Summary

In “The Waste Land” by Alan Paton, a man misses the bus and realises some young men are lurking nearby. He knows the men are going to rob him for his salary, even if that means they have to kill him. He thinks of his wife and children and of how cruel the robbers are.

As the youngsters come closer and closer from two sides, the man looks behind at the convent wall and knows that he cannot enter it. In front of him, there is the waste land, a place where old cars are abandoned along with wires and iron. He decides to head in that direction. A chase in the dark begins, with the man running for his life. During the chase, he manages to hit one of his attackers with his stick. However, he soon falls into some barbed wire which tears his clothes ...