I ought to be poison- 

 proof by now. On another occasion I was stung by a ray 

 right here at Dahlak. Another time I was on a motor bike — 

 just think of it! I was coming round the bend of the high road 

 from Asmara when I shot into a gully and flew for three 

 hundred yards over a forest of prickly pears right to the 

 bottom. I was in a mess. I think 1 was on the point of death 

 for twenty days — but now, I can't even remember how many 



