Next day I told my story to all the villagers. The villagers were angry. Martha was very unhappy.
She said, 'Saul is working very hard. He is sending money and we can't have the money. What are we going to do?
I did not know. Then in the evening the school teacher came to my house again.
'Adam. Perhaps I can help you,' the school teacher said. 'Here is a letter to Mr Sheth.'
'Mr Sheth?' I said, 'Who is he?
'He's an important man in Darpur and he's a friend of my wife's cousin,' replied the school teacher. 'This letter is to Mr Sheth. The letter is about your money order. Perhaps he can help you.'
I took the letter and thanked the school teacher.
So I travelled to Darpur again on Saturday, for the third time. After a long time, I found Mr Sheth's house. The door was opened by a tall man.
'Can I see Mr Sheth?' I asked.
'And who are you?' the tall man asked.
'I have a letter for Mr Sheth,' I replied.
'I see. Can I have the letter, please?' And the tall man held out his hand.
'The letter is here,' I said. And I took the letter out of my pocket. 'But I must see Mr Sheth.'
'Many people want to see Mr Sheth,' the tall man told me. 'He is a very busy man and a very important man. Mr Sheth is not here at the moment. But give me your letter, and Mr Sheth will read it later.'
I gave the tall man the letter. Then I waited. Later, a large black car came and a man went into the house. A long time later, the tall man opened the door again.
'Come in now, please, and follow me,' he said.
I followed the tall man. We went into a large room with fine carpets and big chairs. Another man was in the room. He was drinking.
'This is Mr Sheth,' said the tall man.
'I am Adam of Minta village,' I replied.
'Yes, I know,' said Mr Sheth. 'Thank you for the letter. I hope I can help you. I like to help people. Please, sit down.' Mr Sheth smiled. His clothes were new and smart.
'Thank you,' I said.
'Can I see the money order, please?' Mr Sheth asked.
I took the money order out of my pocket. By now, the money order was dirty and looked very old. I gave it to Mr Sheth.
'This money order is for one hundred dollars,' I said. 'My son sent it from a foreign country.'
Mr Sheth unfolded the money order and looked at it. 'You can't change this money order,' he said. 'This money order is not worth one hundred dollars. This money order is worth nothing.'
'Worth nothing! Worthless?' I asked.
Then Mr Sheth looked at the money order again. 'Yes, worthless. Your son does not understand about money orders. This money order is not correct for our country,' Mr Sheth said. Then he looked at the money order again and said, 'And this money order is also old. It is out-of-date.'
I said nothing. Mr Sheth gave me the money order back.
Then Mr Sheth smiled and said, 'I am very sorry. You are an old man. You came a long way from your village. What can I give you to eat and drink?'
I was not hungry. But Mr Sheth went out of the room. Then he brought me some coffee and some cakes. I drank my coffee.
'Old man,' said Mr Sheth, 'I like to help people. I am a rich man. Give me your money order.'
I gave my money order to Mr Sheth. 'Yes, this money order is worthless,' he said again. 'But I am going to help you. I am going to change this money order for you. I am going to give you some money.'
Mr Sheth went out of the room. I felt very happy again. After a few minutes, the tall man came into the room. He gave me an envelope. 'This is from Mr Sheth. You can go now,' the tall man said.
I went out of the house. I walked along the road to the bus station. I opened the envelope and I took out my money. I counted the money. It was ten dollars. I thought about my only son, Saul.
My son, Saul, had sent me a money order for one hundred dollars. Mr Sheth had given me ten dollars. I felt old and I felt poor again.
