A Grain of Wheat

A Mr. Rogers, later killed by a train at the Githima railway crossing, had established a forestry research station in the Githima forests. The most recent death at this crossing was that of Dr. Henry Van Dyke, a drunken meteorologist. His death may have been suicide, according to African workers, who claim Van Dyke had sworn to kill himself when Jomo Kenyatta was released from detention, and that had recently occurred.

British DO John Thompson summons Karanja, who works in the library at the agricultural office, and asks him to deliver a letter to Thompson’s wife. Karanja laments that he often has to run petty errands such as this for Thompson or for the librarian, Mrs. Dickinson, who sometimes sends him to buy meat for her dogs. Karanja arrives at the Thompsons’ bungalow and sees Margery Thompson tending to her rose garden. She invites Karanja inside the house and feels a sexual stirring in Karanja’s presence. She invites him to have a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Karanja wonders if he should ask her whether she and her husband would leave Kenya and return to Great Britain with the Uhuru approaching. Making small talk, Margery asks Karanja how many wives he has (none) and whether he has a woman (Karanja says he loved a woman once, but she rejected him). Uncomfortable, Margery dismisses him. As he returns to the library, Karanja wishes that others had witnessed his closeness to the Thompsons, so he could gain more respect in the eyes of his countrymen.

In his office, John Thompson considers that in just a few days he will leave Kenya. He is saddened by the realization that he has not served his country—his prime minister or his queen—better. Looking out the window, he notices Dr. Lynd’s dog, a bullmastiff, attack one of the Africans servants. The man picks up a stone to throw at the dog when Dr. Lynd returns and chastises the man for harassing her dog. The man is Karanja, but Thompson does not seem to register this fact at first. Thompson steps forward to intervene. He tries to tell Dr. Lynd what happened, but instead sinks into a reverie about a time he and Margery hit a dog on the road and felt horrible.

Dr. Lynd, sobbing, tells him the story of something that happened when she first arrived in Kenya. She lived alone but had a dog and a native houseboy, whom she scolded often but also provided with food and clothes. One night, robbers came to her house and tied her up, and her houseboy assisted them by killing her dog. The houseboy—described as a man who had served as a cook in World War II—is most certainly Koina.

After her confession, Dr. Lynd and John Thompson go their separate ways. Thompson reflects on his time in Kenya, which included service at detention camps, where he imposed such harsh treatment that during his time at the Rira detention center, the detainees went on a hunger strike. In the resulting riot, 11 of them died. Because of the bad press reports following the incident, Thompson was demoted to work in Githima.

As Thompson leaves the office, Karanja stops him to talk. Thompson dismisses him by saying that he will take care of the incident with the dog, and then feels angry that he should have to appease one of the natives.