The Cost of a Road. 
IN the Oron Country there are plenty of bush- 
paths, but very few roads, and the people would 
rather be without the few there are. Towns prefer 
to be hidden from public gaze, and to be exceed- 
ingly difficult to locate by strangers or enemies. 
Even when they have pretty well buried themselves 
in the forest, or at the head of a long and winding 
creek far away from the river bank, the folks do not 
always feel secure. To make their safety doubly 
sure, they build a stout fence, or stockade, all round 
their section, and to get over it you must strike a 
particular bush-path and climb over a stile. The 
root of the whole matter lies in the fact that one 
town does not have much to do with other towns, 
and that because they simply don't want to. They 
are suspicious and jealous of each other, and so 
hold aloof. It is a great pity because all are losers. 
The British Government sees that, and has made 
the few good roads there are. It is the only way 
to open up the country, and make travel easy and 
safe. But strong and respected as the British 
Government is by the native, these roads have not 
been made without difficulty and trouble. The Efik 
is not so simple as many folks have taken him to 
be. He can put two and two together as well as 
we can, and he ** tumbled to it'* right away that 
once a road was made anywhere near his village 
or township he could say good-bye to secrecy, 
