Summary

The short story “The Silver Bell” by David Evans begins with Mrs Mackenzie being woken up by a telephone call. The caller first speaks in an African language, and Mrs Mackenzie gets upset and tells the caller to speak in English. The caller asks for a Mrs Mkize, but Mrs Mackenzie tells the person there is no one there by that name. 

Unable to go back to sleep, Mrs Mackenzie shakes the silver bell on her bedside table to call for Beauty, her maid, but she does not appear. After a while, Mrs Mackenzie goes to the dining room and rings the bell again, but Beauty is not in the house.  

Mrs Mackenzie’s daughter-in-law, Lisa, arrives and asks about Beauty’s whereabouts, and then about the tinned food in the kitchenette. Mrs Mackenzie tells her that she was taking precautions. Lisa believes that an uprising by non-white South Africa...