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Welcome to Episode 4 of the story "The Wounded Captain"
Last week the story was about the gardener and in this week's episode, it is going to talk about the master. Please read!

The Master

No one could really boast of knowing. "The Master" as Akpatta was fondly called by those who worked for him. You could not really please him.

When you expected his usual tyrant, he would demonstrate kindness. When you expected kindness you got anger.

But one thing was clear, no one dared disobey him when he gave orders.

Sometimes his only son saw him as a tyrant. How on earth was Abia going to live without friends or playmates? Was it just that he was protecting his only son or were there other reasons he could not allow his son to associate with others?

Akpatta had married Abia's mother Glory , when he was a bit advanced in age. It was common knowledge that Glory was just a young girl who had just finished her primary school career. She looked up to Akpatta as a master rather than a husband.

It was no surprise that she addressed Akpatta as "Sir". After all, all the servants, most of them senior to her in age, did the same. Her fear of Akpatta was not only because their age difference but that whatever he said happened. Once, as a young pupil in college, he had been unjustly punished by his principal. The forty strokes of cane were delivered on the same spot. At the end of the flogging Akpatta wailed in agony and said to the principal. "Except you tell the truth in this matter, you will reap the evil you have sown today".

This was an unusual statement from a pupil to a principal. The principal knew Akpatta was guiltless. He tried to hide his embarrassment and nervousness by ordering him out.

"Hey, get out of my sight, comparing him he said. Idiot of no other.

What really was Akpatta's offense? The school regulation was that if you broke bound you couldn't be made the senior Prefect of the school. Mr. Lori knew that Akpatta was the popular candidate for the post. He planned to forestall this so that he might give the post of School Prefect to his son's friend. Mr. Kenneth, the principal's friend, who was a rich man. During school function and PTA meetings he usually donated more than anybody else. He had erected a dormitory block for boys. The only way the principal could show his appreciation was to make his son a School Prefect.

To forestall Akpatta's ambition, he accused him of breaking bounds and punished him during the school assembly. The corporal punishment was not as painful to Akpatta as the public disgrace. As an intelligent person he clearly read the principals motives.

Those who heard Akpatta talk rudely to the principal did not believe that within two weeks of that incident something terrible would befall the principal. He had caned a student for wearing the wrong attire to school. The cane broke at the tip and the splinter flew into the student's eye and damaged it. This caused a lot of trouble in the school. Eventually, the principal was relieved of his duty through compulsory retirement. Eno had learned not to disobey Akpatta early in the marriage. Each time she did, she had bitter consequences.

One such episode was when Akpatta told her not to make friends with the talkative single village girls. Eno paid deaf ears to this.

One evening, she sneaked out to see one of her friends and to have her usually friendly chat. Towards dust she returned to her home, fortunately, Akpatta had traveled out that day. Luck still ran out on her as she was arrested by policemen the next morning.

She was accused of leading armed robbers to the house she had visited. But for the timely intervention of her husband's friends she would have been jailed for no just cause.

Conclusion

Thank you for visiting my and reading the short story.
To follow up with the previous stories please click the links below.

Episode 1, Taboo on Playmates
Episode 2, Hocky the dog
Episode 3, The Gardener