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.’