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fighting him busy teaching you every day. People didn’t want to mess with him. But him was also kind to them showing some understanding for them situation. So after that everything was running smooth and fine till one night somebody burn down Mr Lee’s shop. And that was bad because Mr Lee been good to the people since all the trouble stop.
    ‘Uncle was mad so after that him go ’round asking everybody, “Who burn down Mr Lee’s shop?” Every man, woman and child; every African, Indian, Chinese and Lebanese, every Syrian, every Jew, he was asking them. Him go everywhere, every shop, every street, every bar, every yard he was there, asking “Who burn down Mr Lee’s shop?” It go on for days, man, till somebody tell him it was McKenzie and Uncle go and drag McKenzie outta a bar, with McKenzie kicking and screaming and Uncle pulling him by the arm or foot or hair or whatever him could get a hold of, all the way from the bottom of Rum Lane and all the way down Barry Street to King Street. And right here, right out in the middle of this street right here in front of yu, Uncle strip off McKenzie old shoes and tartan socks and hang him up by him feet, his feet you get that, on a wooden scaffold Uncle put up there for the purpose. And him leave McKenzie hanging there just like that for the whole day. Just hanging there, man, in this heat. I don’t know how come the man didn’t die. And all that time nobody go do nothing ’bout it because them was scared of Uncle and them wasn’t going cross him.
    ‘And when Uncle get to the bottom of it, it turn out that McKenzie burn down the shop because Mr Lee stop him from talking to his daughter. Talking to his daughter, you get that. Though McKenzie say he didn’t mean for the shop to burn down completely like it did.
    ‘When Uncle finally cut him down, McKenzie was in a bad way and Uncle pick him up and carry him all the way to his own room in Luke Lane where he look after McKenzie and nurse him better.
    ‘So after that, that was it. Uncle law was in force. Martial law, man. Tough justice that was, but kindness too. And I swear I think McKenzie the only friend Uncle got because him the only person on earth that don’t want nothing from him.’ And then Hampton stop and look at me, and say, ‘Apart from him family that is, if you get what I mean. Well, Uncle already give him life back, so now all McKenzie want to do is give back some friendship. That’s how I see it anyway.’
    By the time Hampton finish all this chat and we look ’round DeFreitas gone but what we see instead is two white men stand up on the corner talk to one another. Then one of them turn ’round and hawk and spit right on top of the fruit on a nearby handcart. Just as casual and careless as you like. And then the two of them carry on talk like nothing happen.
    The higgler turn ’round mad as hell when he see his business spoil up like that, but when him see it is a white man him stop dead in his tracks. Too late though. The white man see the look on his face and slap him down. The white man shout, ‘Who you looking at, Nigger?’ and then start take off him belt to give the man a hiding. Him so irate he don’t even care that his panama hat fall off his head and float into the gutter.
    We run ’cross the street and Hampton cover up the higgler with his own body and I jump on the white man. Before he could even lean back to swing the belt, he fall on the ground with me on top of him punching him in the face. Him friend drag me up, just when I hear Panama saying something ’bout teaching the Chink and his Nigger friends a lesson. That is when Judge Finley step in.
    ‘I wouldn’t do that, mister. That boy, his papa is Uncle Zhang, Chinatown Zhang.’
    Panama hesitate for just long enough for me get the strength for a roundhouse kick just like Zhang teach me. Then I punch to the throat with my forearm, and when Panama on the ground I stand back and say, ‘I am not a Chink and these boys are not