She could hear the creature crawling on the zinc roof of the house. There was a long moment of silence. Then came the thump, telling her that the creature had moved, that it was coming after her.

Through the long night, until the crowing of the cock at dawn, the awful noises kept her awake. Then, with the first rays of the sun, they went away.

Everyone in the village of Castle Gordon knew that an obeah man had set himself against Flora, and was trying to kill her. And everyone knew that from dusk until dawn, the obeah man's evil was working to get into her house. But there was nothing anyone could do about it.

One day Flora went up to Zion Hill to pay the obeah man a visit.

"Why you set this thing upon me?" she demanded, when she was let into the obeah man's office. Flora stared at the red tile floor, polished hard and bright with Genie wax. She was not yet prepared to look into the obeah man's eyes, so she stared at the floor.

Outside in the noon sun, a long line of people waited under the palm trees. They were sitting on stones, leaning against palm trunks. There were men, women, and children - all of them waiting to see the obeah man, the sorcerer named Chick Chick. He was a man who could work miracles, arrange disasters, or create a little of each, depending on the customer's desire and urgency, and the amount of currency in hand.