I will do w I can.’
?Yes, I glad to icking togetruggling along and , and some day us will he Beyond.’
Psor Copeland said bitterly. I believe in justice now.’
t you say you believe in? You speak so
able to hear you.’
In justice for us. Justice for us Negroes.t right.’
t be still. ed to sit up and speak in a loud voice—yet o raise find trengt gre be silent But to listen and to hear him.
?Git, Lee Jackson. Git, s and quit t a long o go.’
AfternoonJ AKE ran at a violent, clumsy pace. t into a side alley, climbed a fence, and ened onaste of vomit in . A barking dog cil opped long enougo ten it h a rock.
o h.
C! So t. A fig tles. C! And tton candy and t all. Fig and sun. t of teet ! And t loose a stop. And to t knowing.
Not even kno . C! Nobody could opped it.
Jake slowed and jerked o look behind him.
ty. ed and ere and felt better. eig cuts t o go. t from all ts. arted off again, time at a steady jog.
Nobody could opped it. All tamped t like sudden fires. All but this
figopped. It seemed to blaze up out of notopped to get a glass of er. As e boy and a Negro ernoon, for it urday and time t and tink in the air.
t a big figime. And time to tood c five seconds before o t s time of many t of Singer. of ternoons and t nigs he quarrels he had hushed.
tknife in t of people and jumped on t dooget on t inrampled on ime to again t ing te men and te men en to t sixteen years old and te duck trousers and fancy rayon polo ss.
t back as best they could. Some had razors.
o yell out a breaking dam. terrible sound in errible because it words.
to a roar t deafened on t see on around s—s and we.
an upraised fist.
t and t in o get out and find a telepo call for help.
But . And kno out s and felt t squs mout and of . rength his head like a bull.
Senseless kno had changed and now each man was for himself.
t it may e or it may ill fig t up fast. ripped over. on t it place it. ttered tles and trampled royed.
ting up. arted to run. By no rack.
tened s and lo. On one side it, panting, too reaco cry. er dripped down from ache.
A ed back time face h
t. stop trembling of til asted blood.
At t block o Simms. tting on a box all board fence be a message ten h purple chalk.
o Save Youory of e . P.M.
treet y. Jake tried to cross over to t Simms caughe arm.
Come, all ye disconsolate and sore of . Lay doroubles before t of o save you. t?’
quot;o to t?’
Sinner! transgressions. t.’
Does t dollar I gave you last week?’
Jesus seven-fifteen tonigime to hear his ord.’
Jake licked ac I cant get up close enougo hear.’
quot;t soon ts me to build a lot at teentreet. A tabernacle large enougo able before me in t-eth oil.
My cup runneth------’
I can round you up a croonight, Jake said.
how?’
Give me your pretty colored chalk. I promise a big crowd.’
Ive seen your signs, Simms said. quot;orkers! America Is t Country in t a tarving.
e and Demand Our S;—all t.
Your signs are radical. I let you use my chalk.’
But I dont plan to e signs.’
Simms fingered ted suspiciously.
til get you a fine cros at eaco point t, plump, bare-tailed------’
Babylonian! this.’
Jake crossed over to tarted toher.’
Sinner, t seven-fifteen s h. Be saved.’
Singer s t old to Singer, and seemed to t. And o end anyouco, and t so many ed to a girl . here no longer. he was alone.
A wall, a fligairs, an open road.
Jake locked to eat. y and only a feer in tcable. ty fluff ed on the floor.
Papers tered all about tly ten many s notices and distributed to..O.C. Is Your Best Friend. Some of tices consisted of only one sentence, oto entitled quot;ty Between Our Democracy and, Fascism.’
For a montyping and making carbons on typeer at tributing them by hand.
. But w good
done? A tooo big for any one man. And now he was leaving.
But ime? ties called to on, Gastonia, Ne out of tlessness and time. long for open space and freedom—just t to attempt to stand alone. times .
Jake moved t of tcase and a pile of books and dirty clotiently o pack. to ic, so t it o try to reason ill terrible anger t t t nigo understand. Copeland knetalion. And o quarrel her.
Copeland s t be able to ogeter all. If t talk too muco ter all. Maybe t ed.
it pausing to tside try and treet. Clouds mospill t trict up in a straight, unbroken line.
As Jake case bumped a en o look behind him.
Copeland lived all too eadily denser, and foretold a fall.
tters tchen. A hollow,
desperate disappointment made y and lose ts beat to t but no one o do except to go to tion Portia.
ed to be near t stand to see track in t of stairs imes. oia ctle boy h her.
No, sir, Mr. Blount, Portia said. I kno of aken Fat in try t no business telling you exactly and not mincter.’
You dont o minc why?’
After time you come to see us Fated o die. It taken us a long time to get o sit up. a lot stronger bitter against no. And besides, if you dont mindspeaking out, her, anyway?’
Notand.’
Us colored peoples like anybody else. And I stand by . Fat a sick old colored man and rouble already. Us got to look after anxious to see you—I kno.’