WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS

Its the story of a magistrate of a (presumably) South African frontier settlement who witnesses the unspeakable acts of cruelty of visiting Colonel Joll, a man determined to find enemies of the Empire in the desolate lands that surround them. The Magistrate looks the other way while Colonel Joll interrogates the prisoners, assuming that the acts of the Empire, while excessive in force, are ne cessary for the security of the people.